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 I posted this photo a few days ago at usefilm. I got a lot of nice comments and a "Photo of the Day" award. Getting awards at usefilm seems very elusive to me so I was very pleased. Today some guy leaves me a comment that I found really offensive; he basically implied that maybe I didn't deserve the award because he thinks I stole the idea or photo from someone. But he didn't remember where he saw it. First of all, I'd be kinda surprised if someone hadn't thought of it before; it's not that creative. Second, if he's gonna accuse me of stealing, he should be a little more sure before making an accusation like that. Anyway, I wouldn't steal anything; what's the point of that anyway; it's not like you could feel satisfied with yourself for that accomplishment. Sorry for the rant; maybe I'm overreacting. If you have seen it elsewhere, I'd be curious to know. Posted by Gaja at March 26, 2005 07:13 PM © All images are copyrighted. Please contact me for permission or licensing. Commentswow! and congratulations....! Posted by: zannnie at March 29, 2007 10:37 AM I just found your site tonight and have been enjoying browsing through your photos. This one in particular really caught my eye and made me wish I had thought of it myself! Posted by: Ryan at April 4, 2005 01:31 AM Really cool photo, it is original to me, I've never seen anything like it before so I'm really glad you posted it. Posted by: Jason at April 2, 2005 02:32 PM That is a beautiful photograph. A well deserved reward. The difference, texture wise, from the book pages and the heart is amazing. Posted by: John at April 2, 2005 02:06 AM love it! Posted by: Tara H. at April 1, 2005 04:20 AM Winning an award will *always* open you up to criticism from people who are jealous that they haven't won one. You should check out the discussions that ensue over at photo.net every time a photo of the week is chosen. What intrigues me in this photo is that the heart isn't symmetrical, on one page the writing is visible, giving the page a darker cast, while on the other it's blurred, lightening the page. Posted by: marc at March 31, 2005 02:58 PM Lovely shot! congrats! Posted by: darren at March 31, 2005 11:01 AM Forget the idiot. This is a beautiful shot. In this day of age, with so many people owning cameras, everybody's pretty shot a picture of almost everything. Same with songs, if you listen careful you probably could find another song that sounded like it. Creative thinking does not mean the exclusion of previous ideas. Posted by: Colin at March 31, 2005 02:20 AM I think it's awesome. That guy's mentality is screwed up. If I couldn't take a picture of something just cause it's been done before I wouldn't have a lot of choice in subject matter. I think it's up to the photographer to take an idea to the next level or put their own touch on it. It's not stealing, its creative thought. Great shot! Posted by: Shad at March 30, 2005 11:45 AM amazing detail :-D Posted by: obfuse at March 29, 2005 09:40 PM congratulations on the award. beautiful image. just to reiterate, don't worry too much about the comments. we all come here every day and are familiar with your wonderful style and talented eye, and know your images are unique and individual. Posted by: zerosun at March 27, 2005 11:46 PM A person as creative and as talented as you has no need to steal. I LOVE this photo. Posted by: jyoseph at March 27, 2005 10:55 PM this is one of the best photos i've ever seen! keep going! :D Posted by: believer at March 27, 2005 07:53 PM Excellent. Just brilliant, stolen or not ;) Posted by: Maxx at March 27, 2005 03:52 PM Very good. Posted by: pierre at March 27, 2005 12:55 PM Enjoy your award. Judging by the photographs I've seen on your site so far, I would say you deserve it. Ignore the negative comments, it serves no purpose anyway. This photograph is excellent! Posted by: Leigh at March 27, 2005 11:55 AM Congrats on photo of the day, gaja, and no need to worry about one comment. It's really a naive comment on his part. It doesn't matter whether one or ten other photos with a book and curved pages are out there. If you came thought of the idea independently, then you should be proud because it was a very clever idea. And even besides that, there's the matter of how the idea was executed. Even if many images are out there with books and curled pages, yours was a unique enough example to get an editor's attention, which is something to be even more proud of. If you look through usefilm long enough, there is no doubt you will see ideas repeated. For example, how many refracting drop photos have you seen? ;) Sometimes the more common the subject is, the more challenging it is to figure out a fresh composition. Here you've gone and created a very fresh and technically good image out of a commonly photographed object, and so the award was well deserved! Posted by: chiaroscuro at March 27, 2005 11:37 AM I think this is a beautiful shot, very well executed. I've seen lots of 'book' shots but I've never seen one like this before and I think it's a very creative treatment. The lighting is very good. Enjoy the feeling of winning the award and try to ignore those who would deny you that pleasure (sadly, there's a lot of jealousy out there.) Posted by: Tintil at March 27, 2005 06:07 AM My very first impression of that photo was how original it was. :) Congrats on the award, it was very well deserved. Posted by: Simon at March 27, 2005 03:41 AM I like this creative idea..... who would think of it...... nice shot! Posted by: Chantal at March 27, 2005 03:18 AM Post a comment |