Fairford Air Show 2019 New T&C's

[Mr Standfast 199]

 

I'm off to the flying in day at Fairford Airshow next week. I thought I'd read the T&C's and I saw this change for 2019.

 

• 7. The Ticket Holder shall not without the Organisers' prior written consent sell, license, or otherwise exploit, or attempt to exploit, any material whether written or in the form of digital or photographic film, sound, video including livestreaming or other recording or computer software obtained or made at the Showground or within the Park & View areas.

 

So, with fingers crossed, I emailed asking permision to take photographs for a stock photo service.

 

This is the reply I got:-

 

Thank you for your enquiry. We are more than happy for you to take photos for a photo stock agency.
Kind regards
Richard Arquati

 

Thank you Fairford!

 

 

[Harry Harrison 147]

15 minutes ago, Mr Standfast said:

We are more than happy for you to take photos for a photo stock agency.

Great result - well if you don''t ask.....

[Cryptoprocta 694]

Wow, any time I write I either don't get any reply (most usual) or a refusal, or "we can't grant you access to the press tent" (even though I wasn't asking for that).

Well done!

[Inchiquin 750]

I didn't even get a reply from my old school to a request to license photos of their buildings. So much for their desire to maintain a strong old boys' network.

 

Alan

[IanDavidson 179]

I am finding increasing issues around permission/accreditation.  My local town, Brentwood, Essex is having a music festival -Evoke.  Last year I got accreditation, this year, despite four requests, no reply at all  I am a nationally published news photographers and have sold photos from last years event - so what has changed?  

 

Today, I walked past Victoria Tower Gardens which is next to the Houses of Parliament.  It is technically a Royal Park (I have a Royal Parks News Permit at great expense)  I went in and a netball tournament was being set up.  I talked to the organiser who said it was an international parliamentary netball match between the UK, Australia and New Zealand.  It was to be opened by the UK sports minister, Mims Davies.  The organiser (from Netball England) was happy for me to take pictures but not very forthcoming on information.  In order to get information I checked the Netball England website; nothing.  I checked my paid for news diary - nothing.  I mentioned this to someone involved in the event and he came back and told me that as the event was being held in a Royal Park there was something of a news blackout....  There was a Sky Camera Crew there but no other media I could see apart from an in-house photographer.  So an interesting, newsworthy and photogenic event was being held with little or no news coverage; to what point one may ask.

All too frequently requests for accreditation achieve no response.  I know as a freelancer I am at the bottom of the food chain, but these days most papers do not directly employ photographers or if they do it is a small number -- but that does not seem to have got through to the PR agencies yet.  I get accreditation to London Fashion Week but most of the shows are now invitation only so it is getting close to not being worth the large amount the British Fashion Council charges for accreditation when you can not actually get in to many shows.

Apologies for the rant, it is just part of the cross we have to carry as freelancers but it is annoying when one is simply trying to do ones job, have gone through the hoops to get and keep a national press card and still getting to cover news events is difficult if not impossible.

Come the general election the political parties are increasingly holding so called public events in tightly controlled private areas with little or no media access - lots of politicians talk of the importance of the freedom of the press but seldom practice what they preach - sorry another rant....

 

 

 

[Marianne 485]

53 minutes ago, IanDavidson said:

I am finding increasing issues around permission/accreditation.  ...

Apologies for the rant, it is just part of the cross we have to carry as freelancers but it is annoying when one is simply trying to do ones job, have gone through the hoops to get and keep a national press card and still getting to cover news events is difficult if not impossible.

Come the general election the political parties are increasingly holding so called public events in tightly controlled private areas with little or no media access - lots of politicians talk of the importance of the freedom of the press but seldom practice what they preach - sorry another rant....

 

 

 

 

It could be worse, you could be living in a country where the president is openly hostile to the press and other freedoms promised by the Constitution ...

 

but, yes, I sympathize with your frustration, we earn less and we have to work harder and longer, and we have to worry about whether we can publish our images even as editorial and we have to jump through hoops to get permission to sell photos that are actually beneficial to those who are making us jump through those hoops.

 

Edited July 10 by Marianne

[Avpics 739]

Such Ts & Cs are pretty standard for airshows and other similar paid ticketed events. Thankfully at such events as airshows and motorsport a huge percentage of the general public take in and use 'pro' camera equipment with big lenses so actually getting them in and taking good pictures isn't an issue such as it might be at concerts and some other sporting events. Frustratingly after nearly thirty years and hundreds of published images I rarely get granted media access to airshows, so most were sold technically against those Ts & Cs, but the shows organisers are well aware that most published images come from freelancers in the crowd.

[Starsphinx 383]

This may be a totally daft question - as I have never had nor applied for any sort of accreditation, but could some of the problems with it being granted be down to the people whose desks the requests land on not actually knowing what it is or where and when it should be granted?

The terms and conditions sound fairly standard for so many things - but how much training and information have the people that deal with requests been given about it?

[Mr Standfast 199]

1 hour ago, Starsphinx said:

This may be a totally daft question - as I have never had nor applied for any sort of accreditation, but could some of the problems with it being granted be down to the people whose desks the requests land on not actually knowing what it is or where and when it should be granted?

The terms and conditions sound fairly standard for so many things - but how much training and information have the people that deal with requests been given about it?

 

Only way to find out is to ask the cheeky question. They'll all be different!

 

There is one thing I am certain about and thats the ability of a security person to define what they think constitutes a professional camera from 100 metres. I think it's a super power they get as soon as the hi viz jacket goes on. I was asked what film I put in my fuji X-Pro 1 once.

[sb photos 93]

On 10/07/2019 at 21:44, Marianne said:

 

It could be worse, you could be living in a country where the president is openly hostile to the press and other freedoms promised by the Constitution ...

 

 

USA is getting worse, but don't forget Turkey, I believe they have the worst record for imprisoning journalists for simply doing their job.

[Marianne 485]

On 15/07/2019 at 12:23, Mr Standfast said:

 

Only way to find out is to ask the cheeky question. They'll all be different!

 

There is one thing I am certain about and thats the ability of a security person to define what they think constitutes a professional camera from 100 metres. I think it's a super power they get as soon as the hi viz jacket goes on. I was asked what film I put in my fuji X-Pro 1 once.

 

At our town's Memorial Day parade back in 2016, something I've covered for a local magazine many times since 2006,  one of her people was attempting to chase me out of the press enclosure, since I'd decided that marching along the route with my mirrorless Olympus made more sense than carting one of my big Nikons. Another member of her press contingent saw what was happening and quickly came by and explained that I was supposed to be there. Sometimes a small camera helps you be incognito, but it can also cause problems. You just never know. But it's certainly hard to decide which cameras are "professional" these days. 

 

 

On 15/07/2019 at 14:42, sb photos said:

 

USA is getting worse, but don't forget Turkey, I believe they have the worst record for imprisoning journalists for simply doing their job.

 

Thank goodness it hasn't gotten to that point here, although I fear that our president would be more than happy to be able to round up his detractors and put them in prison. It's a scary world we live in.