Surprised to see that a photograph taken by me in May 2007 of the Main Building of Bishop Cotton School [in Shimla, India where I studied from 1960-70] was used for a Commemorative Postage Stamp issued on 6th October 2009 as a feature for the Sesquicentennial celebrations of BCS!
Here is the photo
And the Stamp [am flattered!] :
[The sky obviously digitally altered from the original]
Link to the Stamps Of India web-page and a detail of the stamp is here.
No one sought permission though to use my photograph for this stamp commemorating BCS on their 150th year.
Slide-show to show how the photo was probably converted is HERE
[...] plagiarism by mainstream media outlets is now commonplace but when the Indian Postal Service also joins the club, I’m not sure whether Anil should be outraged or flattered (he is the [...]
I don’t find sufficient evidence to show that the photograph was indeed plagiarized by the Indian Postal Service. It is very much conceivable that a different photograph was taken from a similar angle on another day at around the same time (for the shadows to be similar).
I seriously doubt that the IPS people would take your photo and digitally revise the sky background to get a stamp out.
There is a person walking from right to left, near the 3rd pillar left of the archway. It would be a real stroke of luck [or arrangement] to have that person there in the exact same spot at a different time!
Anyway, it makes me happy that my image was used for the stamp – especially as I was a student of BCS.
I had similar thoughts like Nikhil but this (person walking from right to left, near the 3rd pillar left of the archway) definitely makes your case more solid.
the picture is too “generic” to say that it was stolen. anyone could take a similar picture easily.
I agree … the positions of the sun and shadows also look to be similar .. however the pattern of the sky is changed in the postal photo …
It would be much easier and faster to take a new picture than to digitally alter the sky. Scores of pupils and masters from the school would have taken similar picture with a digital camera which is as commonplace as a cell phone.
You are of course right, and also that that anyone can take a “similar picture“. But an “exact same picture”? Almost impossible. Unless it was taken at the same time, from the same position, with the same focal length lens. The position of the sun, shadows, movement and position of trees and foliage, position of a person in the original photograph, blotches on the sandy surface of the ground in front of the building – all these change even seconds apart and can never be in the same positions at any other time.
Why the sky was digitally altered? For aesthetic reasons. Who would want a dark gloomy stormy sky depicted on a beautiful Commemorative Stamp?
And to explain how this photo got picked up: I had taken a series of photos at BCS in May and November of 2007. Some for personal use / interest, and many for use at the BCS website [which I maintain, BTW]. Regardless, even though this photo was featured for 1 year on the front page of the BCS website, a simple request would have immediately had a response from me to say “Sure, I am really pleased my photo is to be used for the stamp. Please use it! Free of charge“. Dont get me wrong, I am pleased that it was used but not happy about not being asked.
PS: This pic was also plagiarized by someone at Panoramio! Click HERE to see.
What the F!
RE PANORAMIO: Panoramio agreed, and deleted the stolen image. It has been replaced today, 13th Nov 09, with my original
Thanks to Panoramio for fixing the issue!
I had similar doubts, but it does seem like the same picture.
I can understand that it pleases you, but it is a pity that an organization that should be much more responsible has done something like this.
Click here : screen-shot of the NEF/PSD file in opened PS in which there was a long dug-out channel. I had cloned it out in PS.
Now click here: for a screen-shot of the file after cloning and note the splotch [marked on the photo] that resulted.
This post-processing mark appears in the photo/picture on the Postage Stamp!
PS: BTW, another person [he knows who I am referring to] claims he took this photo and provided it to the Indian Postal Service for publication – but cannot provide documentary proof of the release he issued to the postal department.
Yes, I think it’s a pity that the credit didn’t go to the person who took the photograph. Such unethical practices need to be stopped.
The person walking along right to left, on the left of the centre archway seals it for me; the two photos are identical. You are being very charitable, mature and kind about this, IMO. Here, in the US, considering the deep pockets of a government institution that can pay up damages, lawyers would be swarming all over you, offering their services for a lawsuit.
I applaud your behavior ( but that doesn’t pay the bills, does it ? )
If it isn’t your photograph, it certainly is an odd coincidence. You are most gracious in your dealing with this, but it seems to me clearly be a case of a “borrowed” picture. Just too many details that are identical. As SK points out, flattering, but doesn’t pay bills.
[...] while ago, in November 2009 , I wrote about a photograph of mine that was used for a India postage stamp which I had pretty [...]