This is one of those up to you kind of things. No doubt permission to publish went
along
with conditions of entry. Something in me tells me that the book filled with 2-3"
prints
from jpg cannot sell on the open market for $70. I certainly wouldn't pay it even if
one
of my images was in it, though many will. In fact, those with photos in the book may be
the only buyers! (Along with their relatives) Knowing the name and address of the
publisher is will tell a lot, especially if the publisher tells you the number of
copies
in the initial printing. If the number is 750 or 1000 or so (as opposed to 20,000),
this
tells you who the real audience is. Note: If the contest is legal, no purchase should
be
necessary to be eligible for the prizes.
Regards,
Bob...
-------------------------------
"In the carboniferous epoch
we were promised perpetual peace.
They swore if we gave up our weapons
that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed they sold us,
and delivered us, bound, to our foe.
And the gods of the copybook headings said,
'Stick to the devil you know.' "
--Rudyard Kipling
From: "aimcompute" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> I received a letter in the mail yesterday from picture.com. Apparently (I
> don't remember) I entered a photo in an on-line photo contest. OK after
> returning to the site, I remember. The letter came in an envelope with a
> window, through which I could see a thumbnail of my photo, Takhlakh Venus.
> So it got my attention.
>
> http://pug.komkon.org/99oct/TakhlakhVenus.htm
>
> The form letter is pleased to announce that the photo was selected as a
> semi-finalist in the nature category of the International Open Amateur
> Photography Contest, there is an excellent chance of winning "over 114 cash
> or gift prizes - including the $1000 Grand Prize - you may even win the
> $10,000 Annual Grand Prize!". You should have seen my 10-year old's face
> light up when he said "You're going to win $10,000?". He's trying to save
> $35.00 and figures it will take him about 5 more weeks. :-)
>
> They wish to publish the photo in a book entitled "Frozen Highlights" which
> is a classic coffee-table quality book, hardbound, with 750 "timeless images
> in full color." The book is only $69.95 if I wish to purchase one at the
> pre-publication price, $59.95 each if I purchase 2, plus $8.00 shipping
> each.
>
> I need to reply, giving them permission to publish the photo, and am under
> no obligation to purchase the book.
>
> Copyright remains mine.
>
> Here's what bothers me about this:
>
> 1) If my photo was to be in the book, I naturally think I deserve a free
> copy, don't you? I haven't been paid anything for the photo and there's no
> guarantee that I will. After the two prizes listed above, the next level is
> $35.00... $25.00 and so on.
>
> 2) The book is 8 x 11, and from the looks of it there is 6 images per page.
> So the size of my picture that was "selected... because of its unique
> perspective and artistic vision" will end up being 2 - 3 inches. Big whee!
>
> 3) How "professional" of an approach can this be? They are publishing my
> picture in a coffee-table book and are using a low-quality .jpg file as the
> image source? That bothers me more than anything else. You would think
> they would at least ask for a dup of the slide.
>
> The idea of winning a large cash prize intrigues me. The idea of having my
> photo published in such a way, possibly alongside other photos of
> questionable quality, turns me off big time, and, I think would degrade my
> work, not elevate it.
-
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