Aperture Grants

Anyone who has ever applied for a grant or entered a photo contest knows that fees are involved, so much so that you have to wonder whether that is the sole purpose of having them in the first place. At one point I was thinking of holding a photo contest just so I could pay my rent. Anyway, Aperture emailed me today to tell me about a couple of new grants that were being offered, so I started the application process to see how much it would cost to submit an application, there being no other way to find out. On the first page of the application webpage this appears: "Pay Now and Submit Later". Not sure why you would want to pay now and submit later. Seems like you would want to submit now and pay later. That way if you didn't win, you could stiff them on the application fee. I am guessing that next they will let you pay in four equal monthly installments. I wouldn't put it past them at some point to let you submit a second application for free with a small shipping and handling charge. What a racket.

https://aperture.org/about/ Aperture, created initially by Minor White (of Rochester Institute of Technology), has for decades been one of the very most significant photo magazines. I don't think they're promoting a "contest."

jtk said:

https://aperture.org/about/ Aperture, created initially by Minor White (of Rochester Institute of Technology), has for decades been one of the very most significant photo magazines. I don't think they're promoting a "contest."

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No, as I said in my post, they were promoting grants. Pay now and submit later.

I know Aperture is "one of the very most significant photo magazines". They have "calls for entry" instead of "contests". "Contests" are so bourgeois. Aperture would never debase itself by holding a contest.

faberryman said:

Anyone who has ever applied for a grant or entered a photo contest knows that fees are involved, so much so that you have to wonder whether that is the sole purpose of having them in the first place. At one point I was thinking of holding a photo contest just so I could pay my rent. Anyway, Aperture emailed me today to tell me about a couple of new grants that were being offered, so I started the application process to see how much it would cost to submit an application, there being no other way to find out. On the first page of the application webpage this appears: "Pay Now and Submit Later". Not sure why you would want to pay now and submit later. Seems like you would want to submit now and pay later. That way if you didn't win, you could stiff them on the application fee. I am guessing that next they will let you pay in four equal monthly installments. I wouldn't put it past them at some point to let you submit a second application for free with a small shipping and handling charge. What a racket.

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Did you find out what it costs?

warden said:

Did you find out what it costs?

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I think the entry fee (or submission fee or application fee or whatever the appropriate synonym is) to have the organization being promoted by Aperture consider you for the grant was actually pretty modest, as is fitting for value of the grants, one of which was for $1000 and the other for, as I recall, $3000. It was the appearance of "Pay Now and Submit Later" at the top of the entry form (or submission form or application form or whatever the appropriate synonym is) which caught my attention, and upon which I was primarily commenting.

Lest anyone think otherwise, I admire much of Minor White's work, both photographic and editorial. Minor White edited Aperture from 1952 to 1975, and died in 1976. Much has changed in the world of photography and consequently at Aperture since. I wonder what Minor White would think of much of the work which appears in the pages of Aperture today.

A few years ago, I subscribed to Aperture and the Aperture online archive. That allowed me to read all of Aperture going back to 1952. Having done so, I did not continue my subscription.

Hopefully they also offered an option to "cancel" and, both, pay and submit when fully prepared. The "pay now and XXX later" seems to have become much more common in this age of electronic commerce. I think it's a way to hook a potential buyer while they are thinking about something but not ready to fully commit. The pre-payment becomes, essentially, a committment or a forfeiture. Not exactly a racket (implying potential fraud) but an option/opportunity.

faberryman said:

I think the entry fee (or submission fee or application fee or whatever the appropriate synonym is) to have the organization being promoted by Aperture consider you for the grant was actually pretty modest, as is fitting for value of the grants, one of which was for $1000 and the other for, as I recall, $3000. It was the appearance of "Pay Now and Submit Later" at the top of the entry form (or submission form or application form or whatever the appropriate synonym is) which caught my attention, and upon which I was primarily commenting.

Lest anyone think otherwise, I admire much of Minor White's work, both photographic and editorial. Minor White edited Aperture from 1952 to 1975, and died in 1976. Much has changed in the world of photography and consequently at Aperture since.

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I agree the pay now submit later thing is strange, and would give me pause.

warden said:

I agree the pay now submit later thing is strange, and would give me pause.

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I just thought it was indicative of what many photo contests are all about. I was surprised to see the phrase used in connection with a grant promoted by Aperture.

BrianShaw said:

The "pay now and XXX later" seems to have become much more common in this age of electronic commerce.

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I do not recall seeing "pay now and xxx later" in electronic commerce. I guess that's Amazon's next move.

BrianShaw said:

Not exactly a racket (implying potential fraud) but an option/opportunity.

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I was using the term "racket" in the sense of "an easy and lucrative means of livelihood".