When British photographer Mike Lane’s car was stolen in October, he also lost a good amount of gear that was inside. Not long after, Lane spotted his tripod — one item stolen from his car — for sale on eBay. This is where his journey really begins.

Lane quickly sprung into action doing the sensible thing: he Googled what to do. This led him to his local police department where he initially filed a report after his car was stolen. He showed an image of the tripod from before it was taken and compared it with the listing showing it had to be the same. Lane’s tripod was outfitted specifically, so he was positive it was the same as the one on eBay. The police took the number of the eBay listing down as well as the name attached to the seller’s profile and added the information to the report. But Lane had an important question: should he purchase the stolen tripod?

The officer told him that since it may be a while before they respond, then yes, it would help ensure he actually gets the equipment back. So he did just that, putting up his own money which he hoped to eventually get back.

The situation picked up again once the tripod arrived. Lane confirmed it was his, but took things a step further. He looked at the address on the package, which was for a location about 10 miles away, and decided to pay it a visit. The trip was a bit uneventful as the woman working at the shop said it was only the accounts department and didn’t have anything to do with sales. With no further information gleaned, Lane left. But, before heading out, he noticed the sign above the storefront with the name “Cash Converters.”

Cash Converters is a chain where people can buy and sell second-hand goods or pawn items. Lane was encouraged by the website’s language that ensured it is against the buying and selling of stolen goods and its willingness to take a financial loss to reimburse buyers for such items. Propelled by this, he sent an email to the company about his situation.

However, he found the language the company used to be more forceful than the actual actions taken. Cash Converters urged him to work with eBay, which Lane already expected to be less than helpful based on his earlier research. That turned out to be the case when the eBay employee he spoke with wasn’t sure what to do next, despite their seeming eagerness to help.

Another wrinkle appeared when, before receiving an email response from Cash Converters, he decided to stop by the branch where the package was sent from, according to the tracking info. In addition to any further information, Lane wanted to see if he could spot any more of his stolen items at the shop. He didn’t, but the manager told Lane he recently learned that the tripod sold was stolen. Lane asked if the person brought in any more of his gear, but the manager said he couldn’t give that information out freely.

So, Lane turned back to the police department to see how his case was being followed up on. It seemed that, despite it being a month later, things were stalled, waiting for an officer to be assigned the case. Lane then turned to his Member of Parliament, who emailed the police and not long after, someone was assigned. Lane wasn’t sure if the timing was coincidental or if the MP’s email moved things along, but he was happy for the progress all the same.

Things were finally coming together, but Lane still had one last thing to do. The police told him that, in order to get his money back, the photographer would have to return the tripod to Cash Converters to get a refund. The police would then collect the stolen goods from the business and bring it back to him. That’s exactly what he did. And so, just over another two weeks later, refund already in hand, Lane got his tripod back from the police.

It was a long odyssey for Lane to get back his property and it wasn’t even the only item he had stolen. While Lane says there were luckily no cameras or lenses in the car, there was plenty of other gear lost alongside the tripod. Lane isn’t the first or only to have gear stolen, and it’s astonishing just how much legwork it took on his side to get even a single item back. Still, Lane keeps a sense of humor, joking at the end of his video about his new “security” dog system.

PetaPixel has reached out to Lane to see if he was able to get any of his other stolen items or car back and will update this story if he responds.

Image credits: Mike Lane, YouTube

Arlene Gottfried was a striking street photographer of 1970s and 1980s New York City, when Times Square was more gritty than it was Disney, to say the least. The archive of her work amounts to hundreds of boxes of film which her family is working to preserve.

Gottfried passed away in 2017 at the age of 66 due to breast cancer, leaving her archive to her siblings Karen and Gilbert Gottfried, the late comedian and actor. The New York Times recently covered the effort to maintain both Arlene Gottfried’s physical work and her legacy, noting the photographer asked her brother and his wife, Dara Gottfried, to make sure her career is remembered. However, shortly after her death, Gilbert Gottfried himself fell ill, eventually passing away in 2022 at the age of 67.

Now, Dara Gottfried is busy taking on the task of handling Arlene’s art, digitizing it, and, in the long term, determining where it should go and how to keep the images accessible to the public.

“Arlene wanted her legacy kept alive in museums or shows or galleries,” Dara Gottfried told The Times. “Gilbert and I wanted to honor her wishes to have her work shared with the world, so it could live on forever.”

Daniel Cooney of New York City art gallery Daniel Cooney Fine Art tells PetaPixel that there have been scores of New York City street photographers. He asks, rhetorically, what is it that sets Arlene Gottfried’s work apart?

“Her work was all kind of very much about her approach,” he says. “No one else could make those pictures because they’re specific to the way she saw the world. And so, in a way, even though they’re street photographs and they’re about the streets of New York City, they’re very revealing about who she was because she put herself into it.”

