Guy in SF steals my photos / Check to see he's not stealing yours

Tim Kamppinen

I didn't really know where to post this, so sorry about that. This was originally posted in the Strobist forums on flickr because that's where the photos were stolen from, but the guy seems to do weddings and portraits and who knows who else he's stealing from.

So I got an email from another photographer today in California. He had been checking out the website of photographer in the San Francisco area and recognized two of my photos which he had previously seen on flickr. I checked it out, and sure enough, the guy had stolen these two photos:





The guy's name is Dennis DeSilva and apparently his business is "Studio Seven Photography".

His website is at http://www.studioseven.net where he had the first image in his "portfolio".

His proofing site is at http://findmyevent.com (password "dls") where both photos were under "Sample Sports Images".

Here are screenshots:



I sent him a cease and desist email. We'll see if he responds.

In any case, I think it's highly probable that many other photos on his site are stolen. It's worth taking a quick look to see if he's stealing from you.

One thing that is really weird is that he has all this stuff on his website about his supposed longstanding photographic relationship with Ted Kennedy. There's even a link to a local newscast on the subject. It looks like he was trying to cash in on Ted's death and get some free publicity, but what makes me scratch my head is that if he's such a bigshot political photojournalist, what is he doing stealing senior portraits from flickr? In his "Celebrities and VIPs" section, he even has some photos of Bill Clinton. Highly likely that those are lifted from somewhere, I would think, but on the other hand he has photos not only of Kennedy, but of himself with Kennedy. His stuff was even featured on CNN's website:

http://images.cnn.com/2009/US/08/30/gallery.ted.kennedy.lkl/index.html

It's sort of bizzare.

Not surprisingly, his website is also littered with copyrighted music, including John Fogerty's Centerfield and the Chariots of Fire theme... classy.

EDIT: The photo in his main site portfolio has been removed. The images in the proof gallery are still there, at the moment. He hasn't responded to the email yet.

SimpsonBrothers

That's effed up!

pmbpro

Wow! :-(

I'm not an "official" member of the site, but I wonder if any members of www.SportsShooter.com (whose forum I do read regularly) may have any images stolen that could be on there. If there are any Sportshooter members on Dgrin, this guy's site link may be worth passing on to them somehow...

Paula

MasterCow

It looks like he's using your photos commercially, which means you can sue his :buttkiss for thousands! Just make sure you follow proper evidence gathering procedures, since the burden of proof lies with you.

Good luck, and god speed

Pixoul

TinEye found another snagged photo. He's not even changing the filenames. 4139067770_06d2a234c2_b in his proofs gallery is from:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/justinpoliachik/4139067770/

I don't have a Flickr account so, if someone wants to comment to let him know, dive in.

Edit: Nevermind, I (think I) found the photographer on Facebook and messaged him there.

Tim Kamppinen

I was going to alert that photographer on flickr but I wasn't able to find the photo on DeSilva's website or proofing site. Is it still up? Maybe he took down all his stolen photos last night.

Mine are gone from both sites, and I got this email:

Tim,
Sorry I got it mixed up with my other photographers.

Thanks
Dennis

Yeah, right.

DeeCajun

Tim Kamppinen wrote:

I was going to alert that photographer on flickr but I wasn't able to find the photo on DeSilva's website or proofing site. Is it still up? Maybe he took down all his stolen photos last night.

Mine are gone from both sites, and I got this email:

Tim,
Sorry I got it mixed up with my other photographers.

Thanks
Dennis

Yeah, right.

"OTHER photographers" ???



that is ridiculously sad.

Sam

Tim,

Thanks to a great report, and providing the name and details. I never understand why people will post a complaint like " This guy from Bumsville is stealing my photos, but I don't want give out his name."

I did a little research and it seems like this guy is a little strange from a business stand point. It appears he can take some nice photos, (from posts I found) but is very expensive, rude at weddings to everyone, difficult (won't answer phone e-mail) to get a hold of after the wedding to finish up albums etc.

It seems (at least to me with the facts I have) he is living in the past and may have even overstated his real accomplishments, and is a shyster with a little talent.

I can not image a real photographer, or business person with a hint of character would post images that were not theirs and claim they were.

If by some strange twist of fate I some how posted an image that wasn't mine (I have no idea how that could happen) I would be totally mortified!
My apology's (plural) would be loud and much more than, "Oh it must have been someone else, one of my staff, a computer hacker, yeah! That's it!! a compure hacker from China."

Sam

pmbpro

Tim Kamppinen wrote:

I was going to alert that photographer on flickr but I wasn't able to find the photo on DeSilva's website or proofing site. Is it still up? Maybe he took down all his stolen photos last night.

Mine are gone from both sites, and I got this email:

Tim,
Sorry I got it mixed up with my other photographers.

Thanks
Dennis

Yeah, right.

He forgot to finish that sentence:

"Sorry I got it mixed up with my other photographers...that I'd also been stealing from!"


Paula