Victims of ISIS: The non western journalists who do not make the headlines

October 27, 2014 20:06 WCT

The risks of being a journalist these days....not only in the U.S. but around the world.

In the past 10 months, at least 17 Iraqi journalists have been executed by Isis. Many others have been kidnapped, their fate unknown.

Last week, Islamic State militants released a fifth video of the British freelance journalist John Cantlie, wearing a Guantánamo Bay-style orange jumpsuit and appearing to read from a script.

The film’s release was widely reported. Unsurprisingly: since August, Isis has released videos showing its beheading of two American journalists,James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as two British aid workers, David Haines and Alan Henning. All have been huge news events.

Less widely covered were reports that, on 13 October, Isis shot and killed the Mosul correspondent of Iraq’s Sada news agency in the city’s al-Ghazlani camp. Several local sources, as well as a Kurdish Democratic party spokesman and a medical centre, confirmed Mohanad al-Aqidi’s death to numerous NGOs (members of his family have since disputed the reports, and al-Aqidi’s fate is currently unclear.)

There are no doubts about the public beheading on 10 October, in Samarra, 50km south-east of Tikrit, of Raad Mohamed al-Azaoui , an Iraqi cameraman and photographer for Sama Salah Aldeen TV. Azaoui, a 37-year-old father of three, was killed with his brother after Friday prayers. More...

Downsizing of Photojournalism

I knew for quite some time that professional photojournalism was on the downslide, tumbling tumbling as fast as the rate of acceleration and not a bit slower. It does not surprise me to see yet another full staff "lay-off" due to corporate downsizing and profit making mongols in the newspaper industry. The Chicago Sun-Times is quoted as saying,

 "The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities with video and other multimedia elements. The Chicago Sun-Times continues to evolve with our digitally savvy customers, and as a result, we have had to restructure the way we manage multimedia, including photography, across the network."

 I understand that news video is increasing in demand for online news but it is not all that should be considered when reporting the news...unless people want just headlines and quick blurps without any real content. In reality this type of news leaves the population sort of ignorant as to what is really going on in the world and why whatever is going on is going on. Sure, one can use a still from a video to create a photograph but the quality is not the same, the angle is not the same and the story is not the same as a still. Will citizens of America see the difference in the quality of both the news and still image? Or will our citizens just turn a blind eye, stay silent and let what happens happen. Below is an image of the first freelance photographer assignment for the Chicago Tribune and tell me if there is a difference:

Nice photograph huh?

I have the feeling that the reporting will change around the same lines.  Pretty soon our news will be full of misspelled articles, unchecked facts without any responsibility for its' contents.  Just wait and see.

There is another problem.  As in most changes those who have "been around" know the difference but those that are young in the world will not know and thus, it will all be accepted as "normal" and good content.  We are building a less educated America and the news media insults our intelligence.  Yet, we allow it.

I can't believe that those who actually read the news enjoy waiting some time to change from one page with online news?  Turning a page takes time because it involves blocked cookies and spyware.  Good by turning a page with ease.

I would rather sit down with a cup of coffee and simply turn the pages any day.  I can take it outside, I can read it in bed, I can read it at a coffee shop and I can read it inside.  I can plop the good old print news and take it into the countryside, lay out a blanket and eat donuts and coffee to my hearts content.  I do not need to fight with the glare on my screen, plug in extension chords, carry around a laptop bag or worry about spilt coffee.

Bottom line?  The Sun-Times found other ways to acquire images without having to pay for them and they will get the quality as my example above.  I already posted a response to when CNN said that they no longer need photojournalists because they can relay on citizen journalism as a valid source for their news.  So does that mean if I have an iphone, or cannon point and shoot camera I am a press photographer?  Here is an interesting article in the NY Times:  "Do Newspapers Need Photographers?"

Or consider the fact that they want to use their reporters to double as photojournalists.  Let's consider this fact.  One, they will not get paid more for their double duty.  Two, they have spent their lives preparing to work with text, not image taking.  Three, they will miss the "action shots" because they will need to spend their time jotting notes about the event or the interview.  They will not have the time to engage in great photojournalistic shots.

Below is a great Blog from Rob Hart, who was laid off from the Sun-Times:

"Laid off from the Sun-Times"

One fellow photojournalist responded with this, "They're going to use freelancers - hire and fire policies, no need to pay for cameras, cars, pensions, health care - no moral responsibility to anyone providing images or video. Force reporters to shoot iphone pics/video, pay them nothing extra for the extra time and effort because as we all know, just as a photographer can do the job of a reporter standing on his/her head, so a wordsmith can easily do the job of a photographer - NOT! It all comes down to making the bottom line look as attractive as possible at time of sale to Koch brothers or any other taker. It's false economics, false accounting, short term, short sighted greed motivated policies. Such is the way of capitalism these days. Who gives a shit about real people? Just as long as shareholders, hedge fund managers and the banks are making their cut, the peasants can eat bread whilst the emperors parade around naked eating cake...............No need to look at what's happening in Spain, Greece, Turkey or anywhere else where the 'peasants' might just have had enough of this crap."

-Well said!

Bad news with Getty and IStock Photos

I was really disappointed with Getty and istock when I read this article.  It is a reminder to make sure that we read ALL of the fine print for stock photo and agency contracts.  Remember instagram?  Photographers beware.  We work hard to build up our photography portfolio costing us years and years in development, not to mention the prices of our equipment, gathering model release forms, archiving.  We cannot allow these agencies to take our work and sell them for pennies then drop us like we never existed.

No matter how hard it is for us to compete with the cell phone point and shooters, we must hold strong and keep our art at top value.

