CharlesU please check this out [Archive] - Canon Digital Photography Forums

crashresq

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 19:13

Hi all, I'm a long time lurker and a user of the "other" brand of DSLR... but I love this forum. I especially like JAF Doorhof and CharlesU's work so when I was looking at pics on another site, I saw one I knew I had seen before and it was posted as that person's own work. It has a lot of good feedback though!

Personally I find plagiarism to be reprehensible and to take Charles's work and call it your own is about as low as a person can get.

I don't know what a person can do about things like this, but I'd let my displeasure be know if it was mine (if only I could take pictures of that caliber). Here is the link:

http://www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=285553

Bill (in OK)

Desertraptor

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 19:42

I found this photo 1/3 way down Charlesu online gallery.

This is disgusting. It looks out of place on the guys gallery since there are no others that come close to it. One has to wonder if any photo there is his :(

Charles whip his ass.

jr#8

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 19:47

Charles whip his ass.My thoughts exactly. Maybe you should report him to the www police or something. I know that if someone was to do that here they would get booted from POTN wouldn't they.

CyberDyneSystems

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 19:48

Thanks for posting this "Bill (in OK) "

And http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2hdzu/pics/potnwelcome.gif to the forum.

Charles will appreciate this I'm sure.

Methinks it is very foolish to try and steal work from somone who is unique and admired...

As for the asswhoopin... Charles has a posse!

Desertraptor

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 19:54

As if any Nikon could take such fantastic shots. :o

CyberDyneSystems

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:10

As it turns out, 3DSArcher was... WAS also a member here :(

Desertraptor

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:10

Trustworthy guy

crashresq

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:12

As if any Nikon could take such fantastic shots. :o

**Ouch**;-)

and thank you for the welcome CyberDyneSystems

Bill (in OK)

Desertraptor

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:31

Sorry dude :)

Thanks for bringing this to our / Charles's attention. I guess foir that we can forgive you your choice of kit ;)

Carzee

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:31

So the stupid perp has a Noink and the exif will say Canon 1D mk2 or whatever... how thick is that?

http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/stageclothes_1883_723027

Belmondo

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:41

Bill:

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Needless to say, we don't like to see people taking credit for work that isn't their own.

Welcome to the forum, by the way. You're not the only Nikon user here. It's part of our affirmative action program.

crashresq

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:43

Sorry dude :)

Not a problem:) , it's all good

Thanks for bringing this to our / Charles's attention. I guess foir that we can forgive you your choice of kit ;)

I recall there was a similar issue a while back and I figured these things should be addressed as soon as they're found.

BTW... my first choice was the 20D... but the budget (and budget manager, SWMBO) just wouldn't support it. Several co-workers had purchased DSLR's and I had the opportunity to "test drive" a 20D (which I really liked), a D70 (if you're going to spend that kind of money, buy the 20D) and a D50. The budget and controller allowed me to get a D50, 28-80 and 70-300 lens... for what I like to shoot, this choice has been a good one for me. The wife is really enjoying the outings for photo's and the photo's themselves... I'll eventually convince her I need the 20D :lol:

Bill (in OK)

jr#8

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:47

I think the key words whereWAS also a member here Now we know why.

Mat Fitzsimmons

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 20:57

"Charles has been notified and if you have permission from him to post this as yours, I apologize... If you are Charles and have changed your identity and moved to New Zealand, again, I apologize... but I don't think either of these apply to you. "

Ahhh, love your work :)

Obviously totally outrageous that someone would do this. Makes you wonder how often it's done and nobody notices.

Wazza

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 21:04

Eek. A local POTN member. :o

Sorry this has happened to yourself, Charles.

Ronald S. Jr.

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 21:15

No ideas on who it is? I would think they would probably be a current member, no?

crashresq

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 21:27

Looks like he had registered on POTN last December but didn't put much info in his profile. This is from his profile on DPChallenge:

Name: Alex Wilkins
Age: 42
Username: 3DsArcher
Gender: M
Type: Member
Location: New Zealand
Cameras: Nikon Coolpix 5700
Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Lenses: Canon EF 28-90mm f/4-5.6 II USM (Black)
Canon EF 90-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
Registered: Jul. 22 2004
Contact: one_cam_mac@xtra.co.nz
Private Message
Biography: .I lucked on to this sight purely by accident and now I'm addicted.
The thought of competitive photograhy never entered my head before but being here
I hope will improve my photographic skills. People are certainly quick to offer
an opinion here and in the short time I have been here, I have already recieved
a lot of helpful advice.

