The Tuesday 31 January 2012 London Photographers’ Branch meeting will host two important events.
First, it is the LPB AGM* where we elect our committee members & discuss the work of the branch for the coming year.
With the prospect of tighter restrictions resulting from the Leveson Inquiry, we will also be having an introduction by Paris based photographer Nigel Dickinson about the impact of Privacy Law on photography in France. Read the rest of this entry »
AGM, LPB, NEC, NUJ, photographers seat
Posted in News, Reports by Jason Parkinson | 
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Freelances who work for Archant titles are invited to a meeting at NUJ
HQ to discuss a new agreement issued by the company. It insists on assignment of copyright, and included a clause that transfers the publisher’s full liability to the freelance. We are asking members not to sign.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, October 27 at Headland House,
308 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1X 8DP, beginning at 6pm.
Any freelance who is affected, or who might be affected, will be made welcome.
Please contact freelanceoffice@nuj.org.uk to let us know you wish to attend.
Archant, Contract, Freelance, LPB, NUJ, Photographers
Posted in News by Jess Hurd | 0
This page links to the various NUJ rates guide pages and rate submission page, vital resources for all photographers’ and other lens-based media.
The importance of maintaining the NUJ advised rates cannot be reiterated enough. In order for freelances to hatch out a living wage, these rates are constructed to form a minimum rate from regular updated information from union members. In order to maintain, improve, update and continue to validate these rates, members are urged to take a minute to supply information on the rates they are earning. You can do this here at the Rate For A Job submission page.
The Freelance Fees Guide is a good place to start, with rates for all aspects of writing, photography, video and audio.
Photography Rates can be found here.
Videography, a section of the Photography Rates rates can be found here.
LPB, NUJ, Rates, rates for the job
Posted in Rates by Jason Parkinson | 0
Flashmob City Hall
22 April 2011
Tuesday 3rd May, World Press Freedom Day, at City Hall, London SE1 2AA at 12:30.
I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! (PHNAT), the campaign group set up to fight unnecessary and draconian restrictions against individuals taking photographs in public spaces, is organising a flashmob outside London’s City Hall.
The event takes place on International Press Freedom Day and is supported by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) London Photographers’ Branch (LPB).
PHNAT is concerned about the role of private security guards in the prevention of terrorism. Their role has been promoted by police, with the result that many privately employed guards are illegally preventing citizens from taking any photographs at all.
Areas designated as public realm are often privately managed spaces that are subject to rules laid down by the private management companies. Most insidious of these is the outright banning of photography in some of our most widely enjoyed public spaces, such as Canary Wharf and the Thames Walk between Tower Bridge and City Hall. The mass gathering will highlight the restrictions on street photography in a public space. Photographers are encouraged to bring a tripod.
An illustrated PHNAT pamphlet will also be launched at the event. Created by PHNAT and LPB members, supported by the NUJ, British Press Photographers Association (BPPA) and the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, it will celebrate the history of the PHNAT campaign.
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bppa, British Press Photographers Association, City Hall, Flashmob City Hall, I’m a Photographer, London, London Photographers’ Branch, LPB, National Union of Journalists, Not a Terrorist!, Phnat, Photography, Press Freedom, Security Guards, Street Photography
Posted in News by Jess Hurd | 0
The February LNP branch meeting “Tips of the Trade” delivered advice for photojournalists, experience from industry freelancers and insight from those creating and finding new outlets.
Paul Delmar: photojournalist and ex-tutor of the NCTJ Photojournalism and Press Photography course at Sheffield Norton.
Carmen Valino: press photographer working for many local London papers including South London Press and overseas newspapers such as El Pais.
Stephen Simpson: press photographer and head/editor of the new news agency, London News Pictures (LNP).
Sarah Lee: freelance photographer for the Guardian/Observer newspaper.
