This entry will have no images. It is regarding a few things I have experienced, witnessed and heard lately. I don’t know if I am getting old and changing in my old age. Maybe I have always felt the way I currently feel about life and life’s events but have focused my view lately. Maybe it’s just that when someone says or does something to or near you, it is magnified and makes you examine your own behaviors. Have I thoroughly peeked your curiosity yet? Maybe you don’t care… If so, please skip the rest and go on with your life.

I am referring to rules. Those that are ever present in society and defined as definite no-no’s and those that I feel are more undefined, the “don’t go there or do that” type of rules. A few examples of the former might be to not exceed the posted speed limit, don’t steal things or always use a semicolon in place of a period to separate two sentences where the conjunction has been left out. Examples of the latter are not to criticize or poke fun of someones spouse or children, tell a racy joke in mixed company or borrow someones property without permission.

As I wrote earlier, I have arrived at a point where I am confused about my views as they apply to life’s rules. Have I always felt that rules should be followed but had bent or broken a few in my life anyway or have I felt that it was OK to ignore rules when it suited me in the past, but now feel that all rules must be obeyed? If a traffic light is changing from green to yellow and I could safely stop before red, is it OK to apply a bit more pressure to the gas pedal and get through the intersection? Is this bending or is it breaking a rule? Does it matter only if a police officer is present and you get pulled over?

I have always felt that good natured ribbing between friends was not breaking a rule, but you never poked fun at a spouse or someones children; that was breaking an unwritten rule. My daughter is a dedicated student and has a few accomplishments to her credit. A few days ago, I was attending a music performance at her school and before the show, there was a display that listed some recent accomplishments of students. My daughter was recognized a few times and a buddy started making a few comments about her accomplishments. If the unwritten rule hadn’t been breached, I would not have momentarily wondered if he was joking or if he was somehow attacking my daughter. I guess not joking about a friends child is not observed by all. Both his children are good students and have achievements of their own and I know his sense of humor so I concluded he meant no harm.

In the past I have been guilty of bending and breaking rules many times. Teacher said no chewing gum in class; I did it anyway. Mom said not to leave our yard; I did it anyway. Speed limit said 55 miles per hour; I went 70 miles per hour. On more than one occasion I had stolen a few dollars from my mom’s purse or dad’s wallet. I didn’t have a job and needed my candy fix. It was only a few coins or pieces of paper with numbers on them. Not a big deal, right? Or was it a big deal?

Last week I experienced what my parents probably felt when I pilfered some cash from them or broke one of their rules of life. What happened made me angry and I became angrier the longer I thought about it. The perpetrator wasn’t a member of my family, which is probably why I got so ticked off.

A brief background to help advance my story.

As you probably know, I am a photographer and that is how I try to make a few bucks. I photograph people and people buy pictures from me. I need to make a profit or I go out of business. If I give away the digital files of my images to people and they make prints on their own printer or at Walgreens, I go out of business. To help keep people honest, I either place a sticker or ink stamp on the back of any pictures I sell that states my copyright and to not reproduce or copy. Most people will contact me for more copies or to request different size pictures.

I have spent many hours photographing sporting events at my daughter’s school. I am not a pro sports shooter nor do I try and pass myself off as such. As a result, I set a very low price for any images parents would order of their children at these events. I also will be giving the proceeds of any image sales to the school.

At a recent track meet, I was approached by someone who had previously ordered some shots of their child from me. The individual wanted me to give them a digital file of one of my photographs that they had purchased of their child. I jokingly said it would be $1400 and we shared a laugh. I told person to contact me and we would work out the details. A voice mail was left asking for the digital file and stated that if there was a charge for this, I should let them know. Referring to the 4″ x 6″ picture they bought, the person said, my husband “doesn’t think we would be able to scan it very good so if you wouldn’t mind emailing the file to us…“.

Imagine the sound of a car with it’s brakes locked as it screeches to an abrupt halt.

I so clearly hear that you and your husband feel it is OK to violate my copyright and reproduce my image, that has been registered in the United States Copyright Office, without my permission. “Can’t be”, I say to myself, “they wouldn’t do that”. I mean, the husband owns his own business and sells the work he does to people. He has got to understand the sole proprietor mentality and he wouldn’t violate my copyright, would he? I listened to the message again and I believe they had no problem in breaking a rule.

I responded via email and laid out what I would need to have done in order to sell and send them the file they requested. Didn’t expect to hear back from them and I didn’t. It is my guess that the husband was “able to scan it good enough” and they wouldn’t need me to email the file to them. Although I am over my anger, I am still surprised and feel like someone stole from me.

Some will say that I am over reacting or that that’s the price of doing business or that sometimes you get the short end of the stick. In my younger days, I  probably would have agreed with all of it. But as I get older, and as my daughter sees and hears the things I do and how I do them, I have an obligation to do my best to not bend or break the rules. Not just for her, but for me as well.

Until next time,

Mark