Christie's Holding British Modern & Contemporary Photography Auction

Hat Tip: ePhotozine

Christie's is currently holding an online auction of British Modern & Contemporary Photography.

The auction consists of 30 lots and includes some iconic images.  (This includes well known images of Twiggy and David Bowie.)

Prices are in British Pounds.  (The U.S. dollar equivalent is also listed.)

The auction lasts until 8:00 AM Thursday, May 14.  American Central Time.

Facebook Doesn't Own Photos You Post (But They Might As Well.)

This one comes from a viral email that is apparently circulating stating the Facebook owns the photos you post to that site.

No.  Facebook does not gain ownership of photos posted to their site.  Ownership remains with the original owner.

But posting to Facebook does have ramifications when it comes to copyright.

Facebook's TOS state that posting images to their site grants Facebook a license to use that image.  The actually language states "you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook."

It's the "tansferable" and "sub-licensable" parts that are important here.

Those terms allow Facebook to allow other people to use the images posted to Facebook without seeking permission from the person that originally posted it.

While you don't lose ownership of images posted to Facebook, you do lose a great deal of control.   The only way to regain that control is to delete the images from Facebook, and that won't do anything to address the existence of copies elsewhere. 

If you want to retain control of an image (including the right to license it for a fee) do not post it to Facebook.

Blog Update: New Auction Related Pages

I have recently decided to start blogging a little more on auctions and have added several pages on the subject: an Auction Survival Guide, a page for Auction Tips, and a page on How to Find Auctions.

These pages are currently very much works in progress.  The plan is to update them as I have time. 

Chance to win Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD Macro Lens

Digital Photography School is currently hosting a contest where the prize is a Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD Macro lens.

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on the contest page describing why you want to win the lens and how you would use it.

(They do suggest visiting the lens information page first.  I suggest using the page's link as the site does have ways to track whether you actually visit the information page in question.)

The lens is designed for "Canon, Nikon or Sony small-sensor cameras."

That means cameras with APS-C  sized sensors.

I'm Now on Etsy

I have recently opened an Esty store.

This store is a little different from the other selling sites listed.  Those sites are where you can purchase copies of my photos or artwork.

Etsy is for other items.

I have been an avid auction attendee since the early 1990's.  Selling on Etsy gives me the chance to make a little money from that hobby.

Etsy does allow sellers to offer digital files, so I might include some digital downloads there.  (Images are one option but there are other options.)

This also gives me something to write about besides photography.

The photography news lately has been very limited, mainly covering new lenses and cameras.  I currently don't have access to these items to review them myself and I have little interest in blogging based on reviews posted by someone else.

I did post links to those reviews at one time, but that became too time consuming when I started my day job.

I will continue to write on photography related subjects but will also include posts on other subjects, including Etsy updates.

For those looking for a place to sell photographic prints, Etsy is an option.  Selling prints on the site does require you to print the images yourself.  This does give you some control over the quality of the images sold.  It also forces you to deal with the printing and shipping the prints.

Etsy does charge listing fees as well as charging a commission on sales.

The listing fee is only 20 cents per item and the listing lasts for four months.

Etsy also offers sellers a credit card reader.  This allows sellers to allow buyers to buy directly from the seller while using their credit card.  This is a viable option for anyone interested in direct sells to the public.  (Like an art fair.)

All you need is a cell phone, an Etsy account and the credit card reader.

There is a per transaction fee when using the reader.  (Roughly 3%.)

Photoshop Can Determine the Subject Matter of Your Images.

Hat Tip: Popular Photography

I actually find this to be a bit disturbing and file it under just another reason not to use Photoshop.

It turns out that Photoshop will refuse to load images of currency.  That requires Photoshop to determine the subject matter of any image the user wants to edit with the program.  Couple that with Adobe's Cloud Computer model, which requires an active Internet connection to Adobe's servers in order to use the program and you have a nightmare for any paranoid individual.

Not only can the program determine when you are attempting to open a file containing the image of a banknote, but the program is in constant communications with the software company that owns the software.

Anyone else wondering whether the NSA also knows when you attempt to open a file containing a banknote image?  Or maybe the Government mandates Adobe turn over information whenever the program flags a file as containing a banknote image?

(We have examples of them forcing companies to turn over information.)


Why would anyone use a program that stops working if you lose Internet service and examines the content of the files you edit?  Especially if it flags content as "illegal".


Big Brother is here.

Its name is Adobe.

FYI, it is actually legal to possess digital images of U.S. banknotes.  It has to be for non-fraudulent purposes and the image needs to be black and white instead of color.  There is also a size requirement, but that seems to apply more to anything that is actually printed. 