Carmen Valino, lnp, london news pictures, London Photographers' Branch, LPB, NUJ, NUJPhoto, paul delmar, sarah lee, stephen simpson
Posted in Audio by Jason Parkinson | 2
Photo (c) Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk – Design Jason N. Parkinson
After covering the first 18-days of the Egyptian revolution, many UK photographers and video journalists have returned to London and will be screening their work in a special one night event, organised by the London Photographers’ Branch (LPB) and the British Press Photographers Association (BPPA), at the Shortwave Cinema on Tuesday 1 March 2011.
Starting at 8pm the evening will show video and photographs covering the extraordinary events that unravelled during the popular uprising against President Hosni Mubarak and his regime. There will also be a question-and-answer discussion with the photographers and video journalists who covered the uprising.
Entry is by donation and there will be a raffle to win selected prints donated by the photographers. All profits will go to the Egyptian journalist support fund.
bppa, egypt, jan25, LPB, mubarak, revolution, shortwave cinema
Posted in News by Jason Parkinson | 0
Image available for use in conjunction with this story only. Do Not Crop. Image © Jonathan Warren/jwarren.co.uk 2010
Hostile Reconnaissance
Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom
13th of April, 7pm. Friends Meeting House, Euston.
For Immediate Release
With the General Election in full swing it is time to put civil liberties and press freedom centre stage in the election debates. Our right to work, our right to protest and dissent are increasingly under threat by the use and abuse of a raft of anti-terror legislation.
Professional and amateur photographers alike are being stopped routinely by police under Section 44 of the Terrorism act on grounds of conducting ‘Hostile Reconnaissance’ which has seen the rapid growth of the campaign group ‘I’m a Photographer Not a Terrorist!‘.
The use of these laws has been challenged and ruled unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights. The filmmaker and NUJ member who is fighting the government appeal to the ruling next week, Pennie Quinton, will be speaking at the rally.
Mike Mansfield QC said in support of the rally:
The Government’s legislation has less to do with terrorism than with control and the suppression of opposition and truth. It has been recognized for some time by the authorities that agents of the state have too often been caught on camera committing unlawful acts: (Orgreave, Poll Tax, Fairford, Brighton, G20, climate camp). The power to confiscate the camera is therefore an essential tool for an oppressive regime.
How such a draconian measure, drafted in such wide ranging terms, got past our so called political scrutineers in the Commons beggars belief. Either they were subverted by the ‘fear factor’, diverted by expenses claims or overcome by sleep. Mind you, it’s the same lot who voted for the War in Iraq in the first place and who later believed security service assurances that the UK had not colluded in rendition and torture. Such an unquestioning and unaccountable bunch of Labour and Tory MPs needs to be booted out on May 6 and this iniquitous provision repealed
The London Photographers’ Branch of the National Union of Journalists, is proud to be hosting a pre-election rally Hostile Reconnaissance – Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom at 7pm on the 13th of April at Friends Meeting House in Euston.
The rally will be chaired by photographer Jess Hurd and we’ve got a top lineup of speakers who have dealt with the raft of terror laws that we face today:
Opening the rally will be a film by Jason N Parkinson with highlights from the campaign.
Supporting the rally are the National Union of Journalists, NUJ London Central Branch and the I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! campaign group.
Contact:
Jonathan Warren 077939 40759
Jess Hurd 07713 151765
info@londonphotographers.org
http://londonphotographers.org
ENDS
Civil Liberties, Hostile Reconnaissance, LPB, NUJ, Press Freedom, Terror Laws
Posted in Press Releases by Jonathan Warren | 1
Photographers’ met at the first LPB branch meeting earlier this week to begin organising the fightback over rates and the right to take photographs.
The meeting opened with a report from NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear on the union’s lobbying and representations to the government on the Digital Economy Bill which is currently making it’s way through Parliament. Dear said that the union does support the bill, but not in it’s current form, especially with regard to orphan works. Dear also said he would be meeting with representatives from other trade unions the next day to discuss how it would effect their members.
