Jeff Jacobson

[boris_ochan]

This is just to let people know that there's a fundraising effort to help photographer Jeff

Jacobson - he's currently unable to work while undergoing chemotherapy. His agent,

Marcel Saba, has put up a small gallery of work that Jeff is hoping to sell prints of to help

support him until he's well enough to accept assignments again:

 

www.reduxpictures.com/fundraiser/

 

I'll understand if the moderators feel that this is an inappropriate post and remove it.

However, it is worth bearing in mind what a positive force Jeff has been in challenging

many of the cliches of reportage photography.

[edward_h]

Doesn't he have insurance, or does it not cover cancer?

 

Doesn't the country he live in have some of illness-protection thingy (become ill and be paid 80% of your wages by the state)?

[akochanowski]

whoever you are, thanks for pointing this out. A hugely underrated photographer, from a mass marketing standpoint anyways. His book "My Fellow Americans" is splendid, though appears out of print. A photog well worth supporting.

[michael s.]

Edward -- Assuming your questions to be sincere, I don't know this photographer and cannot speak at all to his personal circumstances.

 

In general terms, for a self-employed person in the US, while health insurance (if one can afford it -- it's very expensive) typically does cover "usual and customary" medical treatment for illnesses such as cancer, it does *not* cover living expenses. Some are able to afford disability insurance, which provides some replacement income (often not enough) for a time during which one is unable to work for health reasons. Meantime there's rent or mortgage, groceries, transportation (including to and from medical treatments), electric bill, phone bill, etc, etc.

 

When a self-employed person in the US finds himself/herself unable to work, this typically creates real financial hardship for all except those who were already wealthy (which rules out an awful lot of photographers).

 

Other countries, I know, do more for people whose health keeps them from working.

[akochanowski]

before posting? As Boris pointed out, the person is ill. Whether or not the person has insurance to cover the cost of medical treatment, if he is too ill to WORK he can't make money.

[m_.]

thanks, boris. do you know of any other way to donate besides purchasing the photos?

[kent_tolley2]

His photographs are beautiful as well as original. He makes me want to learn about color. I pray his cancer is not too aggressive. I think the previous poster did not mean any harm but it is inhumane how casually we abandon one another; as if care was a limited commodity that has to be carefully budgetted.

[michael s.]

If I'm not mistaken, Edward is from <a href=http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/BasicFactsheet____3978.aspx>Sweden</a>, where the so-called safety net is considerably different.<p><p>

 

I wouldn't assume, Andy, that he's thoughtless; perhaps just unfamiliar with ways in which health-related disability is handled in other nations ?<p><p>

 

Jacobson's pictures are superb. I hope Boris' post is permitted to stand. You never know when a photonetter with both a keen eye and a generous heart will be motivated to help.

[akochanowski]

you're probably correct, sorry I was snappish. Don't want to see a thread degenerate into politics.

[boris_ochan]

I'm touched by the overwhelmingly positive response to my initial post.

 

In response to Edward (and I think it was valid of you to question my post), you should be

aware that it's possible to be a great and (artistically) successful photographer while at the

same time doing little more than subsisting financially. If you take a radical position as an

imagemaker you're just not going to make the sales levels of someone more mainstream.

As an illustration, Jeff Jacobson is never going to match the income of, say, Steve McCurry,

and Gilles Peress is never going to match the income of Jim Nachtwey. The fact that

Jacobson and Peress are more respected by (and have wielded more influence on) their

peers isn't reflected by commercial success or acceptance by photo editors (who, with a

few exceptions, will hire a dullard over a genius every time).

 

As A pointed out "My Fellow Americans" was a wonderful book, arguably the best portrayal

of the USA since Robert Frank, but it was a commercial flop - in the nineties there were big

stacks of unsold copies with a five dollar price tag. Anyway, I'm posting the text of an

email from Jeff, and if people want to help - or just want to tell him that they think his

work matters - then they can. It really isn't an easy thing for a photographer like Jeff to

ask for help, and the fact that he has means he really does need help - even if that help

amounts to no more than moral support. Again, I'll understand if the moderators remove

this thread.

 

> Dear Friends;

> As many of you know I have been fighting cancer. I was diagnosed

with lymphoma just before Christmas and am now doing chemotherapy.

>

> I've been very happy in my life on the road, on my own, working,

taking photographs. Photography has given me my voice to respond to the

world. This disease has made photographing temporarily impossible for me and

necessitates my reaching out with my work to you. The very thing that makes

photography such a good fit for me, solitude in action, is what makes asking for help

difficult.

 

> This is a fundraising letter.

 

> There are a number of ways to help me. In order to replenish lost

income, I am offering prints of my photographs for sale. This is a one time,

limited edition sale offered through the internet only. The pictures are mostly from

my upcoming new book, Melting Point, with a couple golden oldies from my first

book, My Fellow Americans. Melting Point represents the last fifteen years of my work and

is a

very personal meditation on the condition of the world today. The pictures offered

can be seen on my photo agency's website:

http://www.reduxpictures.com/fundraiser. Prices will be quoted for three sizes of archival

light jet prints. To order

prints, contact me directly at jijpix@aol.com. I will contact you back to arrange payment

and

delivery.

 

I also must raise a substantial amount of money to support the

publishing of Melting Point. Another way to help is to make a donation of any

amount to support the publishing of the book. If you need a tax write off, you

can send your donation through a tax exempt organization, Many Voices Press,

which supports the publication of photography books of socially relevant

issues. Eugene Richards and Janine Altongi, who administer Many Voices, have

graciously offered this option.. Checks can be made out to Many Voices Press and sent

to 472 13th St., Brooklyn, NY, 11215. Write Melting Point Support on the check.

If you do make a donation through Many Voices, please send me an email and let

me know.

 

I understand that some of you will not be able to afford to help me

right now. I don't want you to do this if you don't have the money. But if you do

have some disposable income, and are interested in my work, I'd appreciate the

help. Also, please forward this email to any friends or family of yours who might

be interested, especially if they know me or my work. So many of you have already given

me such important help with your

visits,emails, phone calls and good wishes. I want to thank you who have

contacted me in the last couple months. Your love and support has moved me deeply

and given me strength to confront this disease. I expect to have many more years

of this good life ahead of me.

 

Sincerely,

Jeff Jacobson