Inert Ramblings

Most photojournalists have started tagging their photos with IPTC metadata to aid in copyrighting and indexing their massive collection of images. Some news organizations also require that all digital images be tagged to properly track and attribute the file during the production process. This metadata, however, can lead to some compromising moments if not properly sanitized or redacted before publication.

Read “Metadata and thumbnails can out your sources” at Pixoul Photography…

I’m on a roll. Aaron Johnson has used another one of my captions for his brilliantly outstanding What the Duck comic strip about photographers and what they deal with on a daily basis. I’m truly honored!

Aaron Johnson, esteemed author of What the Duck, used my caption for What the Duck 97 - whine rack. If you haven’t checked his Web comic out already it’s 100% comedy genius. After almost 100 episodes it hasn’t lost any of its flair and illustrates the trials and tribulations that photographers go through on a daily basis. Think of it as BOFH but for photographers.

Laziness had prevented me from finding a decent free Flash photo gallery viewer for Pixoul.com but I ran across something on macosxhints. There’s an AppleScript available to export from iPhoto to SimpleViewer. Yay. Or something. Now all I need is some time to play around with it.

Some people sleep on the job while others camp out in the parking lot; at any given time over my lunch hour there are half a dozen or more people snoozing away taking their siesta in their cars. The Interdictor is still standing strong and holding down the fort even after a group of overzealous troops from the 82nd Airborne decided to poke at him with M4-A1s. UnDutchables 0.2.3 has been released which deprecates Wasia B7.1. And Trunkmonkey Racing is still seeking sponsorship.

A month or two ago I was having a discussion with Andrew about model releases and subjects of photographs having federal protection against the use of their likeness in a commercial context. Although I incorrectly insisted that model releases were federally required, technically I was correct about subjects having protection at a federal level.

Taken from Chapter 10 of Dan Heller’s Profitable Photography in the Digital Age:

It should be stated right up front that a model release is not required or mandated by any federal or state laws in the United States. However, as will be discussed thoroughly, individuals have a “right” to choose certain conditions under which someone may use a photo of them, and if those rights are violated, that person could bring a “civil” lawsuit against the photographer and/or others that may be culpable. What those conditions are is where this entire issue gets sticky and is the basis for many barroom brawls.

Even if someone uses a picture of someone else in a way that would require a model release, no one but the subject of the photo can do anything about it. There are exceptions to that, such as movie stars or other celebrities who are under contract with representation who would move lawyers swiftly in your direction, but the important point is: the government isn’t going to hunt you down if you use a photo of someone without their permission.

Sample Model Releases:

• Dan Heller
• iStockPhoto.com
• ShutterStock.com
• Art-Support.com
• About.com
• i-Step Communications
• Apogee Photo Magazine
• National Press Photographers Association

I’ve started uploading random photos from my collection to iStockPhoto.com in hopes of bringing in a steady flow of nickel and dime cash. Am I whoring myself out below market cost? Yes. Would my Father ridicule me? Probably. Is it enough cash to treat my wife to dinner that I otherwise wouldn’t have? You bet!

So check it out and tell me what you think. Heck, why not purchase an image or two? Be your best friend!

After a month or two of procrastination, I finally decided to reflash my Digital Rebel and upgrade the firmware to version 1.1.1. Since I purchased a FireWire Delkin CompactFlash reader, I had the ability to write the firmware to a card without jumping through the hoops of a data upload via the camera’s USB cable.

The upgrade went without a hitch, and only took a couple minutes. I haven’t noticed any changes in the camera, but I’m a geek and it gives me the warm fuzzies to have the latest and greatest code on all of my hardware.