21 December 2013

A win for the good guys!


At last, a win for the hard pressed photographer battling infringement of his work. Article posted in PDN Morel v Getty et al Daniel Morel took on Getty and AFP and won although how much of the $1.2M awarded will he receive is anyone's guess. It took four long years for Morel to successfully pursue Agence France Presse (AFP) and Getty images and he was awarded damages.

20 September 2013

Sheila Smart Photography: My new book - Streets of Sydney, light and dark

Sheila Smart Photography: My new book - Streets of Sydney, light and dark: Below is a preview of my new book (available also as an ebook). It contains 146 pages of candid street photography in monochrome with a &qu...

My new book - Streets of Sydney, light and dark

Below is a preview of my new book (available also as an ebook). It contains 146 pages of candid street photography in monochrome with a "film" effect. Remember film? Click on Full screen (bottom right icon) for best effect.

09 September 2013

Massive infringement of copyright of photographers' work

I belong to a Copyright Infringement Group of photographers and painters on Facebook.  One of our members alerted us to a massive infringement of copyright of a "painter" on Fine Art America, RedBubble and Imagekind.  This person who calls himself a "painter" had lifted at least 275 photographs he found on Google, placed a couple of Photoshop filters on them and passed them off as his work as "oil on canvas" or "acrylic on canvas" but the "original" was not available for sale.  The original, of course, was not "available" because it only existed on his hard drive. His "bio" was a joy to read - all BS of course but he has been exhibited in museums in Oklahoma, etc and has sold his "work" worldwide.  His pieces were derivatives of photographers' images where he has not sought permission to use their work and none was aware that their images were being used for commercial gain.  So we started to track down the legitimate source of his "paintings".  This was made more difficult due to the fact that few, if any, of the images we found were watermarked in any way.  (Please photographers, WATERMARK your work!).  I tracked at least a dozen photographers (many were in Flickr) and advised them of this copyright infringement and passing off.  All were appalled that their work was being used as a derivative and they started to contact him directly and demand removal of their infringed work.  As many of the photographers were impossible to track to legitimate source, I tried another tack with FAA and RedBubble.  I advised them that this "painter" was contravening their terms of use in that they were not "paintings", not "oil of canvas" or "acrylic on canvas" but simply they were photographs he had found on Google and he had Photoshopped and was passing them off as "paintings".  I also stressed to both FAA and RedBubble that they were risking their safe harbour protection if they did not address this issue.   None of the photographers I contacted had embedded a watermark in their work.  This "painter" even took a couple of Getty photographers' work and I emailed my Getty contact (when I was a Getty contributor) and advised her of this infringement.  No response there which is hardly surprising!  Ten days went by and today, I went to the FAA site and did a search of "artists" and lo and behold, his account had been removed.  Unfortunately, his "work" is still appearing on RedBubble but as RB don't give a toss about copyright infringements, I don't expect too much response from them.  They kept advising me to contact all the photographers and suggest that they send DMCAs to RB.  This was impossible as most of the time, I could not find the legitimate source of the image (lack of watermarking yet again!) so I tried the same tack I did with FAA in that the "painter" had contravened RB terms and that they were risking their safe harbour protection.  I won't hold my breath waiting for RedBubble to actually do anything in relation to this.

Update: I also wrote to the Print on demand site,  Imagekind and they have also removed his galleries.  Still waiting for RedBubble to actually do something.
Update: RedBubble has also removed his "work".

15 August 2013

Street photography in France

It is very rare that I am challenged when I am taking snaps on the streets of Sydney so I found this post interesting on the New York Times blog referring to photographer Nick Turpin's take on street photography in France.  A useful read if travelling to France.    

04 May 2013

Contact links for DMCA takedowns

Thanks a heap to Plagiarism Today for supplying a link of contacts at various sites to assist us in sending out DMCAs.   The link is here

Happy hunting!


