Old Dog New Tricks

I have been following a trend for the past couple of weeks where I'm trying my hand at different sports. I've had quite a bit of experience at shooting ice hockey so, over the past two weeks, I've also been out to the football at Woking and gone off to Wimbledon for some banger racing. I've learnt plenty of new sports photography skills - especially moving my camera quickly, fast focussing and snapping in a hurry - and I'm pushing my D80 as hard as I can. Its low light performance isn't as good as the D700 or the D3, but it's just about good enough for me.

The cricket season is about to start in April, and it's rather unlikely I'm going to be able to get my hands on a 400mm lens. I might see if I can get hold of a teleconverter to make my 200mm into a 400mm f/5.6 - it might just be good enough on a sunny day, that way - but I've gone & spent all my money on a new SB600 flash and a Manfrotto monopod. One other thing I've learned over the past couple of weeks - a D80 with an 80 - 200mm telephoto lens on it is *heavy*!

Scam Photography Retail Websites

In the run up to Christmas, the Metropolitan Police removed 1,219 fake websites set up to scam unsuspecting consumers in the hunt for a bargain. Most of these were run from Eastern Europe or Asia by criminal gangs.

Photography is a frequent target for scammers. It is one of the world's most popular, and expensive, hobbies. Retailers do not have much latitude to cut prices, and unlike other consumer electronics, the prices of cameras and accessories have never really declined much. As such, when a new website pops up offering prices significantly cheaper than rivals, it is bound to attract attention. Unfortunately, a lot of these are scam websites, set up to take your cash quickly and then disappear forever. Enforcement against those behind the websites is weak - police forces in the usual countries are often ineffective and lack the capability to find and prosecute the individuals responsible. From the UK, while we remain very effective against criminals based here, the best we can generally do against foreign e-criminals is to shut their websites down. As such, the buyer must assume a significant responsibility for protecting themselves.

1. Always buy from a reputable seller. These will usually be linked to from popular photography websites, or recommended by other users. Advertisers in the back of popular photography magazines are also going to be a safe bet.
2. Be aware. If you know that the latest Nikon DXXX camera is retailing for £4000, but this new (untested) website is selling the same model for £2000, then it's likely to be fake or non-existent. No retailer could afford to sell a £4000 camera for £2000 and make a profit.
3. Pay attention to payment methods. Western Union is a definite no-no. Foreign scammers usually want credit cards, as opposed to debit cards which tend to be tied to a bank in one particular country. However, using a credit card will give you a degree of protection.
4. Have a look at the terms and conditions. Often, scam websites use standard templates to produce T & C pages, and they will often be nonsensical in the context of a photography website. Copy & paste a paragraph from the T&C's into Google and see how many other websites are using the same template - if they all look suspicious, then the chances are that your one is too.
5. Keep an eye out for poor spelling and bad grammar. Foreign criminals frequently do not have a satisfactory grasp of English. Reputable sellers generally take some degree of care with their website.
6. Check out if there are any contact details for the website. Personally, I don't deal with any camera retailer that doesn't have a contact phone number.

Even if you follow all of these tips, you may still end up being scammed - but following them will greatly minimise the risk. Recently, I was involved with investigating a fake retailer using the name of Rolandtrade (not the one that can currently be found on the internet). It was amazing how people from all over Europe had just handed over bank details or transferred cash with Western Union over to this scam website that was blatantly underselling camera equipment without a care in the world. Lots of people have now lost thousands of pounds between them.

The best advice I can give -

If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.

Photographer - Not a Terrorist

I am, by virtue of my occupation, expressly forbidden from engaging publicly in politics - so I don't seek to use my blog to forward any personal political agenda. Photography is my concern, and this is what this space is for. However, it is impossible to to ignore the Photography vs s44 Terrorism Act debate that is currently raging.

On January 23rd, there is to be a protest, most likely in Piccadilly Circus or Trafalgar Square. It is organised by Photographer Not a Terrorist. This is a direct result of photographers' anger at recent stop & search tactics under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act.

