Yet Another Reason To Revere Uncle Jimmy

Joe talks about a friend that has seen him, and other photographers, through thick and thin.

Jimmy Colton is my dear friend and I’m so happy for him. He is semiretired from our industry, but is still quite active and produces pictures of the month, and content for Zuma Press. But he’s moved to Florida, and is also expressing his creative instincts by making pottery, which is beautiful. But I do, and always will, miss his presence in our industry as a picture editor. A recent example of his brilliance is his latest blog, Have You Ever Thought About Plumbing As a Career?

The title comes from a legendarily tough critique offered to a young aspiring photog by a picture editor who was obviously a devotee of ‘tough love’. Whether these words were said is a subject of debate. But I can say I’ve overheard some nasty critiques in my time – some were the equivalent of taking a sledgehammer to the fragile ego of a burgeoning (or not) photographer. “Why do you pollute the earth with these bad pictures?” Is one I believe I heard once at the Eddie Adams’ workshop, though again, given the haze 2am critiques mixed with numerous beers produces, I might be off on that.