A recent print request brings back nasty memories of image theft involving another victim besides just me.
Yesterday I received a print request from a woman who wants the print for her daughter’s bedroom. It’s an older image and my photos are spread across four different computers so it often takes me a while to find the original RAW files of photos like that. Then I got involved in reprocessing the photo and following older links on my blog regarding when the same image was stolen eight years ago. Before I knew it I’d spent so much time fiddle-farting around with that print request and its aftermath I didn’t have time to continue with my original plans for today’s post.
So I decided to repost the photo the woman requested a print of. After all, it’s been eight years since I posted it so it will be new to many blog followers and so will the sad, even tragic, story of image theft.
1/1600, f/9, ISO 400, Canon 40D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This is the photo in question. It was taken at Farmington Bay WMA on a bitterly cold January morning. The kestrel was trying to warm up on a favorite kestrel perch that sadly no longer exists. It was a remnant of a very old, small tree that either fell down on its own or was knocked down by some ignorant human. The background is the snowy Wasatch Mountains in shade. I like the photo for many reasons, including the single piece of ice below the kestrel’s tail that reinforces the heat-conserving puffiness of the little falcon..
The tale of image theft involving this photo is complicated, extremely convoluted and involves another victim besides me. His name is Alessandro Pinna, a highly talented theatrical photographer based in Italy and London. Alessandro was victimized even more than I was.
As I said the story is complex and convoluted so I won’t tell it again here. But if you’re interested and you like a little intrigue with your morning coffee you can follow it in the two older blog posts I’m including links to below. Some of the links within those posts no longer work properly, including the link to Alessandro’s police report and the one to my photo galleries, but the story is there if you have the interest. To make sense of it all you’ll need to visit the two posts in order.
I repeat, Alessandro was a victim and not a perpetrator but in the beginning I didn’t know that.
To make matters even worse, guess where the woman who sent me the print request for this image found the photo in the first place. She didn’t find it on my blog, instead she found it on Pinterest which is one of the most popular hangouts for image thieves on the internet.
And of course, whoever posted it on Pinterest removed my copyright watermark first. If you ask me Pinterest isn’t much more than a den of thieves.
Ron
Gorgeous photo – and a very ugly story. Bright light is this little guy brought you and the real Alessandro together :-). This story highlights one of the many reasons I’ve not engaged in FB or any other social media site in almost a year. Your blog is a bright spot of my day!
I started to comment this morning, got interrupted by phone call then gardeners and never could get back here. But anyway, I love this little AMKE photo, one of your best of the species. It’s too bad it dredges up irritating memories for you, it’s such a delightful image otherwise. Though I’m sure little falcon didn’t think much of that weather!
Ron, I don’t know if you will receive my comments but I’ll still make them. I, like you, and many others, find this thievery disgusting.
You will always be a very moral person in my “realm”.
Thank you.
Alice, I always receive, and see, the comments made on my blog. And appreciate them.
If they’re made after the day I published the post I often don’t reply to them but I always see them.
This is the cutest little rascal I ever saw. Thanks for beauty and a laugh
Thanks for appreciating him, Sallie. I agree.
Beautiful Kestrel shot!
People can be assholes — especially when they get away with it (as we’ve seen all too often of late).
Thank you, Marty.
I do have a Pinterest account. I always link back. And if there is a “no Pinterest/sharing” then I respect that. Wish others did. I’ve reported plenty. And called people out for it. P. S. Other email is not posting still. )
Arwen, then I’m glad you have another email address to fall back on. I still don’t know what’s going on.
That daughter is lucky to have such a thoughtful and discerning mom.
I rarely click on Facebook, Pinterest,Twitter, or any it and then only to get information, never to engage. I pretty much stick to email, Wikipedia, and various newspaper and educational sites, and, of course, Feathered Photography. I’ll admit my one guilty pleasure is YouTube. I think the internet veered into the gutter with so-called social media. The new vast wasteland. Hope I haven’t overstepped.
Nope, you didn’t overstep, Lyle.
I use Facebook mostly to post links to my blog and to keep up with my old Cut Bank, MT friends and teachers and ex-students from the two high schools I used to teach at. I find it useful for those things but the for me the rest of it is largely (but not completely) garbage. And I never get involved with any of the other social media sites unless I’m tracking down one of my stolen images.
Yep, frustrating! A couple of my photos are on Pinterest. I haven’t looked on Etsy. I don’t watermark because: it takes more time to do and is easily removed, finally, I find watermarks distracting from the photo. I guess I should watermark but then I am not attempting to sell my work and want my name out there for sales.
