Really tacky!

[Don Dudenbostel]

I'm afraid this is becoming more common. One major greeting card company has contests and the winner gets their design printed. I don't think the winner gets and money and if they do it isn't much because they only pay $50 for a card design from freelancers. I saw a contest a couple of years ago where the company made baby clothing or accessories. They got mommies to send in pix of their babies with the companies clothes. The prize was the photo the mommy took would be used in ads and such. Free models and photography. This is where it's going unfortunately. We've not even brought up the enthusiasts that will shoot for nothing to get a byline.

[Mark Sawyer]

I'm holding a contest too! Send me your lenses, and whichever ones I like, I'll keep! Enter as often as you like, and good luck everyone...

[Robert Oliver]

They will have photographer's lined up willing to do it for free... I jumped ship awhile ago.

Hard to compete with free!

[MrFujicaman]

Don, this goes on in every industry. I sold security equipment in the NJ/PA/DE area for years and saw this kind of BS often. I had a major Atlantic City casino that we'd called on several times (with never an order) call up one afternoon and ask to "borrow" a $4500 time lapse recorder. Yeah,right.... I had another casino pull similar crap about a year later.

The photo "contests" where they use your photo without paying you ? I saw one were EVERY photo entered became their property to use as they saw fit. How cute...for the price of a magazine ad you get thousands of photo's to use for your company or to sell for others to use. People like that are scum.

[Don Dudenbostel]

The photo "contests" where they use your photo without paying you ? I saw one were EVERY photo entered became their property to use as they saw fit. How cute...for the price of a magazine ad you get thousands of photo's to use for your company or to sell for others to use. People like that are scum.

I've seen those too where the company has rights to use all entries. The good part is 99% of the entries are crap.

The upside, unlike some "clients" that assign work with no intent to pay, we at least have warning and can say no. It saves the legal costs and time for us.

[Don Dudenbostel]

I totally forgot an incident that happened three years ago. One of my regular clients that spent quite a bit with me each year assigned a job shooting a marathon the sponser. I'm not an event shooter but I make exceptions for some clients. I shot the race and everyone was happy. It took most of the day do do all the secondary things they wanted shot. The next year they didn't assign it and had a contest to get people to shoot it and the best photos would be published in their ads. Ok I'm not shooting it this year and they call me to see if I would shoot it free and enter the contest and if my photos are good enough they would publish them in their ads. I guess they thought I'd get excited about the prospect of getting my work printed in their ads. I can't even guess how many thousand images I've had in ads, annual reports and etc. no I wasn't excited and I didn't waste a day for nothing.

I guess they didn't get any winners because I never saw any of the images published. Well the following year they hired another guy that almost gives his work away and I know for a fact that he has done that just to get jobs even though it's a break even job.

My client has lowered their standards to get cheap work. I did their work for over twenty five years and earlier this year the pulled most of my work away from me and gave it to the other guy. I hated that for obvious reasons but looking at their ads that he shoots they are very amateur looking and absolute garbage.

It hardly matters now since I'm retiring next year. I just hate to see what's happening to the industry.

Mark Sawyer, I'm moving to southern AZ when I retire and hope to meet you and some of the other AZ members of the forum.

[Struan Gray]

I am approached two or three times a year by people wanting to use one of my STM micrographs in a fact sheet or textbook. *None* of the large textbook manufacturers (and I use that word advisedly) has ever been prepared to pay even minimal usage fees. They will pay for a generic image of kids in a classroom, but not for good illustrations of the science they are purporting to teach.

In addition, *none* of the not-for-profit educational charities I have occasionally allowed to use an image has ever sent me the complementary copy they promised. I have *always* had to nag them.

This is not just a lack of courtesy on the part of individuals. It is systematic exploitation, and it's endemic to the technical publishing trade. It is one of the major reasons I quickly run away from any dreams I may have of making a living from scientific illustration and photography.

