I don’t know Mindy or Scott. I don’t know how they met. I don’t know how he proposed to her. I don’t know why they chose the Glen Sanders Mansion on May 1, 2010 for their wedding.
But I do know, however, that they have good taste in photography.
I shall now explain.
Last summer, in an effort to test some newly-self-taught photography techniques, I took my camera and some of my lenses to Erie Boulevard in Schenectady, where I hoped to photograph the illuminated General Electric sign atop the building’s headquarters.
I waited until dusk had settled, then nightfall. The sign lit up. I snapped off several dozen shots in different exposures and apertures, packed my gear and went home. I post-processed the photographs, took the best one of the bunch, and put it up on my personal flickr site.
I liked the way the photo turned out, and there were some nice comments on the flickr site about it. After that, I went on to new photographic challenges, got a new camera (the Nikon D700), and left it at that.
Until about a week ago.
Flickr has a nice little tool that allows you to see if someone’s linking to your photographs or using them for personal profit (their personal, not yours). For some reason, my General Electric light-up sign was actually linked to something called tools.brides.com.
Part of me thought this was some a URL for some weird marriage site, where women hook up with those alpha males you see on VH1’s Tool Academy series.
But upon clicking the link to tools.brides.com, it took me to a page devoted to the upcoming nuptuals of Mindy and Scott. Such a wonderful thing, the Internet, where one can on a single website list everything from directions to the wedding reception, to where the future Mr. and Mrs. will honeymoon, to where the couple are registered.
On one of the links is a page called “What To Do Nearby.” It lists all the highlights in Schenectady – even the ones Stephen Colbert doesn’t know or care about – and one of the highlights, for Mindy and Scott, was listed as “Look at the GE Sign at Night.”
And there was a link directly to my GE photo on my flickr site.
Those who know me understand that I am very protective of my copyrights. If you want to license my photographs for some upcoming project, let’s talk. If you use my photographs and don’t credit or pay me for such use, then we have a problem.
However… in this case, I don’t think Mindy or Scott referenced the photograph to benefit them in any way financially. No. They used the photo to show some of the beauty of an illuminated Schenectady landmark. It’s not likethey chose to put up a photo of the Stockade at flood season.
So for their wedding, I’m contemplating giving them a gift of this photograph, maybe in a nice frame. I don’t plan on spending all day at their reception; maybe I’d just drive up to the Glen Sanders Mansion, drop off the framed photograph at the reception before any of the wedding party shows up, and then head home. You know, just as a nice gift for the bride and groom.
That’s not to say that I want every newlywed to link up to my photos in exchange for free gifts. This time is an exception. I don’t photograph weddings – I’m highly allergic to bridezillas.
Chuck The Writer 
Yos should stick around the reception long enough to make a toast…it’s not often that you hear booing at a wedding.
LikeLike
They’re not booing… it’s a sign of respect! 🙂
LikeLike
I really like the shot. I took a daytime one of the GE sign last last summer with intention of getting back down there some night, but haven’t made it yet. Maybe when it gets a little warmer and my fingers can tweak the settings. ‘-}
Again, nice shot.
LikeLike
We thought it was a good photo, so added a link to show our guests as a reference for the since many are from out of town. We did not copy the photo itself, which would be a clear violation of copyright law. A direct link to a website where full credit is given is not a violation of copyright law. As the link goes directly to your flickr website, we did not think there would be a problem. That being said, we certainly weren’t trying to offend anyone and weren’t expecting our wedding planning to hit the local news in any way. Additionally, we would never want a creative person to feel he/she was being denied full credit for his/her work. We have added a credit to our website.
And if you do have a photo of the Stockade during flood season, please let us know; we’d be happy to link to that too.
LikeLike
Hi, just so you are aware – I didn’t take offense to your linking to my photo. In the blog I posted, I actually was flattered that you chose my photo as part of your wedding “come to Schenectady” gallery. So would you like a 16×20 of the picture as a wedding gift?
LikeLike
We would love a copy of the photo! Thank you.
LikeLike
Chuck, make sure you sign it.
LikeLike