The whole point of free speech is not to make ideas exempt from criticism but to expose them to it.

Friday, August 19, 2011

You can imagine my surprise when...


...I was staying in Belle Fourche last week and noticed on the doors of the police cars...



















Now, it happens that I have an image on a negative I shot in 1981 that bears a great deal of resemblance to the cop car graphic. As a matter of fact, I have it handy...



















What do you think? Is this my ticket to retirement in Murdo? I have noticed that Belle Fourche doesn't blink at lawsuits any more.

11 comments:

taco said...

You've been robbed!

BF said...

It's worth pursuing, Bob. Their image seems clearly derivative of yours in a number of ways beyond coincidence.

Bob Newland said...

For the record, I have made a reasonable offer to the City of Belle Fourche. Unless I'm bound to silence (not an unknown state of my existence) I'll let you know how that goes. I think it's probable that no one at City Hall in Belle now has any idea of the provenance of the image.

Bob Newland said...

And, Taco, I won't have been robbed until they say "no."

Wayne Gilbert said...

I agree with BF. I think it would be embarassing for them to claim that it is original. I would guess that they paid an artist who probably looked at a number of your photographs before selecting his or her favorite.

Jerome B. said...

However, that is also one of the most common money shots. My father rodeo'd 18 years. He was captured this way multiple times, almost as many as his face in the dirt! I also have one of Casey Tibbs...You could stack the 3 negatives and have a near perfect match. Doesn't mean it isn't! Regardless, It's a good shot!

Jerome B. said...

So..........! Having said this, I decided to do just that!! Now all I can say is, "I hope they don't say "NO"!!

Wayne Gilbert said...

Jerome B--I'd like to see the negatives to which you refer. The similarity between Bob's photo and the BFPD log is very striking, and not really specifically representative rodeo photos I have seen. If you mean that there are lots of photos of horses on their hindlegs trying to dislodge a rider then I agree, but the angle and the positioning of the limbs of both the rider and the horse in these images are pretty much identical.

BF said...

Wayne, the way I read Jerome's 2nd post, I think he figured it out. Right JB? Ain't no way that ain't no copy.

Bob Newland said...

Yeah. What you guys said.

Jerome B. said...

(Insert pun about flogging a certain type of quadraped) Correct BF. So any new information?