Hey! I'm Not Playin' Here! But I've Been Well-Compensated. All's Well that Ends Well.
Steal my stuff?
Bad move.
My photography and digital art has been represented by a number of agencies for many years. In the old days (c. 1988), the process was
1) Take pictures using Kodachrome 24, 65, Ecktachrome 100, and/or Fuji Velvia 50
2) Take film to be processed and hope that all or most of the roll of 36 exposures were of publishable quality
3) Get processed 35 mm transparencies/slides back 2-3 days later
4) Review slides, toss losers, separate winners by category/subject on a light table
5) Hand print captions on slide mounts and ink stamp copyright symbol, name and year
6) Place slides to be submitted to various agencies in plastic sheets
7) Place sheets and cover letter plus return postage and packaging in a Priority Mail envelope
8) Mail
9) Wait for acceptance letter info and returned reject slides.
Pain in the ass but that was then and this is now.
1) Shoot digital images (no film, no processing)
2) Trash losers that are immediately identified on camera LCD screen
3) Upload keepers to my laptop, edit RAW files, embed captions, keywords and copyright info, size to publisher specifications then, without getting out of my chair (or putting on my clothes) -- upload files to various agencies.
4) Backup all submitted images on several external drives (I'm very tight ass about that)
OKAY then. Given the tediousness of even the digital submission process, when any of my images are pirated from an internet database, I AIN'T A HAPPY BOY! And there are still folks who think, "If it's not nailed down, I can use it, sell it, steal it, modify it so it looks like someone else created it!"
Not so much any more. If/when someone/some entity does this, more often than not, they get caught -- AND PAY. The well-established photo agencies know whose been to their web sites, whose copied what and then searches for "unauthorized usage" of a represented/copyright protected image. And then the "pirates/copyright infringement" perpetrators get notification
CEASE AND DESIST USING THE PIRATED WORK AND REMIT THE FOLLOWING AMOUNT OR FACE LEGAL ACTION!
It's not the first time and today, I received a check for over $800 coming from a settlement regarding the unauthorized use of my work. Had the images been leased properly, the thieving POS would have had to pay only a fraction of that.
Anyway, now that my rant is concluded, here's some new pix --
Chipmunk, neither Chip, Dale, Theodore, Alvin or Simon.
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Female
Same species as above but in dark phase.
Cosmos Flower
Hey! Don't steal my stuff but please ENJOY it.
A. Macarthur/All Rights Reserved
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I am flattered that some publishers like my images enough to steal them.
Still, it's often a bad move.
Mac, I really do ENJOY your work. It's brightens my day every time that you post photos.
Keep them coming. If someone tries to pirate them, they will have to deal with a pissed of Indian...LOL
Technically, work created for an employer by an employee ordinarily belongs to the employer
A possible way around this is to create your own artwork and save it to a personal database and embed a copyright notice; if subsequently, an employer assigns project, should any of your art be applicable, you might ask the employer if he/she would like you to incorporate it in the project.
That way, you can impress/satisfy the employer but establish in advance that while your artwork is part of the project, one or more of its components are yours to market independently.
The dark-phase butterfly is interesting, too! Well, since you have a variety of critters and other things posted here, thought I'd share my state critter (Wa.), if anyone is interested (Dragonfly):
I always enjoy your stuff. Thanks for putting it up for us to see. Ummmm.........I really like that little skwerl.
Dragonflies are quite beneficial feeding on insect pests.
Thanks for adding to the critter show, Chloe!
Thanks for letting me know that was Ok with you, and glad you enjoyed it. U R welcome, too.
I used to enjoy processing my own (B&W) films and doing my own enlarging, with very professional equipment (Leitz Focomat) even though it was so time-consuming (although when we had our first baby I no longer had the multiple hours to spend in the darkroom). Now with digital and computer software it is all so very fast and easy.
However, I must tell this story:
We decided to move to a better area to raise children and since the house across the street had an open house we decided to put up an "open house" sign on ours. A young woman came in and said that before she saw any of the house she had to know if there was room in the basement for a darkroom which her husband considered a necessity. Wow, did I have something to show her!!! I took her downstairs and opened the door to what many would consider a professional darkroom. You should have seen her jaw drop!!! She said "Don't sell the house to anyone - I'm calling my husband." He came right over, they went through the house and immediatley wrote a cheque for a deposit. I had some standard agreements on hand, completed them with what we both wanted to see in it (after all, as a Lawyer with considerable real estate experience I didn't need any help.) I made them call and read it to their Lawyer who agreed with it; we signed the documents and I opened a bottle of champagne that we had in the fridge, and the deal was done. No real estate commission to pay - we got a great price without deduction, they got their dream home, and all thanks to my darkroom.
Great story -- proving one never knows what will (yep, you guessed it) -- DEVELOP.
Apologies.