Update: 01-Dec-2011: In a subsequent email exchange between myself and Grafenstein Freizeit und Tourismuswerbung GmbH, we were able to agree on my suggested donation of 50 Euros to a local charity, and at least one of my images will be used in their publication. A win-win (albeit modest one) for Grafenstein Freizeit und Tourismuswerbung GmbH, and German Cancer Aid.

Original Post:

I received an email the other day, asking if one of my pictures on Flickr could be used in a travel magazine being published in Germany. The result was a short exchange of emails that I think epitomizes the challenges faced by the photography industry as a whole  - and so I decided to post about it.

Here’s a copy of the email I received:

Dear Sir,

I have found your photo on flickr.com and would like to use it in a magazine about Thailand. Your photo is truly beautiful and would perfectly match our magazine.

The magazine is the official issue of the Thailand Tourist Office in Germany and its main aim is to promote Thailand as a tourist destination.

Due to the fact that our magazine is free of charge for all readers, we are always under the budget. Therefore, we cannot simply pay a fair price for professional photos or texts we publish. The whole project is a quasi non-profit project and bases on a good will of the participants.

I ask you, therefore, if you would be interested in supporting our project by allowing us to use your photo free of charge for a printed and online version of the Thailand-Magazine.

We would of course name you as an author of this photo and send you an example of the magazine after printing it. We can also try to link the photo in the e-mag with your website.

I would be really grateful, if you would allow us to use the following photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58bits/5031933712

Please mail me back, in order to clear out the details. I would then send you an extract of a page with your photo, so that you can see, how it looks like.

Thank you in advance for your answer.

Yours sincerely,
J.M.
Project Manager
Grafenstein Freizeit und Tourismuswerbung GmbH
experts in tourism communication

I spent a few minutes looking at their website,  http://www.grafenstein.net/, and while their publications seem to be of fairly high-quality, I was troubled by a few statements in the email above. Firstly, what was an ‘official’ publication, and what is ‘a quasi non-profit project’? And what was I being asked to do by ‘supporting’ one?

Grafenstein Freizeit und Tourismuswerbung GmbH is in fact a commercial organisation in Germany, not a not-for-profit registered charity or otherwise. They produce travel magazines on an ad-revenue only basis – which means they make money from their publications.

I replied to Grafenstein Freizeit und Tourismuswerbung GmbH and told them that I would be happy to allow them to use my pictures in their publication, if they would make a small donation to a local Germany charity of my choice. I gave them the link to the donation page of the German Cancer Society, asking them to make a 50.00 Euro donation for each picture they used.

And here’s the reply I received…

Dear Anthony Bouch,

thank you for answering so fast to my previous e-mail. As a person and, as well as a photographer, I admire your proposal of donating money for charity purposes. As a project manager, however, I cannot do it.

You are right that the agency Grafenstein Freizeit- und Tourismuswerbung is a commercial organization. The problem by this project is of other nature – we are not paid by the client. The magazine is being financed only by the ad-sell. As you know, the advertising market in printed magazines has shrunk dramatically. We are, therefore, forced to cut all the expenses to minimum.

I can always buy relatively cheap stock photos (www.123rf.com, www.fotolia.com, etc.) but the quality and the selection is rather limited. This is why I try to find great photos on flickr and ask their owners, if they were interested in supporting the project. Despite the evident financial problems, I try to produce a magazine of the highest standard possible.

We would be, of course, ready to donate some money. As I mentioned before, I find the idea really amazing. We can donate, however, about 5 Euro per photo. This is what I can pay for a photo.

Please do not understand me wrong. I try not to bargain. My only aim is to create a good magazine with a little budget. If you were not interested in supporting this project under the conditions mentioned above, I would understand it completely. I really admire your your idea of donating the money and hopefully we will work together someday on this basis.

Let my know, what is your decision. In case of the negative decision, please forgive me for taking your time.

Best regards,
J.M.
Project Manager
Grafenstein Freizeit und Tourismuswerbung GmbH
experts in tourism communication

Okay – so J.M. thinks my donation idea is a good one, although the limit of his charity appears to be just 5.00 Euros per picture. And again there are troubling phrases in the message above – in particular where J.M. appears to be asking me to share in his company’s financial difficulties by ‘supporting the project’.

