Page 2 - F Stop December 2017

Art Theft
Through the ages in the art world, there have been forgers. Even Michelangelo was known as a forger. Han van Meegeren, a popular painter during WW2 in the Netherlands was forging famous artists for the Nazis.
In the digital age, people just steal an image. Most people get away with it. Most photographers are not even aware their image has been stolen. Copying and stealing peoples work has been going on for centuries. The difference is now, with a click of the mouse, you can find out information so fast.
Can you imagine walking through Costco in the interior decorating department and there, on a
canvas, is your photo? But look, that's not your name. This happened to Megan Lorenz. Megan started a lawsuit against the company that was supplying Costco with the image. She won the case and was awarded $30,000.
Or how about turning on your computer only to see an advertisement of the Grotto with your picture as the main image, but credited back to a stock site that you have never heard of? That happened to our own Carol Harris. Carol has since contacted the stock site and I believe they have removed it from their inventory. But with an unknown number of shares, I am not sure how she could ever get restitution.
This has me wondering about posting on any internet site. We go to great lengths to protect ourselves. Some people even believe a watermark will protect them. Incidentally, both stories above were watermarked. If you post on the internet you better have thick skin and accept the fact that your image, no matter what you do, can be stolen.
Maureen and I went down to a photo show called "Profusion". This is put on by Vistek and was at the Toronto Convention Centre. Everyone in the photography industry was there with seminars, workshops and audio/visual shows. I highly recommend staying away from there because it will cost you too much (a little humour there). Actually, the truth is, there are incredible deals offered and it would be very difficult to leave without buying something. It's an amazing show with amazing products and prices. I recommend going next October for sure.
Each month there are great discussions on our closed Camera Club Facebook Group. We share images, critiques, and discuss current news relating to photography. I am asking anyone in our club who is on that page if they would be willing to do a synopsis of the month. I think it would be of some value to our members. It would be nice to have a review page in f-stop so if you're interested or have any questions contact Greg or myself.
All correspondence for f-stop can be sent to oscc.f.stop@gmail.com.
Randy O’Hara OSCC President