Reposted from PhotoStockNotes

Lauren Margolis: “Earlier last month, we learned that Getty agreed to license some 5,000 stock photos to Google, and paid the image creators a one-time fee of $12. Many members of the Microstockgroup forums planned to deactivate images on iStockphoto (a counterpart of Getty Images). 
Stock photographer Sean Locke - who has contributed more than 12,000 photos to iStockphoto and sold nearly 1 million licenses - criticized the deal early on and now Getty isterminating his account in 30 days.” http://blog.photoshelter.com/2013/02/istockphoto-terminates-top-contributor-in-aftermath-of-gettygoogle-deal/ 

TAKEAWAY: Photographer Locke has announced that he will migrate to other venues with his microstock photos. The dismissal of Locke (for expressing his opinion) turns out to be a hidden blessing for all microstockers. It’s a reminder that as a microstocker, you can simply migrate your photos from one site to another without missing a beat as they all (all millions of them) seem to come from the same catalog.

Visual Storytelling: 14 Tools for Journalists

This is a great and informative article!

A list of just 14 tools that journalists might find useful to tell stories in visual ways, inspired by the visual storytelling session at the latest news:rewired event

Reposted from Journalism.co.uk

Over the past year here at Journalism.co.uk we have reported on a number of new tools and platforms which have been launched or updated, which offer journalists different ways of telling stories visually.

Our news:rewired events have also highlighted a number of those tools, most recently in a dedicated session on visual storytelling at news:rewired - digital stories, which was held last Thursday (6 December).

Here is a list of just 14 tools that journalists might find useful. Some launched this year, while others have been around for some time now but continue to be used by news outlets today.

Timelines

1. Timetoast

Users simply sign up to Timetoast and then they can create embeddable timelines.

Each event added to the timeline can have an image and link added to it. Timelines can be saved as drafts until ready to be published, at which point they can be customised and embedded into news sites. The timelines can be viewed as a table or in timeline format and the final timeline is also given its own URL for direct linking.

At news:rewired last week Paul Rowland, deputy head of content (digital), Media Wales, recommended using Timetoast to build timelines, showing one he created on "Wales' rise and fall since Rugby World Cup 2011" as an example of the tool in use.  more...

The Union Newspaper Fails to Credit Photographer

Newspapers, magazines, websites are increasingly omitting giving photo credits.  This is not good, legal or ethical.  If I was not a professional photographer I would be proud to have my image on the front page of a newspaper!  I would safe the clip and put it in my photo album for my grandchildren to see one day.  As a professional, it is an insult because we try to make a real living from our images, we need to eat, have a place to sleep and feed our families.  It's only right for the publishers to ask permission, and more correct to pay a bit for using the image!  As photographers professional or not, we must continue to fight.  This photographer started a Facebook thread.  Story below

Republished from: Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Photo by: John M. Daly

The Union is painting itself as a hero amid charges of copyright infringement involving a giant centerpiece photo it ran on the front page on Tuesday without crediting the photographer, with a headline “Thanks to John Daly for one stunning shot.”

In fact, the newspaper was the goat, having put itself at risk legally as a commercial venture — and on top of that, it omitted all together how the controversy arose in its own watered-down version of the incident — an episode that was slap in the face to local artists.

“As rain came to an end and clouds parted from this weekend’s storms, Nevada City photographer John Daly headed down to the Highway 49 bridge and captured both the natural beauty and ferocity of western Nevada County’s beloved South Yuba River — beneath a double rainbow, no less,” reads the article this morning by Managing Editor Brian Hamilton (on an inside page; the photo was on page 1).

“Daly shared his stunning shot with the community through The Union, which published the photo on the front page of Tuesday’s edition. Unfortunately, proper credit was not provided to the photographer in the print edition. The Union regrets the error, as Daly certainly deserves recognition for a piece of art so well received by our readers.”

“Unfortunate?” That’s an understatement — both on ethical and legal grounds.

“Daly’s South Yuba shot drew rave reviews on The Union’s Facebook page,” the article continued, “where by noon Tuesday more than 1,700 people had viewed the photo — of which 90 had shared it elsewhere, reaching an unknown total number of Facebook users — and several expressed their gratitude for Daly’s work:”

But here’s what The Union left out: — sharp criticism involving charges of copyright infringement, including from the photographer himself — on another Facebook page, “Nevada County Peeps.” It’s a very valid concern, based on routine journalistic standards.

“It is nice to have the photo on the front page of The Union Newspaper in Grass Valley, CA,” the photogropher wrote in the “Nevada County Peeps” page on Facebook. “But The Union is well-known for being unreliable. I gave them the photo on the proviso that I would have credit on the photo and they even said they would mention my photography exhibition in Nevada City. They did none of this. They literally stole the photo by simply saying ‘submitted photo,’ no mention of my name. .

•”That’s why we don’t get the local paper,” wrote one reader on the Facebook thread, which generated 33 comments.

•”Glad I didn’t send my photos there..I wondered whose photo it was. A lovely photo indeed!” wrote another.

•”The Union’s policy on giving photo credits is highly irregular,” wrote another reader. “As someone who has submitted dozens and dozens of photos over the years, I’ve learned they usually will not credit the photographer. I have no idea how they get away with it, but they do.”

“DISREPECTFUL”

•”The Union unfortunately does not serve the people or the community – only business, and even that is questionable,” said another.

•”Yes, there have been many askew articles printed in The Union and it has been very disrespectful and like most media had a huge influence on people’s opinion — true or not “as they read it in the paper,” said another. “Add on the typos and the grammatical errors over the years, I gave up subscribing.”

•”John, I’m really sorry to hear this,” I wrote after noticing the controversy. “As you know, we were glad to pay for your large-size photos of the Yuba River and give youcredit by name in the current issue of our FoodWineArt magazine and on the companion http://www.SierraCulture.com website. We’re also going to restock Java Johns with our magazine that carries your photo and credit, and we have publicized your show at Java Johns on our Facebook page. Be assured that the journalistic standards in our community are not all the same. Have a great day and thanks for such a lovely photo!”

