judges Archives

March 31, 2013

PAPERS PLEASE: Photographer & Family Detained – Because of the Constitution – VIDEO

UPDATE: YouTube Removed our original video offering the reason that it’s content was “inappropriate”. It has been re-posted to Vimeo, Facebook and YouTube.

by Gavin Seim: I am an American. I will travel my highways freely – I will work protect my family from assault and intimidation by criminals, be they badged or a hooded – I am American – I will speak freely, move freely, worship freely and take a stand to keep my children free – I refuse to comply. Why? Because my government has no right to stop us on the road without cause. I’m standing up for freedom before we lose it and I believe everyone should do the same.

This is one of those that we experienced yesterday while on the 2013 Early Tour. Sondra always records our encounters. If she didn’t these might end differently.

I don’t say American Pictorialist for nothing. I love Jesus, freedom and the Constitution. and I’ve had enough with armed guards trying to take that away. I make no secret about my values and I can be pretty adamant. This is America and people have a right to disagree with me. But when it comes to my government and the US Constitution I have little wiggle room.

These Border Patrol road block checkpoints dot the Southwest on public highways and interstates. They are not border crossings of any kind. In fact this one is about 80 miles inland. They stop innocent people without cause to question them. Papers, Please!

This is in direct violation with the constitution and we need to stand up. I don’t give them respect because their “just doing their job”. They are thugs the moment they violate our rights. I do not cooperate. It’s not so much about the questions being asked. It’s about freedom. The moment they said I was being detailed they broke the law. The Border Patrol has a tough job, but bullying free citizens does not earn them respect.

This is not Nazi Germany. My government does not have the right to stop and question me in the middle of the road without cause. I don’t care what crooked judges or made up laws say. The highest law of this land is the Constitution. Many died so I could have freedom. I won’t dishonor them by refusing to stand up for that freedom.

To those who feel I simply disrespect authority or that I’m just making a fuss about nothing. Consider that we live in a nation where some Border Agents go to prison because their do their job. But when they detain, intimidate and even arrest citizens driving their own highways it’s accepted. That is tyranny my friends.

Free nations do not force their citizens to stop in the road and be questioned folks. Not at all. In America the government does not get permission to stop and detain us with cause. Not for ANY reason. The moment they do they are criminals and should be treated the same as any other criminal.

Our Border Patrol has done far worse. They harass and detain visitors to our country without cause. The beat and arrest Americans for doing things like I just did. The list goes on. These people say they are stopping terrorists. I say they are the terrorists. This is not freedom folks. This is tyranny.

I should note: Sometimes people believe that I pick fights because I just like to make trouble.

The truth is that my stomach is in knots every time I pull up to one of those. It feels good to take a stand. But I can’t say I like being the guy to do it. It would not take many rising against these checkpoint to render them useless. If we all refused to answer, held up the line and stood up for our freedom, the Federals would likely back off.

This is the America you live in. What are you going to do about it?

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” – Benjamin Franklin

It’s Easter. A day of freedom. I am Gavin Seim and I would be free.

____

The Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

September 7, 2012

Editorial/Journalism, Gavin Seim, news, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow

Take a Bad Photo, Win a Trip to Thailand?

by Gavin Seim: Adobe recently had a travel photo contest. The prize, a trip to Thailand with legendary photographer Steve McCurry. Yea, the guy who photographed Afghan Girl.

Matt Hardy once said – “Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.”

Adobe counted +Likes and gathered a panel of official judges to choose. The winner… this photo. You can see it larger here on Adobe’s page. There were many other entries, but this was chosen as the grand prize. I feel this is hurtful. Not only to the entrant, for it teaches them that quality does not matter. But to those who worked hard to enter quality work. It’s better to be honest with those that are learning, than to ignore a lack in quality. I would rather be improved by honest criticism than ruined by false praise.

How does the world’s largest professional photography software developer and it’s judges not know the difference between a photograph and a snapshot. As someone who has worked for fifteen years to understand photographics and light, I for one am not jealous; I am insulted and embarrassed.

For the record I did not enter this competition. And the point here is not to insult the winner. I’m sure they will enjoy and learn from this trip. The point is that people need to understand a camera does not make you a photographer. People worked hard and entered quality work To award photo in this manner seems an insult to their efforts.

What’s Wrong With It:

Quite nearly everything. As a vacation snapshot, it’s perhaps acceptable. There is nothing wrong with a family snapshot. But we need to understand the difference between a snapshot and a photograph. This image won an international level competition. At that point it must be critiqued as such and compared to other entrants.

Great photos can be subjective. But that does not mean we ignore what makes them great. This photo has no subject, breaking the cardinal rule of a great image. A great photo has a subject. Usually just one. All other elements should be supporting cast. Is the subject little girl? The half cut off body taking the photo? Perhaps it’s the Oriental Pearl Tower, crooked in the frame. If we have to ask, the image has already failed.

When examined (something I have done over and over again) the picture feels of phone snap quality. It’s filled with artifacts and problems. The exposure is flat and dark and the sky is plain and boring. As journalism it lacks interest and as a street photo it lacks expression and spontaneity. Finally it fails at what is perhaps the hardest thing to put into words. It’s uninteresting and it does not tell a story.

Ansel Adams once said – “The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.”

While I don’t generally call out bad photos directly, I think this needs to be thought about. Everyone has cameras, but if in doing so, everyone becomes photographers, then the word photography no longer has meaning.

If we hold zero standards to the quality of art and use “art is subjective” as an excuse for everything, than the word art has no value – By calling everything art, by making everything great, we demean those who through effort and practice have mastered their skill.

NOTE: This is a news commentary. You are welcome to disagree and for obvious reasons I did not include the winners name. It’s not meant to be mean, but to raise awareness and get us thinking about quality and understanding the diffidence between a photo and a snapshot.

UPDATED: When this post was first made I had thought that looked like a phone photo. It is not. While the camera used makes little difference, some felt this should be disclosed. I have refined the post a bit to reflect this and things related to the ideas presented here.

So now that I’ve stirred the pot. Let the discussion begin.

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