Posts Tagged 'Thomas Hawk'

Photography Link Roundup

Published January 13, 2011 Photography Leave a Comment
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Photo by lightwelder

• Substitute teacher, photographer and boxing enthusiast Emily Harney has been shooting fights for 10 years — she’s even pissed off Mike Tyson. Those are her photos in the Mark Wahlberg  movie “The Fighter.” [Salem News]

• The World Erotic Art Museum in Miami is suing blogger/photographer Thomas Hawk for $2 million because he took photos of the exhibits and published them on Flickr. They say he violated their “no professional or flash photography” policy. [Gizmodo]

• Paul Burwell is a photographer who specializes in snowflakes. He’s good, but he’s actually not the world’s pre-eminent snowflake photographer. [Montreal Gazette]

• What does Norway look like over 365 days? In the video “One year in 2 minutes,” you see 3,500 images — all from the same window — unfold. [Boing Boing]

• Should you work for free? Consult this helpful chart for the answer. [A Photo Editor]

Oakland PD Lifts Flickr Looting Photos

Published July 15, 2010 Photographers' Rights 2 Comments
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Photo by Thomas Hawk

Photographer and blogger Thomas Hawk is helping the Oakland Police Department apprehend looters. He didn’t agree to that, mind you. When reading a San Francisco Chronicle article about police trying to track down looting suspects in the aftermath of BART cop Johannes Mehserle’s manslaughter conviction, Hawk recognized his own photos in the batch. It seems that, to aid their police work, the Oakland PD took photos off Flickr from the riots and released them to the media.

The legal issue here is hazy – at least Hawk’s photos were under Creative Commons, which means people are able “to copy, distribute and transmit the work” with the condition that attribution is given. But the Oakland PD did not give attribution and, seemingly, released them as their own. To cover themselves, the Chronicle uses the credit “Obtained from Oakland Police.”  

Does it seem weird to you that law enforcement are essentially breaking copyright law to aid in their police work? How hard would it have been to include the photographers’ names with the photos?

Post from Thomas Hawk

No Photos in Long Beach Port

Published December 30, 2008 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Security Guard Harassment 1 Comment
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cop-long-beach

Photo by Thomas Hawk

Thomas Hawk, a blogger and photographer from San Francisco, was stopped by police for shooting photos in Long Beach Harbor this past weekend. He writes about the incident here. Since he was approached two times by security, and a third time by law enforcement who told him he needed a permit to photograph the harbor, Hawk sought clarification from the Port of Long Beach. And today he posts the response, from spokesperson Art Wong.

In the [sic] Sunday night it seems that the officer thought you were trying to enter a private area and you were a commercial photographer. You, and other photographers, have a right a take pictures from public right-aways. But for your own safety, and for the security of the Port, we have asked our officers to be as vigilant as possible.

Hawk takes issue with Wong’s explanation that the officer claimed Hawk and his friend were trying to enter a restricted private area. Hawk is insistent, and has the photos to prove it, that he was on an overpass, on a public sidewalk.

This is typical of officers who err on the side of overzealous enforcement; they always claim a restricted area – totally irregardless of the law – was being breached when they’re called out.

To voice your complaints contact:

Art Wong, Assistant Director of Communications/PIO, (562) 590-4123, (562) 619-5665 (cell) or wong@polb.com

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