I remember the clearly.

I was leaving the mall with some friends from the fire department when I noticed a large column of smoke very close by. We then heard on the scanner that it was a 2 alarm fire and growing! My FD friends and I responded to the scene, they assisted with firefighting operations and I shot photos and video of the scene. I got the moneyshots before any other media could arrive.

After the fire was knocked down I met a newspaper photographer who asked me if I had any photos of flames. He got there about an hour later and shot nothing but a charred apartment building and photos of firefighters knocking down hot spots. I showed him the photos I had on my 2 megapixel Fuji Finepix digital camera, he complimented my photos and then put me in contact with photo editors. I sold the photo which ran 1B half page for $100. It was my first ever published news photo, little did I know that it would later lead me into a career of photojournalism.

You see I wanted to be a firefighter and only began taking photos to show all my friends the cool stuff we did in the fire dept. I was a Fire Dept. Explorer since I was 16, and once I turned 18 I became a volunteer firefighter then later a FD photographer. So I never thought that taking photos of car crashes and fires could make me any money. I also shot some video of the scene which I made about $200 selling to local television stations but it was a real pain in the neck having to meet with news crews or driving to their stations to dub my video. I found it much easier to just email a pic to newspapers.

Here are some photos from that scene.

Not bad for a rookie photographer with a 2megapixel point and shoot camera huh!?

Well a couple of days ago I returned home at around 330am from a late night assignment, a strong line of thunderstorms were moving in from the west and with it brought lots of lightning. My wife and I sat out in our patio to watch the awesome lightning show… at about 4am. The lightning was something I haven’t seen in Florida in a very long time. The flashes came within seconds apart, mulitple flashes per minute it almost looked like a strobe light was going off outside. It was a really cool lightning show. Eventually it died down and we went back inside to go to bed. I then heard on the scanner about sheriff deputies investigating smoke in the area, they later confirmed a fire and dispatched the fire department. I kept listening but didn’t think much of it and laid in bed with the scanner on. I then heard the first fire truck report heavy smoke and flames from a distance and automatically requested a second alarm response! Thats when I jumped up out of bed and started to get dress. The fire was only about a mile from house and I knew that a major fire happening at 5am on a Sunday morning can be big news. As the engine arrived on scene he went to a 3rd alarm. At that time I was pulling out of my drive way and saw the column of smoke and the orange glow… this was gonna be good.

I got on scene and saw the apartment roaring with fire, fire fighters went into the units and did their searches to make sure nobody was left inside. Luckily one of the Hillsborough County Sheriff deputies smelled the smoke in the area and once he found the fire he began knocking on doors and evacuating nearby units. I honestly think those deputies saved lives that day. Shortly after I arrived the FD sounded their truck air horns ordering everyone out of the building as the roof began to collapse. Residents were seen all over the area some only had enough time to grab their pets and clothes on their backs. In all 12 families were effected most loosing everything in their apartments. The Red Cross and other emergency agencies were on scene to help them through this traumatic time. Fires are great to shoot and make impressive photos but I always have in the back of my mind the families that loose everything because of the fires.

Here are those photos:

I carry at least one camera with me at all times not including my iPhone4 because as we already know news can happen at any time. One night I left my cameras charging at home and went out to eat with my wife at one of our favorite Tampa restaurants. About half way through the dinner I got a message from a friend that there was a major fire nearby.  I was just about to cut the dinner short and  head out to the scene when I realized I had no camera! The restaurant where I was at was only 5 minutes away from the fire and I could actually see the column of smoke from the restaurant’s window. My home however was 35 minutes away!

This is one of the photos I made at that fire I mention in this post

By the time I finished up dinner, went home to retrieve my gear and head back to the scene there wasnt much to shoot. I made that mistake years ago and have never made that mistake since.

This past weekend I was driving around with my family and noticed a Blackhawk helicopter sitting in a field! It was part of a Veteran’s Day celebration that was wrapping up. Crews from the Blackhawk helicopter where turning on the engines and preparing to leave as a crowd gathered to watch. Now it isn’t every day you see a Blackhawk helicopter in Coachman Park in Clearwater so I jumped at the chance to make some photos. Here are a few.