Like others here, I allow images to be used by people or organisations which whom I have a connection. Everyone else gets a polite, but firm, indication of how much I wish to be paid. Most vanish.

[Racer X 69]

There is a new corporate mentality. I have a good friend that was terminated from his job last November. It was a producer for a fairly major tv production company. He'd been in the business for almost thirty years. His shows were major network series. He was booted out because he was making too much money and replaced by the owner of the business brother in law. It didn't matter that he produced and developed more successful shows than any other producer in the company. His Tallent just wasn't valued.

I worked for 30 years as a journeyman mechanic after serving a 4 year state indentured apprenticeship (the original 4 year degree). I was trained in every aspect of the trade, including steel and aluminum fabrication. I worked on all manner of vehicles and equipment including cars, medium and heavy duty trucks, off road equipment, aerial buckets, digger derricks and cranes. I specialized in mobile fluid power (hydraulic systems), and held ASE automotive and truck master certifications (one of only 2,000 technicians in the world to do so).

I also worked on the side at a shop behind my home.

Everyone wanted me to work on their cars for free, or for very little. Many would call me, describe the problem, and then want me to tell them how to fix it.

It's great to be 65 and about to retire.

I retired a few years ago figuring 30 years of turning wrenches was enough, but Mrs. Racer told me I wasn't sitting at home doing nothing while she went to work each day.

I have had a CDL since 1979, so I went to work driving trucks for a flatbed company that (mostly) moves loads for a certain major aircraft manufacturer that competes with Airbus. I move everything from raw materials (aluminum and titanium to finished components (jet engine inlet cowlings and thrust reversers, landing gear, wing and fuselage components, etc.) Million dollar loads are the norm (price titanium sometime, then multiply the price per pound by 44,000). I moved 3 UAV's last November, complete with launch an recovery equipment, and ground support gear, valued at more than 3 million dollars.

If a light was out or there was an air leak I wold fix it, rather than try to get into a shop and have to wait, and of course it saves the company money, because they don't have to pay labor and markup, and the load keeps moving.

Last year I was near Little Rock, AR and a CAC (charge air cooler) clamp broke. This leaves the compressed intake air from the turbocharger blowing back to the atmosphere, rather than being forced into the engine to make power.

Suddenly a 500 horsepower engine with 1,500 foot pounds of torque has less motive energy than a Geo Metro, which is useless for moving 80,000lbs of truck, trailer and load.

I called the shop.

They wanted me to see if I could fix it up well enough to be able to drive to a repair shop so they wold not have to pay $500 or so for a roadside service call.

So trying to be a nice guy and tow the company line I fixed it up, then drove 20 or so miles out of route to a repair shop.

The guy at the repair shop said they were too busy and could not even "look" at it for two days.

What?

It only needs a new clamp.

So I bought a clamp and put it on myself.

I saved the company about $600.

When I got back home I asked the owner to toss a couple hundred bucks my way for saving his company some money, and keeping the load on schedule for delivery.

His reply?

"I hired you to drive a truck, not to fix it".

So I told him that in four and a half years I had saved him literally thousands of dollars in repairs on the road. And he had not ever even said thank you for my efforts.

I also told him that I do not work for free, just like the mechanics in his shop do not work for free, and the mechanics in the shops that are scattered all over the country do not work for free.

I made it clear that from that point forward I would do nothing more than what my obligations as a driver are. I check the oil, fluids, tires, lights, load securement, etc. each day during the pre trip inspection that is required by the FMCSA.

And if there s a light out I will call the shop and they can send someone out to fix them, as it is illegal to operate a commercial motor vehicle with any defect, including lighting.

They are not happy about this.

It cost them $65 the other day to have a guy replace the headlight in the truck I am driving. The bulb can be had at a parts store for about $8, the repair shop marked it up to $25.

And it delayed my progress that day about 3 hours. In 3 hours I can cover about 150 miles.

I would have popped a new one in for what the repair shop marked the bulb up to.

