This example shows the sad state of image usage today and a warning not to trust images in the media.
I have deleted the name of the institute as it is so common now to expect photos for free and to use unrelated and or mislabeled photos it is irrelevant who it was in this case.
I have deleted the name of the institute as it is so common now to expect photos for free and to use unrelated and or mislabeled photos it is irrelevant who it was in this case.
The article was very well written and researched and was about the current situation in Kachin and included a photo taken from Flickr of a sunset in England. Despite the photo being clearly marked in the source where it was taken the editor added, "Photo of a Burmese sunset"
Besides the obvious issues of lying to the readers as to what they where seeing, Why would they choose a photo of a sunset to illustrate a ethnic army when 99% of there readers have never seen what that ethnic group or army looks like, because it's easy and free. Despite all of the effort and money that went into the article and the website the photo gets zero resources and as little effort as possible. This is what a major think tank does whose members include Australia's national security intelligence service, Chevron, JP Morgan, the National Australia Bank, and the MacArthur Foundation to name a few.
Besides the obvious issues of lying to the readers as to what they where seeing, Why would they choose a photo of a sunset to illustrate a ethnic army when 99% of there readers have never seen what that ethnic group or army looks like, because it's easy and free. Despite all of the effort and money that went into the article and the website the photo gets zero resources and as little effort as possible. This is what a major think tank does whose members include Australia's national security intelligence service, Chevron, JP Morgan, the National Australia Bank, and the MacArthur Foundation to name a few.
My reply to their request to use my images with no compensation.
"As i work independently and get no funding now it is hard for me to give the photos for free. That means i would have to stop documenting the Kachin and other topics, which is not good for them and finally not good for people who want to know what is happening, like your institute and readers. even the author of the article said, " I learn a lot from your work." in a recent e-mail.
However there is an expectation these days to get photos for free, even from places with long lists of wealthy sponsors like the ____ Institute. This expectation of free images has very serious consequences now and for the future.
So im happy to work with the ____ Institute and not looking to get rich, but it is unsustainable to give the images for free. The ____ Institute pays people to do every task, take away your garbage, maintain your computers, host your website, but why not take photos?
Recently the Aus gov hired me to take photos of their projects in Cambodia, Photos here
They understand the importance of photography and that quality photos relevant to the topic don't come free.
thank you, Ryan Libre
PS the photo you used is not from Burma at all but from Wadebridge, England, GB.
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