When the Facebook posts and comments appeared in droves, Daly did hear from The Union:

•”OK, The Union just called me and apologized for the mistake,” Daly wrote. “They are going to republish in tomorrows paper with full credit and pay for the photo. And mention my Photo Exhibit currently at Java Johns. I will have to print this photo and put it up in the Exhibit.”

“Wondered how that happened- glad they took responsibility,” one reader reacted.

What remains unanswered is:

1. How did such an egregious error happen in the first place? Copyright infringement puts the newspaper at legal risk — well beyond “doing the right thing” to credit an artist’s work in a giant front-page photo.

2. What are The Union’s practices and policies when it comes to photo credits? Why wasn’t the photographer paid in the first place (instead of as an afterthought)? Is anything going to change?

3. Why did The Union omit how the controversy arose in the first place — in social media on a page created by a grassroots effort in the community, called “Nevada County Peeps.” Was it embarrassed to give the full account?

Daly concluded: “I am glad this has developed such a lively and needed debate in our community. Thanks for all your support.” Amen to that!

Photojournalists as Terrorists in the U.S.A.

Susan Brannon
24 September 2012


There has been a lot of talk lately regarding our freedom of expression and speech in the world of photojournalism.  Last year when the Occupy movement started many journalists were reported as being arrested, some have been arrested four times.  It is our job as photojournalists to tell the story and it our job as journalists to let the world know and judge for themselves what perspective they want to take.

It is becoming more and more difficult to tell the news through the world of images.  The police hit you on the head with their batons, they block your lens they tell you to go away or they simply drag you into the back of a van for arrest.  They do not like images being taken of some of the abuses that occurs during the protests because it is proof of their uncivil behavior.  Are we as journalists supposed to tell lies through our lens?  I don't think so and that is not what journalism is all about.  Or, shall I say that is not what we are supposed to stand for ethically.

The last thing that I want to do when catching "action" and news is to ask the policemen to stand and shake the hands of a protester with a smile on his face for the camera.  That is not the reality that I hear and read about.

For me as a photojournalist, this is scary and very much so.  Not in terms of my own physical safety but in terms of our country becoming fascist in the direction of Hitler or Mussolini or even the current Berlusconi who controls almost all of the Italian media.  This is the police state that people are talking about or have been talking about in the years past.  This is not a conspiracy, this is a reality. Our country was founded on these simple freedoms, we even had street corners where people could stand and voice their opinions to those who were willing to listen.

This is a larger part of the anti-terrorist concept taken to the extreme. Democracy is denied these days.  We need to be careful of "fear", because when there is "fear" then we change our free ways.  After 9/11 it gave an excuse to change the laws.  Photographer Chris Miller who has been arrested three times said, "They’re recording us, they don’t want us recording them,” said Miller. “They really want to put a scare factor into us,” he added.

These photographers even ask if they are using their images to send to the Al Qaeda. "NPPA  responds to the LAPD special order that equates photography with criminal activity" reports that "The LAPD recently issued guidelines instructing their officers on “behavior/activity that may reveal a nexus to foreign or domestic terrorism.” Such behavior listed includes:

“Taking pictures or videos of facilities/buildings, infrastructures, or protected sites in a manner that would arouse suspicion in a reasonable person.  Examples include taking pictures or videos of ingress/egress, delivery locations, personnel performing security functions (e.g., patrol, badge/vehicle checking), security-related equipment (e.g., perimeter fencing, security cameras), etc”

The NPPA responded, "“Photography is protected by the First Amendment, subject only to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions. Unfortunately the reliance on policies such as the LAPD’s as the basis for law enforcement officers to question, detain and interfere with lawful activities by photographers under the guise of preventing terrorist activities has become a daily occurrence.”

On the "Lens Blog with the NY Times" in their article titled, "Criminalizing Photography" Through an interview with Mickey H. Osterreicher with the NPPA he says, "It’s not just news photographers who should be concerned with this. I think every citizen should be concerned. Tourists taking pictures are being told by police, security guards and sometimes other citizens, “Sorry, you can’t take a picture here.” When asked why, they say, “Well, don’t you remember 9/11?”

I remember it quite well, but what does that have do to with taking a picture in public? It seems like the war on terrorism has somehow morphed into an assault on photography."

The advise that I would give is to be polite, ask for permission to cross that "crime line" get to know your local police officers and don't argue. Just walk away and try to see if you can get that "breaking story" from a different angle.

Today there is a bombardment with citizen journalists, using their camera phones as the source.  In Libya or Syria the camera phone is useful to getting the news out and even then they are risking their lives.  The problem is that today, the photojournalists are also risking their lives but in a different way, they risk getting arrested or even beaten up.

Every day a photojournalist is getting arrested in America and that is something that all of us should be having a problem with.  Photographers today are being charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing and the obstruction of governmental administration for doing their job.  Most of the time, the charges get dropped but in the meantime the photographer did not get the news.

The point is that if you are on public property, you have every right to take a picture.  Of course there are differences between taking photographs and the use of the photograph.  Unfortunately, it is the press that is not having as much "free will" with their image taking than the normal John Doe who is photographing a local fire.  It is the press that will be told no and the John Doe can continue. Even then, it is the police in many cities that want to decide what images the photographer can use.  They want to serve and protect by deciding what images to use.  It is not their job and as Osterreicher said in his interview, "Just as a news photographer's job isn't to direct traffic, or collect evidence at a scene…"

Legally, here are some of the sited cases:

Channel 10, Inc v. Gunnarson, 337 F. Supp. 634 (D. Minn. 1972)
"… employees of the news media have a right to be in public places and on public property to gather information, photographically or otherwise."


