The camera superstore Adorama is closed this week in observance of Passover, but it still somehow found itself in the center of controversy among passionate film photographers over a pro-digital article and “stolen” photo.
Yesterday, veteran photographer and writer Mason Resnick (Senior Contributing Writer for the Adorama Learning Center) published an article titled, “5 Reasons Why I Am Never Going Back to Film Photography.”
Resnick’s stated reasons for never going back to film are: (1) “digital costs less than film,” (2) “digital is faster,” (3) “digital is healthier,” (4) “digital is more flexible,” and (5) “I can make beautiful prints from my digital files.”
5 Reasons Why I Am Never Going Back to Film Photography: https://t.co/zfbdhKoJrZ pic.twitter.com/TTSBI588RA
— Adorama 📸 (@adorama) April 4, 2018
Film photographers immediately began expressing their disapproval at a major photography retailer “bashing” on film. Here’s a sampling of Twitter comments:
You know THAT article is probably going to be Adorama’s most read and commented article of all time 🤣 #Believeinfilm
— Matt P. (@mparry1234) April 5, 2018
Doesn’t this mentality about film completely defeat the purpose of shooting on film? Of course digital is faster, and cheaper, but it’s not just about nostalgia, It’s about being involved in the process from start to finish #filmisnotdead
— Mitchell Hallmark (@MitchHallmark) April 5, 2018
@adorama PR needed to do more background on film community. You wouldn’t put out a why “I’m never shooting Nikon again” article and choosing to shoot film is a larger decision than brands.
— Dan Dao (@shawneeunion) April 5, 2018
Man I was shopping around for a place to buy cases upon cases of acros in 120. You know who’s definitely not getting a dime of my money (on film or anything else?) @adorama. Too many options to deal with this shit.
— Nick (@njc2o) April 5, 2018
Seriously?? How about 5 reasons why I will never shop at @adorama ever again? #believeinfilm
— Triana (@trianat) April 5, 2018
So @adorama you’re saying that you don’t want my money? Ok…..no problem 😉
— Mike Williams (@_MikeRWilliams_) April 5, 2018
Photographer Mike Fraser was the first to notice that Resnick’s photo of his camera looked strangely familiar…
It turns out it was Ken Rockwell’s photo with the watermark removed:
When asked about the “stolen photo,” Resnick gave a response that didn’t go over well with people. Michael Nguyen of Japan Camera Hunter captured this screenshot of Resnick’s since-deleted reply:
“We have identical Leicas, apparently,” he wrote in a comment that has since been deleted. “I’ve posted a new photo of my old M3 from a different angle so there’s no confusion.”
The apparent theft of Rockwell’s photo and the removal of his watermark further incensed photographers.
Hey @adorama, did you know this article contains a stolen photograph? How is @kenrockwell supposed to support his growing family if you hire content authors who steal his stuff?
— Mike Fraser (@mfphotograph) April 4, 2018
That is absolutely Ken Rockwells image with his watermark removed.
— Rob Zeigler (@RobZeigler) April 4, 2018
Screen cap for when @Adorama takes this monstrosity down and claims it never existed. pic.twitter.com/a6gUh7WuPg
— Mike Fraser (@mfphotograph) April 4, 2018
.@adorama you owe @kenrockwell a serious apology for Mason Resnick ripping one his images of a @leica_camera M3. He clearly erased the copyright and tried to pass it off as his own. Extremely disappointing. pic.twitter.com/7CUNQ1Oabw
— Studio C-41 (@studio_c41) April 5, 2018
Film News: Adorama scores a hat trick of blunders – Japan Camera Hunter https://t.co/b2lDLbo7CW After that hot mess from Adorama.
— JapanCameraHunter (@Jpncamerahunter) April 5, 2018
Adorama tells PetaPixel that the apparent “theft” was the result of a mistake on Resnick’s part.
“Resnick says that he used Ken’s image as a placeholder and never intended to publish the image,” Adorama director Jacob Waldner tells PetaPixel. “He forgot that it was there and published with the image in the article.
“Taking into account that the photography community has had their trust compromised over the last few years, photographers are super sensitive and hyper-vigilant to any type of intellectual property theft. I am happy to see that the community looks out for each other.
“Ken is a good partner of ours and we would never intentionally use his work without consent. I spoke to Ken and he said that we are family and there are no ill feelings.”
Update on 4/6/18: Adorama tells PetaPixel that it is paying Rockwell $1,000 for the brief use of the photo.