Fstoppers Original: The Stolen Scream

Monday, March 7, 2011 Posted in Fstoppers Originals, Photographer Profile, Portraits

What if you took a set of images that became so popular that it was used hundreds of times all around the world by hundreds of artists, businesses, websites, and publications? As photographers, it’s what we all dream about but what if you were never paid for your work? What if you weren’t even given credit? What if your images were stolen for years and you never had any idea? If there was ever a video to share, this is it. This is Noam Galai’s story. 

Adrian Covert — Noam Galai took a few photos of himself in 2006 and uploaded them to his Flickr. A few people liked those photos, but he didn't think of it. Over time, he began to see his photos popping up all over magazines, the internet and as street art. Then it began appearing on commodities (clothes, books, etc.). Now, it's being used as a symbol of protest in Iran. The crazy part is that nobody asked his permission.

Fstoppers are responsible for this great video narrative, titled The Stolen Scream, which details Galai's story, and the process of watching himself become an anonymous global icon with no control over how his image is used (in one case, the photo was attributed to someone else entirely). He even mentions that when he tried to register the photo with sites like Getty Images, they told him the image would never sell.

All in all though, it's a great story about the dissemination of digital media over the Internet and the inevitable conflict between those who create it and those who use it, which is highlighted by this quote from Galai:

"I'm pretty sure if I took this picture 20 years ago, the only place it would be is in my room. I don't think anyone would know about this picture."

Galai says that National Geographic are the only organization who actually licensed the photo. He estimates the photo has been used in 30 or 40 different countries. [Fstoppers via PetaPixel]