I Try to Be Nice, Really, But....

I mentioned in an earlier blog post (or perhaps in my Facebook page) that I get few enough letters from kids now that I try to respond to them.  In the past, it was simply impossible to reply to all of them.  Oh, here's the earlier blog post: 

http://norbertwu.blogspot.com/2014/06/fan-mail-from-kids-always-brightens-my.html

I recently sent a card and a note to a Jacob, who wrote me and had an address of "400 Deering Avenue, Portland, ME  04103." 

The card was returned to me with a note: "need full name" with the standard USPS label of "return to sender, not deliverable as addressed."  

I hate having my efforts wasted like this, so I looked the address up.  It belongs to Temple Beth El:  Temple Beth El is a welcoming congregation of over 300 families in Portland, Maine, affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. TBE is an open and inviting kehilla (community) in which each congregant can find an opportunity for individually meaningful religious expression. 

Hey, Temple Beth El -- maybe one of your folks can let Jacob see that I replied to him.  Hey, I tried.  

Weekly Series Number Eight: Favorite Images

School of Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks, Cocos Island, Costa Rica:

Thanks to all of you for your comments about my weekly series, where I show and talk about the stories behind some of my favorite images.  I've been trying to start with images from my early days, and then progress chronologically.

I remember seeing the first images of these schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks from Cocos Island (taken by a friend and mentor, Marty Snyderman).  Marty was one of the first underwater photographers to spend significant time at Cocos Island, and I saw his images back in the late 1980s as I was just starting to seriously take underwater photographs professionally.  I was lucky enough to be able to go out with a couple of the diving vessels that visited this remote island.  These images were taken on my first trip out there, aboard the Okeanos Aggressor.  I later visited Cocos Island a few more times, all on the vessel Undersea Hunter.   As far as I know, both vessels still visit Cocos Island, and despite all the hunting of sharks for their fins, these schools of hammerhead sharks can still be seen out there.

I had gotten tips from my friends (and bosses, when I worked on their films) Howard Hall and Bob Cranston.  This was in the days before relatively inexpensive rebreathers were available.  The trick, from what I gleaned, to getting images of these sharks was to get underneath them and to hold your breathe.  The instant you let out your breathe, then the entire school of sharks would scatter.  The school of sharks tended to swim around various underwater pinnacles near Cocos Island, hanging out around the thermocline, a pretty discrete boundary between warm, clear water and murkier, colder water.  The sharks seemed to like this boundary.  The boundary was generally right around 120 feet or so.

That first trip on the Okeanos Aggressor was something.  A group of divers from Boston had chartered the boat, but I had been able to get myself and my friend Peter Brueggeman on the trip.  Peter was a great friend and helpful to me underwater (and topside too!), and he had a great sense of humor and easygoing personality that helped offset my seriousness and antisocial behavior (I have really bad hearing, which contributes to my not enjoying conversations on dive boats -- I have a hearing aide but don't use it when I am on diving trips since it costs a lot when I forget I have it on and step into the water).  The funny thing about that trip was how nearly everyone in the group from Boston ended up romantically involved with someone else in the group.  There was a doctor who accidentally bumped into an old flame and rekindled the romance -- but also spent the entire trip anguishing over what would happen when he got back home and his wife found out about the affair.  There was a woman who targeted nearly every male on board and had a brief affair.  Peter and I were left alone, which was fine with me as I was more concerned about getting images.  I later discovered from one of the group that they thought that Peter and I were a gay couple!  This was pretty surprising to me.  It's happened to me a few times since, because I like to travel with my friends, and two guys traveling together must mean that they are gay, I guess.

I can remember the dives on that trip well.  Peter and I would go down a pinnacle called Dirty Rock, hang out at about 100 feet, looking off the pinnacle to catch a glimpse of sharks.  I'd see them infrequently, just at the edge of visibility, circling the pinnacle.  Once I caught a glimpse, I'd swim as fast as I could to the school, holding my breathe, and usually swimming upside down so I could see their silhouettes above me.  If I was lucky enough to find myself underneath the school of sharks, I'd have just a fleeting few seconds to snap a couple of exposures (using a Nikonos V camera loaded with 35mm film) before I'd have to let out a breathe.  The sharks would scatter at that point, and I'd look back the way I came to try to see the pinnacle.  Most of the time I'd see Peter's bright yellow fins, which were a lifesaver.  Thanks, Pete.

