miseryXchord ♫

"Pete Jenkins, the Vice-Chair of the National Union of Journalists Photographers Sub Committee has sent through some very interesting documents on predatory “photographers agreements”. These insidious “agreements” seem to be coming more prevalent and I commend Pete and the NUJ on the work they have been doing on this matter." from - BlackShadow Photography

---

Introduction

The National Union of Journalists has been receiving complaints from some of its Music Photographer members for a umber of years about unfair, and unworkable ‘Photographers Agreements and contracts’ given to photographers as they pick up their accreditation just before photographing live bands[i].

Some of the demands of these so-called ‘agreements’ are totally unreasonable and most are unworkable, yet photographers are put in a ‘sign’ or no access position. No access to legal advice, no access even to editorial advice in many cases, and of course staff rarely have the authority to for instance sign away copyright, demanded in some of the more outrageous documents proffered[ii].

The initial reaction of the NUJ was to take up the matter with its sister union the Musicians Union, and Phil Sutcliffe (MOJO/Q music Writer) penned a piece for their Journal[iii] edited by Keith Ames. Although John Toner (NUJ Freelance Organiser), and Phil had a good meeting with Keith Ames little has happened on their side, and there has been next to no feedback.

That was a year ago.

The current situation

Over the past few months, jerked into action again by the Lenny Kravitz contract received by a number of Music Photographers, Pete Jenkins of the NUJ Photographers Sub Committee has met with George Chin (http://www.georgechin.com/), David Redfern (http://www.redferns.com/), and with the help of Phil Sutcliffe and John Toner been working on a way to turn this contract situation around.

Initial communications have been made with a number of Music Photogrpahers, the majority of whom are NUJ members to see what can be done. Approaches have also been made to people in the Music industry to try and come at the problem from a central viewpoint that will end up with a solution that will give Music management (one thing that is clear is that it is not musicians issuing contracts – it’s the management and PR companies) the assurances they require, yet at the same time preserve the editorial integrity of Photographers.

After some months, a new initiative was launched with the piece in the British Journal of Photography. This has gone down mostly very well. Communications have been received from Australia and the US – all supportive and many photographers in the UK have checked in as well. The only (adverse) criticism made publicly was in a blog having a go because the consequences of the Kravitz contract were not analyses fully enough for the writer.

The Problems

Before a solution to the situation is going to be forthcoming it is important to understand how each side of this sees the problem. Photographers do not want bands or their managements exercising any kind of control or restriction on their work, and signing away copyright, giving unfettered access, allowing editorial control and giving away free use are all unacceptable demands that no creator would accept whether they be photographer, writer, painter or even musician!

Professional photographers attend gigs primarily to cover that concert and fulfil commissions to magazines, newspapers and other journals, but not exclusively. Many photographers (most) are also shooting stock material that will be held on file by agencies such as Retna, Redferns, REX, Capital, UPPA, Getty, PA, Live and many others. These stock images are largely used in magazines, newspapers and books to illustrate text, features and articles about music etc..

Another major issue and one totally misunderstood by both the music industry and the public at large is the relatively low remuneration that ‘live music’ photographers obtain for editorial and stock work. Many people, including music managers have the erroneous assumption that editorial music work is well paid. It isn’t. Most national Newspaper shifts are around the £150 mark, regional newspapers often half this. Stock reproductions often start from £50-£65, and when deals are done, stock rates can plummet for individual images. There is no goose laying golden eggs here for music management to get hold of.

Professional musicians and their management have their own difficulties. The business of music has changed rapidly since the time of the Long-playing record. Recordable cassette tapes, followed by Recordable CD-ROMs, and now most recently downloads from the World Wide Web, as well as iTunes, MP3 players etc have totally changed the music industry.

The large returns (commission payments) that successful bands obtained when records were pressed, are basically a thing of the past. There are commissions on music downloads, but the Music industry would have us believe that these are not high. Bands get good money for their concerts – reflected in the high cost of concert tickets today compared to the past. There was a time when a long playing record and a concert ticket were roughly the same price, as we know, there is now a large disparity between the two, concert tickets costing several times more than a CD-ROM.

The one area of ‘money-making’, which has always remained within control of the band, the same to today as it was say thirty years ago is ‘merchandising’. Band management teams have often accused photographers of selling photographs to pirate merchandisers, (without any proof in most cases it must be said), and the issue of merchandising, t-shirts, clothing, mugs (and mouse mats for that matter) remain something about which almost all bands feel very strongly about. It is almost certainly merchandising, which initiated the idea of photo contracts.

