Getty to Stock Up Via Flickr

Photo by flickr member let ‘er rip

In a deal announced yesterday, Getty can now search Flickr’s vast member archives for appealing images for their own use. Selected Flickr photographers would be invited to join a program and paid the same amount as Getty’s own contract photographers. (Photographers typically get between 30-40% of a $500-600 fee for exclusive rights.)

Jonathan Klein, co-founder of Getty, told the New York Times that this arrangement allows them to take advantage of Flickr’s strengths, which are a depth of images from around the world and covering every imaginable area. Plus, Klein said, they often have an ”authenticity” that professional photography might not.

Article via the New York Times.

Oklahoma City Police Harass, Threaten Photog

NewsOn6.com reports that prep school teacher Chris Owens has filed a complaint against the Oklahoma City police and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol after being handcuffed and harassed for taking photos of a car crash scene. Officers told Owens he had to give them his film or he was going to jail.

Owens knew his rights though, and says he “quickly opened the scooter seat, dropped my camera in and locked it, and said ‘No, I won’t give it to you.’” After a heated exchange where the officer was demanding he delete the photos, one officer finally lost it, knocked Owens’ helmet off his head, handcuffed him and put him in a squad car. Which makes me wonder, what’s the big deal about photos of a car crash anyway? That has nothing to do with public security.

Owens, who says he doesn’t want anything more than an apology, asks, “Where’s the checks and balances? Who lets them run like unleashed dogs?” (But he is considering a lawsuit.)

You can send an email to Oklahoma City Police Chief William Sitty through the Public Information Office: ocpd.pio@okc.gov.

Article via NewsOn6.com.