19 April 2013

New Zealand passes amendment to Marriage Act

My husband and I were so delighted that the New Zealand Government has passed an amendment to the Marriage Act allowing same sex couples to get married.  Click to see moment on YouTube and what an emotional moment when the public in the gallery broke into a Maori love song.  Oh that the Australian Government would follow suit but as per usual politics gets in the way of common sense and Prime Minister Gillard has one eye on the conservative electorate - why, we don't know as they won't vote for her or her shambolic party in any event.  It is with much dismay that the right wing 1950s thinking Coalition leader Tony Abbott will end up winning the upcoming election.  God help us all.   

30 March 2013

Oh the hypocrisy!

I belong to a Copyright Infringement Group on Facebook and one of my fellow contributors found a US photographer had images on her blog "pulled from Google" (her words, not mine!) without permission or attribution and without going to the trouble of finding out the legitimate source of the works.  Now here is the hypocrisy.  She has a statement on her blog to the effect that "All work contained within this blog is ©[then her name]...and may not be copied, downloaded,...." etc etc and "Failure to comply with these rules, as listed above is illegal and will result in prompt legal action"..  Oh dear.  I have always thought that generally Americans have an irony deficiency but this takes the cake!  Maybe she should read Mea Culpa previously published in this blog. It might save her a lot of trouble!

12 February 2013

Getty just does not like dissent!

After I had a somewhat vitriolic email from Getty which told me that I was paranoid and  flattering myself when I believed I had been banned from the Getty/Flickr forum for my views on the appalling deal they have with Google, I was not surprised to find that iStock photographer, Sean Locke had just had his contract terminated by Getty for his views on the deal.  You can read about this in Sean's blog

Getty has never answered the many concerns of their photographers, both macro and micro photographers including the somewhat alarming lack of control over images of children which can be downloaded by anyone for any use.  Of course, lack of communication has always been a shortcoming of Getty.  Separate to the Google deal, they never advised their contributors in relation to Getty supplying contributors images to print sites such as Fine Art America and about a dozen more and actually undercutting those contributors who already had their work on FAA.  So in effect, those contributors were competing with their own work as Getty, probably deliberately, was undercutting the pricing.   Photographers at iStock only found out about the Google deal by reading Sean's thread on the iStock forum (see below) and Getty/Flickr contributors were also blissfully ignorant until a link was placed on the forum from which I have been banned!  I should state that I don't like micros but I do have great empathy for those on IS who have had their images downloaded for free by Googlers!   Short of a class action, there is little photographers can actually do.


18 January 2013

Sydney Morning Herald article on Copyright Infringement

The SMH published an article where I am quoted regarding copyright infringements here and the comments of the ill informed are interesting, if not novel.


14 January 2013

Getty/Google deal

A veritable s**tstorm has broken out at the contributors' forum at IStock, a Getty subsidiary.   Read about it in a post of photographer Sean Locke here and Getty's response  here    (They locked the Sean's thread!) and continued here  While I have little sympathy for microstockers, I think that Getty has just stepped over the boundary of avarice bigtime.  In a nutshell, they have licensed thousands of Getty/iStock/Flickr (plus other subsidiaries) images to Google to be downloaded free to Google Document users (amongst others) without restrictions.  Well, there are restrictions (if you read the small print) but in my experience, anyone using Google to find images don't bother with the copyright issues relating thereto or "This image may be subject to copyright" on every Google Images search page!  The photographers do get paid - $12.00 for the honour of supplying their work to Google to be used in perpetuity via a freebie download.  This, of course, will affect those finding their images via the Google Search by Image function illegally by infringers as they can now state that they downloaded it from Google legitimately - again for zilch.

