Meeting Aboriginal people

[SeafordSunshine]

A couple of thoughts?

I always felt that I had no culture, and that I was a bit robbed , growing up as an Australian, who's parents came to Australia to escape war.. etc etc .

My parents wanted us to be little Aussie, and yet I didn't know anything about the Firsts Aussies..
When I went to Uni, thinking I had a gift for languages, I thought I would enrol in an Aboriginal Languages Course..
No Luck. In the 1990s Sydney Uni didn't offer any of that.
I had some aboriginal neighbours who I knew to say hello to, and when I suffered a personal tragedy, while I was studying, they were the ones who knew what to do, how to let me get on with grieving, rather than my 'whitey' family, who thought it best to 'cheer up'.

Funny how you don't know what you have to learn, for me, I owe a lot to the 'blacks'.

It sounds like you have a longing to know about the same thing I didn't know about,

I hope this helps!

 

[evisional]

A friend sent me a link to copies of these photos recently, sound similar to the topic: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/photojour...e-in-remote-kennedy-hill-20150123-12wvxw.html

Thanks for this links. Good start for me. BTW, I went to Koorie Night Market last Friday. I did take some photos.

 

[Nemo30]

Thanks for this links. Good start for me. BTW, I went to Koorie Night Market last Friday. I did take some photos.

If you are going to use them for anything I hope you got written consent from the people.

 

[andrew_de_a]

Why does it need to be written ?

 

[Nemo30]

Why do we have written anything?

 

[andrew_de_a]

They tend to have much lower literacy rates.
Good luck with that.

 

[Nemo30]

Doesnt stop someone from signing a release.

 

[andrew_de_a]

If they can't read something why would they sign it?

 

[Nemo30]

well dont use their photo

 

[geoffw]

Ok, I'm interested. Is it normal for people to have to sign a release when their photos are taken? What's the rules applicable?

And just because literacy rates are lower, doesn't mean somebody can't read or write. There is perhaps some stereotyping here. Literacy rates are typically lower in remote communities. But are we talking about urban or country town communities here?

 

[andrew_de_a]

well dont use their photo

Ok noted...

 

[Nemo30]

In my job, we take photos of the public and use in various ways.

We dont use anything without written consent - and yes even with written consent we still get ppl ask to have their photo removed.

I think its generally ok to take a photo where a person can reasonably expect to have their photo taken - media does this with crowd shots all the time.

Why take the risk of being sued.

 

[WattleIdo]

Ok, I'm interested. Is it normal for people to have to sign a release when their photos are taken? What's the rules applicable?

And just because literacy rates are lower, doesn't mean somebody can't read or write. There is perhaps some stereotyping here. Literacy rates are typically lower in remote communities. But are we talking about urban or country town communities here?

That's right. You explain the form to the person if they can't read it.
3 options:
1/ They sign and say it's ok to use their photo
2/ They sign and don't like the photo you've taken. Therefore, don't use it. Delete it.
3/ They don't sign.
There are probably a few other options but ....

 

[Hoffy]

Perfectly fine to publish a photo of someone taken in a public place without their consent. Consent is only required if the photo is being used for commercial purposes.

 

[Ed Barton]

https://au.tv.yahoo.com/plus7/austr...he-story-of-us-sun-15-feb-season-1-episode-1/

 

[property_girl]

Perfectly fine to publish a photo of someone taken in a public place without their consent. Consent is only required if the photo is being used for commercial purposes.

Is this correct? Can any lawyers around advise? So people are free to take photos of people without their consent and then publish them--online or elsewhere?

 

[Perp]

I am not (yet) a lawyer, but my understanding is that seeking consent is a courtesy rather than a requirement, particularly if there is no profit motive.

People do not own rights to their image or likeness under Australian law, but may have a cause of action if you suggest they're endorsing something that they don't. (Misleading conduct.)

If there is a profit motive, then getting an agreement from the subject is to protect the artist and record the terms of the agreement, in case the subject later claims the agreement was something different, i.e. that they'd be paid more, or that it wouldn't be used for certain purposes, etc.

See, for example, Australian Copyright Council page on photos and other images

 

[Ausprop]

I am aboriginal to England but can't even get past the customs desk, let alone a chunk of land or even a lousy photo for a book.

 

[property_girl]

I am not (yet) a lawyer, but my understanding is that seeking consent is a courtesy rather than a requirement, particularly if there is no profit motive.
]

Thank you Perp.

 

[nhg]

As was stated near the top, make sure you talk to the elders in each community before you approach anyone else.

They can be identified by talking to the indigenous liaison officer at the local council.
I would suggest if you can, have an indigenous person or indian / dark skinned person working with you do this. Also take your time getting to know the community before you start taking photos, may not come across very well if you jump straight into it.

I've worked with a number of indigenous communities in the past, I'm not sure the purpose of your project, however every community will be very different and far from a representation of 'aboriginal life' especially if you are looking for communities in housing projects vs out in the terretories.