I was contacted by a long-time client about making a copy of a painting… a portrait which depicts a former owner of the house in which they currently live. Her objective is to get a portrait of each former owner (back to its origin which is in the 1800’s) and put same in the foyer of their home.
The question that was brought up was permission to copy. How often do you want to make a copy of a picture and think, “is this legal?” Probably not very often. My venture was safe because the original artist had made these works over 100 years ago.
But without getting too preachy, you might want to understand a little more about what the word “copyright” means, and how it applies to you and pictures. When you get pictures taken by a professional photographer, you are asking them to make images for you. The images that they make are copyrighted by the photographer. This means they own the images. They don’t own you, just the pictures that you are in.
When you view the pictures from the photographer, and ask them to make a print of them, you are asking them for a copy of the image. A copy of the image which is printed on any media is yours to display and share with family and friends. However, it cannot be legally copied. The reason is that all artists and authors who produce images and written works are protected under the Federal Copyright Act. Their works, called “intellectual property” are something that they designed and so therefore have all of the “copy rights” (rights to copy without permission) to that work.
So when you get a copy of an image from your photographer, it is not okay to make a copy of it, even at home, for any reason. Most major stores where you can copy photos have big signs posted and closely watch what is being copied to prevent you from doing so. The reason is that they are also liable if they permit you to copy a photo that is copyrighted material.
It’s more difficult to understand sometimes because you know that a) the photographer gave you a copy of the photo, b) you are in the photo, and c) nobody’s there to stop you. But if you are caught, the penalties can range as high as $10,000 per image, per COPY! I don’t even want to think about the bill you’d get for copying all the pictures from a wedding. Eek!
The best thing to remember is that if you paid to have the pictures taken, then ask your photographer for copies of the photos. Most or many will be happy to help you.
Yes, I still shoot high school sports. I shoot a lot of sports. I don’t post it here because there’s so much it might overwhelm things.
But I shot freshman volleyball and had a good time… I discovered I didn’t like shooting indoor sports as much as outdoor sports. For those who are local and like to see the high school action photos, all fall sports are online for Jefferson High at
www.tlcsports.net.
So, you remember how many passport photos we took at the last passport day? We eclipsed that… considerably. This time we took 116 sets of passport photos. There were lots of people and plenty of questions.
We were pleased to see so many faces, people we knew and new people we didn’t. The Shepherd Study Abroad Program was very accomodating and helpful. We kept a tote board updated as we went along, and it seemed like we were always “behind” getting new counts up because there were so many people getting passport photos.
Thanks to all who visited. We’ll look forward to seeing everyone at the next one!
So I’m out at Morgan’s Grove Park this morning and I hear a man call to his wife and say “what is today?” I’m assuming he meant what the date was, since it was pretty obviously Saturday. Before his wife could answer, their child said “it’s Soccer Day!” and thrust his fist into the air joyfully.
And so it was, soccer day.
I spent six hours taking pictures of children six years of age and under, playing soccer. Some are deadly serious, others are just out for a run in the grass, and still others just astonish me by standing and watching – while IN the game! But they all seem to have fun. I enjoy the younger kids, because there doesn’t seem to be that compulsion to score, score, score. It’s just about having fun.
Made ya look!
No, that’s not a real crab on the roof. But it gets your attention, doesn’t it!?
One of this month’s assignments was to visit Chic’s Seafood in Hagerstown to get some pictures of crabs. I met briefly with the owner, who enlightened me on his business, his customers and seafood. I liked his place a lot, and hope to get up that way for some good seafood – soon!
You should, too. Easy to find on Summit Avenue in south Hagerstown.
13 years of wedded bliss.
So are you saying “yeah, right!”? Long ago, while unmarried, I never really saw myself as the marrying kind. Even into my early 30’s, I didn’t think I would ever marry. But I certainly didn’t believe that marriage could be as happy as this.
Oh, shut up! It’s my turn to talk. 🙂
Seriously… there were always a few naysayers here and there. Many had no idea what they were talking about when we got married. They didn’t understand what kind of people we are. It’s funny now to look back and think that 13 years have gone by – and so quickly!
What’s even funnier, though, is that it seems like each day we seem to become a little closer. We laugh together, cry together (usually at the same silly stuff), and we have a fondness for family and friends who we’ve treasured through the years. We’ve certainly been through our share of ups and downs… but marriage-wise I don’t think we’ve ever had a time when we doubted how things would turn out. Now we’re at the point in our marriage where we talk about what we’ll do in our 60’s and 70’s together. It’s fun knowing that Diana is always going to be there.
A tribute to my wife goes something like this:
She is truly my best friend, my partner and my soulmate. I cannot live without her, and nor would I be able to be happy knowing she would never again be by my side. I will always cherish her smile, her laugh and her love. We are so alike, and so different, that it is often hard to tell where one of us stops and the other starts. I have found my life’s partner – today, again.
I love you, Diana.
Have you ever been hugged by a chair?
On Friday afternoon, I was hugged for the very first time in my life by a chair. Which created something of a minor problem. I didn’t want to get out of the chair.
Jose Ayala brought two of his custom-made chairs for some photos to use in ads and website samples. Which in and of itself doesn’t sound like much.
Jose spent a lot of time with us, explaining processes, educating us about woods and craftsmanship, and in short showing us the absolute passion he has for something that he does to make very nice wood into a product that is not just a work of art, but a treasured heirloom.
The challenge was to do justice to something that was both beautiful and functional. There are so many features in these chairs, that I wanted to make sure a single photo could easily identify not just the features, but the beauty and craftsmanship that goes into them.
As many of you remember from earlier posts, my dad has cancer. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy. For the first round, he did great. No hair loss, no nausea, and some results were felt.
Just prior to the second round, though, he started losing hair. Within a few days, he was completely bald. This is pretty common for many chemotherapy patients and is part of the drill for those who undergo this treatment.
Dad has never been much of a hat person. He has always had this white mane of hair atop his head that is practically a signature. But without it, his head is getting cold during the day and especially at night.
So, Diana cooked up a scheme. She announced to some of her email lists that dad needed hats. So did I. All we asked was that you email us for the address to send them.
I talked with dad today and he reports he has received a lot of hats. He received seven from a single individual, then one each from various locations around the country, and one from South Africa. We also sent him two hats, and one was a “Cat in the Hat” style hat, only multi-colored. She’s currently knitting a very warm cap for him to wear at night. We also have a friend in the Bahamas who will be sending a hat soon, along with a few other list members who are sending them from places across the country.
Dad has gotten a big chuckle out of this. Not just because he’s getting such a variety of hats from all over, but because he and mom don’t know why he’s getting the hats or from where they are coming.
And that makes him happy.
And THAT makes me happy.
God Bless those who send hats, and pray.
So awhile back, as many of you know, my father was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer which was first noticed as a growth on his right hand. Doctors determined that he would need to undergo surgery to remove the growth and to explore his lymph nodes for any spreading.
The surgery went quite well, but lasted longer than expected. In short, the tumor was successfully removed as well as at least one millimeter of growth around the tumor. Additionally, a graft of skin was taken from under his arm to use for the back of his hand. Doctors also had to remove the lymph nodes under his right arm, as additional cancer cells were found there. He is recovering well, and my mother has decided to stay with him overnight to keep him comfortable.
As you may recall, my parents just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Dad will likely have to undergo additional therapy, including radiation and chemotherapy. While I’m sure he’s looking forward to neither, I do know he’s in good spirits. Thanks to those who’ve kept him in your thoughts.
After taking off a few semesters to focus a little time on my business and personal pursuits, I started back to teaching at Shepherd University.
Starting in 2001 I began teaching studio photography at Shepherd’s art department. Since then, I had added Sports Photography as well, patterning it partially after the sports action photography which we developed in this area way back in 1996.
So, this semester, having missed teaching a little, I took up Sports Photography again. Unlike portrait photography, sports photography has an interesting set of variables which require a different kind of approach. Teaching that approach to recreation students (and a few other majors) is made even more challenging because they have no original basis in understanding within the realm of photography.
To start off, I have to teach them the basic understanding necessary to appreciate what is happening inside a camera when the shutter release is pressed. To me the concept is quite simple. But to someone who has had limited or no exposure to photography, let alone cameras, it can be a lot to absorb. On top of that, they are also instructed on why certain aspects of the elements of photography they learn apply directly to sports photography.
In the later weeks of the semester, the students go through instruction and exercises on how each of the many sports benefit from the specific methods I teach. In short, the first half of the semester prepares them to understand what they will learn in the second half.
I enjoy teaching a great deal, and plan to offer workshops for clients and photographers in the near future.
