Thailand, that is not your beach…
A hurried blog entry while I wait at Heathrow for the plane to Chicago.
If I was (sort of) going in the other direction, I’d end up at the hotter location of Thailand, a country with lots of glorious beaches. But seemingly, rather less photographers…
Google Alerts pops up website where Berneray is recently mentioned; this one in particular came up last night. The blogger noticed that the picture wasn’t of Kai Bae beach, but, erm of the west beach of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides. True, there are some similarities; great sand, unpolluted sea. But also some differences; if you swam off both beaches, you would very quickly realise what one of them is.
The particular picture looked very familiar, and lo and behold; it’s one I took several years ago, put on the Berneray website, and forgot about.
And it’s now been lifted by the National Park Information Centre of Kok Chang island as a bit of “Hope they don’t notice it’s not really our local beach” advertising.
Bemused.
Maybe I should work my way to Kok Chang island, take some pictures, and put them in an Outer Hebrides gallery. Think anyone would notice?
Update
I sent details of this to Angus the Stornoway blogger. He duly blogged it, local newsies such as the Hebridean News, then more national news organisations, started to pick it up, as well as umpteen blogs, forums, media scopers and bitty websites.
Press coverage has so far included:
- The Sun
- Daily Mail
- BBC news – a bit rubbish. Linked to the Thai tourist board, but not to Berneray. They also ran a piece on the Scottish TV news, using the wrong picture from somewhere else. Sloppy reporting.
- STV news – hey, that’s this blog posting that the VisitScotland bloke has on his screen.
- The Scotsman
- Aberdeen Press and Journal
…and it’s gone international. A Swedish newspaper have done a piece, though my name appears to have changed to Jim. I’ve also declined an interview with a Fox News affiliate as it’s getting a little silly now.
Best coverage in terms of proper attribution and fact presentation is the Daily Mail. Worst is the BBC. Who’d a thought it?
Tags: Berneray Thailand beach sand photography tourist publicity
Just read about it in the German news
Hi – that’s a beautiful shot you took of the beach on the west side of Beneray . I’m going to be visiting the Outer Hebrides this year and I wondered if there are more of your photos of the area on the Internet (peer-to-peer, photosharing, etc.). I normally go to Argyll, but thought I’d head further north in 2010. I haven’t been to the outer islands for years so I’ll be seeing them through new eyes (I certainly didn’t notice how South Harris was to the Gulf of Thailand, for example).
Thanks, Kieran
Hi – Sorry that’s the southern Thai dialectic spelling of Beneray. Kieran
Hi John Kirriemuir,
Be thankful you didn’t accuse the Thai Tourism people of Copyright Infringement.
I did that when i discovered them STEALING my photos to use on their website.
Some years ago I was planning a return trip to Thailand and searched the internet to see if I could find the dates for the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket. I had attended this amazing display of self-mortification in 2000 and wanted to see it again with a friend who has never been to Thailand.
Imagine my surprise when I found a page on the TAT website with 8 of MY photos on it – all stolen from my own website. They even had the nerve to post a Copyright notice on their (TAT) page claiming all photos were their copyright.
Politely I asked in 5 separate emails WHY my photos were on the TAT website, especially since I have never been sponsored by TAT for a press trip or anything.
None of these inquiries were ever answered … UNTIL … I finally submittd an Invoice for aobut $15,000 US, reflecting International Licensing rates for more than 2 years of continuous usage of my photos without permission on multiple pages of the TAT website.
This finally promped a reply from TAT in the Phuket Office.
Following my receipt of this official response (see below), I contacted a law firm in Bangkok and paid a $3000 USD retainer. To make a long story short, the firm eventually informed me that I would be lucky to ever get even $3000 from TAT and that I would be better off to just drop the whole thing and settle for an apology. The firm reimbursed me $2500 and kept just $500.
I have NEVER received an apology from TAT and I was also informed by a friend in New York City that he happened to see a list of travel contacts for TAT in their New York Office. The list contained a section of “blacklisted” journalists. My name was on that part of the list – in other words, no one from TAT is ever supposed to have anything to do with me.
Well talk about a Ministry that doesn’t have its act together … I would rather call it THEFT, Intellectual Property Copyright Infringement, and Insulting to boot. After you have read the official response from TAT, you can decide wshether or not it’s insulting.
Let me get this straight now … someone steals my photos, uses them without permission, gets caught – and voila … I am the thief, I am stupid, my friends and family are stupid, I am an extortionist and I am blacklisted both by Immigration and Tourism authorities. Well … Hit me with a Stick.
Best Regards
Bob Burch
The email from TAT in 2004 – verbatim – nothing edited or changed (PS: it was 8 photos – not 2)
************************
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Pictures at TAT website
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 10:20:29 +0700
From: phukettravel
To:
Dear Mr. Robert Burch,
I am Mr. Payoonsak Rattanamas, representative of former Tourism Authority of Thailand Director, Southern region 4. I will explain you about the pictures that we brought from your website to show 2 photos.
From our understood the festival for vegetarian in Phuket organize by TAT and Phuket Province then all picture from this event we can use for non-profit organization like us and if you want to take photos from this event to make your business you should ask permission from us and very funny when you use advantage from the event that we created and paid all expenses and you ask too much money from 2 photos like over 10,000 pounds.(you should advise your stupid wife, your stupid friends or some people you close they will told you why you do stupid work like this)
Please confirm your your desire direct to me who handle this case we will consideration your asking and if you confirmed the same from beginning we may have to black list your name for immigration division and Thai Embassy to protect people like you to come to Thailand to take advantage from Thailand Government again.
Payoonsak Ratanamas
Authorize Representative