Editor’s Note: In Snap, we look at the power of a single photograph, chronicling stories about how both modern and historical images have been made.

Twenty-four floors up a Manhattan high rise, the photographer Ahn Jun sat on her windowsill one crisp day in 2008, dangling her leg precariously outside over the city.

Fearful of heights, the South Korean photographer was beginning a yearslong body of work that pushed her to her limits, placing herself on top of skyscrapers to shoot vertiginous, stomach-dropping perspectives. In the self-portrait series, Ahn sat on roof corners and building ledges, sometimes showing her whole body perched on the edge; in others, just her legs and feet are visible above the straight vertical drop below.

What brought the photographer to the brink? It wasn’t a sudden interest in thrill-seeking behavior, but a more conceptual idea that Ahn was chasing: the sense of the void. As she dwelled on her adolescence ending, she came to define the present as a void between the past and future, she explained over email. The first time she looked out over her apartment’s edge in Manhattan seemed to her to crystallize that feeling.

“I approached the ledge and looked down, and there was the void,” she recalled.

Previously, rooftops had always brought to Ahn’s mind a sense of ease and comfort. On sunny days, she’d enjoyed the warmth and light winds while working from her rooftop as an English-to-Korean translator, which supplemented her graduate studies at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. But as the financial crisis of 2007 cratered the economy, she overheard a stranger at a party joke about his friend, who’d lost a significant amount of money in the stock market, wanting to jump to their death.

She began to think about the rooftop as a dichotomous place. “It’s a place of rest for me, but it can be a place of the last moment of  life for someone in despair,” she said.

Living the high life

For five years, Ahn photographed herself on rooftops — sometimes she wore a mountain climbing harness to keep her steady, but other times nothing at all. Though she sometimes played with perspective, she never used Photoshop to enhance her images, she said. At first, her locations were high atop hers and her friends’ apartment buildings in New York, but over time the project expanded. She secured permission for a shoot at the top of the 63 Building in Seoul, a “symbol of rapid economic development” in Korea, she explained, and she also photographed in Hong Kong with support from its tourism board.

After landing the cover of an issue of the British Journal of Photography in 2013 and receiving online press from outlets like The Guardian, her images went viral.

But that year, Ahn stopped making the series. The way her images were being understood by viewers had drastically shifted with the rise of Instagram in the early 2010s, she said. She had initially thought of her project as a “performance without audience,” but on the nascent social media platform, she explained, the images bled into the “continuous trend of performing our life on camera.” Internet users were also associating her images with the selfie trend of “rooftopping,” she said, where daredevils climb skyscrapers and other tall structures without equipment and pose for selfies at the top.

Soon, she was flooded with emails, Ahn explained, some with positive feedback, but others critical of her work, or sexually harassing her.

She decided to move on to other projects, though some prints have continued to exhibit, most recently at Paris Photo and the Daegu Photography Biennale in South Korea, last fall. In April, she’ll include some of the works in a show at the Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography in Nara, Japan.

A decade later, the early self-portrait series has proved influential on her later work; Ahn has continued to explore time, space and gravity — after all, she said, she thinks of life “as a process of free fall.” While studying for her PhD at Hongik University in Seoul, from where she graduated in 2017, she became interested in high-speed photography’s ability to snap images that seem to defy physics. In two ensuing photos series, she captures small boulders and apples suspended — perfectly still, and yet inherently in motion — above seascapes and architectural spaces as they fall to the ground.

Since 2021, a small retrospective of Ahn’s work has traveled internationally, titled “On Gravity,” based on the notion of trying to find beauty and meaning in the face of an inevitability, she said. “You can face it and accept, or try to resist,” she said. “For most of us, our life is somewhere in between.”

In the face of evolving technology and economic fluctuations, the photography and videography markets are demonstrating robust growth, challenging the narrative of financial insecurity within the creative industry. Insider Monkey’s recent analysis, leveraging data from the ERI Economic Research Institute, sheds light on which nations offer the most lucrative opportunities for photographers, with Switzerland topping the charts with an impressive average salary of $91,952.

Photography’s Financial Landscape: An Overview

Despite the perceived oversaturation of the market and the advent of AI in creative processes, the demand for professional photography services is on an upward trend. This growth is underpinned by technological advancements that have both democratized and elevated the art, enabling photographers to capture and share their work in unprecedented ways. However, this boom is not without its challenges, as photographers globally continue to grapple with issues of undervaluation and underpayment, a reflection of the broader struggle within creative professions to secure fair compensation for their work.

Where Photographers Thrive: The Top 15 Countries

The list of the 15 highest-paying countries for photographers offers a glimpse into the varying degrees of financial remuneration across the globe. At the pinnacle is Switzerland, renowned not only for its breathtaking landscapes but also for its strong economy, which translates into higher average salaries for photographers. Following closely are Luxembourg and Denmark, both offering competitive salaries that reflect their commitment to supporting the arts. Interestingly, traditional economic powerhouses like Germany and the United Kingdom are conspicuously absent from the list, suggesting that a strong overall economy does not necessarily equate to higher earnings for photographers. This disparity underscores the complex interplay of factors that determine a photographer’s earning potential, from the cost of living and demand for photography services to the cultural valuation of the arts.

