Top Australian Photographer Fighting for Rights After ‘Near Arrest’ on Public Land

Ken Duncan, one of Australia’s most famous landscape photographers, is publicly fighting for photographers’ rights in Australia after being “nearly arrested” last Friday after being spotted by “Big Brother” while shooting on public land.

In a viral post on his Facebook page, Duncan writes that he was shooting at the newly opened Gosford Quarries reserve in Barangaroo, Sydney, when he was confronted by two rangers and told that he couldn’t take photos without paying a fee and having a permit. Duncan was taking a picture for the quarry without charge.

What a ridiculous day. I was nearly arrested for taking photos at Barangaroo in Sydney. I was there taking some photos…

Posted by Ken Duncan on Friday, November 27, 2015

Although the rangers sympathized with Duncan, they informed him that he was spotted by surveillance cameras taking pictures, and that management was forcing them to stop shooting.

“Go ahead and make my day, as people need to know how silly this is,” Duncan replied. “It will make a great headline for Barangaroo: an Australian landscape photographer arrested for taking photos.”

“So it is OK for you to video me without my permission but I am not allowed to take photos,” he stated.

“But you have a tripod, so you must be a commercial photographer so you definitely need to pay and have a permit,” the rangers replied, according to Duncan.

“That is discrimination against me being a professional photographer,” Duncan retorted.

Here’s a statement given to the Sydney Morning Herald by a Barangaroo spokesperson:

In this case, Mr Duncan and his assistant had set up on site and were asked by two Visitor Services security staff if they had permission for the shoot. The photographer said no. He was also asked for whom he was working. Our staff were told Mr Duncan was working for Gosford Quarries. It was made clear to our staff that he was a commercial photographer.

“Our staff then phoned the reserve manager who suggested that Mr Duncan contact Gosford Quarries and ask them to call him to discuss obtaining permission. No such call was received, so the security staff assumed Mr Duncan did not wish to obtain a permit. He was then asked to stop working until he had obtained the permit. Mr Duncan and his assistant left the park some time after.

It is incorrect to suggest that in such a situation the police would be called to Barangaroo Reserve.

Sydney’s 7News did their own investigation, and they too were confronted by authorities:

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Duncan argues that photographers should be encouraged by the government to take pictures in public places, without any fee or permit restrictions, since the photos help to promote places and generate tourism.

“What is it with some bureaucrats, have they lost all touch with reality? They pay movie makers millions to do pictures in Australia to help promote Australia and then harass landscape photographers,” Duncan writes. “Well I for one am not going to back off on ridiculous or over zealous regulations.”

“Stand up for our freedom as photographers.”

Duncan is now writing op-ed pieces on behalf of photographers in Australia, urging people to stand up for photography rights. Oh, and he also published this 3-minute rap song titled “Bureaurats You’re Killing Us”:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/147269621?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

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Why Did Photographers Stop Selling Paper Prints?

I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I have no idea how to wear a scarf without looking like it’s 1974 and I am constantly changing my online passwords because I can’t remember them. I am not skilled at statistics and conducting a simple cost analysis makes me break out in hives. But… I think about things. A lot.

And one of the things I’ve been thinking about recently is why photographers stopped selling paper prints. And I have a theory.

Back in the days of film, the phone would ring and the caller would ask the question that caused many a photographer’s eyes to roll: “How much is an 8×10?” If I had a dime for every time, right? And, we knew… just knew… that what the person at the end of the line was asking was not really the price of an 8×10 (although there is always a percentage for whom that is ALL they want to know-those for whom photography is not a priority and price will trump quality.)

No, they asked “How much is an 8×10?” because it’s all they knew to ask.

They wanted to know price, sure, but what that question really meant was:

“Why should I pick YOU?”
“Am I going to love these?”
“What if I don’t?”
“Are you right for me?”
“If I pick you, will I be happy with my choice.”
“Tell me why YOU are the right photographer for me.”

Of course, they didn’t come out and say that. Instead, they asked, “How much is an 8×10?”

Fast forward to now and the digital age. I happen to love it. I really do. Digital photography has made possible things that have stretched the imagination and broadened the mind. Heck, you and I are talking because of digital communication. And, for many photographers, digital technology has changed their final product.

But why? Why did it change? Were clients banging down the door demanding digital images only…or, as I suspect, does the fault lie more with the industry? Were photographers more than happy to shoot, hand the digital images over, stick a fork in it, and say, “I”m done.”

