Archive for category Stuff you should know

The Whole Magillah – Instagram’s Sub-License

There have been some issues lately that seems to get everyone’s drawers in a knot, above and beyond politics. For photographers it’s court cases that generate headlines, but don’t really tell the whole story. In some court cases the story changes 180 degrees and while the first iteration burns up social media sites, the second […]

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Trademarks, Copyrights and Photographing Buildings

A little while ago, we got a question from one of the readers to this blog, Matthew, who asked: “Hello Jack and Ed, one of my bucket list life goals is to see the 1894, 1915, and 1939-40 World’s Fairs of San Francisco digitally reconstructed, so one could explore these bygone historical spaces virtually. Ideally, these […]

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Today’s Vagabond Photographers and Artists 

Those of a certain age will instantly recall that back in the pre-digital days many photographers and artists had to be physically located in NYC, LA, DC, Chicago or some other (then) major metropolitan area to make a living. This has changed drastically over the decades and while there are many reasons and factors at play, below are […]

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Vagueness is the Kingdom of the Devil

“Vagueness is the kingdom of the devil and it is as such on purpose.” … Lamine Pearlheart There is a Legal concept “Void for Vagueness” which means in plain English that if an average citizen can’t understand what is written, it’s unenforceable. Being vague or noncommittal is a very useful social skill. “I see…” or […]

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Pandemic Predators Part 2

The below scenario is not a “one off”. Ed has received more than a few calls on a rather simple con that most grifters would pay tribute to terming it “elegant”.  Simple, effective and most victims never see it coming until after it’s over. One of the reasons is that it’s been perpetuated by recognizable, […]

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The Silent Gorilla In The Room Strikes

So along comes a court ruling that makes photographers more anxious than they already are in this lethal time of quarantines, face masks and businesses shut down. Federal Court Judge Kimba Wood has issued a decision that has caused a large uptick in the consumption of adult beverages by photographers. Sinclair v Mashable Ziff Davis […]

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Truth In Advertising Now Your Concern

The great writer H.G. Wells is quoted as saying “Advertising is legalized lying.” That might have been true in the early 20th Century when Mr. Wells was alive, but today that sentiment can get you into a heap of legal and financial headaches. In a prior article we referenced the involvement of the Federal Trade […]

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Us On The ‘How To Be A Rockstar Photographer’ Podcast

Our friend Matthias Hombauer just posted a discussion we had on his “How to be a Rockstar Photographer” podcast. It was a lively discussion about the issues we constantly talk about until we’re “blue in the face”. The discussion was so good, that rather than cut anything it was broken up into two parts. Here’s […]

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Who’ll Stop the Rain of Infringement

Creedence Clearwarter Revival sang it best: Long as I remember The rain been comin’ down. Clouds of myst’ry pourin’ Confusion on the ground. Good men through the ages, Tryin’ to find the sun; And I wonder, Still I wonder, Who’ll stop the rain. For as long as we can remember, the rain of infringements been […]

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How Copyright Trolls Lighten Your Wallet

What is a group of trolls called? A gaggle, a craven, a drool, a pollution? Scanning the Internet, we actually found a discussion about this and a crèche of trolls seems to be the most popular. We pondered this subject as we’ve seen an infestation of trolls (good one, right?) regarding copyright lately. In two […]

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