Photo Ownership

[Dietrich, Robert J.]

Gentlemen:

This discussion has me pondering the contents of my SHJ site.  I started
putting together the "Cars that passed by" page and since I don't have many
pictures myself I rely on web content.  My method is not to copy the
pictures but to reference the original photo from within my web page.  That
way the photo on Dave's site appears in my web page, with my comments.

I'm being diligent in assuring that I give due credit but as you all know
Dave's Rail Pix has many photos without credits.  So should I reference
those photos?  They are already posted and available to anyone who goes to
Dave's site, I'm just pointing to them.  

Dave has already given me permission to use anything on his site but I
realize he doesn't always obtain proper permission.  So what should I do?

I also have a PRCo poster from about 1940 introducing the PCC.  It contains
photos of representative cars from the first horse car to the latest low
floor car.  I was going to scan and use these photos referencing the poster
as a source.  Is this right or wrong?  This publishing stuff is all new to
me and I want to do the right thing, so please help.

Thanks.

Bob

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Kenneth and Tracie Josephson [mailto:kjosephson at sprintmail.com] 
Sent:	Tuesday, June 27, 2000 6:22 PM
To:	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject:	Re: Photo Ownership



Jim Holland wrote:

> Greetings!
>
>         I have purchased PRCo prints from a multitude of sources and
received
> the same identical print from several different sources.  And each of
> these prints was made from a negative - and the prints were not copies
> of another print - these are readily identified.
>         So it is possible that there was more than one photographer at the
same
> location snapping photos and very possibly it was some type of railfan
> excursion.  Even the photo that Fred thinks is his own could be the
> print of another photographer who was at the same location - but there
> may be special identifying features where Fred can identify his photo.

Case in point: You and I were standing together at Clearview Loop snapping
pictures
in 1976 and were also near each other at SHJ earlier in the day.

Plus the beautiful night shot Roberta Hill took on November 13, 1971 of a
PAT grey
1700 on the last 44 Knoxville run on Smithfield Street (followed by a 1600
interurban and two more cars) is nearly identical to another shot published
during
the 1970s (though that could be Roberta's shot since her notes on the back
indicate
she had several 8 X 10s made for friends.)

>
>         Think we have been thru this before and are well versed about
posting
> the work of others.    NO  ONE  HERE  is guilty of posting Fred's work
> --  the finger pointing needs to be done elsewhere!

Fred cc'd a letter he wrote to Dave Mewhinney to this list.

I am frustrated because I have a number of Pittsburgh, Philly and DC prints
that
are not featured on Dave's site by anyone else. Since the photographers did
not
identify themselves on the back of the prints, I can't share these pictures
on the
web site. I have no way of knowing who (if anyone) currently owns the
rights.

I have an unidentified shot of retired Pittsburgh Lowfloors being torched, a
shot
of a Lowfloor going through a car washer (oops, leak detection unit-
Pittsburgh
never washed their cars) and even the familiar 1920s print of the trolley
meeting
the Sarah Street horsecar. I believe (but may be wrong) the latter shot
belongs to
PTM's library, but the photographers of  the other two are unknown to me.
Ken J.