Canada recently changed its copyright law to align more closely with the rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization (or WIPO.) It is no surprise that most of the recent changes in copyright law have been driven by the explosion in digital technology and the internet. I came away a bit surprised, however, after I learned about the changes to the Canadian law. Read More
There are some days I feel like I live in some parallel universe. I use neither of the two major camera brands. I watch almost no television. I take public transportation rather than owning my own car. I could go on listing the ways that I am slowly ebbing out of the mainstream. A new and insidious trend has developed among photo competitions which looks like it will push me further and further into that other, parallel universe. Read More
I follow certain topics on the web, and in the “old” media very closely, including, of course, my passion and profession, photography. I also closely follow issues such as politics, news from India, the foreclosure crisis, the media itself (old and new) as well as events in the Middle East, etc. All of that is not terribly unusual. But what is extraordinary to me is the one subject that I follow the most closely, after the obvious topics. I recently realized that, in this day of partisan divides my perspective on this one issue mirrors my perspective on government in general. (Spoiler alert here! I am about to get political.) Read More
Let me start by saying, I know a lot about the first, some about the second and even less about the third. I am not a lawyer and I am not going to give legal advice in this blog. I am going to try to parse out a question that came from a student. I told her that by answering her question and writing a blog posting at the same time, I could kill two birds with one stone. Read More
Model releases and copyright seem to be the source of more confusion than almost any other aspects of commercial photography. Though the law in both areas is quite well established, all sorts of new and insidious ideas are being bandied about on the Internet, which are to the detriment of photographers (as well as morally and legally wrong.) Read More
What’s new? Actually, lots of stuff! This blog entry is a series of blurbs about new things I came across that I think would be of interest to most photographers. Every time I see something new and interesting I cut and paste the URL into an ever-growing list. When that list gets too big I gather the best stuff and share it. Read More
I am writing today about a variety of resources for photographers. Of course, the major one that I am thinking about is The Wells Point web site. Yes, this could easily be interpreted as a shameless self-promotion. I prefer to think of it as an information-advisory about all the valuable things on the site. Read the whole post and then you decide. Read More
Model releases seem to be the source of more confusion than almost any other aspect of photography for aspiring (and established) professionals. I am asked about them during every class or presentation that I give. The irony is that model releases are remarkably simple. Read More
I am regularly asked when a Model Release is needed. Read More