October 30th 2005
One year as a financial member. What an amazing twelve months it has been.
DPC has given me a wealth of knowledge to use with my photography.
This site never fails to amaze me with the talent & imagination shown by
everyone here & the challenges take me to places & give me ideas that I might
never otherwise experianced.
Signature: >>>----DDD---->

CyberDyneSystems

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 21:33

"never fails to amaze me with the talent & imagination shown by
everyone here & the challenges take me to places & give me ideas that I might
never otherwise experianced"

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2hdzu/pics/puke.gif

Skip Souza

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 21:43

No ideas on who it is? I would think they would probably be a current member, no?
No, not any more. :rolleyes:

waldograce

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 21:49

I sent an email to the admins of dpchallenge.com.
Hopefully they'll take action.
If not then Charles has them pretty much dead to rights (unless of course Charles really did move to NZ...)

Good catch.
Thanks for bringing this up crashresq.

crashresq

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 22:26

I sent an email to the admins of dpchallenge.com.
Hopefully they'll take action.

They took action!... the picture is gone from the gallery and is no longer posted in his DPChallenge portfollio... good on the DPC admins:)

Mat Fitzsimmons

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 22:38

I don't know if the admins did it, or our friend Mr 3DsArcher did it himself ... if I go to the DPChallenge link from the first post, I see this is in the top left corner of the now-blank page:

"This image has been hidden by the photographer. "

Desertraptor

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 22:42

Does the guy exist as a member over there still ?

am_pitbull_terrier

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 23:13

"This image has been hidden by the photographer. " Is all I see now.

I guess he got the hint :rolleyes: *idiot*

Hermeto

27th of January 2006 (Fri), 23:46

R Hardman

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 00:46

Integrity.... Once you lose it you never get it back. Glad he got caught.

Mat Fitzsimmons

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 00:52

DPChallenge Forums (http://www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php) >> Administrator Announcements (http://www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=list&FORUM_SECTION_ID=10) >> Results of seven challenges recalculated

http://www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=338615

I don't think that has anything to do with this "incident" .. that's more about EXIF info being falsified, isn't it? Certainly not as severe an offence as putting someone else's photo up as your own.

Seems Mr 3DsArcher's account is still active as far as I can tell:
http://www.dpchallenge.com/profile.php?USER_ID=24486

... and I have to say, Blind Freddy would have been able to see that the photo he put up wasn't his, judging by the other entires he's made to the challenges.

bolantej

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 01:33

this isn't the firs time this has happened. Who was that other dork on Deviantart that said he met some ladies at a bar and they posed for him? He used an image that I think was created my CharlesU.

saravrose

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 01:45

ridiculous. I have never understood the draw of stealing somebody else's work. It seems strange that somebody would think they can even get away with it. Very glad to hear that he got caught and was booted.. Sari.

cdifoto

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 01:53

Hey this image from the crackhead's own portfolio is quite fitting:

http://www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=169358

Assuming, of course, that he even owns a camera and takes ANY of his own pics.

MattL

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 02:09

Comeon guys, lets go give this guy a peice of our minds! Wheres he live? Hes a Theif? Scumbag? Detriment of the earth? He must live out West! HA!

lostdoggy

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 02:49

Comeon guys, lets go give this guy a peice of our minds! Wheres he live? Hes a Theif? Scumbag? Detriment of the earth? He must live out West! HA!

Your Neck of the Wood!!! Go get them Boys!!!!

Balliolman

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 03:52

Integrity is the unspoken condition which governs all our dealings with each other in forums such as POTN. This miscreant has none and his actions are reprehensible!

Wazza

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 06:01

Comeon guys, lets go give this guy a peice of our minds! Wheres he live? Hes a Theif? Scumbag? Detriment of the earth? He must live out West! HA!

He lives in Pakuranga, which is about 2km from Matt's house. :lol:

I'm the true Westy, which is 20-30km... well WEST!

Anyway, still sad to see this happen, doesn't matter who it was, was a bad act.

At least we know Charles work is great, and everyone wants a piece of it. :)

charlesu

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 08:06

Hi All,
Many, many thanks for the follow up on this!! Wow! I am impressed that someone saw and recognized my work and that you all chimed in on this. What a great community we have here!!!

I don't know what image it is since he has now hidden it. But am very curious. Anyone know?

I've been traveling and working all week so have been mostly absent and just got this message. Thanks again for all the heads up on this!

Regards,

Charles

charlesu

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 08:09

Bill,
A personal thank you to you. And an invitation to come and shoot sometime! I appreciate your stepping up to say something here on this!

Charles

Desertraptor

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 08:10

Charles,

It was the hear no evil, see not evil, speak no evil. The one with the three beautiful girls.

