Speedhunters and 7Tune photo stealing

[Akinari]

This is photography related, so I thought I'd share this issue that's going on with Speedhunters Editor Dino Dalle Carbonare and 7Tune CEO/Managing Director Adam Zillin.

Long story short, 7Tune keeps stealing Dino's watermarked Speedhunters photos and reposts them on their site, effectively cropping out his watermark and failing to give him credit for his images.

Dino's initial post


7Tune's response


Adam's PM to Dino #1


Adam's PM to Dino #2


This is the main forum of discussion being used on the 7Tune page, some serious butthurt and douchebaggery going on in here, mostly from the 7Tune guys though, seemingly...

https://www.facebook.com/7Tune/posts/517108974993210

Adam's most recent post on his Facebook page:

Sad but true. I think professional photographers are a molested and much maligned bunch but I also blame the camera manufacturers for some of the problem.

Nowadays, any Joe-blow off the street can get themselves a DSLR because they are constantly getting cheaper and cheaper. Plus, the quality and durability of images, bodies and lenses is ever increasing. Photoshop has made photography a walk in the fucking park, blindfolded.

I've lost count how many pages and business cards I've seen by self-proclaimed "Photography professionals" that couldn't even shoot straight at a toilet bowl with the lights on. Their work absolutely sucks and that's before we even get to the issue of being paid for what they do. It's shameful that these people try to convince others that they are professional photographers.

The vast majority of them never get paid a cent and that's just as well, simply because they fucking suck, but it hurts the people that do know what they're doing because the value of THEIR work, in the eyes of a potential client, now has absolutely ZERO meaning.

The saddest part is that clients often doesn't know the difference between a Good photographer and a Shit photographer. They often don't understand the technical aspects to what makes a shot superior. They say things like, "Your equipment is the same. What makes your photos any better?" or "Why the hell should I pay YOU when I can get this done for free?"

These people are simply clueless, believing that a faux "Professional" can deliver a superior product despite being an inferior producer and then, to top it all off, do it for absolutely nothing. What planet are we on again?

Then, on the other hand, you have REAL photographers who have a God given, natural talent for what they do, are technically sound, possess a sensitivity toward a given subject being aimed at through the viewfinder, are flexible in any condition, weather or situation and have a genuine interest and concern about the finished product, going without money for their services simply because there is a boatload of photographic refugees bringing the industry to a standstill by offering an inferior product at a ridiculous price... or worse... for FREE. And all because the modern DSLR is so fucking cheap.

Owning or shooting with a DSLR does NOT instantly make you a camera god. Just like winning the lottery, in 95% of cases, it will lead you to living on the streets without a cent in your pocket if you are that naive.

But professional photographers need to realize that they MUST be paid for the time and effort and resources it takes to produce superior images and if a client still refuses or baulks at the suggestion of paying you for a superior product, even after being educated as to why they should pay you for your services, it's best to leave them to find someone who will do it for free and learn the hard way.

Moral of the story: if using someone else's images, never crop out the watermark, never, and always credit as well.

EDIT: Just to be clear to avoid fails, I'm not taking anyone's side, just pointing out that credit should be given to images!

[Nismo200SX]

The funny thing about it that strikes me is that there is no mention of anyone claiming to own the original RAW file.

Give credit. Yup but people always forget or have no clue about giving photographers credit because in their eyes we walk in and just click a button and the photo magically appears perfect.

[RCubed]

facebook..
ive given up trying to get people to stop cropping out my watermark and calling it their own.
Theres a few people on instagram taking photos of my car and saying they just bought it too. lol

[Soundy]

If someone is that worried about it, they should just splash a big watermark right across the middle of the picture.

[CorneringArtist]

...and closer to home, ArtofStance had one of its photos taken, had the watermark half cropped and the thieves placed their own on it. The photo has been deleted from their Facebook page and the admin that stole the photo has been calling anyone who called them out a crybaby.

[Not really racist!]

Post da facebook page

[CorneringArtist]

http://www.facebook.com/MBjunkies

They're trying to backpedal on the situation now, but even though they deleted the ArtofStance photo, they chopped the watermark out of this one. Bottom right corner of the photo LOL. And their page admin still decided to be a massive dick about the theft by giving such a shitty attitude about it.

[gars]

wow, just read all MBJunkies posts. They're huge dicks about it. Typical little kid name-calling stuff with "you're coming to your boyfriend's aid", etc. "My little niece in LA is tougher than you." "you guys are all butt-hurt about it". They claim that they just want to move on, then post more stuff about how "these guys are all butthurt".

[Not really racist!]

Lol @ Roach. will thank your posts on RS

Kevin Kullar Your replies are just as low class as your blog.

All the best on your hunt to rebrand other people's work.
Like · Reply · 12 hours ago via mobile

MBjunkies oh wow really, thanks, do you really mean it! tomorrow im going to skim through facebook and look for photographers pics i can put our logo on, you got any suggestions? but seriously only my replies are low class, my forum is top notch. That means so much to me coming from some one i care nothing about... Can you at least cuss or something, man im from LA, even my nieces are tougher than you..
Like · 11 hours ago

MBjunkies im kidding man, im sure they're not..
Like · 11 hours ago · Edited

-------

MBjunkies Sorry again MBjunkies, as you can see we are dealing with a bunch of little kids who think we just shot their dog, hahaha.. Id really hate to see these guys in the real world. Dont ever take cuts in front of these guys at the grocery store, they are running straight to the manager with tears in their eyes "he took cuts, he took cuts! waaaa waaaaa" haha...
Like · Reply · 12 hours ago

[SpeedStars]

Looks like MBjunkies is trying to fix the clustetfuck that it started. On another note, It grinds my gears when I see people not give credit for work where its due. It's even worse when they claim hat they have done the work themselves.

[Roach]

lol. Just found this thread. What a clown. Can't believe someone so low class would have such a following.



Unfortunately I read that AoS is having a similar problem again. Hopefully it's rectified in a more professional manner.

Kev

[BoostedBB6]

Is there any legal recourse you can take as a photographer when your work is used without your consent?

I know that a company I worked for used a photo from the net for one of there products and they actually had the website shut down for a whole day. Once it was removed they got the site back up.....not sure if this is possible with all these facebook/reblogging pages but may be worth looking into.

PictureDefense

Its UK based but may be useful to read.