Location of the umbilical leak Photo: NASA

So when I went to sleep last night there was a 60-70% chance of launch tomorrow but during the tank filling process this morning there happened to be a major leak in one of the umbilical cords to the tank. And if that wasn’t bad enough NASA discoved a 8 inch crack in the foam of the external fuel tank. So the launch was scubbed and NASA will try again Nov 30th… fingers still crossed!

8" crack in the foam attached to the external fuel tank Photo: NASA

I’ve covered the annual Guavaween party in Ybor City for the past 12 years and this year had to be the weakest one by far! The balcony’s were empty, the crowds were sparse and all of the ladies kept all of their clothes on. It was a far stretch from years past when people let beads, boobs, and fists fly sometimes creating an unsafe atmosphere. This year felt very safe and I only saw one minor scuffle which police quickly broke up.

I personally think it was because of the parade banning motorized vehicles on the parade route. Less parade floats equals less beads and less beads equals less fun in my opinion! However I did get to chat with fellow St. Pete Times photog Willie Allen, a really cool dude who knows his stuff and a pleasure to be around.

On my way home I heard a fire alarm for an apartment fire in Tampa with flames shooting through the roof, naturally I responded to shoot it. I got there and made some nice photos, it had been awhile since I have photographed a working fire with flames.. ah the good ol days… When I was done with that I stopped at Salem’s on Fletcher ave which is my favorite spot for late night Gyros and called it a night…

Here is the photo they ran in the next day’s St. Petersburg Times

It started out with the normal parties to cover, starting with the Erotic Exotic Ball at Club Skye in Ybor city on Monday followed by Jackson’s party on Friday. Jackson’s has one of the largest Halloween parties in Tampa with a $4000 costume contest which attracts people in wicked costumes from all over Tampa Bay. As I was photographing the winners of the contest I got a text from a friend of mine who was at Tampa General Hospital. He could see Jackson’s from his window as well as the Harbour Island bridge, he told me that there are lots of emergency vehicles on the bridge. I responded that I would check it out when I was done shooting the winners. When I walked outside I saw lots of police cars as well as fire apparatus blocking the entire bridge. I asked an officer who was posted at the edge of the crime scene tape what was going on and he responded that it was a traffic fatality, so I started shooting photos. I went back to my car and grabbed my long lense and shot the scene from the balcony of Jackson.

I later found out that three workers from the nearby Marriott where walking home when a drunk driver lost control and slammed into the group. One person 24 year old Kate Kohlier died at the scene and 23 year old Doug Kozar died at the hospital from his injuries. There has been too much drunk driving in Tampa lately including a former co-worker and my wife’s best friend Gina Villegas was tragically killed when a drunk driver hit her head on. I am glad I made these photos from the scene so people can see the destruction and devastation drunk driving causes. The photo ran in the following day’s St. Petersburg Times and I am sure will be a story people will be talking about for a long time. RIP Doug Kozar and Kate Kohlier.

And here is the photo (taken with iPhone)  published in the next day’s St. Petersburg Times PG 1B

STS-132 Atlantis lifts off

Space Shuttle Discovery was scheduled to launch on Monday and I had my Canon 500mm lense ready to go but with a string of bad luck Discovery still sits on pad 39A waiting to blast off. Space Shuttle Discovery has been delayed from everything from fuel leaks, engine problems and now weather Friday calls for a 60% chance of acceptable launch weather. This is Discovery’s last mission ever and everyone is excited to see her leave the pad one last time including myself. NASA will meet today at 5:30am to determine if the weather will cooperate enough to begin filling the external fuel tanks for a target liftoff of 3:02pm Friday afternoon… Fingers crossed!

No matter what your party affiliation is, when the president comes to town it’s a pretty big deal. Recently I photographed President Obama and Vice President Biden as they visited Tampa together and i’d like to share some tips and tricks with you.

Normally it is  unusual for the President and Vice President to make appearances together but when they do the security around the venue and along the parade route is extremely tight.  Agencies including the Secret Service, FBI, ATF and local law enforcement officers meet to create a plan of action usually two weeks in advance. Officials plan for everything from assassination attempts to medical emergencies and everything in between for the visit.  If you cannot get into the actual even you will most likely be photographing the protesters that are usually present at every appearance the President makes. Depending on how popular.. or unpopular the current president is will usually determine how many protesters will be at the event and the level of potential problems. Protesters are usually restricted to a certain area sometimes called a “Free Speech Zone” but sometimes they are allowed to line the parade route holding up signs and shouting to the motorcade as it passes. Sometimes bold protesters will infiltrate the venue and try to cause a disruption, especially during town hall style meetings. Obviously law enforcement and Secret Service will handle those individuals accordingly.

As an un-credentialed freelance photographer you will probably be limited to shooting outside with the general public along the motorcade route which can still make for some great photos. Some of you will be on assignment for a publication and will be allowed in the venue to cover the event. If approved to shoot the President’s visit inside the venue expect to get there early! Before you even step foot into the venue the Secret Service has probably already done a background check on you as well as verified your affiliation with the media outlet you are representing so make sure the information you presented for verification is correct. At the venue expect a security screening by explosive detection dogs, magnetometers and a physical inspection of your gear. Bring just the minimum amount of gear with you but don’t forget your step-stool, it will be great for seeing over the hoard of photographers and a great place to sit and rest while you are waiting for the President to arrive. Once your inspection is complete and you have been cleared for entry expect to wait a long time for the president to arrive. Just like with many other news events there will be a lot of down time, use that opportunity to network with other photogs and make friends. Don’t act like a know-it-all either, always be humble, respectful and professional you are a member of the media not a groupie.

Personally I prefer to be out among the protesters and watching as the motorcade rolls by, it amazes me how much security and planning goes into the simple act of getting the President from the airport to the venue.  Just getting the presidential limos, communications trucks and tactical equipment needed to protect the president is pretty amazing. All of the equipment needed flies ahead of the president in special military transport aircrafts and arrives before Air Force One touches down.

Once AF1 touches down and the president steps off the massive plane the Secret Service creates what they refer to as “the bubble” which is an invisible area of protection surrounding the president, his top aids, and family members if they are traveling with him. If you are lucky enough to be at the airport as AF1 arrives be prepared to wait and wait and wait! [private_pro] Once screened for security you will have to remain in the designated media area until the president leaves the airport so bring snacks! For obvious reasons you will be kept pretty far away from the aircraft as well as the motorcade that will be parked and waiting for the presidents arrival. So to get the ever popular come out of the door and wave shot you need a long lense. Preferably a 300mm lense will be great to get the shot when he poses in front of the door next to the presidential seal but i’d reccomend another option. Purchase a 2x teleconvertor to attach to your 70-200mm making it a 140-400mm, the optical quailty will not be as good as a 300mm prime and you will lose some light but it is super lightweight. Once he gets off the plane keep shooting him! … I mean PHOTOGRAPHING him because if he happens to trip and fall that photo can make some money!

Usually there are guests waiting to greet the president once he lands such as the mayor, governor, senators and local citizens who the White House has chosen to meet the president.  Start cranking out photos, take off that teleconvertor and use the 70-200mm and preferably a nice wide lense like a 17-40mm or equivalent, a 24-70mm will work great also. Shoot photos of the president greeting every person because you never know the importance of that person, it could be of value in the future. As a general rule if the president is out of the limo I keep my camera pointed at his direction at all times. In the unlikely but probably event of an assassination attempt you want to get any and all photos of the scene, shooters, president, and any and everything surrounding that incident! We are talking a historic moment in United States history so if you are off staring at something else or checking a text message you will miss the shot of a lifetime, you should probably hang up your camera and never be a photog again!  But seriously it is smart to take as many photos as physically possible so make sure you have plenty of room on your memory card and fully charged batteries.

Scene Safety

Honestly there probably isn’t a safer place to be than in the middle of a presidential visit. At any given time there are undercover federal and local officers, snipers, surveillance cameras and uniformed cops covering every and any angle around the president so overall it is pretty safe. However we are dealing with the president of the United States of America and as history has proven there are evil people who wish to harm him. It could happen, and if it does don’t stop taking photographs, unlike film photographers of the past we have the ability to take hundreds or even thousands of images without even changing our memory card…. so fill it up!