Carzee

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 08:10

I don't know what image it is since he has now hidden it. But am very curious. Anyone know?

Sure do.

charlesu

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 10:17

Charles,

It was the hear no evil, see not evil, speak no evil. The one with the three beautiful girls.

That's funny. That one has been stolen before. I will take it as a compliment and also say that I am rather fond of that image myself. But, man, don't any thieves like any of my other work?? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Charles

crashresq

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 10:22

Bill,
A personal thank you to you. And an invitation to come and shoot sometime! I appreciate your stepping up to say something here on this!

Charles

OMG:D ... Charles, I am going to have to figure out a way to take you up on that. I have an uncle in Raleigh, NC that I haven't seen for a while. I think I need to plan a vist.

I'm pretty much a complete newb in the digital photography arena, but I'd love the opportunity to meet you and see what I can learn. Thank you so much for the invite.

BTW, as previously mentioned, the picture was the see no, hear no evil.

waldograce

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 22:21

From the Admin of DP challenge:

Thank you for pointing this out, the image has been removed from the site and the uploader warned.

-Langdon

I'm going to send another email suggesting stronger action.
If they will ban a user for falsifying EXIF Data they should do more than warn a user for submitting someone else’s photo.

jr#8

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 22:34

waldograce

28th of January 2006 (Sat), 22:41

Waldograce. How bout adding the email address here so we all can give him a piece of my mind. You know I'm also into astroimaging. and belong to a few sites. When I see a pic that really blows me away I always ask If I can post there pic somewhere else and give the photographer all the credit. If they say NO then thats where it stands.

I sent the email to CharlesU in a PM.
It's really up to him to decide if he wants to take further action.

If anyone else thinks it's silly that they are letting this guy off with just a warning then you can contact the dpchallenge admins through the Contact page at:
http://www.dpchallenge.com/help_contact.php

jr#8

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 05:57

I just sent a message and heres what I said.

Hello,I'm not a member here. I hold a membersship at the Photography On The Net.com site(POTN). It has come to my attention that one of your members(3DSArche)has plagerized one of POTN's members photo's. It has also come to my attention that there was only a WARNING given and a removal of the photograph. But when one of your members changed a date on the EXIF data so they could submit it in a challenge. They where banned from the site. I would belive that this should have happened here also. I personally think that the photographer and DPChallenge should bring him up on charges. Then again this is only my personal opinion.
Thank You
Bruce Hautz

charlesu

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 09:58

Thanks for the email link. I just sent mail to that admin and let them know I would like some more insight and wanted to know how they were going to discourage copyright infringement in the future. To me, a warning does not do it. A suspension or ban is in order. If a suspension then maybe he should have to wear a "scarlet letter" on his membership bio. Basically an admission that he had committed copyright violation with another photographer's image and tried to take credit for the image.

That might make people stop and think. A ban would just make him move on to another site where he is anonymous.

Jackal

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 10:16

A part of me wants him banned permanently. Even by IP and hopefully he has a static one.

Another part of me wants him not to be banned but to have to wear a tag under his name that says "I steal pictures from other photographers and claim them as my own" in nice red text.

ajbalazic

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 11:05

Cheers to Crashresq (Bill)! Good catch- we're all proud of you!

What a shame to steal someone else's work, but how idiotic to use someone's as unique as CharlesU's work. He's got a style his own that just can't be missed (or duplicated).

charlesu

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 19:54

CyberDyneSystems

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 20:01

I hate to be critical,. but that does sound like a cop out. He claims the whole gallery is his. Must he also do so for each individual photo? It's plain as day what he tried to do.

Belmondo

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 20:04

I hate to be critical,. but that does sound like a cop out. He claims the whole gallery is his. Must he also do so for each individual photo? It's plain as day what he tried to do.

And since when do people enter other people's photos in competitions?

You're right. It's a cop out.

waldograce

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 20:18

The photo was entered in a contest.
I'm not sure how the admins think that this guy wasn't claiming the work to be his.
Maybe they allow people to enter other people’s work (which is pretty strange.)
At least they did take prompt action once they were notified, but I think the action should have been more than just a warning.
They did ban someone else for changing the dates in the EXIF data on contest entries. To me it seems like stealing someone else’s photo is a little more serious than misrepresenting when a photo was taken.
Hopefully they’ll at least keep an eye on this guy.

jr#8

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 20:37

DP Challange got back to me and here is what they said and I'm apalled by there response. Looks like they are siding with this jerk.
Bruce,

Indeed only a warning was given due to the fact that people upload images to our site every single day that they do not own. Be it a comic strip, an animated GIF, a scanned news article, or a Photoshop'd image made up of other people's photographs. Also, *to my knowledge*, 3DsArcher never claimed to own this photograph or try to profit in any way from it.

