Perplexed by Paparazzi

Aspen was once a town where the likes of Jack Nicholson, Jennifer Lopez or Mariah Carey could walk around town unrecognized, and local retailers say paparazzi are ruining it.

A recent visit from Seal turned into a punch-up, and a number of recent incidents have some locals riled as well.

"I'm embarrassed of our community," said Ricki McHugh, owner of McHugh Antiques on Aspen Square. Her store was overrun last week by paparazzi chasing Seal's wife, Heidi Klum. A visit from Jennifer Lopez earlier this week forced her to batten down the hatches against an aggressive mob of photographers.

J-Lo first visited McHugh Antiques on Thursday morning without incident, but when the star and entourage came back in the afternoon, the paparazzi pounced.

"The second time she came back, she was literally being chased down the street," McHugh said. The star eventually slipped behind closed doors and hid behind a painting in McHugh's shop. Photographers took pictures of the flustered star through the store window before she could escape to an awaiting car.

"This town has never been abused by the paparazzi like it is now," McHugh said. "It is embarrassing as a community to have people come to enjoy this beautiful place be harassed."

Read the rest HERE.

COX RECRUITS PAPARAZZI FOR RESEARCH

Former FRIENDS star COURTENEY COX shocked a paparazzo who was trying to snap a picture of her and her family at Disneyland by asking him for his help on her new TV series.

Cox is starring in the new US TV show DIRT about the world of a fictional celebrity tabloid and wanted information to help make the show more authentic.

She explains,"I came up to him and said, 'Look, you can stay in the park, but I need your phone number and I want to do some research for our show with you and he came into the writer's room and talked."

Cox insists the new show isn't about her getting back at celebrity magazines, adding, "This is absolutely no revenge on the tabloid media. "There's no way really to pay back the paparazzi. If anything, it's going to get worse, probably, because if they watch this, I can only imagine it getting worse. "I'm not paying anyone back, it's really just a good TV show."

The Photographer’s Right

A Downloadable Flyer Explaining Your Rights When Stopped or Confronted for Photography

The Photographer’s Right is a downloadable guide that is loosely based on the Bust Card and the Know Your Rights pamphlet that used to be available on the ACLU website. It may be downloaded and printed out using Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may make copies and carry them your wallet, pocket, or camera bag to give you quick access to your rights and obligations concerning confrontations over photography. You may distribute the guide to others, provided that such distribution is not done for commercial gain and credit is given to the author.

Download The Photographer’s Right in PDF format

A Stand for Photographer’s Rights

The right to take photographs in the United States is being challenged more than ever. People are being stopped, harassed, and even intimidated into handing over their personal property simply because they were taking photographs of subjects that made other people uncomfortable. Recent examples have included photographing industrial plants, bridges, buildings, trains, and bus stations. For the most part, attempts to restrict photography are based on misguided fears about the supposed dangers that unrestricted photography presents to society.

Ironically, unrestricted photography by private citizens has played an integral role in protecting the freedom, security, and well-being of all Americans. Photography in the United States has an established history of contributing to improvements in civil rights, curbing abusive child labor practices, and providing important information to crime investigators. Photography has not contributed to a decline in public safety or economic vitality in the United States. When people think back on the acts of domestic terrorism that have occurred over the last twenty years, none have depended on or even involved photography. Restrictions on photography would not have prevented any of these acts. Furthermore, the increase in people carrying small digital and cell phone cameras has resulted in the prevention of crimes and the apprehension of criminals.

As the flyer states, there are not very many legal restrictions on what can be photographed when in public view. Most attempts at restricting photography are done by lower-level security and law enforcement officials acting way beyond their authority. Note that neither the Patriot Act nor the Homeland Security Act have any provisions that restrict photography. Similarly, some businesses have a history of abusing the rights of photographers under the guise of protecting their trade secrets. These claims are almost always meritless because entities are required to keep trade secrets from public view if they want to protect them.

Paparazzi sues celeb blogger for $7.6M

LOS ANGELES - Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is being stalked by paparazzi in court, at least.

