News outlets have reported on an Instagram account @TTCWomen, bringing up concerns about women safety and privacy. I’m annoyed by a couple of things: the account, and the lazy and hypocritical media (as well as my photos being used without permission by both sides). 140 characters isn’t enough to vent my frustration, so I wrote a blog post instead.

Give credit where credit is due

I’m annoyed by the creator of the account, Anis Litim, because he uploads photos that do not belong to him; he is not the photographer. How do I know this? Because 4 photos on the account are mine. He removed my copyright information, posted it without my knowledge, and didn’t give proper credit — major annoyances any photographer will tell you. If he asked permission and at the very least tag and credit me, I wouldn’t be upset with him uploading my photos.

I guess I’m old school, thinking if you upload photos that do not belong to you, credit credit credit.

View this post on Instagram

#ttcwomen #9 #cute #smile #ttc #toronto #loveit photo credit @petemorawski

A post shared by TTC Women (by @anislitim) (@ttcwomen) on Apr 6, 2015 at 10:56am PDT

Do some investigating

Next is the “reporters” at The Star, MetroNews, and GlobalNews, who obviously do not understand basic investigative journalism. Let’s use my photo for example: if you do a simple reverse image search, you come across my Flickr page. You can then send me a message and get more information about the young women in my photographs; investigative journalism 101. Instead, they make assumptions the women are changing on the subway and someone snapped the photos without their consent; all 3 outlets make this assumption.

Most of the photos on the account are posing for the photographs, while the rest are during No Pants Subway Ride, a public event organized by Improv in Toronto. The year I attended the event, all participants and media met at Queens Park prior to getting on the subway to discuss details of the ride. The reason they are not looking at the camera is because the organizers informed the participants to ignore the media and act as if everything is normal. The participants were well aware that media was there, and that they would be photographed. After the event, many people even complained they weren’t photographed enough.

All 3 news outlets could have gathered this information with a bit of research; I just did your jobs for you, you’re welcome.

Typical media

The 3 media outlets also have the same opinion: the girls didn’t know they were being photographed. You’d think seeing 3 girls in a photo only wearing their underwear would call for more investigation?

The Star: “Toronto-based social and online media consultant Elena Langlois says it’s clear that, in some of the photos, the women aren’t aware they’re on camera.” — wrong.

MetroNews: “‘It looks extremely creepy. They don’t seem to know their photos being taken, and they have no say in whether that’s OK or not,’ said Sabera Esufali, a peer support co-ordinator at the Centre for Women and Trans People at the University of Toronto.” — wrong again.

GlobalNews: “Filled with shots of women riding Toronto’s transit system, some pictures appear posed, while others look like candid shots.” — Ok you’re kind of right, but still wrong; they are candid for a reason.

The photos where the women are looking at the camera, my guess was a selfie or a friend taking the photo, and this Anis Litim guy finding the photo on social media and uploading it to this account; that part is definitely a little creepy.

Hypocritical much?

Is it not a little hypocritical GlobalNews uses a photo in their video segment without permission, from myself or the girl in the photo, yet cry about permission and photo law throughout?

I got in touch with Jacqueline Crawford, the girl included in the video segment. She had this to say:

I am amused and almost annoyed by GlobalNews at their failure to do their homework on the photos presented by TTCWomen on Instagram. Being one of those whose photo was taken and posted I can say that most of those photos had permission to be taken as it was for the No Pants Subway Ride (of which you can note by the lack of pants in some photos-although mine is only the upper portion) When they stated that some people were looking at the camera and some were not they failed to understand that it was the intention for the photos. As most are familiar with the No Pants Subway Ride, you know that you’re suppose to act natural and as the photographers say, act like were not even there. Had they done their homework they’d know this. I’m also amused that this segment talks about respect and privacy. Yet no one made any attempt to contact me for the usage of my photo used in a video that I do not support without my permission that has also become more viral than the photos themselves. I gave permission for my photo to be taken…but I did not give GlobalNews the permission to use it. –Jacqueline Crawford

Hey guess what GlobalNews, I asked for permission to use this comment and her name in this blog post. It wasn’t a lot of work and it only took a few seconds to ask, try it next time.

Privacy in public spaces?

The media also mentioned privacy. Sorry to say, but being on public property you essentially give up any expectation of privacy.

“Just because I’m standing in public as a private person doesn’t give someone the right to take a photo of me and share it on social media,” [Elena Langlois] says.

Sharing it on social media we can have a conversation, but sorry to say, they have every right to take that photo; whether they can sell that photo for commercial use is another story.

In a perfect world, he would take the photos himself and ask permission from the girl after taking the photo. While I’m not 100% on board with the account, what he is doing is technically not breaking any laws.

The law is clear*

*I’m not a lawyer

Photography on TTC property: “3.17 No person shall operate any camera, video recording device, movie camera or any similar device for commercial purposes upon the transit system without authorization.” There is no mention to non-commercial or artistic photography.