Getting back to the pinnacle was important; I sure did not want to lose track of where I was and have to surface in the middle of the usually-turbulent, rainy ocean off Cocos Island.  If I had not come back to where the other divers were, chances were good that the dive tenders would not see me when I surfaced, and I'd face a long time alone drifting.  That kind of scenario -- being lost by yourself, drifting away from your dive boat in stormy seas and low visibility -- is so frightening to me now that I probably would not do this kind of dive this way any longer. 

Sharks around the world have been targeted for years by fishermen who catch sharks only for their fins.  It's a tragedy.  The fins are valued as a delicacy by the Chinese (yes, I am Chinese-American) who make the fins into shark-fin soup.  Chinese folks try to serve shark-fin soup at wedding banquets, largely because it is very expensive, and serving your guests the most expensive dishes at a meal shows respect and courtesy.  This tradition is actually a relatively recent phenomenon, which has arised with the rise of the middle class in China.

The soup itself, and the cartilage from the shark fins, is pretty tasteless.  The shark fin part of the soup tastes like rubber, with almost no taste.  It's a real tragedy that sharks are being targeted for this fishery.  As apex predators, there just aren't that many sharks out there (they reproduce and grow relatively slowly compared to other fish); and they are being wiped out for this ridiculous and young tradition.

Of all the issues in marine conservation today, I believe that convincing the Chinese people to stop serving and eating shark fin soup is perhaps the only issue that can possibly be resolved.  I hope that we humans can stop this practice.  I don't think that we're going to solve much else, like global warming or the problem of plastic debris.

"It's a great photo, but certainly not worth paying for."

Some of rudest clients in the world work for non-profit organizations or governmental agencies that are "saving the world."  Why are they so bad?  Because they feel entitled. 

I enclose some recent communications that show how little prospective clients value photographer's work these days.   It's stunning how rude this person ended up being.  But before those communications, here is what my website's FAQ page says about our policies. 


I am working with a nonprofit organization that is saving the world. Unfortunately we have no funds for photography. Can we use one of your images for free?
We no longer provide images at no charge, and rarely discount our images, for nonprofit organizations or researchers. Please don't ask. We have found that administering and negotiating the use of photographs for nonprofit organizations often takes up more of our time than working with our commercial clients. We have also found that when we donate the use of our images, the organizations do not respect our guidelines for the use of the photographs, and often do not even help us in return if we need access or help in our projects.
Hopefully one of these days, photographers and filmmakers will be recognized as persons who do contribute greatly to the environment with their imagery. They will be paid for their work, and they and their work will be recognized as much as scientists' and politicians'. Nonprofit organizations will recognize the value of great imagery for their cause, and instead of constantly asking photographers to donate their photographs (and the huge amount of time it takes to do so!), they will pay photographers just as they pay themselves, their printers, designers, webmasters, and the postman.
http://photoprofessionals.wordpress.com/
Please read this letter from photoprofessionals that concisely and awesomely states our and other photographers' point of view on donating images for free. We are a signatory to this letter.





Here are the recent emails from a prospective "client." The emails are in reverse chronological order, most recent first. 


-------- Original Message --------
Subject:     RE: photo permission
Date:     Thu, 3 Jul 2014 12:17:51 -0400
From:     Walker, Bradley
To:     Norbert Wu Productions office

Hi Deanna,

Thanks for your response. I actually got in touch with one of our researchers, and he has a photo that I can use. I can understand charging for Norb's photo if we were to use it for commercial use, but for my purposes I'd be using it for educational purposes. It's a great photo, but certainly not worth paying for.  [bold font added by Norb Wu]

Best,
Brad

Bradley Walker
Information Specialist I
Communications Office
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
100 Eighth Ave. Southeast | St. Petersburg, Fla. 33701
Phone: (727) 502-4788 | Cell: (239) 935-9566
Bradley.Walker@MyFWC.com | MyFWC.com/Research
Facebook.com/FWCResearch | Facebook.com/MyFWC | Twitter.com/MyFWC
Flickr.com/MyFWCResearch | YouTube.com/FWCResearch | Scribd.com/MyFWC


-----Original Message-----
From: Deanna, Norbert Wu Productions office
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2014 12:09 PM
To: Walker, Bradley
Subject: Re: photo permission

Hi again,

Our minimum usage fee is usually $200, but since you're paying from personal funds and the usage is for a relatively short time I will try to work with you.