Now I have obviously never have photographed an assassination attempt on a president but I would imagine that after the initial chaos the Secret Service may try to confiscate your images to help with their criminal case against the attacker (if he is still alive) so I would try to upload all of your photos to your laptop before handing them over, because it can be months or even years before you see what is on that memory card. Personally I would pop in another memory card and keep the original in your camera and when asked to hand over the images I would give them a blank card until I made copies of the photos myself. If faced with that scenario do not alter or delete anything on the card as it will be a criminal investigations. Obviously do what a cop tells you to do especially if it’s the Secret Service!

The only actual safety concern that you will probably run into would be a riot or other civil unrest from protestors that will likely be at the visiting . Protesters are usually peaceful but with any large crowd you should always pay attention. If the police decides to disperse a large crowd they will sure to use tear gas, bean bag guns, flash bangs and police horses. An incident like this makes for great images but it increases the chances of you being arrested greatly. If the police starts throwing protesters in jail and you are nearby you will probably be scooped up and taken with the rest of them. You will probably not be charged if you are not breaking any laws, and as we already know photography is not a crime!

Equipment and Personnel

When the president comes to your town expect him to come with no less than 20 vehicles but usually about 40 including Counter Assault Teams, communications staff and vehicles, White House staff and aides, as well as medical and other support staff. Here are some things you should look for.

“Black Ambulance”
Honestly I do not know what the role of the black ambulance is, some say its a mobile trauma center others say it contains the Counter Assault Team (CAT) either way it is a pretty misterious vehicle that is with the president when he travels

Vice President
The Vice President’s limo is a little bit smaller than the President’s limo aka. The Beast and has a white colored flag opposite of the American flag.

Decoy Limo
The President’s motorcade will have two limos one used as a decoy/backup they are identical and are sometimes used to transport family members of the President.

The Beast
The Presidential limo is easily distinguished from the decoy because of the two SUVs containg CATs flanking the limo.

Motor Units
The local police agencies will assist the motorcade by blocking off intersections to help the motorcade travel the route without stopping.

EOD K-9 Units
Local police will provide explosives detection K-9s to the motorcade to inspect and clear suspicous vehicles or pacakages on the route.

Counter Snipers
The Secret Service has specially trained counter snipers that are posted up in strategic areas in and around where the president will be. You will most likely see them on top of buildings with binoculars watching and relaying information to the ground units.

Mounted Patrol
Police mounted patrol units provide extra muscle and non lethal force when dealing with large crowds. The officers and horses are usually highly trained and able to deal with large crowds and protesters. You will usually see the horses patrolling near groups of protesters just in case something gets out of hand.

Traffic Delays
The motorcade route will be on complete lockdown as soon as the president is inside his limo and no traffic will be allowed on the route. Cops will close down roads and intersections creating huge traffic backups and delays. It is best to be in position well before the President lands to avoid the backup.

Route Security
Cops will be on high alert all along the parade route watching for any suspicous activity from bystanders. Officers will usually be posted every 10 ft where large crowds form in addition to undercover officers inside the crowds.

Counter Assault Team (CAT)
In the event of an attack the Secret Service CAT will deploy to take care of the threat and to give the motorcade time to safely exit the area. The CAT will be in unmarked SUV with six team members highly trained to deal with just about any threat. If you see these guys come out be prepared to make some photos!

Money Shots

When the president travels a special group of photographers known as the White House Press Corps, these are mostly reporters and photographers from wire services and major television stations. and reporters follow the president everywhere he goes. They fly in Air Force One, ride in the motorcade and even fly with the president in special helicopters that are used for short visits near Washington D.C. . So as a freelance photographer you will probably not get a real “money shot” but these are some shots to look for when accepting an assignment

• The Man – Photos of the president are a dime a dozen and with the traveling press corps you will probably not get anything that they already have but it’s always good to have good current photos of the president, so not really a money shot but its great to have in your portfolio.

