Are we in a police state now? - Revisited - Photographer's Rights

Watching this video set quite simply proves that "We the People" are losing our rights more and more due to the lamest excuses. The primary excuse is always "Homeland Security", "9/11", "Terrorists", blah blah blah blah.. Just recently (a few days ago) our president renewed the "Patriot Act" without even thinking twice. Lame! First off, the act contradicts itself in name. What the hell does an act that takes away our freedoms, and we are talking simple stuff, but oooooh soooo important, have to do with being "Patriotic"? Perhaps they should call it the "Parrot Act" instead. As this act simply makes regurgitating false information feasible and lends itself to be the excuse for abuse.

Flying my camera with a bicycle wheel... really.

Quite a while ago I posted about my DIY rig to "fly" my camera as well as stabilize while flying. A good friend of mine snapped some shots of me while doing the "flying" at the April Fools Fest at the Sculpture Resource Center in Tucson, AZ. I was "flying" my Canon T2i along with a Audio Technica shotgun mic covered with a nice "dead cat". Someone once asked me how difficult it was to get that "dead cat". I told them; "I don't really know. I never killed a cat."

So here are a few shots of yours truly shooting with my modified aluminum rim, or simply a bicycle wheel extremely modified for my purpose. But hey it works...

Photos by Ron McCoy - Ron McCoy Photography - Tucson, AZ

Some sample shots from this event while using my recycled bicycle wheel rig.

Photographer's Rights - and my memory...

So once again, a friend of mine asked me about what a photographer's rights are? I knew I had an answer, but had to dig for it.

So here it is... Of course this applies to anyone with a device that takes pictures, whether still or in motion. Hence, yes, it applies to cinematographers or videographers as well.

I am now posting this on my blog for two reasons:

1. My memory sucks. Therefore, I have to search and hunt this down every time someone asks.
2. It's a "cool blog entry of value" (CBEOV - love those acronyms) and hence is a place I can send people to. Of course then they also get to see all my other cool stuff. Yeah, I know, real sneaky on my part.

So here it is, courtesy of an attorney by the name of Bert P. Krages II (this will open a new window). Not only has he clearly defined the rights, but also has made them available for download in PDF format (you might want to simply right click this and do a "save as") so that you can carry this with you at all times.

So the next time someone tries to give you a hard time for standing on a sidewalk and shooting a sunset, or whatever, whip this document out and make them read it. The law is on your side!

Watch out cops and "wanna be" officials - we "picture takers", "filmers", "shooters", "photogs", "b-roll artists", "stock dudes", "camera guys", "camera gals", are well armed with the law in our pocket!

My stuff in a newly released motion picture!

Sometimes, in the stock footage industry one gets real lucky. Let me explain. In the stock footage industry, us shooters simply provide so-called "b-roll" or "second unit" footage. The way it works is fairly simple. We shoot whatever suits us at any given time. And what I mean here is literally what suits us! We go out and about not really knowing if it will ever sell or if it has a use. We only take our best guess and "shut up and shoot!" Of course, we try to find or shoot things that make some sense. Or perhaps they might have subject matters to do with current events. Sometimes we just shoot because we want to see how far we can push the limits. I do this every year as the monsoons roll in. I shoot lots of storm footage, lightning, cloud formations and whatever else that might just be really exciting to look at. Having done so, it sometimes feels like a crap shoot. :) Pun intended.

Through the various agencies, these clips get sold at random. We usually never know who is buying what. But what makes this somewhat interesting is that every once in a while we actually get to see our stuff on TV, or in a motion picture. Very cool. I have been fortunate enough to spot some of my stuff (as well as fellow artists' stuff) on various shows. For example, over the last year having watched the Weather Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, The History Channel and even the local news, I have been fortunate enough to actually recognize some of my stuff. (As well as other fellow artists' stuff.) I suppose there is a really proud feeling when this happens. Bragging rights of course! But most of all, it helps build credibility. Think about it. We "stock shooters" are constantly behind the camera and every time we shoot something, we learn new tactics, techniques and concepts. I call this "camera wrangling". We learn or stumble upon our own little "secrets" of how to get a shot. Chances are, we, as a collaborative have more experience, knowledge and hours behind a camera than most of the cinematographers in Hollywood. Okay, maybe not but totally debateable. But we are all damn good at what we do. And the proof of this is when someone actually buys your stuff. Even better proof is when someone buys your stuff and makes it a point to let you know they bought your stuff. Very cool.

Well, this has now happened. And to say the least, it is a very cool feeling to not only hear from them, that they bought your stuff. But for them to actually tell you what they will use it for, the scene it should be in etc... This is a real ego booster to say the least. But more importantly, it inspires one to keep on shooting, no matter what!  So to make a long story short - about a year ago this clip was purchased by an independent production company (in the UK):


Important Note: You too can own this clip. No, actually, since you are reading this, you have to buy this clip. Otherwise you won't be able to prove to your friends what is listed below. Purchase it here. :)

Now fast forward to today, and yes, they gave me a "heads up" that the movie has been released in Europe, but is also available on Amazon already for the US. So, here is what I recommend to all that read this:

1. Purchase the movie ASAP!
2. Purchase a second copy for your friends, again ASAP!
3. In case your movie gets damaged, purchase a backup copy for yourself, also ASAP!
4. Watch the movie, admire the most elaborate cinematography you have ever seen and take note that you can tell your friends that you read the guy's blog about how this all came to be and how you know exactly where in the movie his clip is. (Hint: over the cruise ship in the Bermuda Triangle) - And you know this because you left comments at this guy's blog, and you are now really close friends with this guy and you have bragging rights for even knowing this guy and ... and.... and NO, I won't verify your claims to anyone! :)
5. Purchase the stock footage clip above as evidence that you know me. Maybe then I will back you on your claims of knowing me. NO, not really. But buy the clip anyway. :)

But just click on the box cover below and buy the damn movie. It's going to be one of those smash hits soon anyway, so why not have it before it's all sold out?

Available on Blue-Ray and DVD! Buy now! Really, buy this masterpiece now!

03/12/10 - UPDATE:

Finally got the movie in. Did a quick preview. Actually from the looks of it, it is quite a twisted story and done very well. The title "Triangle" (a.k.a. The Bermuda Triangle) implies "another one of those" - but it definitely is not another "one of those". Actually a very well thought out twisted story line. - I did recognize my footage and it is at one of the highlights of the storyline. (3 times even at about 1 to 2 seconds each.) I am always amazed how the compositors make use of footage. If I didn't know what I was looking for, I would have missed it. :)