Photographers in turn might point out to bands and the managements and PR companys that legitimate ‘professional photographers’ have rarely been the source of ‘pirate merchandising’ pictures, indeed pirates are not going to want to pay commercial rates are they? The biggest source of ‘pirate imagery’ has never been the professional Music Photographer, but the opportunist or ‘pirate’ in the crowd. It is next to impossible to stop concertgoers bringing in cameras of one sort or another, from professional kit to mobile phone cameras, and bring in cameras they do. Like may concert photographers I have many pictures taken of audiences, careful examination of which reveals cameras of all shapes and sizes being welded by the ticket buying public.

It does not matter what they get the legitimate professionals to sign, it will not affect pirate merchandising at all, as it isn’t the legit professionals who (by and large) source the imagery.

Another matter here that perhaps should be brought to the attention of Band Management, PRs and so on is the number of non-professionals who gain access to concerts of all sorts. By non-professional I am not referring to professionals who only gain part of their income through band work, or to the ‘weekend warrior’ the part-time professional with a full-time job. The non-professional I refer to would be the photographer that we all see on occasion at concerts, someone without the appropriate equipment, someone who is clearly a fan, not a professional Photographer. At the ‘Download Festival’ at Donnington last year, of the perhaps 70+ ‘accredited photographers’ attending, only a third were clearly full-time professional working photographers, perhaps another third were part-time professionals, and the remainder were clearly not working, not professional, and totally ill-equipped for the job, and no way even remotely professional photographic workers.

What to do?

When tackling this problem we have to understand that there is no actual contractual arrangement between Photographers and artists and their management teams. We can say and do what we like, but there is no obligation for any music manager to pay any attention to us (photographers).

However, it is the artists, their managers and the PR companies who issue these contracts, so to make them go away, or at least to make them something reasonable it will require us to give them something, and to show that actually it is not concert photographers who are the enemy.

Several suggestions have been made which could have an impact on how artists, their management teams and photographers interact.

1. Produce a workable contract that could be made an industry standard. It would have to satisfy the needs of the artist, without compromising the work, copyright and editorial integrity of the photographer.
2. Produce a set of Guidelines that can be used to assist artists and their management in understanding what is and what is not acceptable with regard to photographers, and at the same time ensuring that photographers understand the requirements of the artist. It is pointless having guidelines that merely tell one side or the other what they cannot do. Successful Guidelines of this type are those being used by the Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Metropolitan Police forces negotiated by the various recognised photographer representatives and the Police themselves.
3. More controversially a licensing system could be established. The Premier League has such a system. The advantage is that any photographer wanting to photograph Premier League or Football League matches once accepted or awarded a license merely has to contact the home club of a fixture to acquire accreditation. The difficulty with this system is that any photographer wishing to photograph a match or being commissioned to photograph a match cannot do so if they don’t already have a license, unless they can get accreditation from a publication – not always possible. The current scheme is administered in such a way that any photographer who has not had a number of football images published during the previous season cannot obtain a license for the next one. But without a license one cannot gain access to the grounds to take pictures. Images taken whilst using the license of an agency or newspaper controversially do not count towards ones tally of published images. I would strongly recommend that a licensing system not be pursued at this time, most especially as there is no body that could sensibly adjudicate it, and the problems it will cause will far outweigh any advantages that such a scheme might seem to give at a first glance.
4. A Professional Music Photographers Association. Many branches of professional photography have professional associations, press photographers have the BPPA (http://www.thebppa.com), garden photographers have the GPA (http://www.gpauk.org/). There are probably many others, including the Professional Sports Photographers Association, which regrettably no longer exists. The benefits of such a professional group could be great. Providing an umbrella body of concert photographers and a contact point for those in the music industry. Such an organisation would require funding, would need at least one part-time employee, and should not operate as an exclusive ‘club’

No initiative will work without the support of the photographers involved so it is important to obtain feedback so that wherever the effort is directed it is done with the support of the industry.

Photographers Agreement [iv]

A draft Photographer and Artist Agreement is attached

Whilst it is clear as photographers that we don’t need photographers agreements as such – we know our job and what we need to do, if the musicians, or more to the point their managers feel they need to protect themselves and their brand, we must understand their situation. Rather than let ourselves be bombarded with more and more outrageous and ludicrous documents far better that we suggest a document that we can live with that will at the same time give the bands the reassurance their managers require.