I quit Getty in July and the contract ended in mid October so none of my images will be subject to this.  I do have a few images on Getty via AGE but they are RM images and, to date, only RF images are part of this deal.  What is of great concern to those affected is that images of model released people (including children) are part of this nefarious deal between Getty and Google.  Reading the IStock forum, there is still some naivety amongst a few contributors (many are just plain angry) that this is all just a mistake and that some over zealous sales people did this without Getty knowing anything about it.  Yeah right!  Getty would have sent their best lawyers and marketing folk to Google to stitch up this deal (and stitch up their contributors) and with Getty's usual aplomb, not actually mention it to their contributors.  It was only Sean Locke publishing a thread on IStock that anyone knew anything about it.  There is a lot of anger over at Getty/Flickr  when the link was placed to the IStock forum (by a Flickr member Lawren Lu) and the proverbial s..t hit the fan!

It will be an interesting read on Tuesday when someone, poor sod, has to front up to all of these forums with an explanation on why Getty is yet again screwing their contributors.

16 January 2012:  Still no official response from Getty management.  Just employees attempting to put out fires but instead just fanning the flames!  There has been some talk of a class action but I think that it will be like herding cats trying to get photographers organised enough!

19 January 2012: Just received a message from Yahoo.  I have just had the great honour of being banned from the Getty Contributors Forum probably for my views on this fiasco.  They were instructed to ban me by Getty Images.  No reason was given!  Even though I quit Getty last July, I have been posting on the forum without any repercussions from Yahoo until now.  Speaks volumes - Getty does not like any form of dissent. Technically, I am still a Getty contributor - via AGE fotostock but that doesn't seem to count!

20 January 2012.  Just received yet another missive from Yahoo.  Banned from Getty Images Artists Pick - oh, noooo!

For all those Flickr togs reading this, don't wait until 2 February (as some have indicated) to cancel contract.  That leaves even more time for Google to gobble up more of your work as apparently the total is rising by the minute.  It should also be noted that not once did I suggest to anyone on these forums to quit Getty as this decision is purely theirs. So I guess Getty just did a hissy fit, stomped its little feet in a tanty (Aussie for tantrum) and lashed out to Yahoo.  I am certainly not the only photographer on the forum who is no longer a Getty/Flickr contributor or has never signed up for Getty.  Have they also been banned or am I just being singled out?  This is not an ego thing here. Just an observation and a, somewhat rhetorical, question!

Getty has been given enough time (now over a week) to come up with an explanation which will satisfy their very angry photographers who are seeing their work being treated so shoddily.  But that is where the problem lies with Getty.  I cannot see anything that will placate Getty photographers other than them scrapping entirely the "deal" with Google, but of course as that is set in concrete and has been in effect since towards the end of 2012.  Enough time for hundreds of thousands of Getty images to be distributed worldwide for use by websites, commercial sites and every Tom, Dick and Harry.  Photos of their children, their parents and friends - all being distributed without any reference to the photographer and certainly no respect for the content.  Stable doors and horses springs to mind. 

After Topaz

Using Topaz Spicify, the image has been enhanced in both colour and "pop". This may be a tad OTT but when printed out, it looks rather good (even if I say so myself!!).

Elderly gents

Image enhancing filters

I have recently been experimenting with different filters for post processing images. Topaz has been one of them. Using the adjust filter, one can change rather dramatically an image which may (or may not) need enhancing. Purists argue that one should not enhance or change an image but in this era, we are bombarded with enhanced movies so it seems a natural progression to enhance still images. The pic directly above is the original image (shot RAW and converted using Adobe Camera RAW).

Rather boring shot of Sydney Harbour

I am going to show how a somewhat boring shot of Sydney Harbour (if there ever could be one!) can be turned into something a little more spectacular. Below is the original shot (shot in RAW format with my Canon 5D) and taken off the back of the Manly ferry.

Sydney Harbour

Sydney Harbour
Rather boring shot of Sydney Harbour

Conversion

Using Adobe Camera Raw ("ACR"), I converted the raw image with parameters: Blacks 7, brightness +31, Contrast +61, Clarity +77, Vibrance +7, Saturation 72 and a bit of Curves which brought me to the below image.