Schnell v. City of Chi., 407 F.2d 1084, 1085 (7th Cir. 1969)
(reversing dismissal for failure to state a claim of suit claiming police interference with news reporters and photographers’ “constitutional right to gather and report news, and to photograph news events” under the First Amendment (internal quotation mark omitted)


Cape Publications, Inc. v. Bridges, 423 So.2d 426, Fla.App. 5 Dist.,1982.
"the right of privacy does not necessarily protect a person against the publication of his name or photograph in connection with the dissemination of legitimate news
items or other matters of public interest."

"...where one becomes an actor in an occurrence of public interest, it is not an invasion of her right to privacy to publish her photograph with an account of such occurrence. Just because the story and the photograph may be embarrassing or distressful to the plaintiff does not mean the newspaper cannot publish what is otherwise newsworthy."

Haiti: Quick Facts

Susan Brannon
19 May 2012

Haiti Quick Facts

The Crossing Borders Project is going to Haiti, to see what life is really like over there.  The different sub-cultures explain Haiti Today (2012) with different perspectives.  The Crossing Borders Project wants to know what is "really" going on.  First we have what I call the large corporation type aid workers, who received a ton of money and people are wondering where the money went.  (More of this on a different post) Second, we have the Haitians who's problems are never ending and not getting much better; HIV is at a height, recent outbreaks of Cholera at an increasing level and is feared to increase during this years rainy season; (more on this is a different post) water is scarce, and many homes have not been rebuilt while crime is rising. 

I have listed some quick "getting to know Haiti" facts

Total population 10,033,00
Life expectancy m/f 60/63
probability of dying under five (per 1000 live births) 87
80% of the Haitians live below the poverty line
Half of the population can be considered "food poor or insecure" and half of the children are under developed as a result of malnutrition.
Less than half of the population has access to clean drinking water
43% of the target population receives the recommended immunizations.
Half of the population can be considered "food poor or insecure" and half of the children are under developed as a result of malnutrition.
Haiti ranks last in the Western hemisphere
The ratio of nurses and physicians are 11/25 per 100,000
Most of the rural areas do not have access to health care, making them susceptible to treatable diseases.

There are over 600,000 Haitians living in tents and temporary structures.  Port-au-Prince is still the most affected area in the center and through the south of the city to the Carrefour, Leogane and Petit Goave district.

Cholera had entered the Artibonite River, Haiti's longest, 60 miles upstream ó most likely from a leaky latrine at a United Nations camp for peacekeeping troops, who carried it from Nepal.

This is a country only a few hours away by plane from the United States.
This is a country where billions of dollars have been donated and much of it used to support the aid agencies. 

The Crossing Borders Project only has two weeks to let the Haitians tell their stories through the visual image so we can see their lives through their eyes.
Related Links:
The Crossing Borders Project
The Crossing Borders Facebook Group
The Crossing Borders You Tube Page
The Crossing Borders on Idealist  Looking for volunteers worldwide

CISPA and Journalism

18 April 2012
This is not about photography, per se..but the CISPA bill will effect us all and if any of you out there want to be a photojournalist then your ability to "report" will become more and more limited.  You will loose your "freedom" to create documentary photography stories that you may want to create.  Your work will become limited.  I remember when I was working during the Bush administration, covering the conflict in the Middle East, I could not publish many realities in American news outlets.  We could not publish images of American soldier coffins with flags,  no one would purchase photo stories about the defense contractors in Iraq, or the gas lines.  My images and stories were published all over the world, except for in America.  I became black listed for such behind the scene stories.  I was relieved when Obama took office, and I would have the ability to tell the American people and survive, behind the scene stories once again.  Well folks, CISPA will change all that, and more forever...and it could get much worse.
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is a bill that would allow companies doing business in the US to collect records of American citizens online activities, worldwide.  This includes all American journalists, photographers, investigative journalists, news agencies, associations, You Tube and bloggers.  This is a bill in my opinion, is very serious indeed. 

It was developed to help stop "cybersecurity threats" and for "cybersecurity purposes"  The bill is weak in definition, and it does not narrow the categories that the companies are to report to the American government.  This leaves the door open to any kind of interpretation, censor any speech that a company believes could "downgrade the network."  It is supposed to "protect theft or misappropriation of private or government information."  This includes intellectual property.  This gives a powerful weapon to close websites that provide important information to the American public and to the world.  The New York Times, could face problems with this bill because they published information from WikiLeaks.  They could censor international sites from American view who has information that the government does not want the American people to know about.

It reminds me of the European history pre-WWII, or the American Japanese scare and arrests on American soil.  I don't want to be forced to "wear a star" so others can identity me as a "cyber terrorist", or a "propaganda terrorists", (a new term that I read about lately, more on that later) and an American enemy, because I am writing this article.  As far as I am concerned this is the next step towards Fascism, by controlling the people, controlling the media and inserting fear that you may just get arrested the next time you cross over into American borders. 

How does the CISPA effect journalists? 
The bill disregards our Fourth Amendment rights as they apply to journalists and documentary filmmakers working on subject matter related to US military operations, foreign policy and other subjects that the Homeland Security finds offensive. 

Wait, what does homeland security have to do with CISPA the "internet eye in the sky?"  It has everything to do with it, when a person writes "keywords" that are a concern to American homeland security, that person is added to a "Homeland Security watch list" and if that person is researching, investigating, photographing, filmmaking on any of these subjects, then they will be added onto this list.  When someone is on the list, then the government, Homeland Security will have the right to arrest, question, or detain that person without any explanation, rights to make a phone call, for any amount of time and without any legal representation.  Now that is a hard call and a scary one.

The fourth amendment reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Is not the passing of CISPA creating the legal ability for the government (what ever branch) to follow citizens actions, opinions, online published papers, published articles, images, or emails and conversations using the written word or even voiced such as on Skype or Google, against the fourth amendment?  This action will Kill the Forth Amendment. 

