Should I feel flattered or......

[Runmonty]

A few weeks ago I posted this image to my Flickr page and this forum.

steps by runmonty, on Flickr

Now I am not overly attached to the image, but it is something that is not an obvious photo to take and required a little "out of the box" thinking at the time. A few days ago I saw that a local photographer that follows me on Flickr had posted the following image. According to the EXIF it was taken 2 days after I uploaded mine to Flickr .

Now I know that anyone can take any image they like and I know I am often influenced by other photographers myself, but I will confess to feeling a bit p....ed off when I saw this. To me it was a direct copy of what I had done. Am I being petty or am I somewhat justified in my reaction. I would appreciate honest opinions.

Michelle Robinson_April (Olympus) 2014_41 by michmutters, on Flickr

[theantiquetiger]

I must confess, I see other people's images in my area and I go shot it. Now, it will not be a carbon copy. In this case, you should feel flattered, since you are the one with the eye. What's the old saying, "Imitation is the highest form of flattery!"

I saw this image a few weeks ago


So I went and did my own

[Runmonty]

Thanks for the feedback AT. I feel happier now I have vented.

For what its worth, I still prefer my image as in my opinion the decreasing width of horizontal bands (steps) are key to the comp. Maybe I am pissed because the other version got more Flickr "favorites"

[theantiquetiger]

Your image is 1000x better. She has harsh light, dark shadows causing loss of detail.

I will go like your image

She must have run over there. She took it two days after you.

EDIT***

I went on here Flickr page and left a comment about you!!!

[theantiquetiger]

Her 52-week Window portfolio is amazing!!!!













J/K

[Runmonty]

Great to see someone's got my back . I feel a bit uncomfortable about the comment though

[theantiquetiger]

I deleted it but it was there long enough for her to see it.

[Runmonty]

Her 52-week Window portfolio is amazing!!!!

J/K

Ha Ha,

I do often like her street photography though. She is certainly prolific and creative.

[Iguanasan]

I would lean towards flattered. It can be a bit hard to take if she ended up with more views/etc. I've gotten a bit put off when I've seen an image get page after page of likes/favourites/comments and something that I've done barely gets a blip especially when it's someone I've been out with on a group photo walk and my image is equally as good if not better and because I'm usually the one copied. And then I try to remember for whom I am taking the photograph and I feel better. You are an influencer. I think you should be proud of it. She obviously likes your work enough to follow your stream and use your images as inspiration.

[mbrager]

Your image is much better lit and exposed, and gives a much broader context of the scene. Plus, she posted her photo in several other groups, so is trying to get more views. I agree with AT and Ig; it's obvious enough that you influenced her. That would please me.