Cooley began working with Arlene Gottfried over a decade ago and remains involved with her family in helping keep the photographer’s work visible. Cooney gave Arlene her first show and put on another with her work while she was still alive. Since her passing, Cooney says he’s put on three shows featuring her work.

Additionally, Arlene’s work will be featured in Paris and Germany this year before Cooley hosts another with Arlene’s image, which is likely to take place next year.

He says the plan right now is to focus on exhibiting the artist’s work while the family, with whom he works closely, eventually finds a permanent home for Arlene Gottfried’s archive. It’s an undertaking that comes with as many obstacles as reasons to get it right. For example, Cooley tells PetaPixel that taking on 10,000 to 15,000 photographs, storing and displaying them properly, cataloging, and digitizing them, takes a great deal of resources. Museum space and public library budgets are finite. And it’s possible to run into more mundane issues, for example, a curator one is working with could leave for a different post.

“It’s not that easy,” Cooley says. “It’s a very complicated process.”

Meanwhile, finding the right place is even more difficult than simply finding any place to take the massive archive. The family would prefer the collection is not taken in without keeping it accessible.

“If somebody’s writing up a dissertation on street photography, you want them to have access, and a lot of archives won’t allow access to things like that,” Cooley says. “So it has to be the right place, and there’s so many variables.”

And there is a great deal to gain from studying Arlene Gottfried’s work. Beyond the images, there’s a great deal to learn about how to approach street photography one can glean from her images.

“She had a lot of empathy and compassion because she was always photographing people that were kind of on the fringes of culture or on the fringes of society, say. And she never approached those people with anything but respect. She always approached people as equals, and it’s a robust and exciting view of the time that she lived in,” Cooley explains to PetaPixel.

He notes that the result is seen in the photographs themselves. There’s an ease and comfort in Arlene Gottfried’s subjects, which is made even more impressive when, as Cooley points out, she doesn’t stay with these subjects for long.

“For the most part, for the work that people know, she wasn’t really spending time getting to know people,” he says. “I mean, most of the people she photographed, she would meet, take a few pictures, and then move on. So it wasn’t like she had time to gain trust through conversation. It was just sort of her demeanor and her body language.”

Cooley further paints the picture: Arlene Gottfried, standing at a petite five feet, without a photographer on the streets of New York City. He notes that she had a shyness about her and wouldn’t walk into a scene and try to take over. Instead, she was driven by true curiosity, coupled with respect, and able to gain the trust of gang members and heroin addicts, as well as children and ordinary people riding the subway. Beyond her authentic interest in her subjects, Arlene Gottfried found kinship in them.

“I think that she was endlessly curious about the world, trying to make sense of it and trying to make sense of her place in the world,” Cooley says. “She wasn’t out photographing people because they were different from her. She was photographing people that were the same as her. She was photographing similarities in herself.”

He says her prime motivation was being an artist.

“And so,” he continues, “inherent in that is kind of being an outsider.”

Image credits: Photographs by Arlene Gottfried, Courtesy of Daniel Cooley

While Payne denied intentionally violating the KCPA, she accepted a consent judgment to resolve the matter, the district attorney said Wednesday. The agreement calls for Payne to be liable for $30,000.00 in civil penalties, additional investigative expenses, and court costs while on a 48-month probationary period with the Consumer Protection Division. Payne will have to pay over $2,000.00 in restitution to two impacted consumers. The consent judgment also calls for an injunction from engaging in deceptive or unconscionable acts and cooperation with any future complaints.

• Jonathan Fielding was hiking with a group of friends on Saturday near Moonscape Overlook just outside of Hanskville when he lost his footing and fell
• The teen, who is from Blue Springs, Missouri, recently moved to Orem, Utah 
• Wayne County officials ruled his death as accidental

By Ruth Bashinsky For Dailymail.Com

Published: 13:13 EST, 1 February 2024 | Updated: 13:30 EST, 1 February 2024

A 19-year-old Utah teen tragically died after fallling 1,400 feet to his death at a popular canyon when he tried to to take a photograph as his devastated family pays tribute.

Jonathan Fielding was hiking with a group of friends on Saturday near Moonscape Overlook near Torrey, Utah just outside of Hanskville when he lost his footing and plummeted to his death.

The area that is often referred to as ‘Mars‘ is covered with gray mesas, steep cliffs that drop hundreds of feet to a view of a landcape that look liks the moon. 

The teen, who is from Blue Springs, Missouri recently moved to Orem, Utah, his family said. Described by his loved ones as a ‘photography enthusiast,’ Fielding stopped to take photos to capture the majestic views moments before the tragedy.

Wayne County officials ruled his death as accidental.

His grieving family described him as a ‘loving and caring son, brother, grandson, uncle, nephew, and cousin.

‘While the passing of Jonathan was unexpected, we take some comfort knowing that he was doing what he loved at the time of the accident,’ they wrote. ‘ He was on a photoshoot with friends in the beautiful Utah wilderness where he loved to be.’

