The ULTIMATE Photography-is-Not-a-Crime Outrage? Coast Guard Enforces BP's "No Cameras" Rules

"When a crew from CBS News tried to film an oil-covered beach in Louisiana, they were stopped and threatened with arrest by a group of BP contractors and members of the Coast Guard. 'This is BP's rules, it's not ours.'..."

Gawker has a bit more here.

Why is the U.S. Coast Guard enforcing BP's rules? And who is BP to decide media access on the sea? Only more questions and public exposure will yield answers, and restore the public's right to know. You can ask them by sending a message via their District 8 Facebook page, here. Or, phone the District Commander's office at: (504) 589-6298. 

You can also comment on their District blog. Doesn't matter where you post the comment, let's get the ball rolling. (And why are we left to communicate via their blog and Facebook page? Their regional commander's web page offers no direct email option.)

Please be respectful in your communications, yet clear and concise in expressing your concerns and questions.

Denying the press its rights as set forth by the founding fathers: last thing on Earth the U.S. Coast Guard should be doing.


UPDATE:  Coast Guard District 8 issues statement, blames CBS for safety concerns and/or interference, but doesn't explain further.  Oh, they trumpet all the embeds too (we know how well that worked out in Iraq).

Moving Pictures

Video: Snowpocalypse Walk from 14th Street to Dupont Circle

I plunged into the storm on the morning of Wednesday, February 10, 2010, walking through the 35 mph winds of this "second wave" to capture a few scenes: Swann Street (including alley shots), 14th Street, 15th Street, and finally over to Dupont Circle. Camera: Flip Ultra HD.

At the Museums this Weekend

For your weekend enjoyment, a number of great photography exhibitions are at the museums; some of these depart in early January, so you may want to make a point of catching them in their final weeks:

In the Darkroom at the National Gallery of Art: "This exhibition chronicles the major technological developments in photographic processes from the origins of the medium until the advent of digital photography...the exhibition is organized chronologically and includes some 90 photographs that range from an early photogenic drawing by William Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of photography, to Polaroid prints by Andy Warhol."

Robert Bergman: Portraits, 1986–1995 at the National Gallery of Art: "For more than 40 years, Robert Bergman (b. 1944) has traveled the streets and back alleys of the United States, photographing the people and scenes he encounters. Beginning in the 1960s, he, like so many other so-called street photographers of that generation, used a 35mm camera to make black-and-white photographs. In the 1980s Bergman began to work in color. Using no special lighting or equipment, he made a series of monumental portraits of the people he met." (Ends January 10.)

Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924 at the National Portrait Gallery: "The American West was dramatically reconstituted during the 80 years between the Mexican War and the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924. This exhibition tells the story of these changes through 100 portrait photographs of the defining men and women of this period." (Ends January 24.)

Investigating Where We Live 2009 at the National Building Museum: "...a four-week summer program created by the National Building Museum in which middle and high school students from the Washington metropolitan area use digital cameras to explore, document, and interpret the built environment in D.C. neighborhoods. For IWWL 2009, students examined the neighborhoods of Columbia Heights, Shaw, and U Street. Their photographs, writings, and artwork are featured in this exhibition." (Ends January 18.)

Form and Movement: Photographs by Philip Trager at the National Building Museum: "...large-format black and white photographs selected from Philip Trager's forty-year career. The exhibition brings together his extraordinary depictions of architecture, from Italian Renaissance villas to views of Paris and New York City streetscapes, with his later explorations of dance and the body." (Ends January 3.)

Washingtonian Gets it Right: Contest Shows Your Photos, Doesn't Grab Your Copyright

Avid photographers love contests. As a number of photographers have discovered, however, our love usually isn't returned in kind, as an increasing number of contest sponsors engage in rights grabs--the fine print of too many contests simply grab ownership of your work. Photo Attorney has been particularly adept at warning photographers away from these rights grabs. Anyone considering the joy and excitement of entering a contest should take a good stroll through her blog.

But here in DC, Washingtonian appears to be getting it right, in announcing their December Photography Contest. Here's their policy:

Our policy on photo rights: The photographer retains the copyright. However, because the photographer has submitted his or her photo to the contest, the magazine has the right to print the winning photograph in the current issue of the magazine and online as well as in any future issues as long as usage is related to the photo contest. The magazine also has the right to use the finalists online in relation to the photo contest.

First off, the policy isn't fine print at all: it's right there on the blog posting announcing their contest. Second, the policy is easy for any shutterbug to grasp, whether you're an amateur or pro. Finally, the policy is nicely and narrowly drawn: they want to use your photo, but they've limited themselves to usage related to the contest.

I'm not an attorney, but Washingtonian's policy is a refreshing read. If anything, it limits the sponsor more than anyone--when it comes to handing your artistic work to a media outlet, that's a very good feeling.

Perry Belmont Mansion

I have no idea why I continue to find myself attracted to geometric imagery like this, but there you go. This is the Perry Belmont Mansion, used today as the international headquarters for the Eastern Star. I'd walked by this house for many years, since it's only a few blocks from home, but had never actually gone inside until last year. It is one of the most stunning examples of French architecture in America; inside pics here.

Slideshows Generated by Slideeo.com

Testing out a new slideshow feature, from Slideoo.com. You can select photos from your Flickr stream--either all your photos, or from a particular set--for the resulting slideshow. You can also control size of the images; this one is set for medium: