For years, ignoring the pleas of its customers, and seemingly unbeknownst to most of us, flickR has been stripping author, license, and other information from the resized versions of every image we upload.
To most of you, this probably sounds like pointless geekery, but it poses a serious copyright problem. This practice contributes massively to the developing “orphan works” issue and needs to be addressed by flickR, pronto.
Most cameras insert data into images when they are created, and many photographers insert additional data such as copyright information, author information, and so on. The idea is that this information follows the image as it travels the world, and hopefully helps people (who are curious enough to look) to understand who made it and how. It also helps honest people who, down the road, discover an image they like and want to find out how – and if – they can legally use it.
Before I get into this story I want to set the psychographic stage, because I’ve been through this enough now to know what kind of conversations these controversies stir up.
My 2007 incident in San Antonio [see An Accidental Interview With Lieutenant Phil Dreyer] – which was much scarier and more flagrant than the one I’m writing about today – made me realize how out-of-fashion standing up for your rights has become, and also how much it opens you up to criticism for being a troublemaker (and more).
People like Thomas Hawk and Carlos Miller have famously faced this as well. The assumption (often verbalized) is that we’re belligerent, in-your-face assholes who go to places sticking our cameras (and our laminated, marked-up copies of the First Amendment) in people’s faces, looking and hoping for a fight. Sorry, but that’s just not true. I absolutely hate these confrontations and just want to make my pictures and be left alone. For instance, I had a terribly embarrassing and awkward police / photography incident at LAX a few months back and decided not to write about it because of the rather sensational issues it would raise. So trust me, I am not in this for the fight.
I am sitting here in Dulles, stuck, thanks to this awesome weather (and being reminded, again, why I live where I do.)
I thought I’d take this opportunity to wish y’all – with words and a photo – a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Saturnalia, Yule, Kwanzaa, and Boxing Day.
Enjoy, everyone. Have fun and stay safe out there.
ABC reporter Asa Eslocker was arrested today for taking pictures on a public sidewalk. One of the officers said to him, “you’re lucky I didn’t knock the fuck out of you.” I hope every one of the police buffoons involved is fired. See the video, then contact the Denver PD and tell them what you think.
Check out these photo essays. I really want to do some of this kind of photography but have not pushed myself to do the necessary exploring. So, for now, I’ll live vicariously through photographers like Shaun. [h/t Sarah]
Chief Bratton, who feels the Paparazzi Task Force is a waste of time (I agree with him), just said on MSNBC:
“Since Britney started wearing clothes and behaving, Paris is out of town not bothering anybody anymore – thank God – and evidently Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don’t seem to have much of an issue.”
Thomas Hawk is making a journey this weekend into Yosemite with Michael Adams, son of Ansel – and I’m slightly envious. He, Scoble and Marc Silber are working on a video show called “Photo Cycle” that I’m now really looking forward to.
Google has been trying to prohibit people from photographing their trade show booth at the Web 2.0 Expo. I’m getting really sick of all this. While this pales in comparison to the kind of photographer harassment I’ve whined about in the past, it does demonstrate a continuing odd attitude held by many toward photographers in public places. It’s one thing if you’re a badge-drunk sheriff’s deputy in San Antonio -but quite another for a forward-thinking technology company. It makes even less sense for a company that takes pictures of public streets and buildings and then makes them publicly available.
You’ll remember my post from a while back regarding photographer harassment of yours truly by a law-man in San Antonio. Well, this happened to a guy today and I find it totally ridiculous on so many levels. Also, I love their choice of language – “we have the authority to ask them to remove the picture.” Yes, and the photographer has the authority to tell you to fuck yourself.
One of my favorite fashion models, Angela Lindvall, shot for Purple quite tastefully au naturale by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Over at Egotastic.
I am fascinated by abandoned places – wish I could photograph them more frequently. By “abandoned places” I mean buildings, offices, homes, anything that once was busy and is now dead, especially if it sits (relatively) as it was. A number of years ago I wandered through an old abandoned medical facility in Maine and saw calendars, pens, notes, coffee cups, etc.. something about that feels neat to me – as if you’re looking directly into the past.
Spoke a little too soon. I was getting ready for bed when I heard a strange noise – sounded sort of like the dryer was on or something. I looked outside and saw a large conflagration a couple blocks away. I could see towers of flame well above the houses between us. I grabbed my camera (wrong lens for the occasion, but I was in a hurry) and jumped on my bike to get a closer look. I found a patch of brush, palm trees, and a garage or small home totally involved. Power lines and a transformer fuzzed and sparked and fell to the ground. The fire was high and hot and it moved quickly. I shot these pictures. I was worried the fire would spread quickly because the palm trees – some probably fifty feet high – were fully engulfed and spraying embers all over the area. A man jumped from the flames. A couple concerned residents were out with their garden hoses, doing what they could. The fire department was on scene within a few minutes and brought it under control very quickly. Thanks, dudes.
He, 