• Protestors – Its good to mingle with the protestors because you can get a feel for how they are feeling and if they are planning anything that would make a great photo.

• Crowd Shots- It is good to take random photos of the crowd and keep them in your archives. If an assasination attempt is made you may have a photo of the assasin in the crowd. If so you can sell that for thousands of dollars.

• Officers- I am all about building rapport with cops and what better way to build a trusting friendship with LEOs than a photo of them standing guard while the president’s motorcade zooms past. I’m not saying you should go out of your way for those photos but if you have an officer in one of your shots that you recognize sending him a print or an email of the photo will sure to make a new friend. As for federal agents such as Secrect Service I wouldn’t try to contact them for obvious reasons!

• Visitors – As with the Monica Lewinsky scandal that rocked the Clinton administration it is a good idea to photograph anyone the president comes in contact with. These photos may be used at a later time if the person greeting the president becomes newsworthy.

• Assasination Attempts – In the event of an assasination attempt or any sort of trouble the would cause the secret service to act photos of that scene will be very valuable. Keep in mind that the White House Press Corps. will be inside one of the vans following in the motorcade. If something was to happen you may be able to get the photo before they can respond. If so you got the money shot.

• The Motorcade – A photo of the president waving to the crowd from inside the presidential limo may sell to local papers, but will usually be of little value to national outlets if the trip is uneventful.

* All of the information in this post is gathered from personal experience, research and from the book “In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect” by Ronald Kessler . It gives great insight on the Secret Service and the people they protect.

[/private_pro]

A recent Gizmodo story, “Are Cameras the New Guns?,” created quite a stir in journalism circles recently. Gizmodo found that there appears to be an increase in the number of citizens arrested for filming abuse by police, or just police in action:

“In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

“Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.

“The legal justification for arresting the ‘shooter’ rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where ‘no expectation of privacy exists’ (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.”
I interviewed media attorneys Robb Harvey and Richard Goehler about this via e-mail. I have known Harvey for a couple of decades, dating back to when he represented my newsroom when I was news director. And I recently worked with Goehler on a Radio Television Digital News Association committee that wrote social media and blogging guidelines for newsrooms. You can read their edited responses below.

Al Tompkins: Are you seeing any new sensitivity by police to being photographed/videotaped?

Robb Harvey: The police have always been sensitive to accusations of wrongdoing or overreacting. I believe they are reacting to emerging technologies that allow millions of people to record events in real time, so we are likely to see more postings claiming misconduct and more efforts by police to prevent those postings.

The recent prosecutions mentioned in the Gizmodo article involved participants in the police action — persons being arrested or later charged. The video they have taken may be their best defense to the charges. Is the next step that law enforcement can prosecute recordings by bystanders? If that were the case, the widely disseminated video of the assault on Rodney King might never have seen the light of day.

Media organizations must remain vigilant and work to prevent the application of these laws in an unconstitutional way.

Richard Goehler: I would not say that I have seen any “new” sensitivity by law enforcement or firefighters here. In the past, I have heard about instances where police might confiscate or threaten to take a camera or recorder, but I would not call it a major newsgathering problem or interference.

I found the Gizmodo article very interesting. It seems to me that most of the cases highlighted in the article involved circumstances in which the videotaping or recording was of alleged abuse and/or improper conduct by the police. As a result, the police appeared more aggressive and more motivated to take action concerning the videotaping.

Often it appeared that the actions by law enforcement were in direct retaliation for the videotaping that had taken place. It was also interesting that these cases all took place in states or jurisdictions that have “two-party consent” statutes that let police officers make the argument that they had not consented to the videotaping.

Another interesting point about the cases in the article is that none of them involved traditional/mainstream media companies/reporters/videographers in their news gathering efforts. My sense is that law enforcement, even in a “two-party consent” state or jurisdiction, would be very cautious about trying to pursue claims like this against the media because doing so would surely bring a huge amount of attention and publicity with plenty of amicus support from other media organizations and journalism groups like the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Society of Professional Journalists.

