I can easily see two side in this case. As others have mentioned, the photographer and hosting club may have entered into an exclusive contract; she may have seen this as taking money out of her purse, and she may indeed be carrying a heavy debt. This would justify a refusal, but on the other hand, there she can still be tactful about it. It sounds as though she was rude in how she turned you down, and that strikes me as unprofessional.
I got bitten by the other side of this a while back. I was offered an opportunity to shoot at an agility trial by the head organizer who knew I shot seriously, and though I understood that I wasn't functioning as the photographer-of-record, I was intending to submit shots to "Clean Run" as a way of establishing some credibility with a broader audience. I had in- vested in an fast tele prime to use along with my 80-200/2.8. This same organizer later left me a message that I could shoot only for my own photo album for contract reasons, but not for sale; though she did not specific- ally state this, the prohibition would exclude any photo in the magazine since they pay though not that much. At this point, this organizer is on my permanent s--- list. -- Christopher Oliver, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Inside every good dog is a terrier trying to get out.