Discussion was opened to the floor as to what the branch should do collectively to lobby government over the bill, specifically s42 of the bill which allows for orphan works. There were contributions from the floor that the union should be lobbying for the complete removal of s42 from the bill.
It was agreed that members should write to their MPs using the template letter from Copyright Action to keep the pressure on MPs in the final stages of the bills passage through Parliament.
The meeting then moved on to the panel discussion on the Future for Photography, which you can listen to in it’s entirety.
After the discussion the remainder of branch business was dealt with, including reports from the committee, which will be available in full in the minutes (Registration required).
There were some changes to the branch committee with members without portfolio Jason Parkinson and Phillip Wolmuth taking up the Welfare Officer and Learning Representative positions respectively. Additionally the roles of ‘Legal Representative’ and ‘Web Editor’ were created with the positions being taken by Secretary Marc Vallée and Treasurer Jonathan Warren. New student member Franc David said that he would like to join the committee and it was agreed that he would be co-opted onto the committee without position. The branch committee page has been updated with all the new members and their positions.
Jason, Phillip and Marc all indicated that they would like to job share the new positions with others, if you are interested in helping out with the Welfare Officer, Learning rep or Legal rep positions get in touch. The Equality Officer position also remains vacant.
The full minutes from the meeting will be available to branch members online shortly, to view the minutes you must first register and your branch membership be confirmed.
Branch Meeting, Business, Digital Economy Bill, LPB, Photography
Posted in News by Jonathan Warren | 0
You can listen to last nights panel discussion on The Future for Photography below. The panel began by giving a brief summary of where they thought the future of each sector – Staff, Freelance & Agency – lay, before the discussion was opened to the floor.
Whilst some were quite bleak about the future of press photography others said there was still a market for quality in editorial photography. The idea was raised that in order to continue making a living from press photography, photographers would have to charge a proper rate for online usage and that this might only happen when newspapers started charging users for content online.
Guardian staff photographer Martin Argles talked about the strong union activity in the Guardian chapel that had preserved good terms for the staff and freelance photographers. Report Digital owner John Harris said that his agency continued to hold NUJ rates for editorial photography, even online. And freelancer Kelvin Bruce said that while it was becoming harder to sell non-exclusive images, he was still able to make a living by covering niche subjects.
A contribution from the floor raised the idea of ‘Sub-Prime photographers’ whose consistent under-cutting picture rates meant they would never be successful longterm and that there should be collective action to combat bad rates. Another contribution from the floor said that the only way to earn a living was to make yourself indispensable, by finding a niche and charging the proper rate for your work.
Agency, Audio, Business, Freelance, John Harris, Kelvin Bruce, LPB, Martin Argles, Photography, Podcast, Staff
Posted in Reports by Jonathan Warren | 10
Welcome to the brand new London Photographers’ Branch!
The branch aims to reach out to as many photographers as possible to address the issues facing us today; the collapse of the commission market, the fall in rates and library percentages, job cuts, questions of ethics, safety and press freedom.
We will be tackling all these and more in the coming months but most importantly this is your branch, it will be member led. Every individual member, staff, freelance and contract has an equal say.
This is our opportunity to shape the kind of union branch we need and tailor it to photographers’ needs across the sector.
We had a very animated inaugural meeting last night. Nearly 60 members have transferred to the new branch, most of whom attended last night.
We are looking for photographers keen to help organise the branch, we have already had some volunteers who were elected unopposed:
The remaining positions would remain unfilled until the next meeting. The positions still vacant on the committee are:
Two auditors who shall not be members of the committee are also required to audit the branches finances. You can read our Standing Orders as agreed by the meeting also.
If you have ideas/suggestions for campaigns, issues, speakers, panel debates, fundraisers bring them along… Find out how to join the London Photographers’ Branch.
Future meetings will be held on the last Tuesday of every month, the next being February 23rd at 6pm in Headland House.
AGM, Committee, Elections, LPB, Meeting, Standing Orders
Posted in News by Jonathan Warren | 1