4 ms·

Photographers are one of the few subsets of artists that have benefitted greatly from Copyright Law; that and Songwriters. Everyone else gets to eat cake. I me

by OzzyB 6y ago

Photographers are one of the few subsets of artists that have benefitted greatly from Copyright Law; that and Songwriters. Everyone else gets to eat cake. I mean, who made "photography" an "art" anyway that deserved to have such protections? I mean, come on, all you did was be at the right time at the right place and took a fucking picture, with a camera no less. And, don't get me started on how badly drummers have been screwed under this "copyright law". I'm too busy sampling the "Amen Break" for the thousandth time...

pietrrrek 6y ago
> I mean, who made "photography" an "art" anyway that deserved to have such protections? I mean, come on, all you did was be at the right time at the right place and took a fucking picture, with a camera no less. If that were the case, everyone would be a great photographer. Being able to envision a shot and then also being able to execute it (prepare for it, shoot it and process it afterwards) is not as simple as "being at the right place and right time".
nojokes 6y ago
Regardless of your claims, this portrait is a studio photograph and requires very careful setup of lights and also clear direction by the photographer.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
LegitShady 6y ago
Just because you use a camera to snap pictures without careful consideration to light composition or subject doesn't mean that's how everyone else does it.
bogomipz 6y ago
There's an incredible irony in your uniformed views. You suggest that photography couldn't possibly be art because it involves technology and then you go on to talk about the indignity of the "Amen Break" which itself only gained popularity because of sampling technology. In fact the same can be said for all the break beats on the "Ultimate Breaks and Beats" compilations. Much of early Hip Hop was the result of sampling technology[2]. Is Hip Hop not art either since by your reductionist logic all someone did was press a button? It's also worth mentioning the Winston's B-side of "Amen Brother" from which the "Amen Break was sampled is itself a derivative work. That track is actually based on the Impression's track "Amen" itself a traditional Gospel song[1] as well as a top 50 hit in the same year the Winston's recorded it. However the Winston's credited themselves with the songwriting. The outrage and sympathy seem to be pretty well cherry-picked when you consider all these facts. It made for good headlines for a while though. Drum part's aren't copyrightable for the sole reason that they are not songwriting but rather are accompaniment. And they are copyrighted in the context of the master recording. Trying to imagine a world in which drum parts are copyright is an exercise in insanity. The classic Bo Diddley drum beat while one of the most recognizable beats was certainly not invented by Clifton James. Nor would he ever claim he did. It has roots in Afro-Cuban music and in fact goes all the way back to the Yoruba in Western Africa. Anyone who has ever been to Carnival or Mardi Gras knows this beat. How exactly would such copyright litigation unfold? By the way nobody "made photography an art." Like all new mediums it was once hotly debated whether it was art or not. That debate ended a long time ago however. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who has looked at the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe or Ansel Adams conclude that it wasn't art. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_(gospel_song) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_(gospel_song) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Breaks_and_Beats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Breaks_and_Beats
dddw 6y ago
Photographers are just lazy painters

by OzzyB 6y ago

pietrrrek 6y ago

> I mean, who made "photography" an "art" anyway that deserved to have such protections? I mean, come on, all you did was be at the right time at the right place and took a fucking picture, with a camera no less. If that were the case, everyone would be a great photographer. Being able to envision a shot and then also being able to execute it (prepare for it, shoot it and process it afterwards) is not as simple as "being at the right place and right time".

nojokes 6y ago

Regardless of your claims, this portrait is a studio photograph and requires very careful setup of lights and also clear direction by the photographer.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

LegitShady 6y ago

Just because you use a camera to snap pictures without careful consideration to light composition or subject doesn't mean that's how everyone else does it.

bogomipz 6y ago

There's an incredible irony in your uniformed views. You suggest that photography couldn't possibly be art because it involves technology and then you go on to talk about the indignity of the "Amen Break" which itself only gained popularity because of sampling technology. In fact the same can be said for all the break beats on the "Ultimate Breaks and Beats" compilations. Much of early Hip Hop was the result of sampling technology[2]. Is Hip Hop not art either since by your reductionist logic all someone did was press a button? It's also worth mentioning the Winston's B-side of "Amen Brother" from which the "Amen Break was sampled is itself a derivative work. That track is actually based on the Impression's track "Amen" itself a traditional Gospel song[1] as well as a top 50 hit in the same year the Winston's recorded it. However the Winston's credited themselves with the songwriting. The outrage and sympathy seem to be pretty well cherry-picked when you consider all these facts. It made for good headlines for a while though. Drum part's aren't copyrightable for the sole reason that they are not songwriting but rather are accompaniment. And they are copyrighted in the context of the master recording. Trying to imagine a world in which drum parts are copyright is an exercise in insanity. The classic Bo Diddley drum beat while one of the most recognizable beats was certainly not invented by Clifton James. Nor would he ever claim he did. It has roots in Afro-Cuban music and in fact goes all the way back to the Yoruba in Western Africa. Anyone who has ever been to Carnival or Mardi Gras knows this beat. How exactly would such copyright litigation unfold? By the way nobody "made photography an art." Like all new mediums it was once hotly debated whether it was art or not. That debate ended a long time ago however. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who has looked at the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe or Ansel Adams conclude that it wasn't art. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_(gospel_song) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_(gospel_song) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Breaks_and_Beats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Breaks_and_Beats

dddw 6y ago

Photographers are just lazy painters