Cameron Laird - Photographer

A byline won’t pay for my groceries!

Cameron — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:08:46 +0000

Note: Update to this blog post at the bottom…

A funny email exchange yesterday between a rural Australian newspaper and myself that I thought I’d share with anyone who may care to read. If you’re a keen amateur photographer or a professional with no business sense be wary of newspapers offering a byline as payment on their belief that it will act as ‘publicity’ for you.

Hi Cameron

Thanks again for your help. This is the url that I found the pic – http://www.cameronlaird.com/keyword/20060901%200764#92346091_28iMp

Like I mentioned it was taken in 2006 so if you happen to have a more updated one of him that we could use, that’d be great. If not this image where he’s playing for the East Tigers in Townsville Qld will be fine. And of course we will attribute the image to you.

Cheers

Hi ———,

Thanks for your email. I didn’t realise that ————- was a Rural Press newspaper, a wholly owned part of Fairfax. As of yesterday Fairfax (FXJ) had a market capitalisation of 1,790 million dollars. That is a LOT, LOT, LOT more than mine and the only way I will ever get closer to that valuation is if I get paid for my photos.

How about I give you a discount and sell you the photo for 1/10,000,000 of the value of Fairfax? $179.00 (+GST). My normal price is $250.00 (+GST)

Thanks in advance, I’ll wait to hear back from you.

Cameron

Hi Cameron

I totally understand your reasons and need to charge for the publication of your photos and I will put forward your request to my manager, however the problem is we need to photo today (for tomorrow’s paper) and the whole process of going through management may take too long. And I can’t promise anything – we don’t usually pay for photos but rather we give the photographer publicity.

I’ll let you know if my manager gets back to me in time.

No problem ———, I’ve been working in the media industry for 15 years – I understand how slow the pencil pushers are. ’Publicity’ might be handy for budding amateur photographers in the —– area but as I’m a professional and about 3000km from you I can’t see what good ‘publicity’ in — —– ——- is for me.

Here’s a tip that is always fun – Wander in to your COS or editor and say “I need to run a photo of Luke Branighan and a professional photographer from Townsville has a great one that he is willing to sell me for only $179 which is actually a good discount”. I’m willing to bet his response will be something along the lines of “F*ck him, we don’t pay for photos” or “Tell him the most we’ll pay is $50″. You can then respond with this – “He is willing to give us the photo for free if we give him a byline but it has to read – “We shafted Cameron Laird for this free photo”

Let me know the response.

Cheers,

Cameron

I didn’t hear back from her.

UPDATE:

It appears that the newspaper didn’t use my photo which is both good and bad. Good because they didn’t use a photo without permission and bad because it also means they didn’t use my suggested byline of ”We shafted Cameron Laird for this free photo”. That would have been a real shining beacon in my career if they had!

Whilst they didn’t use my photo without permission they have found another photo of Luke Branighan. Interestingly though – it seems to have proof or copyright markings on the image. I’m not accusing them of anything, just surprised that they would run a watermarked image when they ~~have~~ should have the rights to the unwatermarked image.

Here’s a screengrab from their site, no idea what ran in the actual hardcopy.. (click on the image for a fullsize version)

Natural bodies on display at the 2011 INBA Tropix Titles

Cameron — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 06:30:52 +0000

Yesterday I was commissioned to photograph the 2011 INBA Tropix Titles held at RSL Stadium in Townsville. I’m not exactly a supremely fit specimen so being around all those buff girls & guys made me realise that while I have been busy ‘body-building’ I must have gotten the architecture all wrong!

Overall mens winner Rob Schmidt with the 2011 INBA Mr Tropix trophy

Feel free to head over to my website gallery at http://www.cameronlaird.com/INBATropix to have a look at more than 1200 photos that will possibly and most probably make you feel like a fatty!

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A big beautiful Greek wedding

Cameron — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:56:57 +0000

A wonderful Greek wedding on Sunday – it’s been many many years since I’ve photographed inside an orthodox church and I forgot just how great it was. Truly stunning and very intimate. Riss and Chuck (Marissa and Chris), my bride and groom, were the perfect wedding clients, very easy-going, great to photograph and best of all, a genuinely lovely couple.

[Show as slideshow]

Another perfect day for a Townsville wedding!

Cameron — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:05:19 +0000

What’s not to love about winter weddings in Townsville? Temperature hovers at about 23 degrees during the day, perfect blue skies and best of all – NO sweating!

Yesterday was the wedding of Townsville final year photography student Naomi Eardman and her fiance Jackson Mallory. A beautiful garden affair with the reception outdoors at a beachside surf lifesaving club. A great day!

[Show as slideshow]

Stung by a box jellyfish and he lived to tell the tale!

Cameron — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:06:36 +0000

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to meet and photograph a VERY lucky young Townsville boy who survived a sting from a deadly box jellyfish. Osborne Kewe, 7 was swimming with his sisters at Townsville’s Palleranda beach when the deadly marine stinger locked on to his arms and legs. Osborne was pulled screaming from the water by sister Desiree, 12 and was soon unconscious. A passing nurse administered CPR and brought Osborne back to life, not once but twice. Once paramedics arrived the nurse disappeared without the Kewe family finding her identity. Townsville journalist Roanne Johnson found the mystery nurse and she has appeared on the front of the Townsville Bulletin here.

