LightVision

We’ve been very privileged to participate in a new book compiled by filmmaker and photographer, John Ogden. With a working title Portraits from a Land Without People, it’s sure to stir the pot. Oggy has researched hundreds of thousands of images of aboriginal Australians dating back to 1847. The book comprises 300 powerful images which describe a pictorial history of Aboriginal Australians. Wildlight is proud to have contributed seven images to the book by David Moore, Penny Tweedie and Carolyn Johns. The book is scheduled to be released in February 2009, with proceeds flowing to the Jimmy Little Foundation, to help improve kidney health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. To see a multimedia slideshow and interview with Oggy by the Sydney Morning Herald, then click here. I’ve been trying to get John Ogden to join the Wildlight library for a year now, but he seems to be distracted by this book…good luck Oggy!

A fascinating and quite unexpected discovery at the PictureHouse Sydney 2008 tradeshow did present itself rather perplexingly in the unisex toilet block at B2 Studios. All manner of derrière delights could be experienced just by sitting down on the throne. And futuristic command module it was, complete with a control panel which would instantly retire the space shuttle program. A picture is splashed a thousand words…

Firstly, Jean-Marc and I were really disappointed that we didn’t win the print, all our ballot rigging would have had George Dubya (and Jeb) and Bob Mugabe cheering, instead, fairness won the day. And what a fair and impartial hand to draw the winning card from the lucky dip bowl - the lovely Gabrielle Haumesser.  This cool, framed Rennie Ellis print of Bondi Beach, complete with Certificate of Authenticity was won by, Linda Brainwood - freelance picture researcher. Congratulations Linda! She was thrilled, and her wall will be thrilled to have it hanging there too!

Many thanks to Manuela and Kerry at the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive for contributing the artist proof. Special thanks also, to the guys at Acme Art and Framing Gallery in Surry Hills for doing a fantastic framing job in such a short time. The expert advice and archival materials used were first class.

We’re very happy to announce the winner of our Wild about Wildlight competition. Cynthia Wardle from John Wiley & Sons Publishing receives a signed copy of Richard Woldendorp’s new book Abstract Earth. Entrants were asked to write a humorous testimonial of 50 words or less about Wildlight Photo Agency and the Australian way of life. Cynthia won the prize with this brilliant piece of creative copy:

“There’s nothing more Australian than bludging, and Wildlight photographers have the biggest bludge of all: wandering round this vast land taking photos of spectacular scenery. Thankfully, they’re really good at it.”

Congratulations Cynthia! We’re not sure that our photographers will be entering Bludger in the occupation box of their immigration cards anytime soon, but they’re bound to get a good laugh from your kind words.

New alliance -Today we can announce that Wildlight will be distributing the Photo New Zealand collection in Australia! The Photo New Zealand (PNZ) collection features real Kiwi people, amazing scenery and enviable model-released lifestyle images, shot by leading Kiwi photographers. PNZ is a niche, premium library, that shares many core attributes with the Wildlight library. So for the best of Australia and New Zealand you can head to Wildlight. We’ll be launching the new partnership at the PictureHouse Sydney event next Wednesday 17, so pay us a visit. I’ll let you know once the Kiwi collection is available through the Wildlight website, in the meantime go here.

Pictures just in - I’m very happy to say that unlike our competitors we have not uploaded 2 million images this month. Instead we’ve uploaded premium Australian imagery by all rounder, Bill Bachman, tourism, lifestyle and housing pictures by Phil Quirk and iconic beach snapshots by Sheridan Nilsson. See the latest uploads here. Next month we’ll have a fantastic retro collection from the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive to coincide with a four month long retrospective of Rennie’s work at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne - so dust off your flares or whip into ‘Vinnies’ for some tight fluro slacks and prepare for a flashback!

PictureHouse - Visit us there….

Wildlight will be an exhibitor at the Picturehouse Australia exhibition in Sydney next week on Wednesday, 17 September. Come see us at b2 photographic studio. Unit B2, 46 - 62 Maddox Street, Alexandria, NSW

Picture buyers can register now for a free admission ticket here.

Picturehouse events offer a unique opportunity to discover new sources of imagery, meet the people you only normally contact by phone and email, and network with peers in the industry — all in one location, all in one day! Hope to see you there. We’ll try to sneak in Ernst, the pug!