Any such document must be produced BEFORE the photographers appears at the venue, and with enough time that it can be legally examined (if required)

Two copies of such documents must be available each signed by both parties and one for each party to take away.

Full details including address, e-mail and telephone must be present for each party.

The Photographer agrees that the images obtained of the artists performance at the above venue and date, are for editorial purposes only.

This is the basic reassurance that the performer requires. The photographer is there in an editorial capacity

The photographer will not release images for commercial use (of any kind) without reference to the artist (or designated artist representative(s)) and agreement from the artist (or designated artist representative(s)).

The artist has a brand to protect, and promote. By agreeing not to release images for commercial use photographers are acknowledging that the artist’s brand is important, and that we as creators ourselves respect that brand. At the same time if the artist wants to use our images for commercial purposes then that is a good thing to be encouraged and appropriate licences should be negotiated and paid for. Third party approaches for use of images in a commercial context, say to support the promotion of a third party brand should be referred to the artist so that they can negotiate any appropriate fee.

Photographs may be taken during: (which songs)………………………………………….

Flash May/May Not (delete as appropriate) be used.

It would be good to encourage some freethinking in the way we take our photographs. ‘1^st three no flash’, does not have to be the industry standard, and by including this we encourage some freethinking. Most photographers understand that the first three songs are rarely the best ones from an image point of view, and flash whilst not always desired is on occasion considered by some a necessity.

The artist may request to see the images obtained by the photographer, and the photographer will on request (and payment of an appropriate fee to cover costs incurred) make available to the artist contact sheets or low resolution watermarked digital proofs or a watermarked web gallery as required. There is no obligation to the artist or the photographer by this supply of proofs/contact sheets/web gallery.

This paragraph is included as frequently ‘photographer agreements demand access to images (usually free of charge and accompanied by free use and even a free license). It is reasonable for an artist to want to see the professional work we produce, but not to exercise editorial control or take free possession of it. Equally it is only reasonable for the photographer to charge an appropriate fee to cover any work involved. There is a positive side to encouraging access to proof imagery in that the artist may then have the opportunity to purchase a license to use images from the Photogrpahers.

The questions now are:

Is this an acceptable document for us as photographers to promote?

Does it require major or minor changes?

Are there omissions?

Guidelines for Photographers and Videographers Covering Live Music and other Events[v]

The first part of a proposed two part document that could be widely distributed and promoted to both the Music Industry and the Photogrpahers that service that industry.

This first part is a guideline for us as photographers and is designed to show (the Music industry) that we understand our responsibilities whilst we are attending live events.

Guidelines for Artists and Artists’ Representatives dealing with Photographers and Videographers at live events.

The second part of the two-part document that could be made available to the music industry.

This second part is aimed straight between the eyes of artists, managements and their Public Relations representatives.

The first seven points are designed to emphasise how we should be treated and to protect us from unwarranted editorial or other interference.

The eighth point, might be difficult for some, but should be acceptable in all cases (ask not demand or insist). The one thing that artists’ management want to ensure is that we do not deliberately interfere with their control of merchandising. We must also make it clear to artists, artists management and PR companies that we are merely the photographers, whilst we will not knowingly sell our work to pirate merchandisers, we have little control over it if our work is in turn ‘stolen’ to produce pirate merchandise. Indeed, it would be in our own interests to work with the music industry to protect our own copyright was well as artists own brands.

As mentioned before, this document is aimed at bringing artists and photographers into the same camp and stop artists seeing us (photographers) as the enemy. It is to both our advantages to work together. The more and the better editorial work we produce the better the promotion we provide the bands

Is this an acceptable document?

Does it need any revisions?

Are there any omissions?

Professional Music Photographers Association

It has also been suggested that there be a new Professional association for Music Photographers be established – The Professional Music Photographers Association. This would give the Music Industry a point of contact, and should assist in slowing the rot in that particular area of our industry.

Is there a need for a professional association dealing specifically with Music photographers? That really depends on the photographers themselves.

A professional association could show the music industry that photographers take themselves seriously. It could demonstrate self-regulation that could make it easier for all those working in this very difficult area of the industry.

It could provide its membership with a seriously useful selection of resources. The self-help aspect of e-mail forums such as Editorial Photographers UK (http://www.epuk.org/), National Visual Journalists Photo discussion list (http://www.nvjphoto.co.uk/) and many others are already well known. A web site where music specialists can show their work could be valuable. The British Press Photogrpahers Association (http://www.thebppa.com/) provides a wide range of facilities for its members including hosting exhibitions and publishing books.

But setting up such an organisation will require finance, dedication and some people putting in a fair bit of time and effort. Ongoing it would require at least one part time member of staff and this will cost.

How will membership be configured? Will there be some sort of standard to be reached? Perhaps quality of work, amount of work published? Will part-timers be accepted? What about those who cover music events regularly but maybe not the major part of their income? Is there a place for keen and gifted amateurs?

If a standard is to be required for membership then there must be a way made available and clear for applicants to improve and reach that standard.

Who is to judge?

Will this association have licentiates, Associates and Fellows as do other associations (MPA, SWPP, RPS).

What about a mentoring programme?

What happens next

The next steps already under way, and informal approaches are being made to the Music Public Relations, and Management organisations via individuals. The NUJ has made approaches to the Musicians union again and another piece is expected to be in the winter edition of their journal. But this time there will be ongoing dialogue.

But what do you, the Professional Music Photogrpahers think? Please fell free to pass this document and its attachments to other photographers, and discuss its contents with those you know in the industry.

Pete Jenkins contact details are available on request.

Supporting Documents

080300-steven-segal - “agreement” to shoot Steven Segal - take particular note of the $1 million breach of contract clause

lenny-kravitz-elease-form - an “agreement” that signs over rights to the performer and severely limits the photographer’s rights

wonder-release - a release form to shoot Stevie Wonder

2007-my-chemical-romance - My Chemical Romance photo release which includes a nasty $30,000 breach of contract clause

080927-photographer_artist-agreement-03 - draft agreement for discussion

080927-draft-guidelines-for-photographers-and-artists-03 - draft guidelines for discussion

5-news-2 - article from the Musician News

BJP Rights Grab Article - article from the British Journal of Photography

Okay, Nyquil sort of helps, but I've seriously reached the "will drill holes in my skull if it makes the feeling of impending facial explosion cease" point with this throat/sinus infection. I feel like someone hard-boiled my eyes then punched me in the teeth a few couple hundred times.

I'm going to try sticking leftover lidoderm patches on my facial nerve bundles now...

On the evening of Friday September 26th, S. 2913 was passed by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent, i.e. not a single Senator objected to the legislation. Although not enough time may be left for House passage of the legislation, the Senate passage is a major blow for opponents of the legislation that had undertaken an all out assault to defeat the legislation. Again, not one U.S. Senator objected to S. 2913.


Please read my previous blog post:

Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own Art

for information about the Senate's Orphan Works Bill and the devastating consequences it will have on creators rights worldwide.

You can use this link to find information on how to contact your government's representatives (including international artists/friends overseas)

---

From The National Press Photographers Association:

Under Cover Of Night, During Financial Crisis, Senate Passes Orphan Works Act

 

WASHINGTON, DC (September 27, 2008) – While the nation waits for the outcome of its biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and during Friday night's first live televised presidential debate, the U.S. Senate "hotlined" and passed– by unanimous consent and with an amendment – S. 2913, the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008.

"It's extremely tragic to see this legislation passed in such a manner, while the nation is at such an important economic precipice," National Press Photographers Association president Bob Carey said this morning when he learned the news.

"It's inconceivable that the Senate leadership would use the 'hot lining' system to pass a bill at this time."

On Friday there was an agressive, last-minute push by Congress to pass the legislation. Observers said the Hill was being "hammered" by communications from the library community (specifically the American Library Association) where the bill has wide-spread support.

An "orphan work" is a photograph or illustration that is protected by copyright but whose copyright owner cannot be identified or located. The purpose of the Orphan Works Act of 2008 is to unlock copyrighted works whose copyright owners are unknown or unable to be found, works that are said to be "orphaned."

---

Forwarded message:

ORPHAN WORKS ALERT - ACT NOW!

SAA learned yesterday about an aggressive last-minute push by Congress to pass Orphan Works legislation. The Senate was "hot lining" the Orphan Works Bill (S2913) for a vote, and the House was expected to follow suit.

We've now learned that the Senate bill was passed.
We must immediately turn our attention to the House.

We need to stop the House Judiciary Committee from folding their own bill (HR5889) and moving to adopt the Senate version.

