American vacationers John and Patti Muldowney took a snapshot during a snorkeling excursion off the coast of Aruba last fall, and turned up a photo that shows what appears to be human skeletal remains.
Five years ago, 18-year-old Natalee Holloway went missing while on vacation in Aruba. Aruban authorities suspected the remains may belong to Holloway, and have renewed their search for a missing girl’s body last weekend with little luck. However, forensic experts do not think the photo is of a body at all, but might be a product of rock formations and overactive imaginations.
In any case, this mystery might have been easier to solve if the Muldowneys’ camera was equipped with a GPS capability.
Last week we reported that a photographer was in hot water after photographing public art and selling it as stock photography. It just so happens that a new case has arisen involving just the opposite: sculptors basing work off a photograph without permission.
The above image, “Sad Vader”, is a popular photograph made by New York City-based photographer Alex Brown that has become ubiquitous on the Internet and sometimes published without crediting Brown. UK-based sculptors Craig Little and Blake Whitehead of littlewhitehead created a sculpture based on the photograph titled “Spam” due to how the photograph can seemingly be found everywhere on the web. Here’s a photograph of the installation:
When emailed by Brown, the artists replied,
On all the blogs we found it on, none of them mentioned the maker of the image. We never knew the image had been taken by a professional photographer.
In an email to Photo District News, Brown states,
My main objection to all of this is that I exhibit this image in galleries and sell limited edition prints, [...] By appropriating it, they directly undermine my ability to do so.
What are your thoughts on this situation? What action should be taken?
Update on February 10th, 2010: Dave, a reader, tells us that the British Journal of Photography got in touch with littlewhitehead and received a pretty lengthy statement. Here’s a snippet:
We contacted Alex immediately after hearing of his concerns and asked if there was anyway we could deal with the situation amicably. We assured him it was never our intention to upset him, nor was it merely to copy what he had already done. However, instead of replying to us, he has selected certain parts of this email and posted blogs slandering us plagiarists. He has also contacted galleries we’ve worked with also slandering us plagiarists. We do not really believe this is an appropriate first step towards dealing with the situation amicably.
Personalized mugs with your mug on it, photo blankets, and good ol’ fashioned framed pictures are all fine and dandy, but they can get old fast.
We posted a few personalized photo gifts in yesterday’s PetaPixel Photography Gift Guide 2009, but here are a few more ideas to get out the old and in with the inspired:
The Old Gift: Framed Photos
I have a few wonderful friends who have gifted me with a growing number of framed photos, but quite frankly, I have no place to put them anymore! And some of the photos are so outdated (visualize: awkward age) that they’re a tad embarrassing to have out in the open.
The Inspired Gift: The DIY Photo Book
Self-published photo books are a modern twist on the photo album, and have a classy look and feel. Even better, they can be stored easily on a bookshelf!
There are a lot of great photo book sites and software out there, and especially around this time of the year, most of the sites have some sort of discount.
Sure, mounted 11X17 prints are pretty epic, but over time, most digital prints can deteriorate.
The Inspired Gift: Canvas Print
Showcase your masterpiece on canvas! It’s pricier, but even more epic. Costco offers photos printed on canvas starting at $29.99 for an 8X10 print.
But remember, if you give the gift of a photograph, pick something that is timeless, iconic, or extremely significant. Instead of framing a posed, toothy photo of your buddy and you, pick a candid photo or one that captures a special moment in your friendship. Or better yet, use one of your favorite still life, landscape, or street scene photos as a gift. Let your photography shine!
The Old Gift: Digital Picture Frame
Digital picture frames are so 2008, but they still make fresh gifts if you spruce it up a little!
The Inspired Gift: Digital Picture Frame — with your own photo project!
Instead of gifting an empty frame, or generic photos, try something unique utilizing the frame’s display. Make a stop-motion film that will loop with the playback feature of the frame. Use the frame to share a photo story or take photos with a certain theme and make the gift-receiver guess the theme.