In the end, it boils down to who is reading the key words and what kind of mood they are in that day if they report you or not. If anyone in the corporation feels that the citizen in this case, journalist, is approaching information that concerns the said "national interest, sensitive, secret or protected from disclosure then that information," journalist will be considered a "threat".  Remember it is the government or "homeland security" that can distinguish which materials are public or protected from disclosure not the companies.

CISPA puts the companies into the position of becoming "informers" with the promise of shielding them from any legal responsibility.  The government and these companies, (see supporters of CISPA list) tell the citizens that the law protects the populations and tech companies from cyber attacks.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers"

That freedom was suppressed in Germany by President Paul Von Hindenburg, as Adolf Hitler was coming into power.  Hitler suppressed press freedom through the Joseph Goebbels' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda where which the government acted as a central point for all media, issuing orders as to what stories could or could not be told. In this way, important realities were kept from the citizens and the journalists did not have a choice to take action in fear of execution. 

This bill instills increased fear among the American people.  I always hear people say, "Well, I'm not doing anything wrong, they can do what they want.  I have nothing to hide."  Wait a minute, does this mean because you are a "good person" that you will watch our civil rights drift away?  What happens when you become really angry about what can most likely happen in America's future when our freedoms are really gone and you want to say something or do something about it, like create a petition?  If the CISPA bill passes, you will be faced with the fear regarding, your postings on Facebook, web searches, sending emails, writing blog posts, any communication online...for fear that someone could "come knocking" on your door.  This has already happened to over 50,000 American citizens, and some of them have quietly been deported.

If "they" don't like what you are doing, they will have the right to: shut you down, your website, your blog, your business, and your existence.

Reporters Without Borders put it this way, "The definition of potential threats is even broader. It targets ‘‘efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy” a system or network, the “theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information”.  CISPA in its current form is written in broad scope.  The information that the companies share is not narrow and limited.  Information sharing should be about increasing Internet users' security, not government surveillance.

Related Articles:
Stop the Cyber Intelligence Sharing Protection Act

CISPA Supporters List
True America: Where Lies Become the Truth
Procedures for handling Assemblies and Mass Demonstrations in D.C. 

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)

18 April 2012
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) would allow companies doing business in the US to collect exact records of all of our online activities and hand them over to the US government, without ever notifying us that we are being watched. No warrant, no legal cause and no due process required. To make matters worse, the bill provides the government and corporations with blanket immunity to protect them from being sued for violation of privacy and other illegal actions.

The bill’s supporters claim that consumer information will be protected, but the reality is that huge loopholes would make everything we do online fair game -- and nowadays, from banking to shopping, our private information is all stored on the Internet.

CISPA is being moved forward in Congress and will be voted upon in days. Let’s raise a massive outcry to stop corporations from giving the US a blank check to monitor our every move.

Right now, the US is poised to pass a new law that would permit US agents to spy on almost everything we do online. But we can stop them before the final vote.

Companies that we trust with our personal information, like Microsoft and Facebook, are key supporters of this bill that lets corporations share all user activity and content with US government agents without needing a warrant in the name of cyber-security -- nullifying privacy guarantees for almost everyone around the world, no matter where we live and surf online.

If enough of us speak out, we can stop companies that profit from our business from supporting cyber-spying. Sign the petition to these key net corporations now:

Click below to take action:

Avaaz

This year, we helped stop SOPA, PIPA and ACTA -- all dire threats to the Internet. Now, let’s block CISPA and end the US government attack on our Internet.
Related Articles:
CISPA Supporters List
 CISPA and Journalism
True America: Where Lies Become the Truth
Procedures for handling Assemblies and Mass Demonstrations in D.C. 

Olympus E-510

I had a client the other day for my photo tours (a plug) and she had an Olympus E-510 that I could not figure out how to use in "manual mode"  I like my clients to use manual mode when they are learning how to use the camera and take images.  I believe that working in manual really helps the photographer to understand the technical side so that they can become as creative as they want.  They will learn to "rule" the camera, rather than the camera being in charge of what style of images they take. 

I felt sort-of "bad" because I did not know her camera and I was there to teach.  Usually, I can take a digital like canons, nikons and pentax digital cameras and figure them out quickly so we can run around and take images.  It was a very rainy day and the client decided that she wanted to sit down and learn the functions of her camera.

The Olympus brand has some of their own "Olympus lingo" and we did not have a manual so we had to play around with it.  We ended up taking some nice shots and I can't wait until she gets back home to send some to me.  I will put them online, with her permission, of course! 

The Olympus E-510 is actually a nice camera once you figure it out.  It has some options that some of the others do not have; you can take images in "live view" mode, meaning that you can view your image through the LCD rather than the view finder.  This is what makes the camera work a bit differently than most.  The other nice option is when you want to view your image in the LCD, the image rotates according to how you are holding your camera!  It also has four different "play" view modes, single shot, thumbnails multiple shots, a slide show and a calendar.  The camera automatically sorts the images by dates, so in calendar mode you can click the date and view the images taken on that specific day. 

