My (Near) Achievement of Photographic Greatness Adequacy

Got this email from Fresh Goat today:

Fresh Goat to Catherine, sales, me

show details 8:34 AM (10 hours ago)

 

Reply

 

On Thu, 24 Jan 2008, Catherine wrote:

> I’m writing to ask if you would grant Oxford University Press permission
> to print the picture below, which appears on your web site on a book
> that we are publishing later this year. If yes, would you be able to
> provide me with a high-resolution version of the image?

Sure, we’d be happy to have you use the photo. The website specifies that
it’s available for use under a Creative Commons license:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

For attribution, please note the photo is “Copyright 2005 Brian K. Dunn,
from http://www.epnewyork.com/“.


The original unedited (full-size) photo is also right there on the site:

http://www.epnewyork.com/landscape/little_italy_full.jpg

We’d love to be sent a link to the book’s website, or be sent a copy of
the book when it’s published, but that’s not a requirement.

Thanks,
Fresh Goat

!

So there’s some chance that a photo I took of NYC’s Little Italy in 2005 (06?) and incorporated into EPNewYork is going to end up on the cover of some Oxford University Press publication at some point in the future. ‘Course, with the Creative Commons license I’ll get paid nothing for it and there’s no requirement that they ever actually tell me that they’ve used it, but whatever. It’s flattering.

That’s really not my favorite photo I’ve ever taken. Of course. It’s crooked for one thing and there’s nothing to focus on — even the Empire State Building seems washed out. OTOH, it shows up at #1 on Google Images if you search for “little italy new york” and #3 if you search for “new york little italy”. I think I’m prouder of this moment as a Search Engine Optimization achievement than I am of it as a photographic one. *Much* prouder, come to think of it.

bkd

2 comments

  • Alex

    Nice.

    One question: I always thought the share alike CCL option meant that you’ve licensed them to use the photo ONLY in work that gets the same license attached. So if they didn’t ask you specific permission, wouldn’t they have to CCL the textbook? (I’m sure they wouldn’t, of course).

    Alex.

  • bkdunn

    Hey AW! I think it depends on what flavor of creative commons you invoke? I dunno. My buddy who got the email says this is the way it works and he’s smart about that stuff. And heck, if they paid me, it’d all go to the government anyway.