Since the organisation was founded, there have been considerable policy changes instituted by the new Commissioner, and its use by the Metropolitan Police has been scaled back enormously. I expect the recent ECHR judgment, thought not changing any UK law, will also contribute to it being cut back.

s44 was never intended to be an indiscriminate stop-all power or a return to the days of the 'sus' laws. It *does* remain important, because it allows officers to take action in circumstances where existing powers under s1 PACE or s43 TACT would not give rise to grounds or objects for a search. We know that hostile reconnaissance does go on - I've seen it for myself - but we're limited in what we can release to the general public. On the other hand, I don't believe that it should be used indiscriminately against photographers because of the risk of angering the public. I was arguing for a balance in the use of s44 nearly three years ago. This is now current force policy, I'm pleased to say.

As an aside, it may also be worth pointing out that the incidents pointed out at the top of the Photographer Not a Terrorist web page all occurred within the City of London jurisdiction - not the ground covered by the Metropolitan Police. While we're by no means blameless in the current poor relationship with photographers, I do think we're taking the lead over other forces.

Plantation Owner and Field Hands

As I've posted before, I'm quite a fan of American photography - particularly that from the years of the Great Depression. The image below is another one of my favourites, speaking volumes about power, wealth and race relations in pre-war America.

"Plantation Owner and his Field Hands near Clarksdale, Mississipi"

- Dorothea Lange (1936)

The whole image is dominated by the white plantation owner, confidently stood with his hand on his knee, leaning against one of the most potent symbols of American industry - a motorcar. To own such a car was a sure sign of wealth. By contrast, his black field hands are sat, submissively, in raggy clothes waiting for their next orders. Despite the plantation owner being physically the same height (though not width) as the workers, he appears to have a stature of largesse and grandeur. The workers appear thin and malnourished, while the plantation owner is fat and well clothed. He appears like a Roman Emperor - all-conquering and powerful within his own domain.

New Year, New Start

Like so many bloggers, I haven't added any articles for a little while. My real-life job has taken over my hobby for a considerable period, as I've been making the transition from uniformed response officer to detective. Now I'm comfortably settled in CID, I have a bit more time to indulge in my photography.

At the moment I'm searching for a good wedding photographer. I was engaged to my girlfriend, Sally, on December 19th (hooray!), but now the hard work of wedding planning begins. We've decided on a honeymoon location, decided on a church, decided a guest list - but the venue remains elusive.

Gone Sailing

It's been a couple of weeks since I updated my blog - mainly because of work pressures prior to a short holiday. I'm off all this week sailing around the Solent and the English Channel, and there should be some smashing photo opportunities.

Over the last week I've photographed some donkeys, a couple of bands (by request) and taken some cheesy holiday snaps. Nothing's really inspired me. I've also been reading Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure, and Learning to See Creatively. They're both very good books, well supported with excellent images. They're ideal for a beginner, but in honesty I do prefer Michael Langford's Starting/ Basic/ Advanced photography series, which have a lot more text and explanation. That being said, Amazon have got them at very good prices, so there's no reason not to buy them all - it's a lot cheaper than a photography course!

Rejection and a Silver Lining

Last weekend, I took some pictures of a jousting tournament using my new 80 - 200mm f/2.8 lens. Some of them turned out really well - so well that I decided to submit them to the local newspaper, the Surrey Herald.

Initially, the photo editor said, "We don't pay for photos". He then admitted that he didn't actually have any photos of the event, despite wanting to run a story on it. I wasn't happy about giving good quality pictures away for free to a commercial newspaper (the Surrey Herald isn't a freebie local), so I withdrew my offer. Within seconds, the editor changed his mind and agreed to a price of £35 per picture used. I sent my images over.

Sadly, they weren't used. Instead, the Surrey Herald ran with some images donated by another local amateur for free. I won't knock his work on my blog, since he can't really reply, but I've had a look at some of his images on his website and they're not up to much. Often his images are soft, overexposed and lacking a subject. Nevertheless, I was rejected.

However, I was very quickly contacted by the performers themselves, who had found their images on Flickr. They liked them - a lot. So much so, that they have asked to use them for their portfolio shots as they join the National Stunt Register. This made me very happy, and reinforced my belief that my pictures were not technically or artistically deficient. They may provide more photo opportunities in the future, so I happily let them have a couple of images for free.

I did my bit to try not to undermine professional photography, but it seems that no matter what you do, you just can't beat free.