(Click on picture to see larger version)This is a little church about 9 miles outside Hartford City that is on the main state road. It is always immaculate and I have taken photos of it before but never with the graveyard included so when Lisa and I went on our safari the other day I made a point of stopping and getting a few reasonable pictures. I think it is very quaint.
We had our new Photo Club meeting last night and it has been great to get toknow a bnch of people in the community who also enjoy taking photos and want to get better and understand more. Most of them have compact digital camera but we are covering copyright, composition, lighting, inside flash and that sort of stuff. The group is made up of mainly women who are in my age group or a bit younger and older except for one of our members who is a 12 year old girl that has an exceptional eye for a great picture.
In response to some of my comments received :
Liz, I was born in Bulawayo Zimbabwe and when I moved to SA I lived in Benoni and Sandton, both suburbs of Johannesburg. We used to go to East London (a coastal town on the east coast of SA) every second year from when I was a small child travelling there by train from Zimbabwe. It was always such an adventure. I have had brief visits to Durban, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria but most of my time was spent in Johannesburg.
Kym, I belong to a group of photographers and artists "The Equine Arts Protection League" and we all look out for each other's work. The main abuse has been the Chinese paintings brought in and sold dirt cheap, I think Walmart sells these a lot and am willing to bet that some of them have not been released to copy and sell. The other place for lots of abuse is e-Bay. We find a multitude of products that people make using our photos, it is a pain to police and an ongoing project. If we can prove infringement eBay will shut the seller down immediately. People seem to think that just because a picture is on the internet it is theirs to do what they like with despite the copyright notices on them. This is so far from the truth. Every single photograph you see is owned by the person who pushed the shutter, unless they give the rights away, even your family shots of the yearly barbeque. It does not have to display a copyright symbol because it is automatically protected. It makes it very hard for those of us who are making a living from our photography to compete against people who just give their work away for the thrill of seeing it and their name in print and most of the publications and magazines see it as a way to get free photos by preying on the unsuspecting social photographer. Always remember you paid a lot of money for your equipment, it should pay for itself. This is a very long and complicated subject but I will leave it there, just think twice next time you are tempted to save a photo you like on the internet and make it your screensaver or print it to frame it in your home or make a piece of jewellery, that is illegal. Even if you are only copying it as a painting or drawing it is still illegal it is not yours to copy. A lot of artists think that because they make their own artwork from a photo they have lifted off the web it is okay and then the artwork they make becomes theirs, this is not true. You have to get the permission of the photographer to copy or use their work for any reason.
Donna I hope things look up, I am hoping that they will become collectors items like trading cards. It is an inexpensive way of enjoying photographs made by others legally without spending a fortune and can be built up as a collection.
Abraham, unfortunately having to watermark your images spoils them for the viewer but it has become necessary. I still have to work it into my workflow, as you see today's pic isnt watermarket!!!! but it does have my copyright statement on it.
Okay that is my speach for the day LOL. Please visit my Etsy shop if you havent already, the link is in my last blog entry.
Miserable rainy cold and overcast here so I am staying close to home but have to go to town quickly.
((((Hugs)))))
Lori
We had our new Photo Club meeting last night and it has been great to get toknow a bnch of people in the community who also enjoy taking photos and want to get better and understand more. Most of them have compact digital camera but we are covering copyright, composition, lighting, inside flash and that sort of stuff. The group is made up of mainly women who are in my age group or a bit younger and older except for one of our members who is a 12 year old girl that has an exceptional eye for a great picture.
In response to some of my comments received :
Liz, I was born in Bulawayo Zimbabwe and when I moved to SA I lived in Benoni and Sandton, both suburbs of Johannesburg. We used to go to East London (a coastal town on the east coast of SA) every second year from when I was a small child travelling there by train from Zimbabwe. It was always such an adventure. I have had brief visits to Durban, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria but most of my time was spent in Johannesburg.
Kym, I belong to a group of photographers and artists "The Equine Arts Protection League" and we all look out for each other's work. The main abuse has been the Chinese paintings brought in and sold dirt cheap, I think Walmart sells these a lot and am willing to bet that some of them have not been released to copy and sell. The other place for lots of abuse is e-Bay. We find a multitude of products that people make using our photos, it is a pain to police and an ongoing project. If we can prove infringement eBay will shut the seller down immediately. People seem to think that just because a picture is on the internet it is theirs to do what they like with despite the copyright notices on them. This is so far from the truth. Every single photograph you see is owned by the person who pushed the shutter, unless they give the rights away, even your family shots of the yearly barbeque. It does not have to display a copyright symbol because it is automatically protected. It makes it very hard for those of us who are making a living from our photography to compete against people who just give their work away for the thrill of seeing it and their name in print and most of the publications and magazines see it as a way to get free photos by preying on the unsuspecting social photographer. Always remember you paid a lot of money for your equipment, it should pay for itself. This is a very long and complicated subject but I will leave it there, just think twice next time you are tempted to save a photo you like on the internet and make it your screensaver or print it to frame it in your home or make a piece of jewellery, that is illegal. Even if you are only copying it as a painting or drawing it is still illegal it is not yours to copy. A lot of artists think that because they make their own artwork from a photo they have lifted off the web it is okay and then the artwork they make becomes theirs, this is not true. You have to get the permission of the photographer to copy or use their work for any reason.
Donna I hope things look up, I am hoping that they will become collectors items like trading cards. It is an inexpensive way of enjoying photographs made by others legally without spending a fortune and can be built up as a collection.
Abraham, unfortunately having to watermark your images spoils them for the viewer but it has become necessary. I still have to work it into my workflow, as you see today's pic isnt watermarket!!!! but it does have my copyright statement on it.
Okay that is my speach for the day LOL. Please visit my Etsy shop if you havent already, the link is in my last blog entry.
Miserable rainy cold and overcast here so I am staying close to home but have to go to town quickly.
((((Hugs)))))
Lori
xx
6 comments:
Lori, thanks for the info, but I know all about copyright laws and infringement(I studied all that in art school)...I was just asking where to look to keep an eye out for myself and some of the local artists that I work with. I currently do not sell any artwork, but eventually plan to do so and want to be prepared for the future. Thanks for answering my questions! Have a great day!
Thanks Kym, I wrote the piece because I thought if you didnt know all the ins and outs, then anyone else reading the blog might learn from it, sorry it wasn't aimed at you in particular!!! LOL I always grab an opportunity to educate people on this. If you are an Equine artist the League I belong to can be found here
http://www.equineartsprotectionleague.com/
I am sure they would welcome your participation.
Lori, glad to hear that you have found a group to participate in. I'm sure it'll be good for you to get out and take a much need break.
I think about you often and wonder how you are doing. I really miss our chats. We need to get something going again.
I love the church; so unusual. I am a member of a local photography group; it's a lot of fun :)
Lori, always love your photos and comments. Especially like the church scene ... seems so tranquil.
Fascinating life you've had ... living so many places.
Lori...oh...geesh..I hope that I did sound like a whiny person in answering you...I did appreciate the info and I am sorry that it took me so long to answer you back...I am like you, love to educate with others the things that I learn as well. I have not shot many equine, but that is something that I would love to get into doing since I love the horses so much! On another note....I am still keeping you in my thoughts and prayers!
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