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Unless you’re Asbury First United Methodist Church. Recently while doing my due diligence on a local Rochester, NY church, where a client couple of mine is having their upcoming wedding ceremony, I discovered one of my licensed Rochester, NY city stock images being used (without usage rights) by the church to promote/decorate their web site.

I called the church and inquired who the ‘web master’ was and attempted to reach Rev. Philip W. Phaneuf by phone. I was unable to reach him so I followed up with a cease and desist email, making sure to carbon copy my agent and attorney. I attempted to seek resolution privately, without taking legal action since my client’s wedding ceremony will be taking place at Asbury; maintaining a cordial relationship with the church was a foremost concern considering this peculiar/ironic circumstance.

This was my email:

“Dear Rev. Phaneuf, my name is Paul D. Van Hoy II, owner of Fotoimpressions based in Rochester, NY. Rather than have my agent or attorney issue this email and follow though with legal action, I’m writing you personally to request that you immediately remove my image from your church’s web site. I have never been lenient with issues of unlawful appropriation or copyright infringement in the past, but a client of mine has an upcoming wedding this Friday at your church and for this reason I would like to maintain a cordial relationship with the church.

I would like to know where the image was taken from and if you sought permission for usage or if someone granted you permission and, if so, I would like the name of that individual. I trust you will appreciate the gravity of this matter and respond with expediency in having it removed.”

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,
Paul D. Van Hoy II

Philip Phaneuf failed to reply to my email, but did call me earlier this afternoon. Philip immediately stated that he had alredy removed the image in question from the web site, but then stated that it was a ‘mix-up’ (a misunderstanding on my part) and that he and his wife are both ‘photographers’ and often photograph the Rochester, NY skyline from that same exact location. I then asked him if he was trying to imply that the image was his own. His reply was yes.

I then informed him that the image had already been fingerprinted using an overlay technique in Photoshop and he abruptly cut me off to inform me that he was a Photoshop guru and he received his ‘master level’ certification in Photoshop. I’m not kidding folks…he actually attempted to brag about his vast knowledge of Photoshop to the artist from whom he knowingly stole an image from…(A former instructor at RIT who previously taught Photoshop Workflow for digital photographers - yours truly!)

Theft by itself is a pathetic act of desperation and entitlement, but then to have someone who has been caught ‘red-handed’ lie to you, telling you that your image is theirs, offering only arrogance and continued disrespect rather than an apology is just adding injury to insult. I have litigated four different cases of image theft since my time here in Rochester and won on all four rulings - this is neither the first or the last. However, during the course of my career as a professional photographer I have never dealt with someone quite like this Philip Phaneuf - someone so flagrantly disrespectful, dishonest, and without and accountability or regret for their actions.

I strongly urge brides and grooms in this area to reconsider venues if Asbury First United Methodist Church is your desired venue for your wedding ceremony. Aside from this issue, Asbury First United Methodist Church prohibits any photography during wedding ceremonies - restricting professional photographers, who are being paid thousands of dollars to document the most momentous day in a couple’s life, to the balcony or behind the last pew. If you have any similar stories or attitudes to express about image theft, image copyright or the restriction of photography in churches during wedding ceremonies, I’d love to hear from you. Also, if you’re seeking a church venue for your future wedding, I can provide you with a long list of churches that are happy to have photographers present and making photographs during wedding ceremonies in the Rochester area.

Thank you, to those of you out there following my work and keeping me informed when my images appear without credit - I depend on you all especially in situations such as this. I’ll keep you informed on how this situation develops. At present my agency and attorney are preparing to take action.

In this blog entry composite you will see three images: the first is the one from the Asbury web site, the second is my own original, the third is an overlay composite that matches up like a key in its proper keyhole (which accounts for the blackness of the image). If Philip actually stood in that very spot with his tri-pod extended to the exact same length that mine was, and used the same f-stop and lens, then edited the image to produce the same color tones and saturation as mine - well then… he is truly blessed and should start playing the NY lotto. Just for fun let’s suspend logic for a moment or two… He could have taken the exact same shot from the same place and at the same hour but there’s no way in hell (he should be familiar with the notion of hell) that the office lights in each building would match perfectly.

After googling Philip Phaneuf’s name I discovered that he is a freelance wedding photographer for Phelps studio here in Rochester, NY. Whaddya say boys and girls, I know you’re out there ooh-ing and aww-ing over the prospect of having this douchebag (statement of opinion, not fact) photograph your wedding… I have literally seen it all now… Ole Philip was trying to drink my milkshake - now let the games begin… “GIVE ME THE BLOOD” - Daniel Plainview

-Paul