Personally, I think it’s the latter.

Again, why?

Well, with digital only, we don’t have to sell photographs. And selling, well, the thought produces tremors in a lot of people. And then, having sold, we have to produce a product. And then, we have to hope the clients like the product. And then, we have to deliver the product.

All that…when you could slap ‘em on a CD, grab a little pocket change and be done? Well, it’s easy to see, at least to me, why that became attractive and “the thing to do.” It was easy. And who doesn’t like easy? (Not to mention this method was advocated and promoted by those who stood to profit from the shift to digital only. We, as an industry, allowed the inexperienced and cunning among us to change the industry, and not for the better, while they profited off the masses. Of course, that’s a whole other conversation, one that is best discussed over lots of vodka.)

But…I submit digital images are not always what clients want…even when they say it is. Like the 8×10, they think they need to ask: “Can I get the files?” That’s what their friends did, right? And that’s the offer they are getting everywhere they turn, so they figure it’s “what’s done.” And, having received the CD, or USB drive, or online gallery, the images will be shared for a week or so, and then, the excitement will wane and the disk will be placed in a drawer.

And it will be forgotten.

Sure, a handful might, just might, print them. Will they look how the photographer who created the images intended them to look? After all, their name is on it, so they better hope so. I say the odds are doubtful.

The bottom line, at least, to me, is that we have devalued many things in this industry: the work, the final product, the relationships between client and photographer, the way we market… and it’s time we get back to making things MEAN something again.

Sure, prospective clients will still ask for digital images, but it’s up to us to change the conversation.

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About the author: Missy Mwac is a photography satirist, a lover of bacon, a drinker of vodka, a lover of sparkle, and a guide through the murky waters of professional photography. You can connect with her on Tumblr and Facebook. This article was also published here.

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Image credits: Header photo by martinak15, “Mom” by Rachel Zack, CD photo by Junior Silva

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Stormchasing to Shoot Portraits with Crazy Weather in the Background

There are stormchasing photographers and there are portrait photographers. Usually people don’t combine the two genres, but that’s exactly what photographer Benjamin Von Wong recently did. He spent two weeks chasing storms in an ambulance to shoot a series of unique portraits that have real storms in the background.

“Putting together this photoshoot was unlike anything I had ever done before,” Von Wong says. Never having chased a storm before, he enlisted the help of Kelly Delay, one of the top storm shooters who has captured everything from twin tornadoes to a family portrait with a lightning strike in the distance.

A fan of Von Wong’s offered his ambulance for the project, and the team loaded it with props and camera gear, from a sofa and a toilet to a $7,000 Broncolor Move flash pack. It meant “we could transform the ambulance into a mobile protected light-box to make sure we didn’t loose time setting up lights,” Von Wong says.

The storms they started tracking often moved at over 30 miles per hour, and the team would lose precious time simply by searching for a perfect road and location to stage the shoots. They generally had less than 10 to 15 minutes to set up and tear down each shoot.

This map gives a rough idea of how the team traveled over the course of their 8 hour days:

The goal of the project was to spark conversation about climate change and how animal agriculture contributes to it. Here’s the resulting set of portraits that were created:

Here’s a 2-minute behind-the-scenes video showing how the project was done:

You can find more information about this series in this post on Von Wong’s blog.

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Image credits: Photographs by Benjamin Von Wong and used with permission

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20 Angry Newlyweds Ambush Wedding Photographer Who ‘Ruined Their Big Day’

Wedding photographer Justin Hollow of Lakes Photography was recently featured in the Australian TV show A Current Affair, but not in a good way. Hollow was ambushed, on camera, by 20 angry brides (in wedding gowns) and grooms who claim that Hollow’s photo business ruined their big day.

The group of newlyweds contacted the show with horror stories about the Brisbane-based photographer’s practices. One claims that Hollow changed the photographer assignment for her wedding at the last minute, forcing her to cancel her booking — she’s still waiting for her full refund. Others accuse Hollow of taking nearly two years to deliver their wedding photos and videos, and some are still wondering if their memories will ever arrive.

A Current Affair then arranged for the group to confront Hollow on camera to demand their refunds and photos. Here’s the full 15-minute segment that aired on TV (you can also find it on the 9news website):

“I run my own business, I actually have to do absolutely everything in that,” Hollow says in his defense.

He has reportedly been banned from membership by the Australian Institute of Professional Photography and is under investigation by the Queensland Office of Fair Trading.

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