Below are some bullet points of what we discovered, in case it can help any of you:
    * the "sswf" on the top of your camera, blinks when you turn it on.  This means: that the dust cleaner is active.  it means: super sonic wave filter (Olympus terms)
    * P on your dialer means program mode
    * S means shutter mode
    * A means aperture mode
    * M means manual mode
    * To change settings:  click on info you will see that screen that we kept looking at;  here is where you can change your ISO, and other setting:  click okay (in the center dial on the right) and the ISO page will show up, press the arrows to change that setting. 
    * White Balance (WB) click okay after you change the ISO, then the arrow until the WB setting is highlights, then okay;  here you can change it to overcast, auto, sunny, inside etc...scroll to the desired setting and click okay.
    * You can do the same with metering (area, spot etc), HQ and SQ means high quality and standard quality.
    * Flash: you can set the flash manually in the same way that you change your other settings above: 1/4;  1/16 and 1/64
    * Your camera is one of 4 digital that lets you take live view: this is that button we would press to see the image on the screen when taking photos.  (I will try to describe it here: the small button on the right side that has the screen icon, near just below that IS button) when you press on that, it goes to live screen.  The mirror in the camera flips up (that noise that you hear) and the view finder blacks out.  This is when you get all that stuff you don't like onto your LCD screen.   (Now we know)
    * You can use that "display mode" with all the icons, and switch between them by pressing the info button.
    * Here is something important:  In live view mode your camera will not autofocus when you press the shutter button 1/2 way; BUT you can press the AEL button to autofocus.
    * You will hear the mirror (That sound you kept hearing) when taking a picture in live view mode; the mirror will open, focus take the picture and snap up again.
    * IS button means: image stabilization. there are two settings:  one for static subjects(IS2)  and one for subjects moving horizontal. (IS 1)  This stabilizes your camera, while shooting in live mode to reduce the camera shake.
    * When taking a shot in live view, you can magnify the view by clicking on the Okay button. to remove the magnification, click okay again.
    * You have different "play" modes:  standard one photo view, multiple image view and slideshow view.  To change your view:  press menu > scroll to play (the play icon) scroll to click the views. click okay.

Canon vs Nikon? Which Camera to Buy?

Susan Brannon
Entry Level Camera's

For starters, I use the Nikon.  Why?  Through the years, I have seen tons of images from friends, online, at exhibitions and after a while I noticed that the quality of images that I liked and choices of lens's was from a Nikon.  In the end, that is all that I purchase.  The newer Digital camera's have a nice feature that you can interchange the lens (of certain type) from a Nikon or a Canon

So, who am I go write an article on a Canon vs Nikon camera?  Well, in my work, I have had many clients in my workshops that have Canon's and I have had to become familiar with them.  Don't get me wrong here, they are nice camera's and take wonderful images.  I think that in the end, it really depends on your "style" and taste. 

Both the digital SRL Nikon and Canon cameras are "user friendly" easy to navigate and quick with the shutter speeds.  I have noticed that each type of Nikon or Canon, has a different interface.  It sounds like I am talking about computer's and software, which in reality, that is what these digital camera's are.  So, if you are not tech savvy, trying to decide on what camera to use can be a bit challenging. 

If you walk into a real camera store, you know the ones that only sell cameras and the equipment that go with them, not the Targets or other retail stores, the salesperson will sound like me.  He or she will gear you towards the camera of their choice.  This is why I say that it is a matter of taste, in the end.

Okay, so in reference to my last article, "Photography: Getting Started: What Camera to Buy?"  I will go into some more detail.  I don't want to overwhelm a new photographer, so I like to make things as simple as possible.  Nikon and Canon are always in competition with each other, when one company comes out with a new camera, the other company announces a camera that is competitive.

What a Nikon D3100 offers:        What a Canon T3 (1100D) offers:
cost: $550                                                $500
Megapixels:  12.2                                     14.2
Stabilization: In lens                               In lens
Memory Card: SD/SDHC/SDXC           SD/SHC/SDXC
Max. Shutter Speed:  1/4000                    1/4000
Max. Photo Capture:  3 per sec.                3 per sec.
ISO Range:  100 to 6400                        100 to 12800
Movie Modes:  Quicktime MOV               H.264
              1280 x 720p(30fps)                   1920x1080p; 1280 x 720; 640x424
LCD:  Static 2.7in                                  Static 3in
Viewfinder: Pentamirror (95%)               Pentamirror (95%)
Autofocus:  9 point                                 11 point
Face Detect AF: No                               Yes
Sensor Dimensions: 22.2 x 14.8              23.6 x 15.7
                   (1.6x crop)                         (1.5x crop)
HDMI Port: Yes                                   Yes
Live View:  Yes                                      Yes
Built in Flash: Yes                                Yes
Compatible Lenses: All Canon EF        Nikon AF-I and AF-S
           and EF-S
Demensions: 5.1 x 3.9x 3.07 in              4.9 x 3.8 x 3.0 in
            129.5 x 99 x 76 mm                124 x 96 x 75 mm
Weight:  17.46 oz (495g)                      17.8oz (505g)

You will notice that there is not much of a difference in the camera's.  The one difference is the Rebel T3 and the Nikon D3100 is that the Nikon D3100 is NOT 100% backwards-compatible with older Nikon lenses -  while the Rebel T3 works well with large number of Canon and third party lenses.

You can look at the "image quality" by searching for image reviews and view the image differences and see which ones you may like best.  In the end, a lot will be decided on how you intend to use the camera, and how you plan to upgrade.



Related Articles:
Photography: Getting Started

Photography: Getting Started: What Camera to Buy?

Photography, Getting Started, What Camera to Buy
Susan Brannon
Buying a camera has nothing to do with a red Ferrari, but you can get "Ferrari" level cameras!  Photography can be one complicated hobby or career.  Lets look at the "art" of photography and forget about the career.  The first thing you will need to do is to decide on what camera to purchase.  To stay out of all the complicated and technical deciding factors, I will try to offer a simple process to help you to get on the right foot!

I want to offer my "advice" right away because photography and decision making can drive one crazy.  There is no need to go crazy here, take a breath, relax and enjoy the wonderful world of image making.  Most of you have already taking images with a point and shoot digital camera.  You may have received one as a gift as a child, or purchased one for that saved up holiday.  Now, you decided that you want to get a bit more serious about image taking.

• All you need is a light weight, SRL digital camera.  They are medium in cost around $500.00 to $1,000 (without the lens)  I recommend a 17-55mm lens to start with. You will want to buy a haze protective filter for your lens, maybe a tripod , a case, a way to clean your lens and your off! (some are listed at the bottom)

Okay, you can also buy cameras that come in "kits"  they include the camera, and the lens. (what I listed on the bottom)

Quickly on type of lens, and what you will want to do:  Id you think that you will want to get into Sports, Travel, culture, landscape and nature will require you to purchase another lens in addition to the 17-55mm lens.  You will want a 55-200mm.

