Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by brady on 08/29/07 - 6:46 PM

Picked up the new Whaler catalog the other day. I was looking at it today while eating lunch and to my surprise guess who's pictured on the back bottom corner. Holding a 90lb tuna with a grin from ear to ear is none other than Mike Homewood! Funny thing is he did'nt even know it! I called him up to tell him and he said "Man I got to get one of those" Anyways, you guys should check it out. Hey Mike, can I get an autographed copy? Man, I hope this does'nt go to his head. :o Brady

Posted by MWH on 08/30/07 - 5:59 AM

Yes, of course you can get an autographed copy!:D Hey, thanks for the call. I did get a copy from the dealer here in Annapolis, nice people. I didn't know they were going to use the photograph for their brochure (which looks really nice). That photo was entered in the Whaler Memories contest. I was told by the salesman several of the photos in the brochure were taken here on the Chesapeake Bay. The Outrage 21 has Thomas Point light in the background...Whaler did send me the 50th Anniversary brass keychain. That was nice. Don't worry it won't go to my head.;)

Posted by WhalerDan on 08/30/07 - 7:03 AM

Congrats on getting your photo in the catalog.

As a photographer I don't approve of the practice of companies holding contests where entrants submit photos. The reason for this is that the entry forms usually state that all entries become the property of company holding the contest. This is true even if the particular entry isn't the winner. Never mind the fact that the anyone depicted in the photos can later find themselves on a piece of advertising without the required model release.

Stockphotos cost companies money. Hiring a photographer costs them money too. One of the reasons I don't enter photography contests sponsored by photography equipment companies is that I don't want to supply free photos. Plus, suppose one of these companies decides to sell my photos, which according to the terms of their contract are not their property. Under this scenario they could sell my photos to a stock photo company.

Mike would be perfectly within his rights to contact Whaler and ask for a model fee for the usage of his likeness. The person who took the photo is the owner of the copyright, and unless a mdel release accompanied the entry BW would be in the wrong.

Of course as a Whaler owner I would let BW off the hook. My complaint isn't with BW, but with the practice of using contests as a way to convert ownership of property. The ad agencies know this is unfair. Many times the value of the entries is much greater than the prize being offered. A typical stock photo can sell for $200 to over $10,000 depending upon usage. For usage in a catalog like the BW one, a 1/4 page or less usage should be around $500.

Anyway, not trying to stir anything up. Most people, and some photographers, aren't aware of the whole contest entry scam.

Cheers,
Dan

Posted by MWH on 08/30/07 - 11:23 AM

Dan,

I understand your opinion and it does make sense. I'm pretty sure the entry included a release or something. I'm not interested in any fee and think its pretty cool they used the photo. Not sure they would get much if anything for my likeness...:D Actually, I'm surprised they used the photo because you can see my old Johnson motors in the background. The same photo is on my personal page here on Whaler Central.

-Mike

Posted by brady on 08/31/07 - 9:16 PM

Hey mike, just wanted to let you know I showed the kids the catalog yesterday. They thought it was so cool that your picture was on there. Thats really something to be able to show people or tell them about. You should have seen the look on my sons face when he realized it was you. I think its great and I would not sweat what whaler dan was talking about. If I could have my picture on that catalog I would do it in a heartbeat, and not be worried about getting payed for it. Brady