What legal advice would you give to a journalist who wants to record video of an officer in action?
Goehler: Be careful that the place from which you are taping is not interfering with the police, and make sure that your news vehicle and camera equipment are not in the way. Every state that I am aware of has some statute on the books making it a crime to interfere with or obstruct official police business. I have been involved in a number of situations over the years in which this type of crime has been threatened (and a few instances in which criminal charges have actually been brought) by law enforcement against reporters and photographers.

If at the scene, a police officer orders that you move or position yourself in another place so as not to interfere, be prudent and use some good judgment. If you think you are being picked on and these orders are some type of retaliation by the officer, keep your head about you and continue to roll the tape while the officer directs you to another place, but try to keep the situation from escalating to the point where the officer writes you up for interfering with official police business. We may ultimately beat that ticket on a number of grounds, but it will likely mean lawyer time and effort with court appearances, etc.

The next thing I would recommend would be whenever possible, make sure that your news gathering efforts are open, visible and on public property. This will give you the best possible legal position or defense to any claim by a police officer for invasion of privacy (which truly is a merit-less claim), and/or any claim for illegal eavesdropping/recording under the most current state or federal statutes. Using cameras and other equipment with station logos, and having a marked news vehicle in the vicinity, will help in building a successful defense.

Harvey: From my observation, some police officers can be, shall we say, hyper-vigilant about the area around a crime investigation and can be quick to leap to accusations of “obstruction of justice” or “interference” with law enforcement.

Journalists should take care to … observe the “perimeter” established by the police. Identify yourselves as members of the media. If you are where you have a right to be, and are not violating someone’s privacy interests or some statute or regulation banning coverage of undercover officers, then you should have sound grounds to challenge efforts to restrict your reporting.

Sometimes a journalist will receive an order from a police officer that the journalist believes the officer lacks the authority to issue. The officer can still make an arrest or issue a citation — so exercise good judgment and take it up with the officer’s superior when things calm down.

Would your advice be any different for a person who is not working for a news department, but might be acting as a sort of citizen journalist?

Harvey: The law in the United States has not kept up with the role of citizen journalists. Many states will not even recognize them as news gatherers, or accord them the constitutional privileges and legal protections that journalists have. I would tell citizen journalists not to expect, or insist upon, special treatment.

Goehler: I don’t think my legal advice is really any different here. I think that whoever is doing the information gathering — whether it be a news reporter, a photographer, a citizen journalist or the passerby on the street — should be careful not to interfere with the activity of the police and should, whenever possible, be visible and on public property at all times. That will provide the person with the best possible legal position or defense to any of the claims discussed above.

I also think that even with today’s technology, it would be difficult for a police officer to make some type of claim that the recording done by a typical hand-held device was somehow an improper “surreptitious” or secret recording when it is done in the manner recommended above.

I do think, though, that there are some practical tips for citizen journalists who find themselves in situations like those described in the Gizmodo article. When possible, I think those individuals should seek out the support of traditional media organizations and groups like the Reporters Committee and SPJ. These groups can help provide valuable legal amicus support and/or public support through articles, editorials and publicity about these legitimate and important First Amendment activities. (And again, we need to make sure that our media clients are being vigilant as well to these situations.)

By: Michael Grecco michael@michaelgrecco.com

PART ONE
In 1976 congress passed a comprehensive copyright act that went into effect in 1978. That act is what we are governed by, for the most part, today. The law prevents the publishing, distribution and even photocopying of a copyrighted work without the creators permission (known as a license). That means all those ad agencies and magazine that copy work from your portfolios have technically broken the law.It has been said that copyright in general is deceivingly simple. In other words, it looks so easy but as you get deeper into it is actually very complex. For all of us the biggest aspect of the law is the registration of the images.

As photographers, the moment you press the shutter you have taken a copyrightable image. At the moment of capture the work is copyrighted. In most cases the photographer is the copyright holder. The exceptions are employees where the company owns the work, and photographers who have signed a work for hire agreement. Since the work is copyrighted at the moment of capture, work for hire agreements are not enforceable unless they are signed BEFORE the capture of the image. The law is very clear on this.

