My photo was stolen and used in a Malaysian stamp?

liquidstone · Oct 29, 2013

Thanks to a concerned stamp collector from the UK who emailed me the information. It seems somebody had stolen one of my photos of a Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach), then used it erroneously as a photo of a White-fronted Falconet in a stamp issued by Malaysia!

Here's a link to my photo as appearing in my website, and a version is embedded here:

Posted below is a poster of the Malaysian stamp as posted at Facebook as well as comparison crops from the poster and my photo.

Whoever did this has committed two grave wrongs:

1. Stealing my photo and using it without permission; and
2. Serious ignorance, as the White-fronted Falconet looks very different from a Long-tailed Shrike.

I’m sure the Malaysian Government wouldn’t knowingly sanction this despicable act (which should be very embarrassing to them), and I hope they will investigate who did this and rectify the error.

Romy Ocon
Wild Bird Photographer
Manila, Philippines, October 30, 2013

--
Romy
PHILIPPINE WILD BIRDS (Over 260 species captured in habitat, and counting.)
www.romyocon.net

Martin.au · Oct 29, 2013

Quite some heavy photoshopping too, if that is indeed the case.

Gearóid Ó Laoi Garry Lee · Oct 29, 2013

I would not be at all certain that it's your photo. It looks subtly different..

liquidstone · Oct 29, 2013

Gearóid Ó Laoi said:
I would not be at all certain that it's your photo. It looks subtly different..

If you look at the larger version of the crops, a lot of details match (position of the claws, feather detail, beak blemishes, etc.). Also note the bright spot in the abdominal area where they cloned out my watermark.

--
Romy
PHILIPPINE WILD BIRDS (Over 260 species captured in habitat, and counting.)
www.romyocon.net

Mike_PEAT · Oct 30, 2013

Other than the species of bird being the same, nothing is the same, not even the angle of the bird.

If you want to compare the two paste them onto separate layers and use the opacity to see how different the two images are.

liquidstone · Oct 30, 2013

Mike_PEAT said:
Other than the species of bird being the same, nothing is the same, not even the angle of the bird.

If you want to compare the two paste them onto separate layers and use the opacity to see how different the two images are.

--
Romy
PHILIPPINE WILD BIRDS (Over 260 species captured in habitat, and counting.)
www.romyocon.net

Martin.au · Oct 30, 2013

liquidstone said:
Mike_PEAT said:

Other than the species of bird being the same, nothing is the same, not even the angle of the bird.

If you want to compare the two paste them onto separate layers and use the opacity to see how different the two images are.

Click to expand...

--
Romy
PHILIPPINE WILD BIRDS (Over 260 species captured in habitat, and counting.)
www.romyocon.net

All sorted. Video done. I can prove it's the same image.

Will upload video link momentarily.

ZorSy · Oct 30, 2013

Yes, it is your photo. They replaced the branch and rotated the tail, but it is the same bird.

PS blending as difference shows almost nothing, even background is essentially the same (post processed but the same) - it is crude comparison and I left slight offset, but good enough to prove the point.

Now what? Only if you live in Malaysia...

hdr · Oct 30, 2013

There can be two possibilities, viz:-

1) Image A is modded to appear like image B

2) Image B is being modded to appear like image A

There is only one way to prove which is which, and that is for either party to be able to produce the original image shot with the camera.

But in the event that both are able to produce it, (which IMHO is unlikely in this particular case), the matter becomes complicated.

Martin.au · Oct 30, 2013

Martin.au said:
liquidstone said:

Mike_PEAT said:

Other than the species of bird being the same, nothing is the same, not even the angle of the bird.

If you want to compare the two paste them onto separate layers and use the opacity to see how different the two images are.

Click to expand...

--
Romy
PHILIPPINE WILD BIRDS (Over 260 species captured in habitat, and counting.)
www.romyocon.net

Click to expand...

All sorted. Video done. I can prove it's the same image.

Will upload video link momentarily.

And here's the video

steephill · Oct 30, 2013

http://m.dpreview.com/news/2013/09/29/fair-use-sculptor-gets-650-000-from-photograph-of-his-work

--
Steve

www.pbase.com/steephill

liquidstone · Oct 30, 2013

hdr said:
There can be two possibilities, viz:-

1) Image A is modded to appear like image B

2) Image B is being modded to appear like image A

There is only one way to prove which is which, and that is for either party to be able to produce the original image shot with the camera.

But in the event that both are able to produce it, (which IMHO is unlikely in this particular case), the matter becomes complicated.

carl english · Oct 30, 2013

I see 2 different images, sorry. I have Bird images going back 60yrs and majority are very similar regarding position of subject.

oldtimes · Oct 30, 2013

I agree this is the same image. There is no way foot positioning + individual coat markings could be the same between two birds in different settings taken at different occasions.

Here is your case: It would have to be the same bird sitting with the same foot positions in the same lighting taken from the same angle, with the same fov by a different photographer at some other time.. impossible.

If the stamp is already in use /printed etc you should be able to cash in. Talk to a international rights lawyer, or even better, contact your countries trade department.

oldtimes · Oct 30, 2013

Mike_PEAT said:
Other than the species of bird being the same, nothing is the same, not even the angle of the bird.

If you want to compare the two paste them onto separate layers and use the opacity to see how different the two images are.

I disagree - all they have done is angle the tail in a attempt to forge the original image. Copy the body in layers and compare at any length. Identical bird, identical light situation.

ZorSy · Oct 30, 2013

carl english said:
I see 2 different images, sorry. I have Bird images going back 60yrs and majority are very similar regarding position of subject.

but what are the chances the exact same patterned bird of the exactly the same proportions/size would take the same angle of the body to the head, sit on the branch with exactly the same spread of legs and then TWO different photographer to get exactly the same angle at which the photo of these "two" birds were taken with the same background pattern? I reckon getting the Powerball lottery win is a sure shot compared to that....

hdr · Oct 30, 2013

carl english said:
I see 2 different images, sorry. I have Bird images going back 60yrs and majority are very similar regarding position of subject.

Obviously you are seeing two different images here, as one is highly likely to have been modded from the other. Unless one is familiar with modern software like Photoshop, one will hardly suspect anything amisss when shown two apparently different images for comparison.

Like I said, if the other party is unable to produce the original image taken with the camera, then the suspect image is highly likely to have been modded using the genuine image as a 'template'.

IMHO, this is a clear-cut case.

Martin.au · Oct 30, 2013

carl english said:
I see 2 different images, sorry. I have Bird images going back 60yrs and majority are very similar regarding position of subject.

Check the video.

Doug J · Oct 30, 2013

Martin.au said:
Martin.au said:

all sorted. Video done. I can prove it's the same image.

Will upload video link momentarily.

Click to expand...

And here's the video

Very compelling.

Best regards,
Doug

quezra · Oct 30, 2013

Shame on the Malaysian post. It's already hard enough to 'know' if your photos are stolen and harder still to make a compelling case. I hope you can find a way to get reparation.

My photo was stolen and used in a Malaysian stamp?

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