Rental Studios in NYC Closing

One of the many spaces at The Alchemical. The light and price point was perfect. Sad to see it go.

Back in August, one of my favorite studio spaces in NYC, the Alchemical, shuttered its doors for the second time. Second time.

For a brief description, the Alchemical was an affordable studio rental space in Manhattan with beautiful natural light and friendly staff. In 2021-22 they closed their original location since the building was sold. It was unfortunate since the only other studio that offered similar amenities and price point was in Brooklyn. Since I live in Manhattan, making the commute to Brooklyn with gear was the less desirable option. So I was pleasantly surprised when they announced the opening of a new location just a few blocks away from their original location.

From a portrait session with the wonderful Katya, taken at the Alchemical Studios in 2023.
I really loved the light the studio had.

In 2023, I started shooting there again whenever I needed bigger space for certain projects. To my dismay, in August of this year they were forced to close again. I got an email about the impending closure as well as an auction they were holding to sell off much of the studio’s furniture and miscellaneous items. I’m not their bookkeeper and can’t speak to the intricate financial details of the studio, but whenever I booked I always noticed I was practically the only booking for the day. Compared to previous years where the spaces they have were booked up consistently.

Perhaps there just wasn’t any demand? Maybe people didn’t know about their new location? Probably a combination of the two.

What this highlights for me, is a continued decline in demand for rental studios. A part of me laments this and a part of me is indifferent. For some context, I remember when rental studios used to be ridiculously priced. The demand was high back in say, 2010, so a photo studio would want to charge you $1000 for a 4-hour rental! Over the past decade, less and less people are signing up to be photographers, more people are renting out alternative spaces via apps such as Airbnb or Peerspace. Or people are just foregoing studios altogether and shooting on location. Who needs to pay exorbitant fees for a white box studio space with restrictive booking policies? It’s cost prohibitive for most individuals. Brands/companies don’t care because they have a much bigger budget than individuals usually.

Because of these changes, many rental studios have closed their doors in NYC. Especially the bigger ones. It costs a lot of money to keep staff and pay the lease on these places. And when artists don’t have the budgets to pay $1,000 for full-day rentals on a consistent basis or even brands are looking at more affordable options, it will be hard to keep the lights on.

But creatives do need spaces to create, so a loss of a studio like the Alchemical will do more harm than good. I wish they would have been able to thrive on their second go around, but the photo business is changing rapidly. Coming out of the Covid era, a lot of businesses are playing catchup or returning and finding the market dramatically different to the pre-Covid era. As in all business, you either make some adjustments or you will get left behind.

They mention on their website that they’re looking for a new location, so there’s hope. Maybe they’ll return better than ever! Third time’s a charm eh?!

Adieu for now Alchemical. You’ll be missed.

Shilling Is Ruining Our Industry: Thoughts on MPB's GFX 100 II Review

I’d like to begin this post by stating that I think Amy, the presenter, is one of the best in the business. She’s passionate, knows her stuff, takes beautiful photographs, and delivers information with enthusiasm that rivals any network television presenter. She’s fantastic. This post isn’t about her. You are loved Amy. I loved your videos with WEX and it’s great to see you with MPB. WEX lost a good one. I know you’re just doing your job.

I’d also like to add that I love MPB and they are my preferred place to trade camera gear. They give great rates for used gear, offer free shipping, and a hassle free experience. I sold my Panasonic S1R to them a several months ago and was very pleased with my experience.

Now, I must define for the normies what a shill is. A shill is a person who pushes products/services due to some sort of financial incentive while being disguised as someone who genuinely loves said product/service. They could have a contract with a company or be an affiliate or be granted exclusive access to products, events, etc. But their m.o. is always to push things for the brand in order to get you to buy them. They will expouse all the wonderful upsides of the product/service and encourage you to part with your hard earned money.

The shill lacks integrity. The shill won’t be critical of the product because their partnership with the brand will be at stake. The shill wants that sweet affiliate revenue. The shill doesn’t want to lose out on paid for trips to cool events in cool cities. And the shill does not give a shit about you or if the product/service they’re reviewing will actually help you. Notice how the shill recoils and is incensed if you call them out for what they are.

Sadly, shills are everywhere. They are rampant in the photography/video industry but you will also see them in gaming, film, music, cosmetics, fashion, tourism, travel, and more. Most influencers are shills. Paid for people who are just there to promote a product instead of offering an honest review of the product so you, the consumer, can make a smart purchasing decision. I find it insulting, irresponsible, and dishonest.

So in the video above, the title is “Is Bigger Always Better? Fujifilm GFX 100 II Review”. Review being the operative word. A review, in the actual sense of the word offers a critique of the thing it’s reviewing. The pros, the cons, the benefits, the downsides, probably comparisons to other products. With a title like “Is Bigger Always Better”, you’d think there would be extensive comparison to smaller formats or previous cameras in the lineup, but no.

There’s no critical look at any of the cameras features. The weight. How it feels in the hand. The file sizes. The shooting speed. The limitations of all the various video formats. How it compares to previous models or competitor products.

A review is not a promotional video or product showcase that just reads off the specs, constantly praising every little feature, while not pointing out any downsides or looking at alternatives. For this video it’s just “100 Megapixels!” “The video features!” “It’s incredible!” “We have a new film simulation!”

