My post, “People Who Have Inspired Me,” raised questions about the ethics of replicating someone else’s photo of a particular subject. At worst, it could be seen as appropriating another’s creative vision, but it’s more nuanced than that.
There is a long tradition of learning through imitation. Painters have practised this for centuries by replicating masterworks. Photographers go to the same sites repeatedly, usually because of a fascinating subject, which provides a good start to creating an interesting photograph. As National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson said, “If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.” So I think it’s acceptable to photograph something others have photographed before you.
Ethically, the deliberate act of recreating someone else’s photograph at the exact location falls into a grey area. I reason that the practice is acceptable when the original photographer’s inspiration is acknowledged, that the purpose was at least in part to learn by imitation and that your version of the scene isn’t used for commercial purposes.
There is also the sticky question of who was the original photographer. John Hodgson’s photo of the Wanaka tree inspired me, but it’s unlikely that he was the first to photograph it.
Finally, every photo is a unique moment in time. While our photos are similar in composition, the details differ because of camera position, weather and lighting conditions, the water level in the lake, and other details like the health of the poplar trees.
All that can be said is that both images, taken years apart by different people, are similarly good interpretations of the Wanaka tree and better than the scores of others taken before or since.
When it comes to manipulated images, the reasoning is different.
The first image below is a straight photo, cropped, with verticals and horizontals corrected. The building facade reminded me of a Mondrian painting, so I created the second image. Except for providing a memory jog, Mondrian had nothing to do with it. The second image is my creation. It’s unique. If someone replicated it, I would say they had plagiarised it.
Comments are welcome.
