While starting the day with my morning coffee, imagine my surprise to find that an image of mine was lifted / grabbed / downloaded / copied or just plain stolen (again) and used without my authorization in a publication on the Thai – Burma border. The Irrawaddy (above) an English language publication in Southeast Asia used an image I made while on my off time during a humanitarian surgical mission in Mae Sot, Thailand back in the fall of 2007. I’ve just written a sternly worded letter to their photo desk, which I’m sure will go unnoticed, as I realize that this image grabbing & unauthorized use is a common practice in the business nowadays, but a simple email would’ve been nice. It’s always reassuring when a courteous editor or picture buyer takes the time to write me directly to discuss the purchase of usage rights for one of my images. This is a business after all… ~cg.
Chet Gordon resides in the lower Hudson Valley region of New York. A photojournalist for more than 25 years, he recently worked as Westchester Magazine's first photo editor, and previously was a staff photographer at four NYC metro area newspapers. He was also a photo editor at the NY Daily News for 5 years. His work has appeared in The New York Times, International Herald-Tribune, USA Today, MailOnline (UK), Army Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and Popular Photography magazines, among others. He is a career member of the National Press Photographer’s Association (NPPA), and a former board member of the NY Press Photographer’s Association (NYPPA). He served honorably as a U.S. Marine in the mid-1980's, including 2+ years stationed on Okinawa, Japan, and throughout Southeast Asia. A longtime volunteer and travel enthusiast, he accompanies several humanitarian aid clients on their international disaster relief and medical missions. Since 1997, he's worked in several African countries, the Middle East, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, as well as Afghanistan, Haiti, the Russian Federation, and Thailand. He routinely mentors young photographers looking to break into the industry and vacations in Bermuda and Kenya.
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