PLEASE EMAIL CONGRESS RIGHT AWAY.

The CapWiz site is set up to make this a very quick and easy process. A letter is prepared, and all you need to do is enter your contact information.

Send an email now

70 organizations and over 100,000 visual artists have united in opposing this bill in its current form. They represent photographers, illustrators, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms who all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.

With thanks to the Illustrators Partnership, the Capwiz site makes it easy to communicate to members of Congress. There's also a resource that encourages international participation.

This came yesterday. Sorry guys.

ASMP Urgent: Last Minute Senate Action

Dear Members:

ASMP has received a draft of proposed revisions to the Senate version of the orphan works legislation, S. 2913, the “Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008.” We have also received word that the Senate will probably act on it very soon, which means within the next couple of days. Our understanding is that it may be attached as an amendment to other legislation. We need you to act today!

The changes that we have seen are, indeed, improvements for copyright owners. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Senators who listened and responded to our concerns and the issues facing photographers. Unfortunately, the Senate version still does not have some of the safeguards that we consider necessary for photographers, such as the requirement of a Notice of Use and an archive of such notices. We must continue to seek improvements to the legislation.

Even if this bill passes in the House, the odds are that it will not be enacted in this Congress. However, if it is passed in the Senate, it will serve as a benchmark for drafting orphan works legislation in both chambers in the next Congress, and that would not be in your best interests.

Please e-mail your Senators today and ask them to oppose the attachment of the orphan works bill to other legislation and to oppose the passage of it until it has been further improved. We urge you to write to your Senators as soon as possible. You can find the name and contact information for your two Senators on this site. (After you have selected your state, your Senators will be the first two names in the list.) The list contains links to send “electronic communications” to your Senators. You can find a letter that you can copy, paste, edit and send to your Senators, immediately below. Please feel free to change the wording as you wish.

It will take you only a few minutes to send your e-mail, and it is crucial that you do this as soon as possible.

As always, thank you for your help and support.

Letter:

Re: S.2913 the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008

Dear Senator ___________:

I am one of your constituents, a professional photographer, and a member of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). It is crucial to my professional livelihood that you oppose both the attachment of this bill to other legislation and the passage of this bill in its current form. I greatly appreciate the improvements in the bill’s language that have very recently been proposed, but it needs further improvements before it is fair to photographers.

I urge you to oppose this bill, whether as stand-alone legislation or as part of another bill, unless and until it is amended to contain at least the minimum provisions that are critical to protect photographers. These include but are not limited to a notice of use that must be filed before the use is made, upon penalty of losing eligibility to claim orphan work status for failure to file the notice and an archive of the notices, to be maintained by the Copyright Office or an approved third party.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can provide you with any additional information. Thank you for your time. I hope that you will take the necessary actions to protect my interests and prevent the passage of this bill until it is amended to be fair and reasonable to all parties.

Respectfully yours,
(your name)

On the evening of Friday September 26th, S. 2913 was passed by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent, i.e. not a single Senator objected to the legislation. Although not enough time may be left for House passage of the legislation, the Senate passage is a major blow for opponents of the legislation that had undertaken an all out assault to defeat the legislation. Again, not one U.S. Senator objected to S. 2913.


Please read my previous blog post:

Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own Art

for information about the Senate's Orphan Works Bill and the devastating consequences it will have on creators rights worldwide.

You can use this link to find information on how to contact your government's representatives (including international artists/friends overseas)

---

Forwarded message:

ORPHAN WORKS ALERT - ACT NOW!

SAA learned yesterday about an aggressive last-minute push by Congress to pass Orphan Works legislation. The Senate was "hot lining" the Orphan Works Bill (S2913) for a vote, and the House was expected to follow suit.

We've now learned that the Senate bill was passed.
We must immediately turn our attention to the House.

We need to stop the House Judiciary Committee from folding their own bill (HR5889) and moving to adopt the Senate version.

PLEASE EMAIL CONGRESS RIGHT AWAY.

The CapWiz site is set up to make this a very quick and easy process. A letter is prepared, and all you need to do is enter your contact information.

Send an email now

70 organizations and over 100,000 visual artists have united in opposing this bill in its current form. They represent photographers, illustrators, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms who all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.

With thanks to the Illustrators Partnership, the Capwiz site makes it easy to communicate to members of Congress. There's also a resource that encourages international participation.

This came yesterday. Sorry guys.

