I think his image is spectacular (as long as he did not modify the "ghost" in PP). Is it worth $6 million? If the image moves the buyer emotionally or physically, and they have the bucks, then more power to them. My problem is with Lik personally, he said he is “one of the most important artists of the 21st century”. Ha! He is a good photographer, with a huge sensor, and a good eye for marketing. And he's kind of a dick, but that should not take away from his work.
I think the more interesting and disturbing media comments to come out of this is not about Lik's take home pay but whether photography should be considered an Art! A good conversation to have (i guess), but these people are about 130 years behind the times. If you don't paint or throw shit onto a canvass then you are not an artist! Amazing we are still talking about photography as an art. Pretty sad.
If it were me, for $10 million I would rather have a room full of images by Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz, Manuel Alvarez Bravo or Henri Cartier-Bresson, among others. I don't think Weston sold a print for more than 100 bucks in his lifetime! These people were true artists IMO because they could not exist if they did not create, and it wasn't for the money.