Osborne’s eldest sister Tracey shot video of the incident and gave me a copy to edit together. I’ve attached it below along with a pic of Osborne and sister Desiree.

Osborne Kewe, 7 with sister Desiree, 12

Click here to view the embedded video.

Awww, this cuddly wombat just wants a hug…

Cameron — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:30:02 +0000

Yesterday I was commissioned to photograph Tonka, the 2yr old wombat at Billabong Sanctuary who has been diagnosed with depression following the sanctuary’s closure after Cyclone Yasi. Seems Tonka has been missing all the cuddles and hugs he’s used to and has dropped 20% of his body weight. Well, a bit of shameless PR and the reopening of the park on Saturday should solve that issue – Tonka won’t know what hit him when the kids start arriving in droves at the weekend!

Hello everyone! - Billabong Sanctuary animal curator Vince Toohey with 2yr old wombat Tonka - Photo: Cameron Laird (Ph: 0418 238811)

Let's play! - Billabong Sanctuary animal curator Vince Toohey with 2yr old wombat Tonka - Photo: Cameron Laird (Ph: 0418 238811)

After a hards day's play nothing beats a nap - Billabong Sanctuary animal curator Vince Toohey with 2yr old wombat Tonka - Photo: Cameron Laird (Ph: 0418 238811)

How to upgrade to iOS 4.3 for early adopters

Cameron — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:02:12 +0000

UPDATE: iOS 4.3 is now available as a general release. Plug your iOS device into iTunes and check for updates.

Apple has released the gold master of iOS 4.3 so it’s easy for anyone to upgrade now ahead of Apple’s official general public release. I’ve put together this easy guide below to help you out.

Upgrade your iTunes to 10.2. It’s available now, just open iTunes and check for an update if you aren’t already on 10.2.
Download the iOS 4.3 Gold Master for your device – iPhone 4 (link), iPhone 3GS (link), iPod Touch 4G (link), iPod Touch 3G (link), iPad 3G & WiFi (link)
Connect and sync your iOS device via USB and make sure to do a backup
In iTunes hold Alt (shift on PC) and click on the ‘Restore’ button then point it to one of the Gold Master files you’ve just downloaded.
Wait 10-15 minutes while it restores to the new iOS 4.3
iTunes will then recognise it as a new device. Restore from the backup you made at step 3 and you’ll be back in business just as before but now sporting a spanking new iOS 4.3!
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Cam shoots Crocky Balboa

Cameron — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:30:34 +0000

Last Thursday I travelled to Weipa on Australia’s Cape York to photograph Eddie Sigai who amazingly survived a vicious attack from a saltwater crocodile. Eddie had just got out of hospital after suffering terrible wounds to his hand and back. Despite this he was really great to chat with and photograph. Eddie’s the star of Weipa at the moment and has been tagged “Crocky Balboa” and “The new Mick Dundee” by papers around Australia and the world.

Here’s a look at how my pics appeared in Sunday papers around Australia including the Sunday Mail (QLD), The Sunday Mail (SA), Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC) as well as a few news websites around the world.

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Blackhawk tour of Cyclone Yasi damaged NQ

Cameron — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 05:59:45 +0000

Yesterday I travelled with Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan, Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig and my old Walkley mate Member for Kennedy Bob Katter around areas devastated by Cyclone Yasi. We travelled to Ingham, Cardwell, Tully, El Arish, Cowley and Innisfail. The power of Yasi was incredible but the resilience of north Queenslanders from towns like Cardwell, Tully and Mission Beach was even more amazing.

I shot an iPhone video on the Blackhawk ride home from just north of Townsville through to landing at Townsville RAAF Air Movements. Some snaps from the day are tossed in as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Many of my pics will probably never see the light of day so here’s a few fyi.

[Show as slideshow]

Amazing high resolution photos of Queensland floods!

Cameron — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 05:13:51 +0000

Nearmap.com was commissioned by the Queensland government and Brisbane city council to shoot updated high resolution photos of the Brisbane flooding. These photos were taken on the 13th January 2011 at the height of the flooding using specialised high-resolution aerial cameras mounted on light planes. Click the links below to see the photos. Don’t forget to try the slider at the top of the screen to see the before and after photos!

Flooding on Ipswich Rd, Rocklea from nearmap.com

Suncorp Stadium - http://cl.ly/4338453w1P3E2q1Z273S

Brisbane Markets at Rocklea - http://cl.ly/3H2N2S3w3W031M3Q0U3m

Brisbane Corso, Fairfield - http://cl.ly/332a0T1w1s313n023M0t

Southbank - http://cl.ly/2t1F0p1z0R2d2O2q0F0X

Riverwalk - http://cl.ly/1Y1B1m2d0E3K401c1Q3j

Nine, Seven and Sky News at Kangaroo Point cliffs - http://cl.ly/083j0l243G2T393K1n0o

Flooded Vision building site in Brisbane city - http://cl.ly/2y3n1b1E3U3G411E1e3X

Ferry terminal under the Story Bridge showing the power of the flooded river - http://cl.ly/0T2m1e0u401p161b3O2E

Dry dock - http://cl.ly/0H1C1A3M0x0j05373324

The Island party barge - http://cl.ly/2j1h2N2T422V0M2w3c0v

Queensland Tennis Centre at Tennyson - http://cl.ly/2X0P2z131F2j3L3M0g0w