ASMP Urgent: Last Minute Senate Action

Dear Members:

ASMP has received a draft of proposed revisions to the Senate version of the orphan works legislation, S. 2913, the “Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008.” We have also received word that the Senate will probably act on it very soon, which means within the next couple of days. Our understanding is that it may be attached as an amendment to other legislation. We need you to act today!

The changes that we have seen are, indeed, improvements for copyright owners. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Senators who listened and responded to our concerns and the issues facing photographers. Unfortunately, the Senate version still does not have some of the safeguards that we consider necessary for photographers, such as the requirement of a Notice of Use and an archive of such notices. We must continue to seek improvements to the legislation.

Even if this bill passes in the House, the odds are that it will not be enacted in this Congress. However, if it is passed in the Senate, it will serve as a benchmark for drafting orphan works legislation in both chambers in the next Congress, and that would not be in your best interests.

Please e-mail your Senators today and ask them to oppose the attachment of the orphan works bill to other legislation and to oppose the passage of it until it has been further improved. We urge you to write to your Senators as soon as possible. You can find the name and contact information for your two Senators on this site. (After you have selected your state, your Senators will be the first two names in the list.) The list contains links to send “electronic communications” to your Senators. You can find a letter that you can copy, paste, edit and send to your Senators, immediately below. Please feel free to change the wording as you wish.

It will take you only a few minutes to send your e-mail, and it is crucial that you do this as soon as possible.

As always, thank you for your help and support.

Letter:

Re: S.2913 the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008

Dear Senator ___________:

I am one of your constituents, a professional photographer, and a member of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). It is crucial to my professional livelihood that you oppose both the attachment of this bill to other legislation and the passage of this bill in its current form. I greatly appreciate the improvements in the bill’s language that have very recently been proposed, but it needs further improvements before it is fair to photographers.

I urge you to oppose this bill, whether as stand-alone legislation or as part of another bill, unless and until it is amended to contain at least the minimum provisions that are critical to protect photographers. These include but are not limited to a notice of use that must be filed before the use is made, upon penalty of losing eligibility to claim orphan work status for failure to file the notice and an archive of the notices, to be maintained by the Copyright Office or an approved third party.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can provide you with any additional information. Thank you for your time. I hope that you will take the necessary actions to protect my interests and prevent the passage of this bill until it is amended to be fair and reasonable to all parties.

Respectfully yours,
(your name)

Paul Newman Dies at 83 A Magnetic Titan of Hollywood Full Article: http://www. nytimes. com/ "By ALJEAN HARMETZ Published: September 27, 2008 Paul Newman, one of the last of the great 20th-century movie stars, died Friday at his home in Westport, Conn. He was 83. The cause was cancer, said Jeff Sanderson of Chasen & Company, Mr. Newman’s publicists. If Marlon Brando and James Dean defined the defiant American male as a sullen rebel, Paul Newman recreated him as a likable renegade, a strikingly handsome figure of animal high spirits and blue-eyed candor whose magnetism was almost impossible to resist, whether the character was Hud, Cool Hand Luke or Butch Cassidy. He acted in more than 65 movies over more than 50 years, drawing on a physical grace, unassuming intelligence and good humor that made it all seem effortless. Yet he was also an ambitious, intellectual actor and a passionate student of his craft, and he achieved what most of his peers find impossible: remaining a major star into a craggy, charismatic old age even as he redefined himself as more than Hollywood star. He raced cars, opened summer camps for ailing children and became a nonprofit entrepreneur with a line of foods that put his picture on supermarket shelves around the world."

WAMU met it's untimely end Thursday, Muxtape was nearly crushed by the RIAA, and now...

"Hi miseryXchord,

Thank You. Goodbye. Uber will be turned off on Monday.

Thank You.

That's the first thing that we wanted to say. We have some bad news. The crisis in the economy has claimed Uber as its latest victim. Our investors have decided to stop supporting Uber and we have closed the doors. We would like to thank them too; it's no fault of theirs that this happened. On the contrary, without their unflinching support we would never have made it this far, and they have stood by us and tried desperately to help us realize our dreams.

The site will be inactive as of Monday September 29, 2008.

We, the former Uber staff, are very disappointed in this outcome and feel bad that we can't continue this journey we started with you. Uber was an art project in the form of a for-profit corporation whose mission was to change the way the Internet was built. We felt and still feel that everyone needs a voice in this new medium, not just the big media giants. We tried to build a site that let people of every skill level, every style, and every generation express themselves and meet fellow individuals.