An image is not copyrightable if it has NO ARTISTIC merit. A copyrightable work most be, as the copyright offices says, an “original work of authorship.” In other words, if you are copying paintings the photograph itself might not be copyrightable because the painting is the underlying image. The photograph itself adds no artistic value. The example that is often given is that you can not copyright a phone book. There is no artistic merit to a phone book. There must be some sort of value to it, however minimal. Now, some of you who might think your photographs are not good enough to copyright are mistaken. These are extreme cases where the work has no merit at all.

You can NOT copyright a concept. The look and feel of the image is what is copyrightable, not the idea behind it. Another photographer can execute your same idea differently and be within his or her own right to do so. This is how the regulation reads:

The statute declares: “In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.”

Disclaimer: This is not meant as legal advice. I am not an attorney. This is intended for educational purposes only. Please consult an attorney regarding any questions or clarifications.

PART TWO
The next piece to the puzzle is the registration of the work. The copyright law was pushed through by publishers for fear of the new invention of the day, the copy machine. The fear at the time was that people would just take a magazine and “republish” it themselves. Thus because the process of copyright registration was set up with magazines in mind, it is not particularly photographer friendly. Having said that, registration is a necessary thing. The way the regulations are set up, all of the benefits of the 1976 copyright act come from the registration of your images.If someone infringes your images and they are not registered, the infringer has broken the law. Most infringers willingly take the risk, because they know most photographer’s do not register their material. They also know that they will pay little more when caught then they would have to if they licensed the image from you. The logical conclusion is why not take the risk. Without registration, you as the image maker bear the burden of proving what the image was worth and the burden of your own legal costs. There is no mechanism for triple fees or punitive damages without registration.

Once an image has been registered the law is set up to compensate the copyright holder with his or her legal fees and punitive damages of up to $150,000.00 per image infringed. One attorney I met at a panel discuss on copyright calls this the biggest legal “hammer” he knows of when negotiating settlement or prosecuting a copyright in infringement. The difference being registered and not is legally “stunning”. Having been personally infringed in the past I know all to well the difference myself.

A current work is copyrighted with or with out copyright notice attached. Remember it’s copyrighted at the time of creation. However, there is a new regulation that provides additional compensation for anyone removing a copyright notice from an image. This also serves to prove willfulness on the part of the infringer in the overall copyright case. For this reason I put notices directly on all of my images on the web.

For registration to have the force of the law it must be properly filled out and it must be received by the copyright office before the work is infringed. The office stamps the registration form when received, but I send my forms via FedEx in order to prove the date it was signed for. This way if the copyright office is backed up and stamping registrations late, I have record of its receipt. Again, registration after infringement only serves to prove the image is yours if you need to proceed to court. It does not give you the “legal hammer.” Register early!

Registration can be done in two ways, as a collection of unpublished work, or as published images. Below are the regulations from the copyright office for the registration of unpublished work:
1. A correctly completed application form;
2. A $30 non-refundable filing fee for each application; and
3. A nonreturnable deposit of the work to be registered.

Two or more unpublished photographs may be registered as a collection if:

1. The elements are assembled in an orderly form;
2. The combined elements bear a single title identifying the collection as a whole;
3. The copyright claimant in all of the elements and in the collection as a whole is the same; and
4. All of the elements are by the same author, or, if they are by different authors, at least one of the authors has contributed copyrightable authorship to each of the elements.

This is how I register all of my work before it leaves my studio. If anyone is interested in my methods please email me with the word “copyright” in the subject and I will email you my procedures.

The following are the regulations for registration of published work:

Published collections of photographs and all of the copyrightable elements of a unit of publication may be registered on a single form with a single fee if all of the photographs are owned by the same copyright claimant. Registration of a collection of photographs extends to each copyrightable element in the collection. There is no limit to the number of photographs that may be included in an unpublished collection.

In the case of published work two copies of the published work are required for deposit with the registration, not one. Also, published work MUST BE REGISTERED WITHIN 90 DAYS OF PUBLICATION. Seth has a theory that publishers have set the 90 day embargo periods up to prevent photographers from properly registering their work before the registration period ends. I would bet that this is a consideration for some publishers.