And it would have taken about5 minutes.

No problem.

But I won't work for free, and I refuse to be taken advantage of.

[Mark Sawyer]

Mark Sawyer, I'm moving to southern AZ when I retire and hope to meet you and some of the other AZ members of the forum.

It's always good to have another inmate in the asylum! Let me know when you get here and settled in...

[welly]

I worked for 30 years as a journeyman mechanic after serving a 4 year state indentured apprenticeship (the original 4 year degree). I was trained in every aspect of the trade, including steel and aluminum fabrication. I worked on all manner of vehicles and equipment including cars, medium and heavy duty trucks, off road equipment, aerial buckets, digger derricks and cranes. I specialized in mobile fluid power (hydraulic systems), and held ASE automotive and truck master certifications (one of only 2,000 technicians in the world to do so).

I also worked on the side at a shop behind my home.

Everyone wanted me to work on their cars for free, or for very little. Many would call me, describe the problem, and then want me to tell them how to fix it.




I retired a few years ago figuring 30 years of turning wrenches was enough, but Mrs. Racer told me I wasn't sitting at home doing nothing while she went to work each day.

I have had a CDL since 1979, so I went to work driving trucks for a flatbed company that (mostly) moves loads for a certain major aircraft manufacturer that competes with Airbus. I move everything from raw materials (aluminum and titanium to finished components (jet engine inlet cowlings and thrust reversers, landing gear, wing and fuselage components, etc.) Million dollar loads are the norm (price titanium sometime, then multiply the price per pound by 44,000). I moved 3 UAV's last November, complete with launch an recovery equipment, and ground support gear, valued at more than 3 million dollars.

If a light was out or there was an air leak I wold fix it, rather than try to get into a shop and have to wait, and of course it saves the company money, because they don't have to pay labor and markup, and the load keeps moving.

Last year I was near Little Rock, AR and a CAC (charge air cooler) clamp broke. This leaves the compressed intake air from the turbocharger blowing back to the atmosphere, rather than being forced into the engine to make power.

Suddenly a 500 horsepower engine with 1,500 foot pounds of torque has less motive energy than a Geo Metro, which is useless for moving 80,000lbs of truck, trailer and load.

I called the shop.

They wanted me to see if I could fix it up well enough to be able to drive to a repair shop so they wold not have to pay $500 or so for a roadside service call.

So trying to be a nice guy and tow the company line I fixed it up, then drove 20 or so miles out of route to a repair shop.

The guy at the repair shop said they were too busy and could not even "look" at it for two days.

What?

It only needs a new clamp.

So I bought a clamp and put it on myself.

I saved the company about $600.

When I got back home I asked the owner to toss a couple hundred bucks my way for saving his company some money, and keeping the load on schedule for delivery.

His reply?

"I hired you to drive a truck, not to fix it".

So I told him that in four and a half years I had saved him literally thousands of dollars in repairs on the road. And he had not ever even said thank you for my efforts.

I also told him that I do not work for free, just like the mechanics in his shop do not work for free, and the mechanics in the shops that are scattered all over the country do not work for free.

I made it clear that from that point forward I would do nothing more than what my obligations as a driver are. I check the oil, fluids, tires, lights, load securement, etc. each day during the pre trip inspection that is required by the FMCSA.

And if there s a light out I will call the shop and they can send someone out to fix them, as it is illegal to operate a commercial motor vehicle with any defect, including lighting.

They are not happy about this.

It cost them $65 the other day to have a guy replace the headlight in the truck I am driving. The bulb can be had at a parts store for about $8, the repair shop marked it up to $25.

And it delayed my progress that day about 3 hours. In 3 hours I can cover about 150 miles.

I would have popped a new one in for what the repair shop marked the bulb up to.

And it would have taken about5 minutes.

No problem.

But I won't work for free, and I refuse to be taken advantage of.

Good on you! Feck 'em.