Looking Beyond the Lens: Implications for the Future

The insights provided by Insider Monkey’s analysis extend beyond mere numbers, offering a window into the evolving dynamics of the photography industry. As countries with developed economies and a high cost of living dominate the list, it raises questions about the sustainability of high earnings in the face of rising expenses and the impact of technological advancements on the profession. Furthermore, the absence of certain countries from the list invites reflection on the global disparities in the valuation of creative work and the need for a more equitable distribution of opportunities within the industry. As photographers navigate this shifting landscape, the importance of advocating for fair compensation and recognition of their craft becomes ever more apparent.

At the heart of this discussion lies a broader conversation about the value of creativity in our societies and the imperative to foster environments where artists can thrive. The journey of photographers, as chronicled through these statistics, is emblematic of the larger struggle within creative professions to achieve financial stability and respect for their contributions to culture and society. As we look to the future, the resilience and adaptability of photographers in the face of changing economic and technological landscapes will undoubtedly continue to shape the narrative of this timeless art form.

Despite the threat posed by AI and general financial insecurities, the photography and videography markets are doing well, according to a recent report.

But which countries pay the most for photography services? An article created by the stock trading website Insider Monkey has listed the top 15 highest-paying countries.

Insider Monkey says they found the data for average photographer salaries from the ERI Economic Research Institute and compiled the top 15.

15 – France

Starting the list is France with an average photography salary of $50,156.

14 – New Zealand

In 14th place, New Zealand which has an average salary of $50,519.

13 – Norway

The Scandinavian country has an average salary of $54,879.

12 – Canada

America’s northerly neighbor has an average salary of $55,813.

11- Ireland

Pots of gold are available to photographers on the Emerald Isle. Average salary: $56,263.

10 – Finland

The Nordic nation benefits from strong support for the arts and photographers can expect an average salary of $56,531.

9 – Iceland

Many photographers want to visit Iceland to document its natural splendor but full-time photographers there get an average salary of $57,938.

8 – Netherlands

Photographers in the Netherlands may be able to get around on bicycle thanks to the country’s flat nature and excellent cycling infrastructure. Average salary: $57,938.

7 – Australia

At the end of a hard day’s shooting, photographers can relax by placing a “shrimp on the barbie.” Average salary: $58,251.

6 – Austria

The hills of Tyrol have attracted photographers for hundreds of years but full-time shooters can expect an average salary of $60,974.

5 – Belgium

Famed for its good quality beer, photographers in Belgium can expect an average salary of $64,214.

4 – United States

Photographers in the U.S. get an average salary of $64,410. How much of that is helped by the world’s best-paid photographer Annie Leibovitz is unclear.

3 – Denmark

In the battle of the Nordic nations, in which they all appear on the top 15 except Sweden (sorry Sweden), Denmark is crowned Sultan of Scandinavia with an average salary of $67,740.

2 – Luxembourg

The small landlocked European country is the second highest on the list with an average salary of $71,764.

1 – Switzerland

And the winner is Switzerland with an average salary of $91,952.

Notable Exceptions

It is perhaps surprising not to see Germany or the United Kingdom on the list; two economic powerhouses that both have very active photo communities.

Of course, data such as this has to be taken with a pinch of salt because to get figures like this accurate is nigh impossible. But it stands to reason that richer countries with developed economies will top the list.

The flip side to that is richer countries have higher prices generally and good salaries can quickly be wiped out by living expenses, equipment purchases, and the myriad of costs photographers must face.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

Get ready to immerse yourself in the vibrant and captivating world of New Orleans second line parades as Art Conscious Gallery proudly presents the opening of “Back When the Good Times Rolled: Charles Muir Lovell Photographs.” This exciting exhibition, featuring color photographs capturing the essence of second line celebrations, will debut at Art Conscious in Arabi with an opening reception on Saturday, March 9, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The photographs showcased in this exhibit, captured between 2009 and 2021, were featured in the 100-page large-format photography book, “Back When the Good Times Rolled,” generously supported by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. This remarkable book, which includes a foreword by Don Marshall of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and essays by esteemed writers and curators, offers a profound exploration of New Orleans’ rich cultural heritage.

Visitors to the gallery will have the opportunity to not only admire Lovell’s stunning photographs but also to purchase copies of the book and select prints. Additionally, an e-book version priced at $10 will be available for purchase on Blurb.com, providing accessibility to Lovell’s remarkable work to a broader audience.

Charles Muir Lovell’s photographs, renowned for their authenticity and visual storytelling, have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions and are part of esteemed collections, including the Historic New Orleans Collection, NOMA, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

Don’t miss the chance to experience the magic of New Orleans second line culture through Lovell’s lens at Art Conscious Gallery, located at 6601 St. Claude Ave., Arabi, for an unforgettable evening celebrating art, culture, and community. The exhibition will run from March 9 to April 6, 2024.