Polaroid Announces New Mobile Photo Printer.

Hat Tip: Imaging Resource

My immediate reaction to Polaroid's new Zip photoprinter was "why?".

It's a mobile printer that prints 2" x 3" images.  It's charged via a micro USB cable and prints roughly 25 images per charge.

The printer can link to android or iPhones via Bluetooth/NFC.

So basically, it's a device that turns your phone into a Polaroid camera with a single, 25 image, film pack.  All for only $129.99

Oh, and you have to use Polaroid's paper which costs $14.99 for 30 sheets.

Okay, so I'm being a bit facetious.

The "printer" doesn't actual print.  It actually activates ink embedded in the specialized paper.  Plus, the printer will presumably draw power from the cable if the cable is plugged into a wall outlet instead of using the battery, allowing the device to print more than 25 images as long as a wall outlet is available.  (It should also be able to use external portable batteries.)

This does strikes me as a very niche product.  I don't see that many people being interested in a portable printer capable of only printing 25 images before it has to be recharged.  It does appear to be a better option than the current alternatives, though. 

You can purchase instant film cameras and film.  The cheapest option for film seems to by Fuji's instant film at $8.99 for a 10 pack.  That's $27 for 30 photos versus $14.99 when using Polaroid's new printer.  Saving $12 per 30 images means the printer will pay for itself after roughly 300 images when compared to the alternatives.

This might be a product that certain photographers might be interested, with wedding photographers being the most obvious.  Guests could obtain copies of photos taken at the wedding or reception while they were still on location.  The couple could also personalize any keepsakes given out to guests with images taken during the ceremony. 

The same is true for other events.

This does suggest a possible revenue source for event photographers.  The photographer could rent the printer and sell the paper needed to print images at the event.

(For those wondering how someone could make money selling the paper.  The $14.99 is the retail price.  The photographer should be able to purchase it at the wholesale price.  The difference is the photographer's profit margin on the paper.)

Disney Latest Corporation Caught in Copyright Controversy

Hat Tip: Amateur Photographer

The image in question is one taken of soldiers posted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and shows those soldiers standing duty during a storm.  (It was taken by Karen Markert and can be seen at her Smug Mug site.)

The image went viral after appearing on Facebook and many web sites reused it without the photographer's permission.  This includes Babble, a site owned by Disney.  (It was removed from that site after the photographer contacted it.)

The key issue here is "after it appeared on Facebook."

The Facebooks terms allow for reuse of photographs posted on that site.  If the image had been posted by the photographer, Disney and the other sites would have had the right to use the image without asking for permission first.

Unfortunately, it appears that the image was posted by someone else instead.

That person did not have the ability to grant the right to use the image, but there may have been no way for the sites that reused the image to know that.

This points out one of the dangers of using images found on Facebook.  While the terms of service grants people the right to reuse images posted to Facebook, there is no way to guarantee that the person posting the image has the ability to grant that right.

The image may have been posted illegally by someone engaging in copyright violation.  That person can not grant rights to use the image and anyone that uses the image faces legal jeopardy.  (They probably aren't engaging in "willful" violations which limits their legal exposure to a certain extent.)

Two things to remember about Facebook images.

1)  Posting images to Facebook yourself invites use of those images by others.  From Facebook's TOS: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License)  

That is legalese for "We can do anything we want with the contents you upload" including granting others the right to use it free of charge.

Facebook has the right to grant anyone it pleases the ability to use Facebook content without paying for its use, and they basically do so.

Never post anything to Facebook you don't want to be reused by someone else.

2)  While Facebook may grant the ability to reuse Facebook content, they can only grant that right if the person that initially posted also has the ability to grant that right.

That usually means the photographer when it comes to images.

Anyone sharing Facebook content should be careful.  They should ascertain whether the individual that posted the content was the actual copyright holder.  Reusing content posted by someone engaging in copyright violation will subject you to legally jeopardy as well.

A quick image search on Google is often all that is needed to discover the origin of in image when someone engages in image theft.  Take a few minutes to protect yourself.

Update to Story About Wedding Photographer Charging For Album Cover

Hat Tip: DIY Photography

Updating a story that dates back to January. 

For those not familiar with the story.  It involves a dispute between a wedding photographer and the couple.  The photographer informed the couple that there was a charge for the cover to the wedding album that was part of the contract.  The couple insisted that the photographer was contractually obligated to deliver a wedding album and they shold not have to pay for the cover.

And then the proverbial excrement hit the spinning cooling device.

The couple went public with the issue they had with the photographer, including news interviews.