Fielding was described in his obituary as a ‘fun-loving, intelligent young man,’ and was called ‘Johnny’ by his friends.

‘He had big dreams and hopes focused on sales. More important than his dreams and future plans, however, Jonathan was a good person. 

‘Jonathan truly cared about others. He would genuinely listen to you. He was truly a friend in every sense of the word.

‘He had many friends and was an influence for good. He was always kind to others. He would often notice those that needed help and offered them assistance and encouragement.’

He was a boy scout who worked his way up to Eagle Scout, and was also a skilled athlete who was a membe of his high school’s track and field team and pole vaulter, who went to State in DECA. 

‘While Jonathan’s time in life was limited, his impact on others was not. He was loved by many. He will be missed by all that knew him.

Fielding was one of six siblings and the only boy, according to his obituary.

His sister, Rebecca Fielding drove from Missouri to the site where her brother died, she said, to get some ‘closure.’ 

She posted several photos of her brother on Facebook that accompanied  a heartbreaking post. She also warned others of the dangers that lurk beyond the mesmerizing scenery reminding those to ‘never trust the ground on the edge of a cliff.’ 

‘It was a tragic accident, but Jonathan should be a cautionary tale to anyone who hikes or does photography,’ she wrote, ii npart.  

 ‘No view is worth your life. No view is worth the suffering that your family and friends will go through. No view is worth the risk that rescuers face when trying to save people and recover bodies.

‘There was no reason for my brother to die. Please don’t make the same mistakes he did.’

Tributes poured in upon hearing the gut-wrenching news of Fielding’s untimely death as many expressed their condolences. 

‘One of the kindest, most genuine, cheerful, honest and pure souls this world has had the privilege of knowing. He left every room he entered a better place. Love you Jonny,’ someone wrote.

Another mourner said,  ‘So heart broken to hear this news! Michael and Tammy we are praying for your comfort and peace dear cousins! We love you all.’

Earlier in the week, a GoFundMe was created to help cover the funeral costs. 

Connor Parry wrote, a friend of the family who organized the fundrasier,’Jonathan is loved by many and was a great example of selfless love.’

As of Thursday morning more than $26,000 has been raised surpassing their goal of $26,000.

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A Derby photographer has entered into a consent judgment after being investigated by the District Attorney’s office.

The office’s consumer protection division (CPD) investigated Caitlin Payne, doing business as CP Family Photography, after receiving several customer complaints. The DA’s office alleged Payne violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act by deceptively advertising photography services using photographs taken by other photographers and failing to disclose to the consumers that the photographs were not her own.

As part of the investigation, the CPD received an additional complaint involving Payne sending a replacement photographer to a wedding while she was allegedly attending another event and failing to disclose the replacement lacked the skills to perform the contracted services. While Payne denied intentionally violating the KCPA, she accepted a consent judgment to resolve the matter. The agreement calls for Payne to be liable for $30,000.00 in civil penalties, additional investigative expenses, and court costs while on a 48-month probationary period with the CPD.

Payne will have to pay more than $2,000.00 in restitution to two consumers. The judgment also calls for an injunction from engaging in deceptive or unconscionable acts and cooperation with any future complaints. Payne promised not to use photographs of other photographers moving forward unless they are clearly and conspicuously disclosed as only a style of photography that she is capable of reproducing.

Copyright 2024 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present “Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell,” an exhibition exploring timeless images of film royalty from the 1930s and 1940s. George Hurrell, the acclaimed Hollywood portrait photographer, captures these stars in their most enchanting light. Among those featured are film icons, ranging from Jean Harlow and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson to Greta Garbo and James Wong Howe. Selected from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection, which includes 70 recently acquired Hurrell portraits, the exhibition is curated by senior curator of photographs Ann Shumard. It will be on view from March 1 to Jan. 5, 2025.

“Through his expertly crafted, mesmerizing portraits, George Hurrell burnished the luster Hollywood’s most memorable stars of the 1930s and ’40s,” Shumard said.

In 1930, Hurrell began his Hollywood career as a photographer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the studio claiming to have “more stars than there are in heaven.” Shortly after joining MGM, Hurrell became the studio’s principal portrait photographer. His keen eye for lighting, composition and artful posing glorified Hollywood’s stars and influenced popular standards of glamour. In 1933, Hurrell established his own studio on Sunset Boulevard, where he continued to photograph actors for MGM and those working for other major studios. After closing his studio in 1938, he ended the decade as the head of photography for Warner Bros.

Featuring more than 20 vintage photographs, this exhibition portrays some of Golden Age Hollywood’s most memorable stars at the height of their fame, including John Barrymore, Jimmy Durante, Rosalind Russell, Spencer Tracy, Loretta Young and many more.  

National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of the United States through the individuals who have shaped American culture. Spanning the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors, and activists whose lives tell the nation’s story.        

The National Portrait Gallery is located at Eighth and G streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Connect with the museum at npg.si.edu and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

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