After two years of refining Uber, listening to your feedback and working at breakneck speed to try and make a product that accomplished this goal, we were unfortunately cut short right as we got on a roll. But we're not quitters. The team behind Uber will undoubtedly reform in a new way and bring another set of ideas to you and will have had the benefit of the wonderful experience we had here to aid us on our way.

If you would like to join our movement and be notified when the next project from the ex-Uber team surfaces, please send your name and email to whatsupnext@gmail.com and we'll keep you posted.

Good ideas will eventually win. You gotta believe that. We do. Thank you.

The (Former) Uber Team"

So (in my misery of a post-sleeping-at-a-bus-station case of strep throat)  I get woken up by the phone today and it's my specialist down in the San Diego area who's received the results from my recent batch of lab tests, and wants me to go down there two months early to see her... like, next week. This likely means my tests for Lyme Disease and/or Babesiosis came back positive again (I'm chronically infected after getting bit by a tick and not diagnosed during that "treatable if caught early" phase that may or may not actually exist).

So, it's probably for the best that Hellcat/Epitaph records is still ignoring any requests people have been making for photo passes for me, so I have no shows next week I'm supposed to be at... my next bus adventure will have to be going down to see my doctor.

Not that I wasn't expecting it.. I was actually going to call her this week to ask about the results and see if she was planning to restart treatment (treatment for Lyme involves high doses of advanced generation IV antibiotics, the reason I have a central IV port). It just figures I get the call while I'm thinking that the port I had put in in July (when they had to replace the one that decided to burst out of my chest) is the wrong size/shape/type to have in someone my size, because I can already see the rigid metal edges of the thing through my skin and it's only been in for two months (and it hasn't even been used yet because I've been off treatment to be retested).

Prior to this and the last one (same type) that broke through, I had a nice FLAT plastic one that the original of which had lasted over 2.5 years and only had to be replaced after a nurse injected clotted blood into it (yes, really). NO PROBLEMS. And it didn't hurt all the time, which having a big titanium flattened volcano shaped chunk of metal sitting on my rib does. So I've been trying to think of how to ask my doctor to ask the surgeon to replace this one, and whether they'd do it, when nothing is technically wrong with it (I think I can argue that the other one continued to work perfectly when it was actually sticking out of my skin, but that didn't mean it didn't need to be replaced :P).

I think the reason they use the chunky titanium one at that surgical center is basically the rationale for using any "industrial model" thing. It's hard to break and does the job. They didn't seem overly concerned with it lasting more than 7-8 months before having to be replaced.... unfortunately, I AM. They only have to deal with putting them in and taking them out... having to live with IV therapy for years on end and not wanting to have surgery every year to replace something that can realistically last for years if it's the correct type and placement is a slightly different perspective.

In the meantime, I have to go down to the hematology/oncology center tomorrow and get pumped full of IV iron again... my body is still not storing iron, so every 3 months or so I get to the point that I'm so severely anemic that I'm down to 5-7% iron saturation (for comparison, under 22% is low and at 32% I feel great).

Depending on whether we're going to try to have to port replaced, I'm going to ask my lyme specialist for a referral to a plastic surgeon for the scars they left on me taking out the last two ports. (If anyone really wants to punish their eyes I'll post a photo of what my "mauled by a Yeti while hiking in Tibet" scar looks like now)

So I trek out to Alex's in Long Beach to shoot my friend's band on the Race To Hell Tour, and when Revolution Mother goes on another photographer with a decent camera (using a mounted flash unit) IMMEDIATELY BLINDS ME because he's trying to bounce his flash off the ceiling (which is a perfectly good technique) but is fiddling with the flash every shot repositioning it and more than half the time is NOT pointing it at the ceiling.... he's pointing it backwards (flashing the crowd and or ME right in the face) or is holding his camera sideways and the flash is pointing off way-yonder (like 90 degree angle from the ceiling).

Looking over his shoulder (also went in front of me multiple times so at one point I gave up and waited for him to go away... because he'd TWICE flashed me directly in the face with his flash pointed backwards when he did) his images looked pretty good (he reviewed them frequently) but he really was NOT paying attention to anything but what he was doing; definitely not to where his flash was going... just the results he was getting on his viewfinder.

