PDNEWS
Online News Digest
continued from page 16
© EGGLES TON ARTIS TIC
TRUST/CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD
“Untitled, 1973,” one of 36 Eggleston photos
sold at a March 12 auction.
Collector Sues Eggleston Over New
Prints of Limited-Edition Works
After William Eggleston generated $5.9 million
from a March auction of large-scale, digital
versions of some of his iconic works, a major
photo collector sued the photographer, accusing
him of devaluing his vintage, limited-edition dye
transfer prints. http://bit.ly/I8DPMe
Graham Wins $150K Hasselbald Award
British photographer Paul Graham won the 2012
Hasselblad Foundation International Award in
Photography for a body of work he’s produced
over his 40-year career. http://bit.ly/x4o9AY
I woke up and it was pouring rain. I sat in the driveway crying, [but] I went out there [anyway]. I wasn’t
sure what I was getting. Later when I had the film
processed I was blown away by how beautiful the
pictures were. One of the things I tell people: Don’t
be afraid of weather, because sometimes something
that you don’t necessarily see with your eye will be
picked up by the camera. Happily I learned that lesson early on: Whatever the weather is, I know that
I’m going to be able to make a beautiful picture, and
I don’t fret about it.
PDN: How early do you start shooting?
SB: It’s still dark. I try to get there 30 minutes before sunrise. I do it methodically: I look at the lay of
the land, and I make the plan about how I’m going
to move around the garden to get it all done. I usually start shooting before dawn, then shoot non-stop
until I feel like I’ve got everything. Sometimes I’m
shooting from rooftops or out windows to get the
perspective I’m looking for.
PDN: So you don’t scout the gardens in advance?
SB: Sometimes, but I honestly prefer not to. I like the
surprise of what it’s going to be. That makes the pictures feel more successful, when I haven’t done any
pre-thinking about it, and they’re a gut reaction to
what’s happening with the light that morning and
what’s in bloom and what isn’t.
PDN: Do you shoot alone?
SB: Yes. Occasionally, if there’s a pool area, a stylist
will show up with a breakfast set up or whatever.
Even though it’s a lot of extra effort to be at a big
property by yourself without someone helping with
equipment and you have to move it around a lot, I
like to be wandering alone in a beautiful place. It’s
the part I enjoy.
PDN: What type of camera do you use?
SB: For the most part I’m shooting with a Nikon D3. I
shoot on a tripod.
PDN: Why not shoot medium format?
SB: At first it was the ease of use, and an ability to
move more quickly. Now there’s fast moving medium format, too, but it’s just that I’m so comfortable
with the D3.
PDN: You use all natural light?
SB: Yes.
PDN: What lenses?
SB: I have a 60mm macro that’s my go-to lens for
close ups. The other lenses I use are all variations of
zooms because I don’t have time to keep changing
lenses and I’m too concerned about getting dust and
various things every time I change a lens.
PDN: So what’s your go-to zoom lens?
SB: I have a 28-105mm that’s usually just about
all I need. I have a 24-120mm that I use, and some
that are wider and longer, but I don’t use them that
frequently.
Utah Weighs Bill to Criminalize
Photos of Farming Operations
To stop People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals and other organizations from secretly
recording animal neglect and abuse, Utah
lawmakers are considering a bill to make it a
crime to photograph farming operations without
permission. Critics say the bill could violate the
First Amendment. http://bit.ly/x TLMPO
COPYRIGHT WATCH
THE LIABILITY-PROOF
WORLD OF PINTEREST (AND
OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS)
Boston to Pay $170K for Wrongful
Arrest of Videographer
The city has agreed to pay $170,000 to settle a
civil lawsuit for the wrongful arrest of Simon
Glik for videotaping police as they arrested
another man on the Boston Common in 2007.
The settlement is the result of a U.S. Court
of Appeals ruling that the First Amendment
protects the right to record police carrying out
their duties in a public place.
http://bit.ly/GYQN4U
Caught up in some bad PR over copyright issues, Pinterest has said all the
right things about its respect for intellectual property. Meanwhile, like
other social media sites, Pinterest has made sure that liability rests with
its users, and that its own legal risks are minimized. By David Walker
Israel Bans Use of Underweight Models
Israel has passed a law that bans the use of
“underweight” models in advertising. The
law also mandates that ads that have been
retouched to make models appear thinner must
include a disclaimer. Foreign publications sold in
Israel are not subject to the law.
http://bit.ly/GBHxBx
THE cOp YrIgHT INFrINgEmENT HAzArDS crEATED
by pinterest have been the subject of much media
attention, but the company actually sits on the same
safe, secure legal ground that other user-generated
social media sites occupy. Like Twitpic and Tumblr,
for instance, pinterest puts all legal risk squarely in
the lap of its users, while reaping the rewards of their
free labor, the free content they upload and their
growing appeal to potential advertisers.
For those who are unfamiliar with the site,
pinterest enables users to collect and “pin” content
that captures their eye (including pictures) from all
over the Web. The company’s succinct description
of itself is: “pinterest is an online pinboard. Organize
and share things you love.”
The company suddenly drew a lot of unwanted
media attention starting in late February after
pinterest user Kristen Kowalski, who happens to
be an attorney as well as a photographer, read the
pinterest terms of service (TOS) and realized that any
copyright infringement liability rested entirely on her
as a pinterest user. In a fit of worry, she cancelled her
account, and publicized her findings in a blog post
as a warning to other users. Her post went viral, and
suddenly pinterest had a pr nightmare on its hands.
