Photography Book Now: Who's got their name in the hat?

Mine’s called CHINAEVERBRIGHT

Just got my personal copy of it in the mail, and I’m quite impressed with the printing. Colors generally seem good, and the pictures spread across two facing pages worked pretty well.

Passed. Not that stupid.

http://stupidphotographer.blogspot.com/2008/03/give-away-books-worth-of-your-photos.html

http://www.lightstalkers.org/give-away-a-book-s-worth-of-your-photos-forever-for-35-

Ive seen Balazs Gardi’s work from Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on there- called “The Valley”; also the WPP winner on land diving in the South Pacific, Tim Clayton.

Another great bit of work is Jeremiah Ridgeway’s “Ground Level” about Afghanistan. Check his work.
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/292014

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Stupid, I was concerned about those terms and conditions, too. Before I entered, in fact, I sent in an email to the competition organizers and got the following response: “As far as image use is concerned, if the book is used at all for media or otherwise, it is used solely in the form of a ‘book’ and the images are never removed from that context. You will be credited any time that your book is used for these purposes and we will never profit off of or sell your book or its images. The content of the book remains 100% yours.”

That’s nice and soothing. Ownership is lovely. But doesn’t negate nor invalidate their stupid terms. Namely, they get to USE all contents of all submissions, one winner’s and all losers’, forever, everywhere:

“Use may include publication in any Blurb publication or web site. All Contestants understand and agree that any Submission may be used by Sponsor for marketing and promotional purposes including in any media such as exhibitions, print and digital media.”

http://www.photographybooknow.com/rules.html

Key words: publication, use, any, all, marketing, promotional, exhibitions, print, digital, web.

Pretty much covers it all, don’t you agree?

I saw your effort, Scott. You also made book of the week, you bastard. Looks very good.

I rushed two of my entries having been caught up in legal nonsense. However, my first of three entries I’m very, very happy with. It’s clickable.

Stupid guess: $20k goes to someone on this list…

http://2point8.whileseated.org/2008/07/17/blurb-photobook-contest/

My vote: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/295235

A very close second: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/294333

I don’t see why this is a bad thing. I wouldn’t give them my life’s work, but for a side project this might be a good avenue, and had I known about in advance I would have put something together myself— I am sorry to have missed the chance to do that.

The only thing that really bothers me is the pictures of the judges, which are frankly sickening….except for Jen Bekman, who looks human.

Sorry to hear that, must have missed my stupid post, back in March:

http://www.lightstalkers.org/give-away-a-book-s-worth-of-your-photos-forever-for-35-

Scott,

Congratulations on getting picked the first among the Staff Picks.

You certainly had a timely subject.

On the other hand, from now on you need to guard against the theft of your photos on your website. Your images don`t have any watermarks. The more exposure, the more likely to get stolen, from my experience.

Stupid watermarks rarely stop anyone from stealing. One, there is a crapload of software out there to remove watermarks for half the thieving population and two, the other half will blatantly steal it including the watermark. Bottom line, one has to think outside the watermark box to deal with copyright abuse. http://tineye.com brings a lot of promise to the table, but shall take time, cause thus far the number of images in their database is pitiful.

You cannot prevent the thief from stealing your image by watermark, but if you have found the theft and that the watermark had been removed by the thief, then you will have a case of willful infringement of your copyright if you have also registered your image prior to the theft with the US Copyright Office.

The US law favors those who registered their images with a registration fee while in other countries, the image is yours when it is made without registration.

No doubt about it, the ideal blueprint is to copyright ALL of one’s images, before letting them out to pasture. PERIOD!!!

That is PRECISELY what I do with ALL the stupid images I let roam.

However, that has nothing to do with subsequently, voluntarily, giving away ALL of one’s IMAGE USE RIGHTS to Blurb or some such entity, and paying them $35 to do so.

Here’s mine, under staff picks too, on the bottom of the first page,

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/featured

..didn’t know about that, so thanks for the head’s up to Scott, Tomoko.

it’s bits of silver

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/296963

Lisa Wiltse’s (from LS) book is here too..

Matt, I think the squirrel one should win out over the cat one.

I think you’re in with a fine chance there, Ms McDonald. Gorgeous work.

Gonna be stupidly sad when this contest’s participants try to publish the contents of their entries after this contest, only to find that publishers walk away from images that have unlimited use rights assigned to others.

Ditto..
Not That Stupid..life is not too short, and…goes in circles.
Anyway..good luck

i dont know…..

lots of photographers entered who i like (personally) and respect (professionally)…and when i saw it (originally), i read with total dread the terms…and thought: i dont know (ditto/chorus)….

increasingly, i get depressed/discouraged….

maybe im f*cking myself by not getting involved in all these competitions/book deals/blurp/photo etc…but, somehow, it’s often left me as depressed…it all feels like a god damn rat race, increasingly….and that’s coming from a man who is married to a great photographer, and both of whom (us) are setting our eyes on publishing books in the next 2 years…but away from all the competition stuff…

i just wonder…

i have nothing, nothing, nothing to give my son except for my archive/my rights (thought, most likely it aint gonna give him $$ anyway), so i totally dont understand the terms…just at a chance to win big, or get blurb book compo….

ok, im crawling back to my meditation….

on this one, im down with Stoop…

b

p.s. and yes, there are so many gorgeous gorgeous entrants (including Erica’s)…i’ve known Thatcher’s Winterland work for more than a year when my pal Jethro introduced me to his work (they’re friends)…that boy sings with pics…