So there are two themes here. The first is the disingenuous nature of these emails. Please J.M., let’s call a spade a spade. You want to use some pictures for free (and in exchange for a credit) in order to make money for your business. And that’s all. So stop with the ‘sharing’ ‘caring’ malarkey - and just say that. Tell your potential contributors that you are offering attribution-only compensation. And whatever you do – be clear about the license you are requesting from them.

The second theme – is well, the challenges of making a living as a photographer, and it’s not a profession I envy at the moment. There are thousands of J.M.s out there, hoping to find amateur or novice pro photos that they can use commercially, for free – hoping that the kudos of putting their name in a publication will be enough for the photographer to want to license the image. And I guess that’s ok if you were just getting started and wanted a few tear-sheets to put in your book. But moving on from there is an even bigger challenge if the next wave of amateurs or novice pros are all prepared to do the same.

Welcome to the photo-sharing world of Flickr, and Facebook, and what I guess those enamored with ‘the market’ would simply describe as a problem of supply and demand. Others however, might be more inclined to describe this as a symptom of the general trend towards devaluing high-quality editorial content, in the pursuit of greater short-term margins – and to the detriment of everyone in the longer-term.

Well after several visits, as well as the kind co-operation of Jill Bays, her family, and her students – I’ve finally managed to complete my short story on Jill.

It’s been educational in many ways. Jill’s life story is fascinating and I feel very lucky to have met her. But then that also contributed to the difficulty of producing a short piece like this – since I had over 40 minutes of recorded material. Reducing all of that to just 3 minutes and 44 seconds was a challenge.

I also learned a lot about the tools and techniques needed along the way – thanks in part to some kind words I received from Derek Williams at AsiaWorks.

I think it just about works, but like most things worth any effort – it takes practise – and so hopefully my next attempt will see some improvement in how the images and audio fit together as well as the technical quality of the audio recording.

You can listen to the 24 minute audio master hosted on Vimeo – here at…

Jill Bays – Full Length Audio

You can also download the following audio and video formats from here…

Jill-Bays-iPhone.zip (13MB)
Jill-Bays-854×480-MP4.zip (24MB)
Jill-Bays-HD-Windows.zip (81MB)
Jill-Bays-HD-Mac.zip (116MB)

Jill-Bays-Full-Length-Audio.zip (32MB)

National Geographic My Shot

Have been meaning to post this for a while now. You know that warm and friendly yellow rectangle? Well if you join their photo sharing site at National Geographic My Shot – be sure to ready the Rules and in particular – the Terms of Use.

Here’s the clause you need to be aware of… and what you’re effectively giving to National Geographic if you upload ‘any’ content to their site…. important bits in red-italic-bold.

5. For clarity, you retain all of your ownership rights in material you upload, comments you post, or other content you provide to the Site (“User Content”). By uploading User Content, you grant National Geographic (which includes its subsidiaries, affiliates, joint venturers, and licensees) the following rights: a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivatives of the User Content, in whole or in part, without further review or participation from you, in any medium now existing or subsequently developed, in editorial, commercial, promotional, and trade uses in connection with NG Products. National Geographic may license or sublicense, in whole or in part, to third parties rights in User Content as appropriate to distribute, market, or promote such NG Products. An NG Product is defined as “a product of National Geographic, a subsidiary, affiliate, joint venturer, or licensee of National Geographic, in any language, over which National Geographic has “Editorial Control.” For the purposes of this Agreement, “Editorial Control” means the right to review, consult regarding, formulate standards for, or to exercise a veto over the appearance, text, use, or promotion of the NG Product. You also agree that National Geographic may make User Content available to users of the Site who may display and redistribute it in the same way that National Geographic makes all other Content available.

Nikon have just released a firmware update for the Nikon D700.

To the Nikon guy that did this….

1) When the camera’s AF-ON button is pressed, the monitor turns off and a focus point can now be selected using the multi selector.
2) When the MB-D10 AF-ON button is pressed (with AF-ON selected for Custom Setting a10 AF-ON for MB-D10), the monitor now turns off and a focus point can be selected using the multi selector.

Thank you….

Mac-http://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/45639
Windows -http://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/45637

I’m really impressed with what Think Tank have created in their Streetwalker backpack series. The Streetwalker Pro in particular is the perfect bag for my setup – holding an incredible amount of gear in what on the outside, looks like a fairly small and nondescript backpack. I also really like the Think Tank Lens Changer bags.

