Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

Chris, copyright is such a grey area. If you were to take a thieving git who nicks your pics to court, it still depends on the judge and you may get a doddery ol' fool who can't see what all the fuss is about!

Make your copyright clear on your website. I used to have this on my website:

All digital images purchased are the exclusive property of xxxxxxxx trading as www.xxxxxxxx.com and are protected under international copyright laws.

Purchase of this copyright image is for personal use only. 'Personal use' means non-commercial, domestic usage. Any digital image purchased from www.xxxxxxxx.com will not be used commercially, sold or hired, unless permission is granted by the owner.

The image may be used by the buyer, for non-commercial personal web pages and for his/her's local cycling club's website only. The buyer should understand that digital or printed images are not in the public domain for cycling club sponsors, associated companies or workplaces and cannot be used for publication by the aforementioned for self promotion or commercial gain.

Images purchased and used for personal use websites, must be no larger than 800pixels in width and 72dpi. If these parameters are exceeded it is violation of copyright.

Photographs are not to be downloaded, reproduced, copied, stored, manipulated, projected, used or altered in any way, alone or with any other material, or by use of computer or other electronic means without the express written permission of xxxxxxxx.

The use of any image as the basis for another photographic concept or illustration is a violation of copyright.

By purchasing a digital image or print you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of this agreement. Purchase of a digital or printed image is expressly on these conditions which embodies all of the understandings and obligations between the parties.

No images are within the public domain, unless permission is authorised by the owner.

It has been brought to my attention that photographs have been pinched from my site and have been used on other websites without my permission.

This is theft and I will be charging the following rates if I see anymore of this naughty naughtiness...

For each individual image: £60 for digital processing and travel expenses at 50p a mile.

600 x 800 pixels = £175 for one month online Advertorial and Newspapers.
600 x 800 pixels = £130 for one month Editorial.
600 x 800 pixels = £625 for one month online Commercial and Business.
600 x 800 pixels = For home/menu pages, simultaneous print and web use and/or online material, please add 50%

For images used as icons, charged as a quarter page, less 25%.

I don't care if the image is online for one minute, you will be charged for one month's usage. In addition, I will receive half of the money and the other half will be donated to the Help for Heroes*[/i] charity.

Please enjoy the site and if you want to use an image, all you have to do is email me and ask.

Thank You!

BC still ignored all of the above and put one of my images on their site and tried to fob me off with shit like, "it was taken from a press release" - Ha! I've never given any of my pics to the press! I was really pissed off, but I let it go as BC do a lot for [I]Help for Heroes.*

For more info check out:

http://www.londonfreelance.org/feesguide/index.php?language=en&country=UK&section=Photography&subsect=Online+use+of+photos

Also, when I was doing it, BC introduced a form that had to be signed by the event organiser giving you permission to shoot the event etc. It was obviously written by someone who had watched too many episodes of Law and Order as it was a joke. I would arrive at events and was then given a grilling by the BC "official Photographer" as he liked to call himself about all the do's and dont's of shooting a race.

You will also encounter the PP (Paedo Police). These are utter no-marks who attach themselves to the event and think they are Petrocelli and you are a potential paedophile. Again they will give you the in's and outs of what you can and can't shoot at the event. Just tell them to fuck off, for as long as you have permission from the event organiser to shoot, then you should be fine.

Check this out: http://photorights.org/faq

I never once had any hassle from parents for shooting the kid's CX. It was always from the BC and their Scooby Dooless hangers on.

*Eventually I gave up because I had a demanding day job and I felt as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit. *

Also, I started racing again as it was a damn sight warmer thrashing about a muddy field for an hour than freezing my nuts off with my thumb stuck to the shutter!