Earlier this week, APA issued a statement responding to Getty Images’ proposed changes to its standard contributor agreements.  The response to our statement was overwhelming and, as expected, our members uniformly agreed that Getty Images’ proposed changes were unacceptable.  

Through our counsel, Nelson & McCulloch LLP, APA contacted Getty Images to make clear our position and to request that Getty Images stay or extend its self-imposed deadline for forcing contributors to sign these agreements.  We explained to Getty Images that APA strongly disapproved of Getty Images’ efforts to leverage its market dominance to force contributors to agree to these changes under duress. 

As the creator and owner of the intellectual property, the photographer has the inherent right to determine how an image is to be licensed, including whether an image should be maintained as an RM or RF image.  Getty Images’ effort to leverage its position in the industry to undermine that fundamental right and force its contributors to relinquish control over the manner in which their creative works are licensed is completely improper.  

Perhaps more importantly, APA also is seriously concerned about the manner in which Getty Images has attempted to force these radical changes on its contributors.  Adopting baseless, self-imposed deadlines and threatening to terminate contributors who do not accept changes to their existing contracts is not acceptable.  As a community, we cannot continue to ignore Getty Images’ efforts to intimidate and strong-arm contributors, and we must not allow Getty Images to force contributors into signing these new contracts under duress.  

While each of our members ultimately must decide for itself whether to accept the new contracts being imposed by Getty Images, APA recommends that, as a community, we resist and reject the direction in which Getty Images is trying to take this industry.  Given Getty Images’ overwhelming stature in the licensing industry, it is clear that we can be heard only if we stand together and stand up for what we believe to be right and just.  

While we cannot be certain as to how Getty Images will respond, we must make clear to Getty Images that its contributors do not agree with Getty Images’ vision of the future of this industry, and we will not tolerate its efforts to coerce and intimidate its contributors.  If we send a clear message, we are hopeful that Getty Images will relent and engage in a more meaningful dialogue regarding this crucial issue.

As for those contributors who already have signed the contracts or decide to sign the contracts before tomorrow’s absurd deadline, we recognize the tremendous pressure you feel to maintain a relationship with Getty Images.  APA will make every effort to address this concern with Getty Images and advocate for a solution on your behalf.  

Again, we thank our members for their support and want to assure you that APA intends to stand up for the rights and interests of our members and all professional photographers.  If we stand together, we are confident that our voice will be heard.

It’s pretty obvious that everything in my blog is my opinion, and my opinion is not necessarily fact. I may think I’m right, but if another photographer has a totally different way of getting to the same place, then I  take my Beret off to them

So, here it goes – back in the day, when we had 52, 62, 72, 82, and 95mm threads, and shot 3 different types of black and white and color film, we had lots of filters. At the end of that era, my attitude was that any additional air glass surface that was put in-between the lens and the subject it could have a tendency of degrading the image. So, I consider less is more. Or, minimalistic filtration. I believed it, taught it, and damn well thought I was right.  I never really believed a UV filter should be used to protect the lens. Today, many people would say that with Photoshop and high-end digital photography, you don’t need filters. I personally try to do almost everything in camera, with a minimal amount of Photoshop. I may have come to that decision because I’m not as proficient as others with Photoshop. Or, it just could be that’s the way I was brought up in photography. When it comes to filters, I only use Singh-Ray filters- their high-intensity, Gold-N-Blue, the Vari-ND, and I am looking forward to the new Vari-ND. On a previous blog, I made a rig to use the Variable Polarizer, the Vari-ND for video. My good friend Carl Saiver, of Sartek Industries,  looked at what I made and said something to the effect of, “you have to be ___  ___ kidding!” He removed it from my camera and said that he’d have something for me in a week.  A week later what appeared was a simple, elegant design for variable focusing and changes in filtration from either the left or right side with no noise or movement, and it’s super smooth. Just want to let you know about my friend Carl – he’s a genius! Carl’s a world-class engineer, designer, and underwater maven. I strongly recommended going to his website.  He makes some of the greatest lights in the world. Also, don’t forget to check out Singh-Ray’s filters you may be pleasantly surprised.   To all the ships at sea, I’m signing off.

