Zero Sum

Interviewer: Finally Will, what advice would you give to any young or up-and-coming photographers who are reading this?

Will Steacy: I have always been a big fan of the story about the old bull and young bull on top of a hill overlooking a field of cows. The young bull says, “Let’s race down to that field and fuck one of those cows,” to which the older bull replies, “Let’s walk down there and fuck them all.” I never really understood how this whole “emerging” photographer thing became so popular, other than as a means of business and really just a sales pitch. Young or old, established or just starting out, we are all artists and photographers regardless of where we are in our careers. I think the most important thing to understand about this game is to see not just what’s right in front of you but to look far down the road. As we learned from the outcome of the Mexican revolution, you must have a national plan as well as a local plan, because you may just win a fight or two, but there will still be a war to battle through. No matter where you are in your career there will always be that next step to climb. There will also always be someone standing on the step you are attempting to climb and so as artists we must learn to organize and unite and not regress into labels and categorizes, me must walk together and not run reckless and short sighted, we must help each other climb up those steps with open arms and lift each other up, united and strong.