The photographer has now sued for defamation asking for up to $1,000,000 in damages.

Personally, I think the photographer will have a very difficult time winning.

The couple said that the photographer wanted extra for the album cover.  They also said she refused to deliver high-resolution copies of the wedding photos until they paid for the cover.  They described it as having their images "held hostage".

From statements made by the photographer, those statements seem to be factual, although she would dispute the emotional charge of holding the images hostage.  During the initial meeting after the wedding she did apparent inform the couple that there was a charge for the cover and that the images would not be delivered until the album was delivered.

She apparently expected no problems.  This is how she normally handles weddings.

She did apparently try to reach an amicable agreement with the couple, including offering to absorb the cost of the cover.  Those efforts were never mentioned by the couple.

The problem for the photographer is that those efforts don't change the initial situation, and the statements made by the couple factually match the initial situation.

Defamation requires more than just proving you were harmed by statements someone made about you.  You must also prove the statements were false or made with reckless disregard for the truth.  The photographer apparently can't do that.

The statements may have been made with malice, but they appear to have been factual (but not the entire story).

I think the only people winning when it comes to this lawsuit are the lawyers for both sides.

Run Linux on Your Canon DSLR

Hat Tip: PetaPixel

The developers over at Magic Lantern have announced that they have gotten the Linux OS to successfully boot on Canon DSLR cameras.

The Magic Lantern team wasn't able to get beyond getting Linux to boot.  That would require experience with modifying the Linux kernel and the developers at Magic Lantern apparently have no experience doing so.

They have released the information on how they accomplished this publicly.  That means developers with Linux kernel experience should be able to develop a version of Linux capable of running on Canon DSLR cameras.

This creates the possibility of a great deal of customization when it comes to the software running on the cameras, including adding features not envisioned by Canon programmers.

Taking Real Estate Photos? Try This Trick.

Hat Tip: Shutterbug

A Florida couple trying to sell their home may have accidentally hit gold with their real estate photos.

The couples' 15-year granddaughter was taking the photos when she had the inspiration to include her grandmother.  The results are priceless.

MY GRANDMA IS TRYING TO SELL HER HOUSE IN FLORIDA AND THESE ARE THE PICS I AM LAUGHING SO HARD pic.twitter.com/rONaIUyevS
— makenzie (@asapmakky) March 26, 2015

This does suggest something for those taking real estate photos, including professionals.  Nothing beats staging when it comes to real estate, and the ultimate in staging is apparently an 86-year old grandmother.


Honestly, these photos scream "You too could be enjoying yourself in this home."

That is the goal of real estate photos.

Japanese Company Developing Synthetic Fluorite Process

Hat Tip: Imaging Resource

Yes, I realize the story is from Friday.  I was busy this weekend.  (I'm also busy working during the week at a physically demanding job.  That's part of the reason I don't post regularly right now.)

Now, back to the fluorite (calcium fluoride).

Fluorite is a naturally occurring mineral that is mined from the earth.  It's optical properties all it to be used to create lenses that suffer lower chromatic aberrations than glass-based lenses suffer.  This obviously improves image quality.

The problem?

The vast majority of high-quality fluorite is mined in China.

The country has what amounts to a monopoly on the mineral.  Any company that wants to buy pure fluorite  in large amounts has to do business with that country. 

A Japanese company (Iwatani Corp.) is attempting to develop a method for creating fluorite with a high enough purity for use in optical glass.

Iwatani developed a process for recycling the perfluorocarbon (PFC) gas created during the manufacturing of semiconductors.  PFC gas is considered a harmful pollutant (it destroys ozone).  The end result of this process is fluorite.  Unfortunately, the fluorite created by this process lacks the purity necessary for optical uses.

The company recently announced it had been successful in creating highly purified fluorite, but the processing cost is currently cost prohibitive.  (The resulting product is twice that of mined fluorite.)

It is now working on ways to decrease production costs.

Major Advance in Flat Lenses From Harvard

Hat Tip: ePhotozine  (Original story at Digital Trends.)

Harvard has created a prototype flat lens capable of successfully focusing multiple wavelengths of light at the same point.  Harvard refers to the planar lens design as an Achromatic metasurface lens.

Planar is just fancy language for flat.  Achromatic when applied to lenses means the light is not separated into its constituent colors.  Metasurface refers to the surface of a metamaterial, which is a material that has a structure that produces results that can't be produced by natural materials.  It's geek speak to describe how the lens works.

Ordinary lenses work by utilizing a curved surface to bend light.  The drawback with this method is that different wavelengths of light (perceived as different colors) bend different amounts when passing through these lenses.  This forces camera lens manufacturers to utilize multiple components to correct for this splitting of the different colors. 