This is the proper way to do it. I am sure some of you have stories about situations where these procedures were not followed and the copyright holder still prevailed. I will repeat this is the proper way to do it, the way that should give you the most protection under the law.

As we get deeper into copyright you see how complex it can really be. I have learned most of this information through expert legal advice. Please find a good copyright attorney in you area for help when needed.

PART THREE

I hear the most questions about how to go about copying your unpublished work for deposit. I have a copycamera above my light box and shoot them as groups of four sheets of transparencies or four contact sheets at a time. I then take the copy film to a one hour lab and have them make a set of 4 1/2 by 5 1/2 prints for deposit. If anyone is interested in my methods please send me an email with the word “copyright” in the subject and I will send them to you.Other methods include:

1. Color copies or contact sheets can be submitted, but if you shoot a lot of film this can get expensive.
2. Making a video of the still images will work, but a single frame must be on the screen for 5 seconds at a time, making this method very slow.
3. You can also submit a CD, but it must be accompanied by a hard copy of some kind (ie. a laser print will do), of a sampling of images.
4. Photographic prints may be deposited. One attorney actually advised against this citing instances where people have gone to the library of congress and copied the work from the registration office. His advice was to not make the copies deposited too good to prevent this.

(Yet another way to register images.)
The “advanced course.”

You do not want to double register your images. An image is best protected by registering it early and once. Multiple registrations lead to confusion. Also, the second registration may negate the first. If a smart opposing attorney finds out that there was a later registration, after an infringement, a case can be made to negate the first and earlier registration. If that attorney succeeds with this strategy, you are no longer protected by the registration. In registering my web site, I did not register the images as a collection of photographs for fear of double registration. Instead, I registered the site in it’s entirety, including the text and the design of the site. This created an entirely new collection that is not just photographs which will help prevent a claim negating any earlier registrations.

Some infringers are protected by a law called the “Fair Use” law. This law is set in place to give certain groups access to news and educational information even though it is copyrighted. For example: If you photographed someone in the news that nobody else had images of, your image itself would be news worthy. Hence there is public interest and service if used. But “fair use” all depends on how the image is used. If Channel 2 news video taped the whole page that your image was published on, and mentioned that it ran in the News of the Universe, that would be a good example of fair use. If they shot a close up of the image, as if it were there picture, and made no attempt to license it, even though you’re listed in the phone book, that would be hard for them to defend as fair use. They could have simply done the right thing and licensed a usage. The infringer must justify why they used it with out permission. If they can satisfy a judge, it can be deemed “fair use.”

Parody also falls under the “Fair Use” doctrine. If you are using the look and feel of an image for the purposes of satire you are protected. The most recent and famous case I can think of is the “Naked Gun” movie poster that imitated Annie Lebowitz’s naked and pregnant photo of Demi Moore. Paramount Pictures won the case because it was a direct parody of the original Vanity Fair cover. The image looked just like her’s except Leslie Nielson’s head was pasted on the body.

The “The Digital Millennium Copyright Act” was passed recently. It protects web host providers (the people who have the computer that keep your site up on the Internet) from prosecution from their “clients” infringements. What that means is if “Bob” puts up his site and rips off all off your images, you can not prosecute motherearthlink for hosting “Bob’s” site. The good part is, for that protection from prosecution, motherearthlink is required to take down the pages on “Bob’s” site that infringe your work. That is provided you can prove “Bob” infringed your work (easy). I recite this law anytime I find someone on the web infringing me and “carbon copy” their web host provider so the infringer knows I mean business.

Lastly, state’s governments are immune from copyright prosecution. A state can willfully infringe as much as it wants without fear of prosecution. Hence, when doing business with any state government it might be advisable to get a SIGNED agreement having them waive their immunity from prosecution. Other wise you might never stop them from infringing once they have your work.

As I have stated in the previous parts of this series copyright registration is fundamental in the protection of our own work and the education of society as a whole. We as a profession need to show that we value the work we create so that others in society will learn to value just as much. We create our own destiny and it must be worked on at every level, including protecting our livelihoods. If we fail, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

©2000 Michael Grecco, michael@greccophoto.com

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