Thanks,
Langdon

T.D.

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 20:37

Originally posted by Jackal:
A part of me wants him banned permanently. Even by IP and hopefully he has a static one.

Another part of me wants him not to be banned but to have to wear a tag under his name that says "I steal pictures from other photographers and claim them as my own" in nice red text.

I couldn't agree more! This would be a fitting outcome for such a low-life. Makes me wonder what he's compensating for, stealing someone's work and claiming it as his own. ;)

Desertraptor

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 20:39

I tried to find anything he had posted against the photo and found nothing. Having said that their system sucks as far as being user friendly.
But from what I saw he didn't say he took it but he also never denied taking it. People assumed he took it. Him allowing that assumption was wrong. That is where I see he claimed it as his. Maybe he never intended to but inadvertently did?

Maybe the truth will be told if he has the courage to come forward and appologise to Charles?

Mat Fitzsimmons

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 21:04

Wow, my level of respect for DPChallenge is pretty low right now. I hope they're not taking this view because he's a financial member.

There's a very big difference between posting someone else's photographic work in your portfolio (was it actually entered in a competition?) and posting a "comic strip, an animated GIF, a scanned news article, or a Photoshop'd image made up of other people's photographs".

If "people do it every single day", why did they warn him?

I think that's a pathetic response. Surely his intent was clear? It's certainly clear to me.

RuggerJoe

29th of January 2006 (Sun), 23:45

Perhaps the inaction/lack of sufficient action should be brought up to other photogaphers on other boards so they know what DPChallenge finds acceptable.

charlesu

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 06:12

I am pretty disappointed in their response. I think the points above pretty much spell out my thoughts as well. I cannot believe that he just says it's ok that people upload other photographer's work all the time (in violation of copyright laws).

kharr

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 09:35

Boy do I feel stupid. I went out and spent a lot of money on a new camera and lenses, have been reading many photography related books, spent way too many hours lurking through forums soaking in as much info as I can just so that I can take better pictures when all I really needed to do was just take all your pictures.

well, I'm crossing DPChallenge off my list of sites as I'd hate to find myself competing with myself someday.

Keep up the great work, Charles!

Steve Parr

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 09:42

After I first joined POTN, someone posted some landscape shots that they represented as their own. They were amazing. They were stunning. They were perfect.

They were also stock wallpaper from Windows XP.

Some folks have no shame. Sadly, it's as simple as that.

Until public floggings are legalized, banning should be the order of the day. I'm not interested in seeing him humiliated on an ongoing basis; I'd rather spend my time more constructively (that said, it would be fun, wouldn't it?).

People who do such things are people I wish to spend little time dealing with.

Dispatch and dismiss him...

Steve

chris clements

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 11:34

I think I'll send DP one of the best ones I've ever taken

jledvina

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 11:46

Just to jump onto the same wagon as everyone here, I also find the response from DPChallenge as an insult to the photography world. There is no excuse for copying someones work, copyright laws were made because of this type of person.

I just finished sending a letter to the MOD's over at DPC. I guess we will see what type of response I receive.

Keep up the great shooting Charles!!

- Joe

Belmondo

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 12:01

It would seem a relatively simple thing for them to say that any photo submitted for consideration must belong to the person doing the submitting. I guess what's obvious to us isn't necessarily obvious to someone else.

Michaelmjc

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 12:34

But, man, don't any thieves like any of my other work?? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Charles

Would it make you feel better if I take credit for some of your Brooke pictures? :D I can see why they took that pic, its one of the best pictures I've seen.

dgcorner

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 15:59

Eek. A local POTN member. :o

Sorry this has happened to yourself, Charles.

Wazza, the guy was an EX-POTN member... but I do hope that he isn't one we've met here... this is a shocker...!!!

Charles, our apologies if a fellow Kiwi did this... It isn't typical of us to do such things.

Cheers!

FlyingPete

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 17:13

He lives in Pakuranga, which is about 2km from Matt's house. :lol:

I'm the true Westy, which is 20-30km... well WEST!

Anyway, still sad to see this happen, doesn't matter who it was, was a bad act.

At least we know Charles work is great, and everyone wants a piece of it. :)

Let me see hmm 2km from Matt in Pakuranga...

...hey that is my place :eek:

dgcorner

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 20:20

Let me see hmm 2km from Matt in Pakuranga...