(The Harvard news page has an illustration if you want a visual representation.)

Having to use multiple lenses increases the complexity of lens design and increases the amount of glass needed when manufacturing camera lenses.  This increases the cost and weight of quality lenses.

Instead of utilizing curved glass to bend light, the Harvard design utilizes a flat lens with "antennas" on its surface.  These antennas are what make the lens a metamaterial.  Light bends as a result of hitting the antenna.

The initial prototype introduced in 2012 was only capable of bending a single wavelength of light.  The research team addressed this limitation by utilizing antennas of different sizes/shapes.  Each shape or size targets a specific wavelengths of light.  The lens is capable of producing a photographic image by targeting the wavelengths corresponding to red, green and blue as these are the colors recorded by digital sensors.  (The other wavelengths are ignored by the sensor and don't need to be effected by the lens.)

The result is a single lens capable of replacing the set of three lenses used in current lens design.

At the very least, this would result in much lighter lenses.  It might also result in less expensive lenses as less material needs to be used.


Judging from the images on the Harvard site, the antennas appear to run parallel across the face of the lens.  This would result in light being bent in a single direction only.  This would not necessarily prevent the technology from being used for camera lenses.  The easiest fix would simply be using a second lens set perpendicular to the first.

The lenses would need to be set so the antennas parallel to the edges of the sensor to ensure light hit the sensor correctly.  This is a consideration not required by traditional round lenses.

Chance to Win $1,000 B&H Gift Card

PetaPixel is giving away a $1,000 B&H gift card.

All you have to do to enter the contest is follow the above link and leave a comment about what you would purchase with the card on the contest page.

Winner will be chosen randomly from those that comment. 

1 comment per reader only.  The contest is open to non-U.S. residents.

$1,000 is enough to purchase a decent digital camera kit and accessories.

Instagram Allowing More Intrusive Ads

Hat Tip: Imaging Resource

The Facebook owned photo sharing site recently announced they would now allow "carousel" ads with links.  (Note on link, Ad Age limits the number of articles you can read each month if not a subscriber.  It shouldn't be an issue for most people.)

"Carousel" ads are those ads with revolving images.  Instagram will allow up to four photos per ad as well as "learn more" links.

That four ads to start with.  I suspect that number is likely to increase.

Advertising revenue is how many web sites earn their revenues.  The sites are always looking for ways to increase those revenues but there is a limit on the number of ads they can place on a page before they start antagonizing visitors.

Offering the option to upgrade ads is another way to increase ad revenue.  Presumably these carousel ads will cost advertisers more than static ads.

The potential drawback for Instagram is that these type of ads are more intrusive than static ads.  The constant motion can get annoying.

They also increase the processing demand on the visitor's computer.  This can be problematic for individuals using older computers.  Their computers may simply not be up to the increased demand, especially if a page includes multiple carousel ads.

The increase in ad revenue that comes from these carousel ads could be offset by losing users that get annoyed at the ads or just can't use the site due to increased performance demands.

They could also find more users relying on ad-blocking software when visiting the site.

Getty Images in Financial Trouble

Hat Tip: Imaging Resource

Bloomberg posted an article yesterday on Getty's current financial issues.  (The story cites two anonymous sources.  Take that as a warning as to potential accuracy problems.)

Getty apparently burned through a third of its cash reserves during the last three months of 2014. 

Getty took on $2.6 billion in debt to finance the $3.3 billion purchase of the company by Carlyle Group.  The loan terms limits Getty's ability to borrow money when certain conditions are met.  The 7% drop in the company's fourth-quarter earnings resulted in debt being more that 6 times earnings.  This triggered a clause limiting Getty's ability to borrow against it's $150 Million line of credit.

The news caused the price of Getty's debt instruments to drop.  (Bad news for those that own them.)

Frankly, the news doesn't surprise me.  Getty has made some troubling moves since the Carlyle take-over.  Those moves antagonized the people Getty needs to be successful (photographers) and part of their current issues can probably be traced to that antagonism.

Photographers ending their association with Getty leaves Getty with less material to sell or license.  It could also result in the material still on hand being lower quality, lowering the price Getty can charge for those materials.

This seems to be reflected in the fact that Getty Images year over year profits are down 17%


Carlyle apparently thought they could leverage Getty's stock image library in order to turn the company into an Internet giant.  Unfortunately, many of the moves made in an attempt to leverage that image library undermined Getty's core business, stock photography imaging.

Undermining your core businesses is never a recipe for success.

