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Sanford

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I don't let my conscience get too involved in such matters. I reserve my conscience for guilt about sex! :rolleyes:

 

Seriously, though, I don't take full credit for my photos to begin with. I like to think of them as shared with the human and non-human subjects I shoot, who often give as much as me to the photo. And I think accidents and luck are always at play, even when they're not as obvious as in the situation you describe. I try to keep it more about sharing than ownership or ego.

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We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!
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If you were pulling your camera out of the bag and inadvertently hit the shutter release, and somehow took a great photo, could you, in good conscience, take full credit for it?

 

I think, photography involves as much selecting as composing. If I am able to identify an accidentally clicked photo as noteworthy, instead of throwing it away, I would feel good about it (although not necessarily feeling overly proud). But I think, more important is to identify a good photo(s) and find what I can learn from it, regardless of whether I took it or someone else. Placing credit seems secondary to that goal (although I admit credit determination is important when it comes to copyright infringement). In some cases, credit seems less relevant. For example, it doesn't matter to Vivian Maier anymore whether we give her credit or not for her work. But it matters to us, whether we acknowledge her works and study them or learn from them.

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This may be a topic for PETT (People for the Ethical Treatment of Things). If you have never used a light meter (or educated guess) for exposure, nor twisted the focusing ring of a lens, it's obvious you are not a photographer, just someone who pushes a button. With cameras so intelligent, it's only a matter of time before their rights are argued in a court of law. It was a close call for the apish selfie, but apes may be more intelligent than many people I see on television. Give it time, and things will be sorted out in regular order. Edited by Ed_Ingold
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Not exactly like inadvertently hitting the shutter release, I once accidentally double exposed an entire roll of 35mm Ektachrome. I had to do a portrait of someone for a photography class, but I had already shot the whole roll on random things. The result was "very creative." I presented the results in class and everyone thought I was extremely creative, even the teacher. Did I admit to my wrong doing? Not a chance! Here's one of the shots.

 

84888430_BillandWater01.thumb.jpg.1f2364e38ed5ce9dc3629362f95bb2c4.jpg

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Joe Rosenthal essentially did that with the iconic photo of Iwo Jima. His version which I accept was that he was there and leaving when he shot over his shoulder at some activity with the raising of a replacement flag. Packed the film up and sent it back to the states. He was surprised by the momentum it gained. There is so much unanticipated luck for many great street photographs and credit is given for the ability to just be there. Yes they own the rights and should get credit. but the photo itself should be evaluated for what it is also, not who took it.
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could you, in good conscience, take full credit for it?

Good grief, Sanford. Can you truly say, if I don't let you look at it while I'm asking you, that you even know all of what's in your own fully intentionally made pictures? I'll guarantee you that you don't. If you don't know it's there, how can you take credit for it being there?

 

If you're asking if people think they own their accidental didn't-see-it-being-made pictures (as opposed to "take full credit for"), the fastest way to find out the truth is to take said picture and edit it massively, then post it on a public web site without attribution. If an enraged response ensues from some quarter, there's who believes he/she owns the thing. Or better yet, confess immediately that you took the picture from whomever but that you know they wouldn't mind ... and so now it's yours.

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Well, you had to turn it on before you tripped the shutter. So some thought went into it.

 

What is this "on" switch of which people speak? :)

 

(I have to admit that I'm bad about not turning off cameras-I learned on cameras where-if you had an off switch-it was a shutter button lock and nothing more. I use Nikon Fs and F2s a decent amount-the F doesn't have a shutter lock, and I only remember the F2 about half the time. My medium format cameras generally have fiddly twist locks around the shutter button, and the only lock on LF cameras is not cocking the shutter until ready. I generally turn off DSLRs, when I'm putting them away, but at the same time almost never touch the switch on my F4).

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With film more than digital, I'd wager.

Actually, no, I would say the opposite, based on what I can remember.

I presented the results in class and everyone thought I was extremely creative, even the teacher. Did I admit to my wrong doing? Not a chance!

LOL I love this!

 

Let's also remember that in every field, there are happy accidents. Nylon and Gore-Tex are two examples.

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Any photo I took while pulling my camera out of my pack would be an uninspiring black because of my lens cap. This is related to but less embarrassing than the rolls I shot as a teenager with my dad's Leica and the lens cap still firmly in place while shooting.

 

I don't know how many times I've been buying a used lens in a shop(yes, amazingly enough we have two great ones within a block of each other) and after paying for it asking "can I get a cap for that?" Since I'm rarely buying anything other than a Nikon brand lens, the shop that sells new stuff usually goes to the back and hauls out new Nikon branded caps-and yes that means the really nice current front caps with the big pinches areas in the middle. I still seem to end up dumping my bags every few weeks since the front caps for the lenses I'm using tend to migrate to the bottom. I will say that I'm particular about using rear caps and body caps, although it's not that common for me to carry a body without some sort of lens attached in a bag(and I'll qualify that by saying one of my more used bags has a narrow, tall compartment in it where I can fit a a bare F2 or F100 perfectly, so one or the other is usually there if not an FM or FA).

 

I don't use my Leica that often, but I admit to being incredibly conscious of the lens cap. I've lost shots on other rangefinders(long before I had the Leica) but I'm also paranoid about burning a hole in the shutter. It's actually the only camera where I've ever used an eveready case since loading film on screw mounts is an involved affair anyway and I feel like I'm striking a reasonable balance between protecting the shutter curtains and not forgetting the lens cap should I want quick access to the camera.

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If you were pulling your camera out of the bag and inadvertently hit the shutter release, and somehow took a great photo, could you, in good conscience, take full credit for it?

 

I enjoy a good story as much as a good picture so yes, I would take credit for it and I would tell anyone willing to listen exactly how I got it, no matter how stupid it actually was.

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so you got so excited that it ended before it started.

months later, you learn what you produced. it's yours, intentional or not!

:rolleyes:

32246859553_4faa894d98_b.jpg_LNG1511 by BG Day, on Flick

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"I have always preferred inspiration to information.” - Man Ray

“The eye should learn to listen before it looks.” - Robert Frank

“To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson

"A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” - Dorothea Lange

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