stefan radtke | studiostefan radtke | studio -

Why it might be dangerous to photograph this chair!

Stefan — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:00:47 +0000

I love that chair, but you better think twice before you take a picture of this object, or any other designer furniture.

On Jan 23rd the British Journal of Photography was reporting on a court ruling in France which puts a heavy fine on Getty for licensing images for commercial use that include designer furniture of Le Corbusier. According to the filed complaint the Le Corbusier estate was demanding 10,000 EUR per infringement per day. This is a case where photographer’s copyright and designer’s copyright clash.

The ruling says that the intellectual property right of the furniture designer should be protected, unless the object is just an accessory in the image sold. But when is it merely an accessory? Each court might have a different position on that. Regardless Getty advised then all their contributors to remove any images that contain objects of Le Corbusier, Ame Jacobsen, Eero Aarnio and Mies van der Rohe. I know a few iconic objects by these designers, but by far not all of their work. That’s when it get’s tricky.

Today Getty went even further informing me, and all the other Getty contributors, that I should contact them immediately if any of my images “might possibly include ANY designer furniture”.

Copyright protection is an important instrument in protecting the work of creative people. Nevertheless I believe it also has to adapt to the rapid changes in how we communicate. Apple could possibly file a similar complaint based on the iconic design of their products. In any case, it will make photography more complicated, and besides model and property releases I now have to look on location at any object in the frame twice to see if it could be a designer piece that is protected by intellectual property rights.

Album Art – Joe Delia and The Thieves

Stefan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:40:00 +0000

During my last shoot for the Bob Woodruff Foundation in November I met Joe Delia and his wife PJ. Joe just released his new album SMOKE AND MIRRORS and my picture below of him during the event at the Beacon became part of the album art. Go Joe!

Work in a book

Stefan — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:57:37 +0000

My architectural work was recently published in an interior design book called BLACK & WHITE by Celerie Kemble. The work came to me through Jennifer Colman and interior designer in New York City. Great stuff.

Cover Story in Property & Yacht

Stefan — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:33:19 +0000

The winter double issue of Virgin Islands Property & Yacht will have a cover story with my architectural shots in it.

A PDF (5.1MB) of the article can be download here.

Why didn’t Mona Lisa say “cheese”?

Stefan — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:06:23 +0000

The absurdity of “say cheese” has been a pet peeve of mine forever. Meant as a saying that is supposed to make a subject smile. Common that’s all you’ve got. Cheese? Anyway, whatever expression follows the “cheese” is not real, it is meaningless, it is cheese. The German word for cheese is “Kaese” and it is commonly used as a metaphor for “nonsense”. It is!

I stumbled upon a blog entry by Rodney Smith who I need to quote, since I couldn’t say it any better:

The truth is no portrait of substance has people smiling. Look at the history of painting, Rembrandt, Titian, Goya, Velasquez, Sargent, Vermeer, DaVinci, etc., the subjects gaze to the viewer is neutral at best, neither inviting nor forbidding. It is there for the viewer to see and feel.

Smiling is like much of American popular culture, superficial and misleading. It is part of our vernacular, but it should be expunged in photographs.

Laughter is real. Anger, joy, resentment, frustration are powerful and meaningful sentiments to be expressed. But because of this people do not want to share what lies within, so instead let’s lie without with a smile.

via Rodney Smith

Please, let’s say good by to cheese.

Stand Up For Heroes Event

Stefan — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:57:42 +0000

Last night the Bob Woodruff Foundation, in collaboration with the New York Comedy Festival, held their 5th annual Stand Up for Heroes charity event, presenting a star filled evening with performances by Ricky Gervais, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Stewart and Bruce Springsteen together with the Max Weinberg Band. The foundation supports wounded service men and women and their families.

Lee and Bob Woodruff together with President Bill Clinton opened the evening.

And Bruce Springteen rocked the Beacon Theater for a incredible finale.

More images of that evening are here.

Executive Portraits

Stefan — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:12:53 +0000

Just finished another executive portrait shoot at the studio.

The Caribbean Collection

Stefan — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:58:17 +0000

I have been wanting to create a Caribbean collection of images that I have shot over the last few years traveling there. These images are on my Photoshelter site available for licensing, print and download.

Anyway …. Photoshelter just announced a bump up in their storage package for the standard account. Now it’s 60GB with all the bells and whistles for $329 a year.

Stand Up For Heroes / November 9th, 2011

Stefan — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:52:16 +0000

It is this time of the year again. The Bob Woodruff Foundation is doing their 5th annual fundraiser Stand Up for Heroes in New York on November 9th, 2011 with a star studded ensemble of musicians and comedians. The list so far includes Jim Gaffigan, Ricky Gervais, Jon Stewart, Bruce Springsteen and further surprise guests. The proceeds from this event will support US soldiers who suffer from traumatic brain injury.

This will also be an anniversary for me. I had the pleasure of photographing the event for the foundation since it’s launch. Looking forward to seeing you November 9th!

Portfolio on the iPad / FOLIOBOOK

Stefan — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:50:50 +0000

I have dragged my feet a little bit on creating a portfolio presentation on the iPad. There are a whole bunch of programs out there. Unfortunately you never know who is writing the reviews on iTunes. Is it the developer praising the app or is the competition who is dishing it. After a few missteps I settled for FOLIOBOOK. Is it perfect? No! Does it do the job? Yes!

The main issues I found so far are that my images come out somehow 1/2 stop darker and they are extremely sharp. I will have to do some adjustments on the selects when exporting from Lightroom.

What I like about it in particular is that you can easily change the portfolio from a commercial to a fine art presentation. Meaning you can add galleries and hide galleries on the fly; or rearrange the sequence of images.

Is it for everybody? Probably not, but it works for me.