Hey, don’t take photos! I’ve only been bailed up like this a couple of times, and admittedly I knew I was in the wrong - I was standing on private property taking pictures. I’ve had a few enquiries from photographers, friends and parents at my son’s school, as to what you can and can’t take pictures of without being arrested or called a ‘rock spider‘ and driven out of town. Over the past 10 years there has been such manic social anxiety and political correctness, mostly misguided, regarding the rights of a photographer and the subject. It’s absurd that there should be such uproar about privacy, just look around at all the cameras hanging from street lights and buildings, heck, even at the cafe at lunch, Jean-Marc and I were being watched. Who looks at all this footage, where is it kept? is it safe? Is it already online?

The good news is, you can photograph anything (except military installations) and anybody you like from a public space - man, woman or child. Of course there are some reasonable exceptions, you can’t photograph in an inappropriate way, or with the intention to be subversive or obscene or use a photo in a defamatory manner. In addition you can’t photograph a person for commercial use without a signed model release. Commercial use means using a person’s image to promote a product or service. No surprise; you can’t photograph on private land without permission. There is especially fierce paranoia over images of children. Two excellent articles have been written, NSW Photo Rights: Australian Street Photography Legal Rights by Andrew Nemeth BSc (Hons) LLB, the second, Photography is not a Crime by Fairfax Media contributing photographer, Jon Reid. I suggest you read them right through. They make fascinating and informative reading and go a long way to correct the misconceptions about taking pictures in public. On Andrew’s site there is also a helpful fact sheet, which summarises the rights of the subject and the photographer. I recommend everyone print it out and keep it in their camera bag, download it here. Remember this info applies to New South Wales in particular. I’ll check if there are similar handy fact sheets for the other Australian states and territories.

So from a picture library point of view, we can publish pictures of anyone on our website. If we don’t have a model release, the pictures must be marked ‘editorial only’ - our customers can then only use them in magazines, newspapers and book publishing, including online versions of these.

So what about photographing in NSW public schools? As a parent with my son in public school, this is particularly interesting. Today, I called the principal of his school and had a long conversation about photographing the students. I could gauge from the conversation that there was a lot of grey areas, and plenty of individual interpretation. The principal is kindly finding out some info from the Department of Education, and I’m going to be talking to a couple of lawyers for their views. This topic needs much more examination, I’ll post my opinion next month. Hopefully next time you go to your child’s school, you can take a camera without being stoned by the town mob! But just remember it’s a sensitive issue.

What turns you on?

We need feedback about incentives, although we’re not going to offer an incentive for your feedback! What incentives would you like to be offered? Do they really motivate you? How many iPods does anyone need? What loyalty does it gain and at who’s expense?
Some of our competitors use mp3 players, department store gift cards, tropical holidays to gain customer loyalty, however for us at Wildlight, these kind of consumer items have nothing to do with the business of licensing pictures. Other competitors also use big discounts, like buy three get the forth free — we have too, in the past, however, I feel it’s a bit crude and only a last resort. So what tickles your fancy? Basic marketing principles suggest that the incentive must have some relevance to our business and the services we provide. Some of our photographers have published high-quality books, like Richard Woldendorp and David Bettini, do you really want these? They are beautiful and will last countless more years than an iPod. Some of our photographers, like David Moore, Rennie Ellis and Phil Quirk have fine art prints collected by public galleries around the world, worth thousands, are these objects of desire? Would you like to see a valuable framed image on your wall? Is it that photography is not seen as being an art form, and particularly so now that stock pictures are worth as little as $1. Is it just a trade, if it was I’d make more money being a plumber!

In the second edition of LightVision, I ran a promo, for a signed book by Richard Woldendorp worth $50, a great book, by one of the Australia’s greatest photographers, all that was required was to write a humourous testimonial about Aussies and Wildlight. I didn’t think it was too difficult, however, I didn’t receive a single entry -not one! I’m still unsure as to why it was a resounding failure, perhaps the prize wasn’t sexy enough, perhaps it targeted the wrong demographic, or perhaps it was too much work for a low value product. My reasoning was for my customers to be creative by using some witty copy, not just to whack down the plastic and purchase. So it’s encouraged me to call for your valuable feedback on this nettlesome topic. Leave a comment below and tell me what incentive would or would not instantly make you purchase a picture licence.