Higher Megapixel Count Not Necessarily Bettter

Shutterbug has an interesting article today on just what increasing megapixel counts actually means when it comes to digital photography.

The article is largely in response to Canon's introduction of a full-frame camera boasting 50 megapixel resolution.  That pixel count puts the full-frame camera in the same league as many medium format cameras, but Canon can offer their camera at a much lower price. 

The Canon 5DS and 5DS R have price tags under $4,000.  The cheapest medium format camera with at least 50 MP resolution costs just over twice that.  As an additional bonus, the lenses should also have similar price differences.  (The lenses for the smaller full-frame cameras need smaller lenses.  Less glass usually equals lower price.  Emphasis on "usually").

The 50 MP offerings from Canon do look like an attempt to compete with medium format cameras without actually creating a medium format camera.  The move makes a certain amount of sense given all the Canon lenses currently available for Canon full-frame cameras.

There is a drawback here, though.

A 50 megapixel full-frame sensor requires smaller individual photoreceptors when compared to a 50 megapixel medium format camera. This impacts performance at higher ISO settings.  Some photographers will find a camera with a lower pixel count more suitable for the images the capture.

Deal Alert: Save on PNY Memory at Amazon

Amazons deal of the day features up to 50% off on PNY memory cards and power banks.

The sale includes USB drives and both SD and micro SD cards.

One of the USB drives offers 256 GB of storage for $69.95.  The 128 SD card is currently $48.99.

Italy Confiscates "Lost" Da Vinci Painting

Hat Tip: The Telegraph

The painting in question is a portrait of Isabella d'Este and has been attributed by some art experts as having been painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.  It turned up in a Swiss bank vault in 2013 along with hundreds of other art pieces.

The current owner of the painting was attempting to sell it when the Italian Police had it seized with the cooperation of Swiss officials.

The reason?  The painting was "illegally exported" and needed to be secured before it was sold.

The assertion by Italian authorities that the painting was illegally exported seems to be extremely dubious.  The painting was lost for 400 years.  Nobody knew where it was until it turned up in Switzerland.  There is no way for the Italian authorities to know when it was exported.  The painting could very well have left Italy in the 17th century.

There is no official record of this painting.  What proof could they possibly have that it was "illegally exported"?

They can't even prove it was ever in Italy.

Then there's this gem:

“Once it arrives back in Italy, we will conduct further investigations to establish who really owns the work,” Italian prosecutors said in a statement. 

Unless we are dealing with a painting that has been stolen, I think it's fairly clear who owns it.  That would be the person from which the Italian authorities seized it.


This case does point out some of the problematic art laws that exist in some countries. 

The owner of a work of art can't treat it as their property.  It is instead treated as public property and can be confiscated if the owner attempts to export it. 

And it's not just Italy.  This is true of any member of the Euro Union or signatories to 1970 UNESCO convention.

One big problem I have with these laws/treaty is that they are applied to works that predate them.  Countries are using them to confiscate art that was exported from their countries before the laws went into effect.

There is something about that behavior that strikes me as just plain wrong.

Corning Upgrading Gorilla Glass Scratch Resistance

This is slightly off-topic when it comes to photography, but I though it was worth mentioning.

In response to the artificial sapphire used by Apple in its Touch ID sensor, Corning is working to increase the scratch resistance of its Gorilla Glass.

While artificial sapphire is harder than glass (making it virtually scratch-proof) production costs and other concerns have prevented its use in electronic device screens.  Glass costs far less to produce and can be given shatter-resistance and scratch-resistance properties depending on how it is produced.  This gives Corning an advantage over artificial sapphire if it can create a glass that is strong enough and resistant enough to scratching to make sapphire pointless.

The challenge for Corning has to do with the physical properties of glass, including its natural hardness rating.

Glass typically has a hardness between 6 and 7 on the Mohs scale.  Quartz particles are one of the main components of dust and it has a hardness of 7.  For a material to be scratch-resistance, it needs to exceed the hardness of quarts.  This means achieving a hardness over 7.


Silica when melted does not crystallize when melted and then cooled to form glass.  Glass is sometimes referred to as a super-cooled liquid instead of a solid.  There are also other materials added to the silica that can alter the properties of the glass.  This additives are used to produce desirable properties in the end product, but can negatively effect the glass's hardness.

Corning can take a couple of approaches when attempting to produce scratch-resistant glass.

The first involves finding additives that increase the hardness of the finished product.  (Similar to how adding carbon to iron produces steel.) 

The second approach would be to apply a scratch-resistant coating to the exposed glass.  A thin layer of aluminum oxide comes to mind.