When I’m in walk and shoot mode – I use a Lens Changer 50, Lens Changer 75 Pop Down, Skin Strobe and an R U Thirsty water bottle bag – all attached to my Yates 1.75 inch Cobra CQB Belt. The belt wears just like an ordinary belt. And with a flannel short sleeve shirt covering the Skin Strobe at the back – it doesn’t actually ‘look’ like I’m carrying that much gear.

Here’s one configuration that I use for the Streetwalker Pro (click on the images for large size).

A pro body with three pro lenses, a flash, accessories and a tripod. The Streetwalker Pro copes with it all brilliantly and is extremely comfortable to wear. There’s also a deep groove down the back and lumbar padding – which lets air in, keeping your back cooler than a flat padded backpack would.

Think Tank really pay attention to detail as well. With the backpack and a few lens changers – all the rain covers are clearly labelled – so you know which rain cover to grab in a hurry to get your gear covered when you need to.

My only minor gripe – is that I wish they’d placed a cross strap just above the side pockets – one on either side – so that I could attach a Lens Changer bag to the side of the Streetwalker Pro for a little extra storage when needed.

Amazing bag. Thanks a bunch Think Tank. You’ve made a great bag at a very reasonable price to boot.

A few weeks ago I was out taking pictures around the Rama VIII bridge here in Bangkok. I was on the Pin Klao side, having walked from the Rama VIII bridge to the Phra Pin Klao pier. I decided to sit by the river for a while and watch what was happening on that early Sunday morning.

There was plenty of activity. Folks making merit by releasing fish bought from the local markets into the river (a kind of last minute Buddhist reprieve). A few people actually bathing in the river and getting ready for the day.

And then this young women arrived carrying something bundled up in a towel – held like a doll, or small child closely against her chest. I couldn’t see what she was carrying – but I could see she was headed for the water. I asked her if she would mind if I took a few pictures.

It was then I saw that she was holding a hamster wrapped in a white towel.

I’ve tried to tell this story a couple of times now. Every time I do at least one of us ends up laughing – or trying to keep a straight face while I describe how I watched a young women bathe her hamster in the Chao Phraya River.

At the time I was confused, moved, and downright worried about how it was going to end up. The wake from passing boats was generating large enough waves to wash the hamster out into the river, and I was worried that if that happened, she would follow in a rescue attempt.

In the end the hamster was fine, and after its bath, waited obediently on a towel while its master proceeded to wash her hands and feet in the river.

I’ve seen some strange things in this part of the world – but I think it would be wrong to completely dismiss this as just another strange event without at least trying to understand why she did it; about what it meant for this women – with such care and attention – to take her pet and bathe in the Chao Phraya River early on a Sunday morning in June.

Some applications deserve ‘outing’ and Nikon ViewNX is one of them. I’ve used at least a dozen image editors, viewers, managers over the years – and the one that potentially means the most to me – sucks big time.

Not long ago I bought some of Nikon’s top gear. I love their lenses, and the new FX bodies are out of this world – but Nikon – you need to get your software in order.

Below is a screen shot of Process Monitor – filtered for Nikon ViewNX. I stopped recording events after we hit two million. That’s 2,309,221 file system events – and Nikon ViewNX was still going strong.

What’s more, ViewNX and Capture NX 2 appear to have been developed by different teams (not even able to agree on where the NX should go), using different explorer components and other features. That’s just silly – since the navigation panel is an obvious candidate for object reuse. Not sure who’s UI tools they’ve used to skin their applications – but they both occasionally ‘drop’ their skin and revert to Windows classic chrome.

I don’t underestimate the size of the task in producing Mac and Windows versions of fairly hefty applications – but you guys need to do better than this. Capture NX even featured in a recent YouTube parody over the Nikon D3x – so I’m not alone in my concerns about Nikon software.

Bummer…

Probably another post that’s more tweet worthy than a blog post – but… I just can’t help it. I love ECCO shoes. I mean I really love them.

I probably shouldn’t. The pair I bought today is made from Yak leather and manufactured in Thailand. Questionable characteristics on both counts.

But they just feel so gooooood. I don’t mean just a little bit comfortable either – I mean they make me feel like walking that’s how darn good they are. I’ve bought ECCO shoes now for the last decade – casual, outdoor and work varieties. And each pair I’ve purchased has lasted between four and five years. The soles have never worn out and they’ve always felt better then the other brands I try when the time comes.

I don’t know how you guys do it – but thank you ECCO.