Members Stories: Boris goes for a run…

In the first post of what will be a regular feature of BPPA Members telling the story behind a photo, BPPA Member Peter Macdiarmid, photographer London News Pictures, talks about …. Boris goes for a run ….
It’s not often that a press photograph leads the news agenda, but it does happen now and again.
I have been working as a press photographer for 31 years starting out on local newspapers in south London then progressing to The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters and 10 years as senior news photographer at Getty Images. Currently I work at London News Pictures, covering news and politics.
For me news photography is a passion and I put a lot of time and effort into looking for different images that catch the reader’s attention and illustrate a story in a unique, and hopefully original way. Sometimes this approach can make an ordinary image really stand out.
With this in mind I went looking for former foreign secretary Boris Johnson at his Oxfordshire home during last week’s Conservative Party Conference. Thinking that Boris would leave his house and head up the M40 to Birmingham for the second day of conference I positioned myself in the road outside by his driveway. Usually Boris will give a happy wave to any reporters and photographers as he gets into his car, but today I was on my own.
A short while after the sunrise began to cut through the October chill I spotted Boris leaving for an early morning run wearing his usual flowery shorts. I managed to capture a cheery wave before he disappeared down the lane that leads to the farmland surrounding his house. Normal practice, when there is a group of press doorstepping Boris, is to wait for his return and photograph him running up the lane back home, but today I decided to make use of the golden hour sunrise.
Having not ventured out into the nearby fields previously, I had to make an educated guess as to his return route. I located a spot that would enable me to photograph him crossing a path edged with long grass between two ploughed fields before turning left towards me.
I had guessed correctly and a few minutes later Boris emerged from the woodland leading to the path. He spotted me and waved. Sometimes he waves without looking up, and on this occasion he was also half raising his other arm for balance, all of which made a rather unusual image. He then jogged past me on his way home.

Peter Macdiarmid, photographer London News Pictures
© Licensed to London News Pictures. 01/10/2018. Thame, UK. Boris Johnson waves at photographers as he runs near his Oxfordshire home. The former foreign secretary is due to attend Conservative Party Conference this week. Photo credit: Peter Macdiarmid/LNP

Rather pleased that I had found a different way of photographing the MP that was the talking point of the Conservative Party Conference, I set off back to the car to edit and transmit my images.
Within a couple of hours the images started to appear online, but with a headline that was markedly different to my caption ‘Boris Johnson waves as he runs through fields near his Oxfordshire home’. The Mirror online headline was ‘Boris Johnson commits greatest trolling in world history by running through a FIELD OF WHEAT’…. referring to the Prime Minister’s confession that the ‘naughtiest thing she has ever done’ was to ‘run through a field of wheat as a child’
My images of a man out jogging in the morning sunshine began to take on a life of their own. I spent the rest of the day fielding calls from ITV, Channel 5, BBC TV, CNN International and German TV asking for the picture for news bulletins. Multiple newspaper online websites were publishing my pictures and it was being talked about on radio bulletins by lunchtime. That day’s Evening Standard ran it on page one and another inside.
Tuesday’s papers ran the image across four front pages and on inside pages too.

I have received a few phone calls asking me if it was a stunt – as you can see – it wasn’t.
Peter Macdiarmid
London News Pictures

The BPPA Bookshop – NOW OPEN

We are getting loads of requests for copies of the Assignments catalogues – way more than expected – we’re really pleased that it is so popular!
To make it a bit easier to deal with the demand we have just added a “Bookshop” to the BPPA website where you can buy the books.
IT’S OPEN NOW!!!
For those of you that haven’t seen the Assignments 2017 catalogues they feature every picture that made it onto the wall, printed one picture to an A4 page, in full colour. It’s a pretty amazing collection of the year’s best pictures.
Every picture entered into assignments makes an appearance as part of the “contact sheet” and gets a name check!
We’ve done one for last year too…
Because last year was the first time we had done “Assignments” in it’s current form we weren’t able to do a catalogue to go along side the exhibition. That seemed a bit unfair on the photographers who entered and got pictures used last year – so we decided to put that right by doing a retrospective “Assignments 2016” book.
Stocks really are limited – so place your orders now!
Click here for The BPPA Bookshop

Assignments 2017 – IT’S OPEN!!

The British Press Photographers’ Association is pleased to announce that ASSIGNMENTS 2017 is now accepting entries.
There are a few things different from last year so please do read the new rules and how to enter – we are realists though – we know you will probably skip to the “how do I enter” bit without going through the rest of it.
So here is a very brief rundown..
1, You have to be a member of the BPPA – if you aren’t you can join now.
2, It will cost £2 per picture to submit images, up to a maximum of 5 images. Those selected will be asked to pay a fee of £50 per picture towards the cost of framing (capped at £100 max). A Paypal request for payment will be sent to the email address you submit your pictures from once we have received the files (Sorry – we have to do this to pay for the exhibition – we aren’t making a profit or being paid to do this.)
3, The curators can’t enter so there is no risk of fixing.
4, No trying to nobble the curators – they are independent.
5, No doctoring pictures
6, Its your copyright – but we need to be able to use the images for the exhibition to work.
7, If you don’t want us to use your pictures on social media thats cool – just say so when you enter.
8, Read the tech specs and entry procedure bit
9, Deadline is midnight on 31th of August 2017

Click here for the rules and entry procedures

It’s Bigger.. It’s Better… It’s Back!!!