My advice?  Start from the perspective as a hobby, because most likely if you really get into it, you will continue buying equipment for the rest of your life.  Photography is catchy, like a bug and once you get that bug, you will never be able to put it down.  You will want to try different lens, work with lighting, maybe try a different style or create your own dark room.  The possibilities are endless in photography.  Start small and grow later.  You do not have to purchase that $5,000 camera right off the bat.

Now that was not to difficult was it?  The world of camera selling has made camera buying much less complicated for beginners with their kits. I will add more details, on types of lens for what types of photography, for when you will want to explore viewing the world through different lens.  (This means that you will have to stop by later, or sign up for my email updates!)

I am also testing something new to add to some of the postings, for this article..and my first time, I added a few camera's that I found online for you to click and view. I want to see if it really works!??

Framing Your Subject: Quick Tips

Susan Brannon
There are various ways to "frame your subject"  Framing can help to draw the eyes through the image towards the subject.
Look for Items:
Search for items you can frame your subject with.  Ask yourself if you can use a tree, a slope, or a window frame. These items can be used to "frame your subject" for added quality to your image and help to draw the viewers eye into the subject.  You can look at the geometrics of the area.  For example, is there a line of bushes that lead towards your subject?  These are lines that lead or draw towards your subject and can have a powerful impact on your images.

Making Use of the Rule of Thirds

Described in a prior article, I discussed the use of the rule of thirds. By breaking up your frame into 9 equal boxes, you can place your subject matter in a more interesting location within the image.
Balance Your Image Elements
Look around and see if you have secondary elements to balance your image with while using the rule of thirds.

Now, go out and try it!

Related lessons:

Tips on How to Use our Disposable Cameras

Documentary Photography Lesson 1

Documentary Photography Lesson 2

Street Photography Lesson 1

Street Photography and your Camera

Street Photography Tips

Holga Camera

F/16 Rule and Apertures

What is the difference between Street Photography and Documentary?
Four Easy Steps to Learn panning 

Tips for Night Photography

Aperture and f/16 Rule
Shutter Speed Basics
Bracketing

Rule of Thirds

Depth of Field

Photography Basics

Common Photography Terms

Focused Bracketing or Photo Stacking

Twitter Censorship

Susan Brannon
Is the censorship by Twitter connected to the recent SOPA/PIPA proposal?  It seems strange that once everyone blacked out and petitioned the SOPA deal, Twitter decided to censor tweets.  Who is to really decide what tweets are approved and which ones are not?

As we know, Twitter was a major resource for the gathering of thousands in the Arab Spring and a resource for thousands to keep people on the outside involved in the situation.

As a journalist, twitter is a main aspect for me to follow issues and concerns and I sure that it is the same for activists. So now what? Will I not be able to follow a tweet from Syria because, the U.S. government decides that I, an American should not know what it going on over there?  Will I not be allowed to really know what is going on over there?

I have been covering war, physically from the inside and I know that what makes it into mainstream news, is not really the reality many times over and over.  I can understand the global governments are concerned on the Arab Spring spreading onto other revolutions in different countries.  Well, it already has. 

What about our own 99% vs the 1% Wall Street Occupy sit ins?  I believe that this censorship should be scraped, done with and it should not have been a nano second of a thought or consideration for Twitter.  Here is why:

This takes away from our freedom of expression
The freedom of the right to assemble and organize
The freedom to communicate with those we want to communicate with from any border
Twitter is selling people out who need a place to have a voice
Twitter is committing social suicide
If censorship starts to happen, then we all loose.
Twitter is putting themselves in the place of the government's mercy.  Not run by them, but in the end will be run by the government.

Twitter said, "no plans to remove tweets unless it receives a request from government officials, companies or another outside party that believes the message is illegal."

Okay, so the government can tell us what, who and where we can speak. 
There will be a Twitter for Democratic countries and a Twitter for the other.

HDR Photojournalism?

Susan Brannon
15 January 2012

To my great sadness, I want to point out that The Washington Post printed a photograph on the front page that was in HDR format. This is clearly altering an image by combining several images into one. It is done to create a "sharper" and greater photographic moment than the reality of the subject. Many Landscape photographers use this technique and as a result there are many beautiful landscape images out there, but they are not real. For me, the HDR image looks a bit "surreal".

However, in photojournalism to alter an image is a great "phoo-pah" and the publishing of such an image on the front page of a newspaper (any newspaper) is like a slap in the face to me. Do the editors laugh at us while they make decisions to print such an image? They did say that the image was "composite". I am a true bread photojournalist who first shot with slides and mailed them in, then film and went to the press office, then in digital that I had to spend tons of my precious earnings on new equipment and continue to do so, in order to make the "news" in "real time".

This is a slap in our ethical code that I proudly stand by, of not altering any image for the news. Not a beep, not a color, no clipping, no cropping, and in RAW. That is the true art of a good photojournalist, to tell the story as it is, to reflect the reality and to record history as it happens.

For me, this is a sad day. Please read more about the image here: Poynter Institute

Dorothea Langue: A Bio

Susan Brannon

27 November 2011

Dorothea Langue: Documentary Photography or Photojournalism?

“One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind.”

“Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.”

Dorothea Langue

Dorothea Langue is known for her work during the great depression era while working for the Farm Security.  She was a documentary and photojournalist photographer.  She was born on May 26, 1895 and dies October 11, 1965.  She studied photography at Columbia University and apprenticed in several New York photography studios, later she moved to San Francisco and opened a portrait studio.  During the depression, she went from her studio and watching the people in the street below her, to photographing the people in the street photographing the unemployed and homeless, “combing those who paid and those who did not”.  Later, she toured the field with her husband who was gathering economic data for the government. 

