by Meme Press Photo / Insights Team
Fig. 1. Meme Press Photo, The greatest photography memes ever conceived, @memepressphoto. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/C3kmHYgAot-/?img_index=7.
Insights: The significance and perhaps, some would say, international notoriety of Meme Press Photo became evident to Philippine photojournalists when Vivek Prakash, Managing Editor for Getty Images in Asia Pacific, included you in his presentation at the Inaugural Romy Gacad Lecture on Visual Journalism in March 2024. Just a month earlier, Meme Press Photo was also a popular topic among participants and organizers of the World Press Photo exhibit and public programs during its run in Manila at De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde. Clearly, your content describes something universal about photojournalism that resonates even with practitioners in the Philippines.
Fig. 2 - 4. Screenshots from the video recording of Taking On New Challenges: A Forum - Lecture on the State of Visual Journalism
and the Industry’s Future in Southeast Asia, Manila, Philippines, March 21, 2024. Retrieved from https://facebook.com/focapmedia/videos/1433182807637096.
Insights: Can you share the inspiration behind starting your Instagram page dedicated to critiquing the practice of Photojournalism through memes?
MemePress: Meme Press Photo started on my “professional” account, just making jokes about the industry for my friends. There was never really forethought on making a meme account. I was just making memes here and there and figured it would be good to separate it from where I share my work. That transformed into an actual page, and through my friends sharing it, it grew into what it is now.
Insights: Your memes unabashedly and impiously blend humor with insightful commentary on Photojournalism. How do you balance humor with serious critique, and what impact do you hope to achieve through your content?
MemePress: Truthfully, I don’t see my memes changing the industry now or ever, but if it gives photographers a place to relate and laugh, that is all that matters to me. The memes can take a stance and be outlandish, but I am not here to educate anyone, or talk down to anyone. It’s just observations in meme format. I just want people to have a place to laugh. Humor has always been my vehicle to deal with harder truths, so it was natural that memes became an outlet.
Fig. 5 - 7. Meme Press Photo, I couldn't decide on one, so now we all lose, @memepressphoto.
Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/C5dgciXuINd/.
Insights: Many of your followers speculate about your background in photography. Some practitioners here in Manila think that you are not just one person but a group of photographers. Some think you're Asian. Some speculate whether you're male or female. Can you shed some light on who you are and your experience in this field? And why choose to be anonymous in the first place?
MemePress: I am not an expert; I can tell you that. I am a pretty bad photographer if I am being honest. A lot of people think I am “anonymous,” but the truth is, I am just not well known enough to be known whatsoever. I am a nobody, and I enjoy that now. I never hid my identity, and a large portion of people know who I am because we were friends prior to all of this.
Unless it is a specific circumstance, I don’t outright tell people who I am because it makes the memes work better if the viewer associates them with their own experiences, not the creator’s perspective.
Insights: What do you believe are some common misconceptions about the practice of Photojournalism, and how do your memes challenge or address these misconceptions?
MemePress: Among photographers, I think a big one is that we think the people posting all their high-profile work aren’t struggling like the rest of us. Everything looks good on Instagram, that’s what Instagram is for, but don’t be fooled. Through Meme Press, I learned that even a lot of the big names we think have it all figured out are still going through the same shit we all are, which I think is important for younger photographers to understand. No one has it figured out.
Fig. 8. Meme Press Photo, Award-winning photographer, @memepressphoto. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/C3EP2cnRn8g/.
Insights: Your memes often highlight ethical dilemmas and challenges faced by photojournalists. Can you discuss the importance of ethical considerations in this profession, and how you portray them in your content?
MemePress: When it comes to making memes about ethics, I think my motivation is to just remind photographers to consider their position of power and privilege as a photographer.
More than anything, I think working ethically is making sure to work with compassion, and not just seeing subjects as subjects, and people’s lives as an opportunity for cool photos, but as people who we are privileged to photograph.
It is cliché, but so is everything nowadays.
Insights: Has anyone told you that you have gone too far? What is the harshest response you have received from speaking out about Photojournalism in the manner that you do?
MemePress: A lot of people have told me I have gone too far in one way or another. I always appreciate when people check me and offer their perspective. It helps the page stay on track. I don’t want to do harm.
The most heat I ever caught was for making fun of a Getty photographer. The guy wouldn’t stop DMing me and commenting insults, so I roasted him. I didn’t do it out of hate or anger or anything like that, I am sure he is a nice guy, but of course that is how it was interpreted. I figure if you come at a meme page you are in on the joke, but that turned out not to be the case.
I get why, but people made it this whole big thing, when really it was all in good fun in my opinion. I have nothing against them. It’s the internet. It’s not real. I got accused of abusing anonymity, tearing someone down, etc. But I disagree. Still do.
Insights: How do you approach the selection of topics or events to critique? Are there specific criteria or principles you follow?
MemePress: Not really. A lot of it comes from lived experience. I was, and am, a photo boi through and through. A lot of it is making fun of myself. That, or I just go with the things my friends and I joke about the most.
Fig. 9. Meme Press Photo, Compliment, @memepressphoto. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/C5BPV7-O8cO/?img_index=5.
Insights: Your commentaries sometimes touch on the motivations behind certain photographic choices or journalistic practices. What do you hope your audience gains from understanding these motivations?
MemePress: Mostly just a sense of self-awareness. We are fortunate to be photographers, so check the ego at door. We are not more important than anyone else just because we are photographers, even though that is how some people act.
It’s good to remind people, including myself, of that.
Insights: Your page has gained significant popularity for its sharp insights and commentary. How do you navigate the balance between maintaining anonymity as the admin while engaging with your audience? Do you have any plans of revealing your identity?
MemePress: I don’t have any plans to do a formal reveal or anything like that. There are a lot of rumors about who I am, and when people guess right, I do confirm it. It’s crazy the lengths people have gone through to try and figure out who I am. When I talk to people, I speak as me, not a Meme Press character or anything like that.
Fig. 10. Meme Press Photo, Subjectivity, @memepressphoto.
Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/C2zzLGiuKxY/?hl=en&img_index=1.
Insights: Can you share any memorable reactions or responses you've received from followers or individuals within the field of Photojournalism regarding your content?
MemePress: I think the most memorable reactions I have had are from everyday photographers telling me the account has helped them laugh or cope in one way or another. I am just happy people have a place to laugh at all this stuff and not feel alone.
Insights: What is at stake in what you are doing?
MemePress: Not long ago I thought that doing this might hurt my career, but I have come to find that more people that I admire, and respect, are on my team than the few people who are sour about the account.
Now though, I would say probably my brain rotting from being on Instagram too much haha.
Insights: What are your goals for the future of your Instagram page, and how do you envision its role in shaping conversations about Photojournalism?
MemePress: I just hope people continue to enjoy the memes. I hope they realize there is no point in taking themselves so seriously. Yes, take your work seriously, but not so much that you can’t laugh at a meme.
Insights: Finally, why do you hate Nikon so much?
MemePress: [XXXXXX XXXXXXXX]
June 2024
Comments