That is why you constantly see tv reporters on TTC property covering a story, they have every right to do so.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication”

Constable in the GlobalNews article video: “You can kindly ask them to please not take the photograph and to delete it from their phone,” said Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu. “However, it’s not a criminal offence.”

@TTCMen?

I am curious if an account focused on TTC men would raise the same concerns. @TTCWomen was inspired by @hotdudesreading and those are all clearly taken without consent. Granted non of the guys are in their underwear, but there doesn’t seem as much talk about privacy or safety about that account. If you want a discussion about photo privacy it must include everybody, not just women.

To sum up: Photography is a tricky medium, one that needs to be examined constantly, that’s obvious. But let’s not forget, it’s an expression of our thoughts and freedoms, and that is something which I enjoy about this country.

“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” –Benjamin Franklin

The idea of uploading photos of women without their consent troubles me a little, but it’s not the worst thing out there. If he took the photos himself and asked the woman if he could upload them, I would have his back without hesitation. But at least there’s this: “Litim says he’d also like to post the names and Instagram handles of women who consent to having their photos taken so they can be part of the conversation.”

What do you think? Is the account in the right or wrong? Is the media over-hyping this? Are there expectations of privacy in public spaces? Share your thoughts below.

PS, I might edit this in the future, I just wanted to get my thoughts out quickly.

Thoughts on TTCWomen Instagram Account #TTCWomen @globalnews @TorontoStar @metrotoronto http://t.co/RZvErmVUr2 pic.twitter.com/UYFqyKTo3h

— Pete Morawski (@petemora) April 12, 2015

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For whatever reason, I never made a post about Toronto Life publishing my photo of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair last June. They said the photo would be used in a stylized collage, so I was little worried, but I think it came out nicely.

It was printed in the magazine, but was also used on the website. You can find the article here.

This is the original to compare how they stylized the photo in the article.

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“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.” ~G.K. Chesterton

Every year we make new year’s resolutions to lose weight, spend more time with family, find your true love. Within months, sometimes weeks, it all falls apart. I didn’t want to create another boring resolutions list. I wanted to create a life changing list, one that would save my life. A list I would start today, that would stick with me for years, and become habits instead of just a temporary to do list.

The best way to make a new year’s resolution list that sticks is to write it down and share it with everyone. So that’s exactly what I did.

Be grateful.

Over the years I’ve lost focus on what’s important, have forgotten the good things, but it’s never too late to change things around.

I kept a gratitude journal at one point. I wrote three things every day for which I was grateful for. It puts everything into perspective, reminds you of the good in your life, and sets you up for the following day. Things I’ve added to that list were, comfortable bed, delicious soup, 16 years with Elmo (my best buddy), kept calm when lost important receipts, those sorts of things.

There have even been studies where participants felt better about their lives, exercised more, and were most optimistic when they wrote a gratitude journal.

Say goodbye to perfectionism.

I’m a perfectionist, an annoying little trait that prevents me from sharing anything unless I think it’s perfect. I could never share anything that was just “good enough”, it was either perfect, or it got shelved. I have blog posts that I never posted because they felt incomplete. This kind of thinking is stressful and unproductive. There’s no growth when you hide everything you’re working on.

Stop comparing yourself to others.

I try to live without regrets, but recently have been plagued with self-doubt about the decisions I’ve made. Everyone is on their own path in life, I’m on another, and I’m ok with that. Who says which path is the “correct” path.
“To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.” ~Sven Goran Eriksson

No more excuses.

Over the years I’ve blamed something for my circumstances. My learning disability for being stupid, my ADD for never sticking with anything, my shyness for my social anxiety – I can go on.

Quite honestly, I’m tired of labels having this power over me. They’re just excuses I use so I don’t have to face fears in my life. Who has time for excuses anymore?! Not me.

Let go of my anger.

My anger has grabbed control of me. Instead of responding with reason, I let anger control how I respond to things.  Anger can be a good thing, but I let it creep up way too often, and usually without control over it.

One part of my anger is passive-aggressive. I’ll complain about something instead of confronting it head on. I’ve always used anger instead of other emotions because it’s easier for me to live with. Not healthy.

Show up every day.

Whether it’s photography, writing, painting, or whatever else you do, show up every day. Even if you don’t do any work, just show up. Sit at your computer with the word processor open, stand in front of your easel with paint brush in hand, or have your camera on your side when you go for a walk. Make it a routine to show up daily, because if you don’t show up, you’ll never create that next great masterpiece.
Woody Allen said it best, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”

Read, read, read.

There are many benefits to reading (reducing stress, being cheap therapy, and building your vocabulary are a few examples). Reading can ever help with your writing. I’ve never been a big reader, but this year I’m going for it.

Since I can’t buy all the books on my reading list, I’ll be borrowing them from my library, physical or ebooks. Project Gutenberg has free ebooks for download. Since the books there have expired copyright, they are free to download. There really is no excuse for not reading anymore.

All that being said, I’ll label this post as good enough and share it. Is it a perfect post? Not even close, but I’m ok with that.