April, I never post anything without my copyright watermark, even crappy images.
On second thought there’s been a couple of times the photo was SO crappy I left the watermark off on purpose – didn’t want my name associated with it…
Blogging is as close to anti social media as I get. Sadly the quest for ‘likes’ and the urging to post/repost seems to me to encourage this and other types of theft.
I hope that you have been able to slap a take down notice on this one – and deplore the necessity. How did the woman you sold the image too track you down since the thief removed the watermark?
Kestrel is a wonderful name to bestow on someone isn’t it? I hope they become as feisty and beautiful as their namesake.
EC, when this particular photo was posted on Pinterest my name was included below the image, even though my copyright watermark was removed from the photo. No link to anything, just my name. They usually don’t even include the name. But even if they did they’d still be stealing my image.
The woman wanting the print must have googled my name and found my blog. Either that or she did a reverse image search to find me.
Look on the bright side Ron, at least your photos are very much worth stealing. I would be happy to steal your photos any time. 😉
You have a point Brad, but that particular “bright side” is a bit of a reach for me.
Took a socially distanced walk with friends on Saturday and learned that their older child (18??) changed her name from Nora to Kestrel; naturally I said: “oh, wow, what a beautiful name! My favorite photographers in Utah have beautiful photos of kestrels” and I looked up “Ron Dudley Utah kestrel” and up popped your blog but I also noticed Pinterest which I thought was odd… I hare Pinterest 🤬 already and now even more so… and these were Pinterest DK and CL – Denmark and Chile? I’ll email you my screen shots
I’m not surprised, Nicky. My kestrel photos are all over the internet.
I saw another example just recently of someone naming their daughter “Kestrel”. I like it.
Just beautiful in it’s detail and simplicity……..😍
Some folks seem to think because it’s “out there” it’s public property as in “punching the share button” without looking or thinking. BUT those who steal it for personal gain, monetary or ego, are in a whole other category…….😖 Feel for the guy caught in the middle of this and Social Media’s not feeling any need to deal with it at the time. Hopefully his name was eventually cleared – or as cleared as it will ever get in this situation. “The internet is forever” unfortunately.
“The internet is forever”.
That’s the kicker isn’t it, Judy. Some of the folks who have stolen my images and then I made an example of them on my blog have learned that lesson painfully.
Those little guys sure have a lot going on visually. Can’t stop admiring him! And then there’s his perfect balance on the tip of the stick. Wow! Glad you reposted.
Thank you, Jamila.
This Kestrel really brightened my day! Much needed and thank you for your generous sharing! à bientôt.
Glad to hear it, Mary. Thanks.
Ok Ron, I’m back. Read the story of Allesandro Pinna and the theft. Being an almost 83 year old guy I don’t do Facebook or any social media and know very little about any of it. My question is – why does someone steal an image such as this beautiful Kestrel and post it on Facebook or Pinterest etc? Is there a financial gain in doing so? What is the motivation?
There are many reasons, Everett. Sometimes there is financial gain and sometimes it’s just an ego thing. Several times I’ve discovered thieves selling MY images and claiming they were their own and other times “artists” paint my images and sell their paintings using social media.
Remember this one involving Etsy, another social media site that caters to image thieves?
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2013/05/21/an-outrageous-example-of-copyright-infringement-of-my-images/
If it’s any consolation, the vast majority of humans burn my butt, too! One of the reasons I rarely write anymore is finding my words stolen off the Internet and posted elsewhere with the thief taking credit for the article! There are other reasons, but I simply had my fill of dealing with those despicable humans! I believe our society/culture has lost its way. We’ve lost our moral compass. Instead of doing what’s right, we do what we can get away with when (we think) nobody’s looking! But even when somebody is looking and we get caught, there’s little to no consequence for bad behavior unless you happen to be blessed with more melanin in your skin–if you’re a dark morph! OK, off my soapbox now.
What a beautiful Kestrel! Of course, they’re all beautiful.
I agree, Laura. It’s a sad state of affairs.
This might be the very best Kestrel photo I have ever seen and being a big fan of these guys and gals I have seen hundreds and taken hundreds myself. Beautiful photo of a beautiful bird.
Thanks for posting Ron. Now I will read the story of Allesandro and the theft and maybe come back again with comments on that.
“This might be the very best Kestrel photo I have ever seen”
Everett, someone else just said something very similar about this image on Facebook. Thank you, much appreciated.