Just praise, praise, praise. This is not a review. This is shilling for Fujifilm and of course, for MPB.

If you truly want to do good by your customers, it would be better to offer an unbiased, real review. If you’re a YouTuber who does reviews of any sort, you fall into this as well. If you begin your review with “Fujifilm was kind enough to send me the camera for a couple of weeks.” You’re probably a shill and your review is probably dishonest.

Please stop doing this. Shilling doesn’t help the consumer and just leads to a lot of buyer’s remorse and irresponsible spending. Or an innocent buyer purchasing a product completely wrong for their needs. Shilling also doesn’t help brands. While it may move a few products in the short-term, long-term it doesn’t cause them to make any changes or refinements to improve the product. Critique is not “hating” or “being negative”. Critique when done objectively is extremely useful in helping consumers make informed purchases while also improving the product, service, film, game, etc.

If you’re a brand, stand by the quality of your product and stop this business practice of buying people just so they can give you a favorable review. The GFX 100 II is an amazing camera that will be loved by many, but it’s not appropriate for everyone and being honest about this in reviews will help improve your brand’s image. Reviewers can easily recommend a Fuji X-T5 or X-H2S as alternatives for those on a budget or if they want lighter, smaller, faster. What happens with disingenuous reviews besides consumers wasting money is they grow a resentment towards the product because it wasn’t what they expected. Then they post bad reviews which hurts both the company and product’s image because someone made a misguided, misinformed purchase.

I’ve seen replies to these reviews with comments like, “Man that camera is a beast!”. It is. And so are the files. You probably don’t need it, won’t enjoy it, and will lose money when you inevitably sell it for a more appropriate camera for your needs. Going off on a tangent, but every camera isn’t appropriate for everything. You don’t use a tank when a rifle will suffice. The GFX 100 II isn’t really made for snapshots, to take everywhere, and to do everything. It’s not meant for sports. Or wildlife. Or street photography. You could use it for those things but there are better options and pros in this space understand this. There are different cameras for different purposes. Please understand this and buy accordingly.

End tangent. Back to shilling.

Sadly, the photography industry is rampant with these sort of reviews as “shilling” is a potential path to earning money. It’s not as lucrative as it once was, but every year, more photographers create a YouTube channel to review gear, hoping to earn money from being an affiliate or through ad revenue. And companies see this as the best way to sell their product. We have to do better.

This is not the way.

The Black List of Broadway

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a very respected client of mine. She’s worked in entertainment for the past 20 or so years mainly in theater, but also in film and tv. We spoke on many of the changes that have occurred in New York post-pandemic. Some of our favorite restaurants have closed, the city is noticeablely dirtier, crime is up, etc. Usual post-pandemic fair. Then our conversation switched to entertainment and her love for theater. However, as much as she loves theater, she found herself concerned with some of the recent behavior exhibited by the theater community.

You won’t find this sort of stuff discussed openly in news media. It’s all industry stuff that’s secretive and kept from the public. If you’re in the industry, you’ve probably heard whispers if you’re paying attention.

You see, she attends many of the events surrounding the various Broadway productions. Parties where people schmooze and rub elbows with a proverbial who’s who in the industry. She found herself mortified when engaged in a conversation with some very “important people” who openly boasted about a black list they’ve created in the Broadway social circle. What is this black list you ask?

Apparently, those who don’t share the right opinions, world view, or political stance are automatically added to this list and shunned from ever working in the industry. The list includes directors, musical programers, actors, costume designers, and so forth. Because of this, many are very hush hush about their beliefs and smile awkwardly while nodding in agreement in an attempt to win favor by those in power. Or at the least, not be otracized, no, banished from the group. And those that tell on someone who has “wrong think” will be rewarded for their loyalty to the cause. The Salem Witch trials blush at this modern day buffoonery.

Zeiss Existing the Photography Market?

Rumors swirled recently that Zeiss, one of the industry’s most revered lens manufacturers, may be exiting the consumer photography market. Having only put out a couple of new products in the past several years, I can’t say I’m surprised. While they’ve put out a statement reassuring users they intend to stay in the market, they seem to be reeling from the effects of the pandemic and a rapidly changing photography landscape.

Just speculating, but I believe many companies were already expecting downward shifts in the industry and consumer buying habits to change. New technology on the horizon that makes taking pictures easier via your smartphone, people not being interested in photography as much as before, etc. They probably could see things going downhill years ago, but the pandemic accelerated the decline far faster than they expected.

Like other companies have done in the past(e.g., Samsung), I think Zeiss put out a “relax, everything is okay” statement so there isn’t a panic and people don’t buy up any remaining stock they have on the market. My guess is they’ll play coy for a bit then in about 1-2 years after they’ve determined their exit strategy, they’ll bow out gracefully. They’re an optics company so they have far greater and more profitable ventures they can focus on than making lenses for photography. However, I do see them continuing to make high-end lenses for filmmaking(which probably have a much greater profit margin), but the photography segment is probably no longer viable for them.

It’s sad, but it was only a matter of time. May want to pickup some of their lenses before they’re discontinued.