http://www.sarind.com/

http://www.singh-ray.com/

Some of the little-known, inexpensive, non-descript, built-in accessories have been ignored for years. One of those would be the self-timer. Some of you may remember the ones that you had to crank. Then, there were ones that you had to load and press a button and you’d hear that buzzing sound. The beautiful thing about today’s self-timer is that you have 2 separate settings, one for 2 seconds and one for 10 seconds. It is invariably a great tool for close-up and macro, stationary landscapes, waterscapes, table-top and catalog work, etc. No matter how great your tripod is, no matter how steady you are, no matter how fast your shutter speed is, when you put your face, your nose and your hand on a camera, there’s going to be some movement. Compose, light your shot, step back, take a sip of red wine, and hit the self-timer. Okay, no red wine maybe Green tea. Okay, red wine and green tea.

Most photographers spend their freshman years developing the basic fundamental skills necessary to make a reasonable photograph. The next sophomore and junior years, they’re developing a style, a presence. They’re honing their skills in composition and lighting. As they move into their master years, I think we found out the difference between something that looks good and something that looks great could be a 3-cent rubber band. At this point, I would love to take credit for coming up with this idea. Sorry, guys, not my idea. If I knew the gentleman or lady that came up with the idea, I would certainly credit them with it. You may know my good friend Lou Long, a great photographer. He spent half of his career in Europe. He is now based in Miami Beach. He showed me a little trick with the rubber band on the fluid head. Manfrotto. And the difference is night and day. Similar to the self-timer versus the manual exposure with a finger, this removes all the sound, huffing and puffing, and gives you an unbelievably smooth pan. So go buy some rubber bands, attach them to your fluid head, and make yourself “Gone with the Wind 2”. It’s all good.

Over my career in photography, I’ve had approximately 30 different tripods and 7 different monopods. But today, I’d like to talk about tripods. I have always exclusively used Gitzo or Manfrotto. The simple fact of the matter is that they have never failed. There have been some bizarre situations for example this comes to mind-  I was on an assignment for Jacques Cousteau, photographing the whales mating in Scammon’s Lagoon. We were taken out to a key that was approximately 200 yards long and 20 yards wide. We were shooting with 400s and 600mm lenses. The slight miscalculation is that we were dropped off at low tide. As the day progressed, the tide came in. The two Gitzos saved our cameras and long glass. The water came up to the second leg. Salt water and sand are not good for anything photographic. When we returned to shore, they were washed in fresh water and continued to work fine for the balance of the month we were there. When we returned to New York, they did require new bushings and grease. I still have that tripod today. It is 35 years old.

Ten years later, on a major advertising shoot for Saatchi &  Saatchi, the tripod was elevated all the way up, including the center post. A ladder was needed to for me to be  eye level to the viewfinder. I was using a 800mm lens. I needed the focal length for the creative director’s vision and also to remove the extremely ugly background. Tripods – you’ve got to love ’em! When do you hate them? The reality is, when you carry a tripod all day long and do not use it, this is not a good thing. A reasonable tripod takes up as much space as 3 lenses. Or, a camera, lens, and a strobe. It can also slow you down at a time where you want to be as mobile as possible. But what happens when you don’t take that tripod? Invariably, you come across a situation where you say “Oh god, what have I done”? I think I’ve come up with a great solution. Well, not really me, but Manfrotto. I’ve recently purchased a Manfrotto 190CXPro3 tripod, and a 701HDV Manfrotto head. The tripod is unbelievably small and light and the head, even though relatively inexpensive, works extremely well for moderate DSLR video shooting. I’ve pushed past the envelope of weight, and it’s worked great with a 70-200mm f/2.8.

Tripods, love them or hate them? When you need them, you’ve got to love them!