Scams

I try as hard as possible to not infringe on other people's copyright. When I need to quote somebody extensively I always ask for the permission. On a couple of occasions, I have published other people's photos with their permission, but this is dumb…

This image above is a copyright infringement. I'm infringing!

You must have heard the news that Sony PlayStation Network has been hacked by the group LulzSec. They've hacked Sony, PBS, Fox and many others. They posted almost or all of the Sony users' information, including their passwords.

Here's a list of the most often used passwords:

  123456
  password
  111111
  12345678
  qwerty
  123456789
  123123
  qwertyui
  letmein
  abc123
  dvcfghyt
  000000
  1234567
  1234567890

Recognize any of your passwords?

A group of New Orleans residents spent a lot of time and money creating very elaborate costumes for the Mardi Gras parade. And, of course, as they go down the streets in the parade, photographers take their photos. They want to be paid by the photographers. So they tried to copyright their costumes. The “Mardi Gras Indians” claim that it's not fair that others profit from their work. The problem is that clothing and costumes are not covered by copyrights.

In the morning I do my blog rounds. I go to a bunch of websites that I find interesting. Not only they have to be interesting, they must be updated regularly, at least once a week. For the websites that are interesting but with only occasional updates, I make them come to me with RSS: Real Simple Syndication. I subscribe to the website and they send me the post when it's published.

The “marketing secrets revealed” is one of those that I received via RSS. Occasionally there's some very interesting stuff. The author offered a "FREE Marketing Secrets Revealed" in e-book format.

Here's a snippet from a review of the Sony NEX-3 and the Sony NEX-5:

The Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5 are compact cameras with interchangable lenses and an APS-C sensor, which is larger than a micro four-thirds sensor. Basically designed as a still camera, they also capture 1080iHD video.

Based on specs and images, it looks like the Sony cameras, especially the NEX-5, with it's bigger grip and metal body, will be even more capable...

[snip]

All in all, this new camera range appears to be a potential game changer...

I just had coffee with the friend of a friend. He wanted me to participate/invest in his new Internet venture, mostly the technical end. First he asked me to sign a non-compete agreement see: Non Compete Agreement

It's a new concept!
...
Trust me, it will be big...

I could have been convinced to participate, not for cash, but for sweat equity, my knowledge and my work, but these 2 words "Trust Me" always raise an alarm bell in my head. He must be trying to hide something. Why should I trust him?

I regularly see these ads:

• Make $1,000 A Week In Your Spare Time From Your Photography
• Start Your Own Photography Business from Home
• How to Start a Profitable Photography Business

With all the people being laid off, I see much more of these ads, or may be I am paying more attention. All these ads' goal is to sell you a self-printed book, a set of CDs/tapes, a few even have DVDs with the price ranging from $29.99 to $399.

So let me save you that money and summarize how to make $1,000 a week in your spare time from your photography.

1.

There are many scams that target photographers because photographers are such an easy prey. This scam involves the offer of doing an overseas photo shoot, usually a very exotic location like the Caribbean islands, somewhere in Africa , or even Asia. To work overseas, you need to get a permit, just like any foreign photographers needs a photo shoot permit to work professionally in your country. These permits can be expensive between the administration fees, the lawyers fees, and the “baksheesh” to grease the wheels to make sure that the permit is ready in time...