...hey that is my place :eek:

Moppie has been pretty quiet about this... isn't he also in the same vicinity... (j/k Moppie :) )

This guy has probably realised that he's stirred a hornet's nest! Talk about a muddied reputation :rolleyes:

charlesu

30th of January 2006 (Mon), 20:54

Just an fyi to all here. I responded to Langdon with the following:

Hi Langdon,
Thank you for removing the image. You should not have had to do that.

Here are the facts as we know them. He copied my image to his machine. He uploaded it to your site and added it to what appears to be his portfolio. This is publication and is in violation of copyright law.

There was some speculation that he also entered it into a competition there. I don't know if this is true or not but if it is, certainly makes the case of deception and copyright infringement much stronger.

It's your web page and your decision how to handle copyright violation but I think you've really let down the photographic community on this one. That sentiment is pretty consistent amongst all the folks I have heard from.

I am no legal authority (and I don't plan legal action) but I think this also leaves you and the website owner quite vulnerable when it happens again.

Regards,

Charles

I don't plan to pursue this any further but wouldn't mind if Langdon heard from a few more of you good folks. I think this should be a painful and time consuming process for him and that he needs to reconsider his handling of blatant copyright infringement.

Again, many thanks to the admins here for keeping this place clean and for having zero tolerance.

Wazza

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 02:06

That's a good response Charles, and I'm also disappointed by DPChallenge's response to the issue.

How about someone find one of the admin's own photos, and submit into the next contest. Ok, that's just stooping to a low, but makes you wonder.
:evil:

Moppie

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 05:07

If I remember rightly this isn't the first time one of your images has been taken Charles, I seem to remember last year someone claimed some of your photos, as well as others posted here by other members, were their own.

But whats really sad is this guy is a Kiwi.
Someone said he had an @xtra email?
If we can find it someone can email him, say they saw him via the many internet sites, and coax him into a meeting somewhere........ :evillol:

charlesu

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 06:07

Yeah, I have had other photos stolen in the past. Some guy was even modifying them and trying to sell them. He took them down from his site but got really nasty with me telling me to call his lawyer, etc. and that his use was not copyright infringement. Then I pasted the sections of the US Code on copyright that applied to the sitution and sent them to him. He got the point and quit talking about his lawyer.

It's amazing but the point is that you really cannot stop people from stealing your work. Short of putting in a watermark which ruins the image, I know of no way to stop it. So I just make the images as enjoyable as I can for everyone and then deal with the one-off situations like this.

In a way, it is a compliment any time someone steals a photo but I'd rather just hear it from them than see it somewhere else.

dazzlebea

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 11:16

Well, I finally heard back from an admin at that site. They are just "warning" him because the uploader never actually claimed it was his work. He only uploaded it to the site. Here is the relevant text from the admin.

While copyright infringement is a very serious issue, I'm not sure that this particular instance was an example of full fledged thievery. To my knowledge, the uploader never claimed to have actually taken the photograph, he only uploaded it to the site.

Hats off to the admins here who actuall took this as a serious issue. Thank you!

Charles

I would like to see a thief who publicly states that his goods are stolen. That statement from the DPChallenge admin is just total nonsense. All they need to do is read their own user terms, particularly point 4.2 which can be found here:

http://www.dpchallenge.com/terms.php (no copy and paste because that might be copyright infringement)

The guy violated that rule, one of the more serious ones, imo. A warning is not good enough here.

FlyingPete

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 17:42

Moral of the story, don't do dumb stuff like stealing other peoples images, I bet that has cost this guy more than he ever imagined.

People often don't think of the consequences or how small the world really is, remember everyone knows everyone through six people max. Just this morning I found out that I know iKirst's sister! Even more wierd, my wife and I share at least half out friends in common, but we never knew them at the same time!

Belmondo

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 19:39

FlyingPete

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 19:52

Such an act could conceivably expose us to liability.

Nah, we haven't heard of lawyers down this part of the world yet ;)

Pekka

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 20:10

Someone just posted the name, address, and phone number of someone other than the person involved.

It would be disastrous for everyone concerned if people started harrassing an innocent person based on information erroneously published on POTN. Such an act could conceivably expose us to liability.

Please don't attempt to publish any information beyond what has already been posted.

And I would like to add that POTN forums do not endorse or tolerate harassment of any kind. If there is reason beyond doubt to suspect someone stole your image use legal assistance to pursue the case. Publishing personal info of suspects is not allowed here. Continue this on PM if you need to.

MattL

31st of January 2006 (Tue), 20:11

Well, not wanting to incite censorwrath, Charles, You may find our online telephone book at http://www.whitepages.co.nz

[personal information deleted by Pekka]

Edit : I am, in NO way, endorsing or tolerating harrassment of ANY kid.