Harbour

Harbour

Flood filter conversion

I then produced a "reflection" using Flaming Pear flood filter. For those unfamiliar with this filter, it gives the image a perception of a reflection (poetical!) and I see it often in publications and I find myself examining ALL images with reflections to see if the photographer had used this very handy filter. I have details of the conversion if anyone is interested but to post it would be a tad boring. Flaming pair flood filters can be found here

Reflection

Reflection
Sydney Harbour reflection using flood filter

Sea of Hats

I was on my lunch hour when I was strolling around The Rocks area of Sydney when I saw a group of private schoolgirls on an excursion. As soon as I saw their hats, I knew that there was a good opportunity to get a good snap. As luck would have it, they started to cross the street to where I was standing. I knew in my head the image I was looking for and I had to be above them. With an enormous amount of good fortune, a ramp up to a shop in this old area of Sydney was a few metres away. I raced up the ramp and shot this image. It was taken with my Canon 70-200 f/4L at f/5.6 which gave me a shallow depth of field leaving the centre hat in sharp focus and the rest of the hats out of focus. I submitted this image in late 2005 to the Black and White Spider Awards and it won Outstanding Achievement - People and also won me the Photographer of the Year 2005 - amateur. It really is nice to get recognition of one's work and even though I am now a professional, it still gives me a warm feeling when I look at my certificate!

Sulphur crested cockatoo in flight

This is an image on which I have added a "flood" filter. It is quite effective and quite a nice shot in any event. Flood filters can be found here and they are worth every cent. There is always a debate regarding "Photoshopping" images but as long as one is honest about the origin and digital changes to the image, I think its legimate. The original image, taken in our garden, of the cockatoo actually landing on the lawn, had a piece of its left hand side wing missing so I "replaced" it in Photoshop CS4. Cockatoos actually dislike water and when they start attacking the timber balustrades on our verandah, all I have to do is get out the spray bottle and walk towards them. They are endearing creatures, very intelligent but are enormously destructive. They are very long lived (up to 80 years) so don't even think of buying one unless you plan to outlive it and put up with the high decibels of squawking! I really hate seeing them in cages and they must long to be free when they see a large flock passing by.

Surfing the storm

Late one afternoon, I was snapping at Avalon Beach, Sydney, when a storm approached. This did not stop a late surfer. This image is available as a print via my RedBubble site. Click on image which will take you to the print site.

Sydney Opera House abstract

An abstract look at the famous icon. It is very difficult to take any pics of the Opera House as everyone and their brother has done it before. For this particular image, I used Optikvervlabs filter.

Leopard seal

I took this shot of a leopard seal exhaling bubbles at Taronga Zoo in Sydney. This is, apparently, one of the few leopard seals in captivity. Apparently it was found injured awhile back and is happy in its huge enclosure at the Zoo along with its mate. Through a stock library, this image is to appear as a full page in a textbook.



Alice

Alice
A portrait of an elderly lady
This is one of my favourite images of Alice, an elderly aboriginal lady who sadly is now deceased. I would occasionally see her at Circular Quay in Sydney and she would often smile at me. I used a Dragan filter to bring out more texture to the image. I am often asked if I have ever been challenged when photographing candid subjects. Only on one occasion, I was asked not to take a photograph of a female street performer which was odd as that is where they often make their money. So, of course, I acceded to her wishes. Many buskers or street performers expect payment for taking their photograph and its something I always do as its their living, as taking photographs is mine. One of my most popular galleries on my website is one of Sydney Aborigines and I have many kind comments on my work. I did have one person, a Sydney academic, who actually called me a thief as she was under the erroneous impression that I was selling images of these colourful folk without payment which in fact is not true. I have model releases from many and I have made subsequent payments to them.




The smoker

The smoker
An elderly man puffs on a cigarette

Mudda Mudda

Mudda Mudda
My favourite subject
Mudda Mudda (aka Cedric) is an aboriginal busker who is often found at Circular Quay, in Sydney, accompanying other aboriginal buskers. He has such a great face and this image won me a UK award last year for traditional portraiture here