X17 Inc., a Los Angeles photo agency known for its images of stars in personal or embarrassing moments, has filed a $7.6 million federal copyright infringement lawsuit against Hilton.

Hilton's Los Angeles-based site, PerezHilton.com, posts tabloid photos of celebs and adds cheeky captions and rudimentary doodles.

The suit claims Hilton used 51 photographs without permission, payment or credit, including images of a pregnant Katie Holmes, Kevin Federline pumping gas and Britney Spears showing her, um, assets.

"We've had trouble with a lot of bloggers," X17 co-owner Brandy Navarre told the Los Angeles Times for a story on its Web site. "But he's the biggest, and the most arrogant and pigheaded about it, frankly.

"He is stealing our images and costing us money every day," she said.

Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, said he believes he has done nothing illegal.

"I am going to vigorously defend myself," he said. "I am willing to step up to the plate and fight for my rights and fight for the rights of all bloggers."

His attorney, Bryan Freedman, said Hilton has a legal right to make satirical or humorous use of newsworthy photographs.

If the copyright lawsuit succeeds, "the effect would be to eliminate the ability to comment on and transform photographs under the fair-use exception to the Copyright Act," Freedman said.

But X17's lawyer, John Tehranian, argued that Hilton "is basically free-riding on the labor and efforts of X17 and its photographers who stay up all night and roam the city."

Seven other photo agencies sent Hilton a joint letter demanding that he stop using their photographs but they have not sued, the Times said.

SHEPHERD Treats Photogs Like Cattle

The Good Shepherd
Ziegfeld Theater, 7pm screening

Arrival area was in the shape of an 'L', two sided on the short side.
Photographers were packed in tight like cattle going to the slaughter.

Talent were relatively cooperative; Matt Damon and wife posed, DeNiro posed (shocking!), Billy Crudup... then Brangelina showed up....

The walked up the middle of the street from 6th ave towards the premiere. Together they walked past the fans smiling and holding hands. They then posed for the photogs.

They posed together along the short side of the 'L', but broke off once they reached the corner. Pitt ran in and Jolie did interviews.

Calling the list was a mess. Universal had their list and we had ours. The list universal list was called, allowing those shooters to take a place first, to be followed by 'our' list.

Things got really fouled up from that point on. Shooters first on the list wound up in the 2nd and third row. People who showed up last, wound up in the front row. Tempers flared as shooters jostled for position.

At 7:30 in the MORNING their were already 8 people waiting. Anyone know what time the first shooter arrived?

Steve Azzara Book Launch on December 8th

Book release party/birthday party.

New York Photographer Steve Azzara launches his 2nd book from Tiger Press,

IMPORTRAITS: The Import Models, while cover model and # 1 East Coast Import Model, Jasmine Mai celebrates her birthday at FLOW 150 Varick Street (between Spring and Vandam)

Jasmine and some 20 other import models will be available for a photo op at 9:30 pm.

These are the beautiful girls you see at car shows around the country throughout the year. Don't miss this one!

Press members are invited for the photo op and to party the night away.
Press MUST RSVP to Tony at JENNARAZZI@AOL.COM

Book can be seen at Importraits.net

Here's a funny outtake from The Holiday premiere.

Thanks to Evan for the pic!

Victoria Beckham's paparazzi snub

Victoria Beckham was snubbed by paparazzi after she tried to control pictures taken of her at an awards ceremony.

Prior to the Bambi arts awards, held in Germany, the former Spice Girl handed out an agreement for photographers to sign which stated she wanted copies of all the snaps and the ability to use them for promotional purposes.

The document limited the number of pictures that could be published of Victoria's gold embroidered Osaka Hilton gown.

It also restricted the snappers from revealing any "confidential information" they might learn about her during the ceremony.

The Associated Press (AP), Reuters and two German photo agencies rejected the agreement, so in desperation organisers drew up a separate agreement allowing them to cover the event as long as they promised only to take photos of Victoria on the red carpet.

AP chose to snub the event altogether while the other photographers agreed but refused to photograph Victoria in protest.

A source said: "The gown was hideous anyway. It looked like a bedspread. What has she got to hide?"