After the phenomenal success of last year’s ‘Assignments’ exhibition the British Press Photographers’ Association are pleased announce that IT’S BACK!!!
Not only is it back – but it’s bigger and better this year!
Assignments 2017 will go on display from 12th – 16th of October 2017 as part of PHOTOBLOCK Continue reading

Why is the DACS vote important?

 
By now all in the DACS Payback scheme should have received their email prompting, expecting you to vote Yes for the CLA’s ECL.
For What? CLA = Copyright Licensing Agency, ECL = Extended Collective Licensing.
So, again, What? Today the CLA issues collective licences for ( amongst other things ) photocopying, DACS gets a cut from them, we then get our cut from DACS.
But what does this new “Extended” mean? Answer – that the CLA would then be able to exercise the rights of all photographers, for evermore, even if they have not agreed to give the CLA these powers.
This would be a dramatic, permanent and in effect irrevocable change to our sole right to license our own pictures.
So, exactly what rights would the CLA and DACS remove from our control?
They are not telling. Nowhere in this email or even in their FAQ’s do they give a straight answer to this question.
All you get before scrolling down to the point where you are expected to vote Yes is this thoroughly disingenuous, bald, don’t you bother your little heads about this statement:
“ The CLA operating an ECL will not have any direct impact on how DACS currently operates Payback”.
Currently? What about the future? This is not the annual deal you sign with DACS. This is forever. So, what exactly is this deal?
You’d better read it carefully before you sign a blank cheque. They’ve buried the small print very deep, but it can be found, and here it is. You grant them ‘secondary’ uses as follows:
“ Secondary uses include the uses currently licensed by the CLA for the photocopying, scanning, printing and digital re-use and communication of works that are part of composite works, like books and magazines, and also licences governing document delivery services; the uses made under the educational recording licences currently operated by ERA and uses made under cable retransmission; but also international uses of works remunerated through levy systems etc.”
What kind of contract is this? ‘Include’ ? What else do they/will they have in mind? These are not unintelligent people. They are capable of writing a clear English sentence. This vagueness is quite deliberate. Of course we all understand and accept, welcome, collective licensing of photocopying. For most of us that is what DACS is for, has always done, because it is quite impractical for us to deal with this directly, or at all. But look what’s next…
“digital re-use and communication of works that are part of composite works, like books and magazines”
Let me paraphrase. Digital re-use and communication of pictures in books and magazines. I hope that has woken you up. This is frightening.
We are now clearly talking about Primary, not just Secondary rights here.
The principle should be clear. They should only collect collectively what we cannot collect individually. That is what this deal should say. But it doesn’t. So I’m voting NO.
Which reminds me of an extraordinary statement at a British Library conference on Mass Digitisation I attended in July last year. DACS representatives let slip they had been discussing with libraries/museums about the possibility of issuing them blanket licences to put all their pictures online!
I have already had discussions with institutions about putting some of my pictures online. Identifiable pictures, identifiable and contactable author – these were not discussions about secondary licensing. These were discussions about my primary rights.
If this deal goes through they may not even need to pick up the phone.
We are not supposed to worry because if the CLA gets their ECL we have the right to opt out.
Really? How? Again, nowhere are we told. Do we just give our names? Are we expected to notify the CLA individually about hundreds of thousands of pictures? Topped up every week? And how would the CLA tell those to whom they issue licences that our pictures are excluded?
If they have answers to these questions they should have been there on the page before the prompt to vote. And if they don’t – this scheme should not go ahead at all, and we should not be voting on it.
As I said, I will be voting No. A clear majority is all they need, so if you feel the same, please do not abstain but vote too. And do check if your agency is voting/ has already voted on your behalf.

DACS – It's your money – Act Now

Every year The Design and Artists’ Copyright Society (DACS) distributes the fees paid by libraries and schools and so forth for copying copyright work – including photographs.
Basically that means they licence secondary uses of your work that you couldn’t possibly deal with on a day to day basis – and you are entitled to a share of the income! There have been changes to the scheme this year that are too tortuous to explain here – but the crux is that the usual deadline of 30th September has been moved to Monday May 1st.

THATS NEXT MONDAY!!

The new system wants you to file a complete list of every book or magazine publication you have ever had – which is confusing lots of people. IGNORE THAT.
You can still enter details of just three publications from magazines and qualify for around £700! That’s not three publications this year – that is three publications in your whole career. The same applies to uses in books.

BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT NOW!!

If you’ve done it before, it takes about five or ten minutes to re-do. If you’re new to it, it’ll probably take about fifteen or twenty. Thats maybe around £700 for half an hours work – the best job you will get this year!!