Please let me know what is the most you can pay for this, and then I'll discuss your offer with Norb.

Thanks,
Deanna




On 7/3/14 8:40 AM, "Walker, Bradley" wrote:

Greetings,

Yes, the photo will be used in the photos section on Facebook. I plan
to use it for one Facebook post for only 1 day. If I decide to use the
photo, the payment would be coming from my personal funds. What do you
charge for a one time use of the photo?

-Brad

Bradley Walker
Information Specialist I
Communications Office
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
100 Eighth Ave. Southeast | St. Petersburg, Fla. 33701
Phone: (727) 502-4788 | Cell: (239) 935-9566 Bradley.Walker@MyFWC.com
| MyFWC.com/Research Facebook.com/FWCResearch | Facebook.com/MyFWC |
Twitter.com/MyFWC Flickr.com/MyFWCResearch | YouTube.com/FWCResearch |
Scribd.com/MyFWC


-----Original Message-----
From: Deanna, Norbert Wu Productions office
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2014 11:23 AM
To: Walker, Bradley
Cc: Norbert Wu Productions Office
Subject: Re: photo permission

Hi Brad,

Just following up on your email correspondence with Norb.  Please
provide the following usage details, and then I can forward a quote.

*Will this photo be used in your Facebook "Photos" section?

*How long do you plan on using it?

*What is your budget for the proposed usage?

Thanks and I look forward to your reply.

Best regards,
Deanna

--
Deanna
Norbert Wu Productions
Pacific Grove, CA  93950



On 7/2/14 1:54 PM, Norbert Wu Productions Office wrote:
Hi --
Deanna in our office will get back to you on this.  She's in the
office on Thursday.  Thanks!

Best,
Norb
----------------------------------------
Norbert Wu Productions
Pacific Grove, CA  93950
USA

See and search through 8500 of the world's best marine life images:
http://www.norbertwu.com/lightbox

Thousands of footage clips of marine life are online in our new
searchable database! (in beta):
http://www.norbertwu.com/footage



On 7/2/14 9:45 AM, Walker, Bradley wrote:
Okay. What's the fee to use the photo for useful, educational purposes?

*Bradley Walker*

Information Specialist I

Communications Office
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
100 Eighth Ave. Southeast | St. Petersburg, Fla. 33701
Phone: (727) 502-4788 | Cell: (239) 935-9566
Bradley.Walker@MyFWC.com |
MyFWC.com/Research

Facebook.com/FWCResearch |
Facebook.com/MyFWC | Twitter.com/MyFWC


Flickr.com/MyFWC _Research_|
YouTube.com/FWCResearch |
Scribd.com/MyFWC



*From: Norb's iPad *On
Behalf Of *Norbert Wu
*Sent:* Wednesday, July 02, 2014 12:08 PM
*To:* Walker, Bradley
*Cc:* Deanna, Norbert Wu Productions office
*Subject:* Re: photo permission

Sorry, cannot grant use without fee paid.


Sent from my iPad.  Apologies for typos or brevity. 


On Wednesday, July 2, 2014, Walker, Bradley
> wrote:

Greetings,

I'm Brad, an employee with the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
in St. Petersburg, FL. I came across an image online, and wanted to
ask permission to use this spiny lobster photo on our Facebook page.
It would be used strictly for educational purposes, and we would
provide proper attribution if we use this image publicly. I hope to
hear back from you soon, and thanks for your time!

Best,

Brad

*Bradley Walker*

Information Specialist I

Communications Office
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
100 Eighth Ave. Southeast | St. Petersburg, Fla. 33701
Phone: (727) 502-4788 | Cell: (239) 935-9566
Bradley.Walker@MyFWC.com
|
MyFWC.com/Research

Facebook.com/FWCResearch |
Facebook.com/MyFWC | Twitter.com/MyFWC


Flickr.com/MyFWC _Research_|
YouTube.com/FWCResearch |
Scribd.com/MyFWC



--
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