Oh ya, there are a few small resolutions I almost forgot to add: lose weight, spend more time with family, and find my true love 🙂

What are some of yours new year’s resolutions?

The post 7 Life Changing New Year’s Resolutions I Need To Keep appeared first on Pete Morawski.

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” ~Otto von Bismarck

DIY photo mounting can be fun, or a complete nightmare. If you’re doing any photo mounting on foamboard, don’t repeat my stupid mistakes. Get the right equipment, practice with smaller images, and get right into it. I chose to mount on foamboard for my Library exhibit because it sounded like a fun and interesting project – it was definitely interesting, but not so fun at times.

Don’t be cheap.

I started with a cheap x-acto knife for testing purposes, thinking it would be good enough – boy was I wrong. Did a little research and found the Logan 701-1 Straight Cutter ‘Elite’ (pictured above). It does 90° straight cuts every time, which will drive you nuts trying to accomplish using a traditional x-acto. Save yourself a headache and buy one.

Also invest in a long cutting mat, I got a 12×36′ mat. The longer the better. Don’t trust the cutter on a cardboard box thinking it will not scratch up your working area.

Also buy a long metal ruler without a cork back. Having a cork ruler will place the ruler over part of the image, slicing off about 1/4 inch of each side. Without a cork, the ruler can be placed against the image and have it align perfectly every time.

Don’t assume your work will be safe.

I watched a video before beginning this project, where the guy mentions using a mat board for protecting your image – do not skip this step. Just remember Murphy’s law: “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. So protect your work at all times, don’t learn the hard way like I did.

After scratching my image, I used bristol board and it did the job perfectly. It may have been the straight cutter that caused the scratch, but I also believe the image was not great quality either – more on that below.

Don’t use a photo lab you don’t trust.

I was curious about a new lab I heard of recently, which I won’t name because I don’t feel like getting sued. They were more expensive, but the turnaround was fast, so I decided to give them a shot. I feel like I’ve been cursed with that photo. Almost every issue I had in this post involved that image.

I emailed the lab asking about their paper and printing process, and they insured me they use only the best quality paper from Germany and best quality HP inks. I can’t say the print looks bad, because it does look good, but there must be something in the process that makes the paper more sensitive and prone to scratching.

I have done a lot of printing another lab, and have never run into the same issue. I even tested by putting all my muscle into reproducing the scratches on other prints, which didn’t happen even once.

Spray adhesive: Less is NOT more.

During my first mounting I thought I used a bit too much spray adhesive, so the second mounting I used a little less. A few days later, I noticed air bubbles on the image. Always use a generous amount of adhesive, or else you may fall victim to air bubbles if your foamboard warps at all.

Solution: Poke a hole into the back of the foamboard where you see the air bubble, with a sewing needle, but stop just before you reach the photo. Flip the board over, get a clean rag, and wipe the air bubbles towards the hole in the foamboard – the air bubbles will eventually disappear. Practice this on a scrap foamboard before doing it on your final image. Sadly small air bubbles did pop up afterwards because you can’t respray the board with adhesive, but it still looks better now.

Don’t spray and place.

Do not think you can cheat by putting the image on the ground, spraying it with adhesive, then placing the foamboard on top of the image – you will regret it. Anything you had underneath the print (newspaper in my situation) now has adhesive spray on it too, so guess what, you just mounted some newspaper on your print. Luckily the adhesive did not set, so I had time to remove the newspaper. I did have some adhesive on the print, but it’s not very noticeable, thanks god.

Don’t use foamboard.

Personally I don’t like foamboard, and I would never consider using it as a board for a client. Foamboard is great for projects like this, it’s easy to work with and not too expensive, but the boards do warp over time. I am using it for the exhibit, because frankly, that is what I can afford at the moment (more on this in a future post).
Last but not least…

Don’t give up.

Seems like an obvious one. As much I as wanted to throw in the towel and toss all my supplies off the balcony, I stuck with it and used this as a learning experience. Without trying this project, I never would have known what to do, and more importantly what not to do in the future.
Have you done any DIY photo mounting? If so, what are your tips and tricks? Leave a comment below.

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So TIFF has come and gone this year. Overall, I wasn’t as happy as years past. This year I was focusing on gala’s instead of waiting at hotels. Mostly due to back and knee issues, I can’t stand on my feet for 12hrs any longer, but also because the TIFF organizers are making it more difficult to find celebrities throughout the city.

Here are some of my favorites from TIFF this year.

Kristen Stewart showed up late for her gala, forcing the midnight show to start past 1am.

I had never attempted a “midnight madness” screening before, but decided to stay up late this year. I loved Olivia Thirlby in everything I’ve seen of hers, so I decided to stay up. The crowd wasn’t huge, but it was definitely fun. The image is being used on her Wikipedia page.

This image of Ashley Benson is also being used on Entertainment Tonight Wikipedia page.

Woody Harrelson yet again disappointed me. I knew he wouldn’t sign anything, but I tried anyway.

I was happy to end the year seeing Jared Leto. The crowd was excited, but smaller than for Zac Efron.

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