Author Topic: Wrong image on stamp, blames "stock photography service" (Read 8108 times)

Sadstock · « **on:** April 15, 2011, 19:45 »

U.S. Post office used the wrong Statue of Liberty image on a new stamp, blames a "stock photography service".

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/us/15stamp.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13101814

And that had to be an editorial image since the Las Vegas one should be under copyright. Does the post office qualify as commercial? 3 billion stamps should be one hell of an EL.

ShadySue · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2011, 00:51 »

Seems to be from Getty
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/200487873-001
"No release, but this image does not require a release. This image is available for commercial use." Allegedly.

gostwyck · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2011, 05:25 »

Quote from: ShadySue on April 16, 2011, 00:51

Seems to be from Getty
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/200487873-001
"No release, but this image does not require a release. This image is available for commercial use." Allegedly.

Interesting. Nice find. At least the image was correctly described at Getty. Even though the statue is a replica of a publically-owned work I'd have thought it would still qualify as a 'work of art' in it's own right and therefore images would not be useable for commercial purposes without a PR. This story may have further to run.

cathyslife · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2011, 07:26 »

I particularly love this statement:

“We still love the stamp design and would have selected this photograph anyway,” said Roy Betts, a spokesman. Mr. Betts did say, however, that the post office regrets the error and is “re-examining our processes to prevent this situation from happening in the future.”

Talk about a cya move.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2011, 10:07 »

Did this guy rip it off from the other guy?
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86079275/Workbook-Stock

gostwyck · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2011, 11:04 »

Quote from: sjlocke on April 16, 2011, 10:07

Did this guy rip it off from the other guy?
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86079275/Workbook-Stock

No, impossible because both images have some details that the other doesn't have. You couldn't 'make' either image from the other. The angle of view and the shadows on the nose and eyes are staggeringly similar though.

sweetgirll · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2011, 12:21 »

How interesting...I never thought that the USPS would use stock photography...I was thinking before this, that they hired photographers for custom work.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2011, 12:39 »

Ah, I didn't look too close, but at first glance the one looks like a crop of the other... Maybe there is a metal pole right there with a platform to set your camera on!

Blufish · « **Reply #8 on:** April 16, 2011, 14:36 »

Interesting find. I just found this articlecabout vegetarian times references iStock.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/15/vegan-magazine-passes-off-pictures-of-meat-as-meatless-sparking-online-debate/?hpt=T2

Sadstock · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2011, 12:43 »

Seems like the Post Office is going the 1984 route as they are now say that the stamps, introduced last December, have "no error in the artwork. The error was in the description, which we've changed to indicate was a replica." http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/sticking_with_lady_Tv9a2kOV81fHP52MtQaT6K

Their plan all along was to put a replica owned by a casino of an American icon on 3 billion postage stamps? $:-\$ Wow.

Also the Post Office press release confirmed that the image was by Raimund Linke, so its presumably this image. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86079275/Workbook-Stock
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews/mi/2010/mi_2010_1209.htm

ShadySue · « **Reply #10 on:** April 19, 2011, 04:32 »

Quote from: Sadstock on April 18, 2011, 12:43

Seems like the Post Office is going the 1984 route as they are now say that the stamps, introduced last December, have "no error in the artwork. The error was in the description, which we've changed to indicate was a replica." http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/sticking_with_lady_Tv9a2kOV81fHP52MtQaT6K

Their plan all along was to put a replica owned by a casino of an American icon on 3 billion postage stamps? $:-\$ Wow.

Also the Post Office press release confirmed that the image was by Raimund Linke, so its presumably this image. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86079275/Workbook-Stock
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews/mi/2010/mi_2010_1209.htm

There doesn't seem to be any mention in the newsroom (third link above) that the pic is of the replica.

Sadstock · « **Reply #11 on:** April 19, 2011, 08:15 »

Quote from: ShadySue on April 19, 2011, 04:32

Quote from: Sadstock on April 18, 2011, 12:43
Seems like the Post Office is going the 1984 route as they are now say that the stamps, introduced last December, have "no error in the artwork. The error was in the description, which we've changed to indicate was a replica." http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/sticking_with_lady_Tv9a2kOV81fHP52MtQaT6K

Their plan all along was to put a replica owned by a casino of an American icon on 3 billion postage stamps? $:-\$ Wow.

Also the Post Office press release confirmed that the image was by Raimund Linke, so its presumably this image. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86079275/Workbook-Stock
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews/mi/2010/mi_2010_1209.htm

There doesn't seem to be any mention in the newsroom (third link above) that the pic is of the replica.

----------------------------------
Agreed. The artical says they have/will change it, but press release does not make that point. I included the link to show post office was crediting the image to Raimund Linke.

Sadstock · « **Reply #12 on:** April 19, 2011, 19:46 »

Quote from: Blufish on April 16, 2011, 14:36

Interesting find. I just found this articlecabout vegetarian times references iStock.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/15/vegan-magazine-passes-off-pictures-of-meat-as-meatless-sparking-online-debate/?hpt=T2

-----------------------------------------------
Just heard this driving home from work on National Public Radio (NPR). A sort of repentant (in a sorry we got caught kind of way) VegNews editor about the misrepresentation of stock meat dishes as vegetarian ones. At the end he says they are setting a database up for vegetarian stock photography and notes that the interviewer could use these images if they needed to illustrate a story. Note that this is National Public RADIO!

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=135548327&m=135548610