DO IT NOW!!!

www.dacs.org.uk

The AGM 2017

The date for the BPPA AGM is fast approaching – May 4th 2017 – PLEASE COME ALONG!!
It has been a good year for the BPPA – The highlight was definitely the “Assignments” exhibition – with lots of other good stuff going on behind the scenes! It would be great to see as many of you as possible on the evening for a pint and a chat about what the association has been up to – and what we hope to achieve in the coming year. You don’t even have to be a member to come along and take part in the discussion. In particular it would be great to see as many younger members and women photographers as possible – to move away from the “old geezers” image.
We are hoping to make it a little more streamlined this year by producing an “annual report” for members to read beforehand – hopefully cutting down on the boring stuff and leaving more time for a beer and general discussion of things photographic. A copy will be made available on the members facebook page in the next day or two, and the agenda at the end of this week.

PLEASE GET INVOLVED!!

If you would like to get more involved with making things happen we would love to have you! Just email [email protected] with a short message outlining why you want to be on the board and what you hope to achieve in the next year and we’ll get back to you with more details.
Likewise if anyone wishes to stand for the “officer” roles then they should declare their candidacy now.
The officers are currently;
Chair – Chris Eades
Chief Executive – Neil Turner
Deputy – Andrew Baker
Deputy – Kelvin Bruce
Web – Jamie Lorriman
Treasurer – Tim Bishop
Officer – Spencer Griffiths
Officer – Joanne Davidson
If anyone wishes to stand for these roles they need to give notice by Friday midnight – in order to give us time to organise an election. Likewise if there are any resolutions for the AGM that you wish to table please could you let Chris have them by Friday 28th.
Finally thank you to everyone who has put in so much effort in the last year both in the spotlight and behind the scenes to make this such a good year for the BPPA. Hopefully next year will be even better – and we hope to see you all for a pint on May 4th to discuss how to make this happen.
Where and When?
The AGM will be held at The Hoop and Grapes pub, Farringdon Street, London from 7.30pm on the 4th of May 2017.
If you have never been, you can find it at:
80 Farringdon St, London EC4A 4BL
Parking nearby is limited but there’s plenty of public transport in the area.
 

Photography is not harassment

 
This is an open letter to the ITV management who have promoted their programme “Tonight: Harassment Uncovered” which, in places, confuses photography with sexual harassment. The programme aired at 7.30pm on the 23rd of February 2017
Dear ITV
Professional photographers are against any and all harassment of people going about their private and lawful business. To suggest or imply anything else would be disingenuous at best and libellous at worst. Street photography is a legitimate and entirely honourable form of documentary photography practised the world over.
Should any individual use this or any other art form as a cloak to hide their illegal activities then that is an issue that should be part of a Police investigation and not an excuse to demonise an entire genre of documentary photography and film-making.
The laws already exist to stop harassment and stalking and a blanket ban on any and all photography or filming without permission (amateur or professional, it matters not) would be to the detriment of society as a whole.
The BPPA

New discounts for Members

One of the questions we get asked a lot by prospective members is “Why should I be a member of the BPPA – I already have a press card – what other benefits are there?”
It’s a fair question.
We’ve brought in the “Assignments” exhibition which recieved great reviews and seemed to go down well with members – but we definitely need more tangible benefits.
There are some pretty decent members offers and discounts – twenty percent off hire and own brand gear (along with free sensor cleans) at Calumet, Insurance deals with Aaduki, money off Paramo winter clothing, Photomechanic, Tower Bridge Studio hire and Batteryforce products – but we want to improve on these.
So we are really pleased to announce that we have just secured a twenty percent discount on annual subscriptions to Readly – the online magazine site.
For those of you that don’t know Readly, it brings together a huge range of magazines on one site – allowing you to browse current and back issues on line.
Celeb mags, Music mags, Lifestyle mags, Motoring mags and even Photography mags – way more than we can list here. The best thing is to have a look at their titles here
Now – you can read all these for just £76.70 per year – thats a twenty percent discount with your BPPA membership.
Whether you are looking to see what got used from last weeks premiere in OK magazine, want to read a review of the latest Fuji in Amateur Photographer or simply want to flick through Mac World while on a doorstep they are all there.
And of course it’s super useful for doing your invoicing and DACS!
We are really pleased to be able to add this to our members discounts – and hopefully have some more offers to announce shortly.
To make it even easier to claim these discounts details can now be accessed via our new Members Offers page

Assignments 2016: The Photographs

The wait is over. If you couldn’t make it to the Old Truman Brewery this month or if you just want to see it all over again,

CLICK HERE for Assignment 2016: The BPPA Exhibition

Thanks must go to all those members who rolled up their sleeves and covered themselves (and some walls) in paint, to our friends at Fixation who helped us fund this year’s show, and also our fabulous printer Duncan Phillips and amazing framer Daniel Gibson.
Now, who’s ready for Assignments 2017?