Many of the images she took became public domain because of her work for the Farm Security.  Some of her images were “off hours” and became copyrighted to her name.  Her images were to bolster support for the establishment of migrant camps.  

Dorothea used a 4 x 5 Graflex D camera for most of her shots. She felt that the camera, “Teaches people how to see without a camera” Langue worked a lot by using her instincts, “to find out later how right your instincts were, if you followed all the influences that were brought to bear on you while you were working in a region.…It did happen more than once that we unearthed and discovered what had been either neglected, or not known, in various parts of the country, things that no one else seemed to have observed in particular, yet things that were too important not to make a point of.”

In the 1940’s she documented the forced relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps.  In the 1950’s and 1960’s she produced photographic essays on Ireland, Asia, Egypt and the post-war boom in California. 

Dorothea Langue interacted with her subjects, in order to capture a realistic, honest and truthful image.  Langue was a patient photographer, sticking around, talking to the people, asking them questions, “where are you from?” remaining there, and sitting on the ground with them.  She listened to the people that she photographed and tried to remember what they said so later when she went to her car, she could write down what they said.  She would use their quotes with the images captions, she liked “using the words that came directly from the people’s mouths”.  By the end of 1939 she had set the standard for photography captions.

While she was working for the government, they wanted images of a certain type, framing the subject to tell the story, while in the darkroom removing the “negatives” like brushing away a thumb, lightening some areas, darkening others and moving a cow skull to show evidence of a drought. 

Dorothea Langue had a somewhat mystical approach to the problem of authenticity. She believed that through her camera she could see into the psyches of her subjects, and that by penetrating beneath a surface she could get at a truth that was deeper, more truthful, than were facts available at first glance. Taken literally, her notion that she had a kind of X- ray vision seems to absurd, but is a way of saying something about the role of documentary photography.

The debate about authenticity and objectivity may never be solved. It continues today whether the subject is literature or history or journalism or photography. Unfortunately today many people continue to worry more about whether a photographer has asked a subject to take off his hat or look toward her child than about whether the photographer’s interpretation illuminates truths heretofore hidden. Some of this concern comes from a confusion of documentary photography with photojournalism, some from increased public awareness of how easily and undetectably images can be altered.

We need to get straight what documentary photography has been and is: overwhelmingly often an art form inspired by concern for social justice and eagerness to participate in social change. It aims to see and show beneath the common-sense assumptions that so often prevent us from seeing the actual relationships that create both human and ecological erosion.

Related Articles:
Comparative Essay: The Great Depression/The Current Crisis
Ansel Adams:  How Did He Do It?
Ansel Adams:  Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox
Documentary Photography: Lesson 1
Documentary Photography: Lesson 2 Altering Images, How Far Can We Go?
Photojournalism Visual Lies
Street Photography Tips
What is the Difference Between Street Photography and Documentary Photography?
Ethics and Credibility

Scheimpflug theory

Susan Brannon
21 August 2011
You read in my previous article on Ansel Adams, that one of the two techniques he used was the Scheimpflug theory.  I will try to make this theory as simple as possible.

The Scheimpflug principle is a geometric rule that describes the orientation of the plane of focus of an optical system (such as a camera) when the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane.

Normally, the lens and image (film or sensor) planes of a camera are parallel, and the plane of focus (PoF) is parallel to the lens and image planes. If a planar subject (such as the side of a building) is also parallel to the image plane, it can coincide with the PoF, and the entire subject can be rendered sharply. If the subject plane is not parallel to the image plane, it will be in focus only along a line where it intersects the PoF. As in the image below.

With a normal camera, when the subject is not parallel to the image plane, only a small region is in focus.Image from Wikipedia.

 When an oblique tangent is extended from the image plane, and another is extended from the lens plane, they meet at a line through which the PoF also passes.

Rotation of the plane of focus

With this condition, a planar subject that is not parallel to the image plane can be completely in focus.

When the lens and image planes are not parallel, adjusting focus[1] rotates the PoF rather than displacing it along the lens axis. The axis of rotation is the intersection of the lens’s front focal plane and a plane through the center of the lens parallel to the image plane, as shown in Figure 3. As the image plane is moved from IP1 to IP2, the PoF rotates about the axis G from position PoF1 to position PoF2; the “Scheimpflug line” moves from position S1 to position S2. The axis of rotation has been given many different names: “counter axis” (Scheimpflug 1904), “hinge line” (Merklinger 1996), and “pivot point” (Wheeler).

There are a lot more of mathematical equations to this principle, too difficult for me to understand, which means, if I cannot understand the mathematics of the principle, how can I try to explain the equations to you?


The bottom line? 
A)   When the lens and the image planes are parallel, the depth of field extends between parallel planes on either side of the plane of focus.
B)   When the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane, the blur spots are ellipses rather than circles. 
So if the planes are not parallel, then you will get blur spots down the horizon.  This is the concept that Ansel Adams understood, that therefore he tilted his lens down, to parallel the image planes.  You can buy tilting lens for this occasion, or use your tripod.

To get into this further here are some great links: Checklist for view cameras, by Howard Bond
How to Focus the View Camera by, Q. Tuan Loung
 These articles are for large format photography.
 Here is a nice page titled the Scheimflug Principle photo stream

Okay, so normally this principle is for large format cameras. What about Digital?
Good news!  You can purchase a tilt lens for your digital camera.

This is what Nikon says, "Tilt/shift photography (specifically tilt/shift miniature faking) is a technique for making regular scenes look like miniatures. By artificially making the depth of field of a picture extremely shallow using a special lens, you can duplicate the effect of a macro lens, making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is, resulting in a really cool effect. You can also use the adjustable distortion to draw attention to specific parts of a picture, which is compelling for portrait photography." 
Here is a great example of the differences:

For a lesson on how to focus your tilt lens see this article.

Basic Information taken from Wikipedia