(Must note that the stage was only a couple of feet tall and there was no barricade... audience right up to the front if they wished to.. so this wasn't a case where the photogs were seperated from the rest of the people there. If the flash was pointed at the crowd, it was only from a 4-8 feet away from people, and often less for the other poor hapless (and still somewhat dazzled) photographer present)

Yes, if you've seen my shots, I was also using flash (D700 has a nice popup and I was doing slow sync long exposures. No choice, it was DARK in there) but I also turned the power down to 1/6-1/8 and tried not to get too close to people (the reason for the lack of my usual in-your-face shots of Wedge, because he has nice eyes, and I didn't want to fry them :) ....and a popup is no where near as powerful as a seperate flash unit to begin with.

He disappeared after Rev Mother's set, so I didn't get a chance talk to him about it (it was way too loud during their set to communicate) :-(

1 second exposure, 1/250 slow sync flash, ISO 200... Even with the new godcamera, this place was DARK. And not only dark, the walls were painted red, and the lighting consisted entirely of DIM RED easy-bake oven lights (okay, maybe not really easy bake oven lights. I think those are actually brighter) recessed into the ceiling. I used a slow sync flash set to go off at the end of a 1 second exposure, and I think the effect goes really well with the entire "Race To Hell Tour" theme and venue decor. (Too bad the black velevt Elvis paintings were on the opposite wall). Still downloading... I'll edit a few of the ones I shot without flash later... The show gallery is HERE used a slow sync flash set to go off at the end of the exposure, and I think the effect goes really well with the whole "Race To Hell Tour" theme.

Can we just not reward people for taking a photo off of someone else's website and posting it on Buzznet, PLEASE?





It doesn't make it okay that the band member in it is really popular or that it's a cool photo. It just doesn't.





That actually makes it worse in a lot of ways.





Let the band/photographer/record label/whoever post it, and THEN feature it.





Or Buzznet can get from the band/photographer/record label/whoever and post it on the music page if it's so rad.





But it's sending mixed messages when a shot is featured that fan(s) just found somewhere on the web and reposted... but a ton of photos other fans are posting in the band communities are being (laboriously) deleted for copyright and TOS violations.

I'm on my way to the store to buy clippers to give myself a mohawk (Faye has refused to participate for fear of being involved in a disaster, but Yashi is game).

Any last minute tips, speak now or forever hold you peace :-)
 
Other than hacking at my bangs twice with a pair of kitchen scissors, my hair hasn't been cut since mid-1998. Half the time since then was spent being toxically medicated into unconsciousness by my doctors, while it grew uncontrolled and unhealthily saturated with whatever they were pumping into me, compounded by malnutrition and anemia. The new growth looks good but it's buried by damaged mess, and I don't want to just go get a generic supercuts trim to take off the deadwood. I haven't had a mohawk in (mumblemumble) years. It's time.

Yes, we'll be filming it for posterity.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d700.htm



But with this lens, not the one pictured above...

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/24-70mm.htm

A huge thank you to Black Shadow Photography for passing this along:

Pete Jenkins, the Vice-chair of the NUJ (http://www.nuj.org.uk/) Photographer’s sub committee sent through a very insightful article he wrote for the British Journal of Photography on concert photography and the increasing trend of rights grabs contracts.

For a number of years now bands’ tour managers have sometimes presented music photographers with contracts or agreements as they enter venues to shoot gigs. Almost always detrimental in terminology to the photographer, these contracts are presented in such a way that to not sign is to not be allowed entry to the gig. It (usually) doesn’t matter who the photographer represents, how far they may have travelled, or who they are. No signature equals no access.

Download the full PDF of the article below.

BJP Rights Grab Article

I don't care about what you do for a living
I want to know what you love most,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.

I don't care how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for our dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

I don't care what your fucking sign is,
I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals or
if you have become hard and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can tolerate pain, mine or your own,
without trying to hide it or change it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own;
If you can get crazy and dance, letting the fun fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be
careful, be realistic or to remember the limitations of being human.

I don't care if the story you are telling me is true,
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty
even when it is not pretty every day,
and if you can source your life from wisdom and compassion.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
And still stand up and shout gabba gabba hey, for no reason at all.

I don't care about where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done for the children.

I don't care who you are, what band you are in or how cool you are.
I want to know if you will stand in the middle of the fire with me and fight for what we know is right.

I don't care what religion, race, sexual preference or political stance you have.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments

~from The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, as adapted by Noah Levine