phoenix

post haste © Laura Kicey

Things feel a little brighter today... though flickr is down/completely wonky so I can't post the photo I made last night specifically for this post, because it is unavailable.

Today was the first days I in the past two weeks that I hadn't considered wearing my winter coat to work. Warmed inside and out.... The lens I just ordered, a 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS, is more than likely going to be in the hot sweaty fist by the end of the day. And I think it may be perfect timing as I am having dinner with a friend who may want to play with some studio lights tonight.

My friend Sandra, aka Sexy Swedish Babe, had just gone through a similar ordeal with someone stealing her image (as I had with Nerve)... in her case a photo of her was used on a French Theater poster. She called me yesterday morning and we pondered our feelings on the situation at large, how we relate to our flickr audiences and how we might change to take the the attention we get using our self-images, and instead of making it a vulnerability, using it as our power. Though our images are provocative (not necesarily in the sexual sense of the word), they are at the same time the greatest chink in our armor. She advised that I send Nerve an invoice. To turn the situation around, from making us the little puny hobbyist that any random net surfer can take advantage of, to a paid professional, even if it was a symbolic sum of $1. I was prepared to do so. Then there was a breakthrough: I was contacted by the same photo editor and she asked to use this photo:


sunrise © Laura Kicey

It will be accompanying a non-fiction piece that is running later in the week. Oh oops. THIS JUST IN
IT'S ON.

God this is some weird ironic shit.

I think (thought? gah) it was a respectful act on their behalf. It cost them nothing and I come out with something that feels like a win. On that same note, Sandra has been working through her own situation, no great turn of events yet, but she has been putting up a brilliant battle, especially in the face of snide know-it-all commenters. I wanted to excerpt this statement she made in response to one because it sums it all up:



I wonder if me repeating this copyright violation matter over the past week and a half is provocative to you? Maybe you think I am whining?

Actually, your comment is a huge compliment to me! I plan my pictures, my texts, my uploads very carefully. Like I plan my professional work. What I try to do with my work is to capture a sense of closeness and lightness. A sense of doing everything in a spur of the moment.

It's quite hard to pull it off, especially for a perfectionist like myself, but if you think my Flickr stream is full of personal information and images -- then I think I've really managed to do a good job. Thank you.

I've been online since the mid-90's and I've also worked with online content. I've seen a lot. I've heard a lot. Internet is amazing. Just so you know ... that I know too.

The reason I DO repeat this copyright issue, is not because I am whining. I have a lot of people following my stream, and I want to inform them about the changes I'm making here. Like a ... public announcement.

I also want to warn the community, my Flickr friends, since some of them have also become my real life friends during this last year. I want to spread some light over copyright issues. People are free to like or dislike my pictures. To spit on their computer screens or jerk off all over their desks (I am certainly no prude, but I am not posting my most revealing work online, since I'm not naïve ... god, I wouldn't want someone ELSE get rich selling those pictures).

But according to the law, no one is allowed to use my work for commercial purposes, or without my permission. Not even a free-spirited Internet-anarchist can make me think otherwise about that. I like the thought of the Creative Commons licenses, as a tool to share my work and as a way to make people more aware of online downloads. The CC licenses do not take away my copyright though.

I can get into the details about the poster later. At the moment it has to be approached in other forums than the public forums.



Taking strength from this, turning around the worst and making a triumph of it... that is where I am headed. Though I am walking with a drunken stagger to get there.

Noted: cannot type for shit today, have updated this four times already to get rid of errors. oi.