Back in July, after witnessing what essentially amounted to a high-speed car chase down the 101 between paparazzi and Justin Bieber, city councilman Dennis Zine predicted that these practices were “a tragedy waiting to happen.” In an attempt to prevent similar incidents in the future, one of the photogs involved was even taken to court, charged under a new anti-paparazzi law.
But unfortunately, the message doesn’t seem to have gotten across. Yesterday, while trying to get a closer look at what he believed to be Justin Bieber pulled over by a highway patrolman, a paparazzo was struck by an oncoming vehicle, passing away from his injuries shortly after. Read more…
New York City-based filmmaker Casey Neistat has strong opinions on social networks and how they should be used. His favorite one at the moment is Instagram, but he has a message for many of its users: “you’re doing it wrong.” The video above is his guide on how to “not suck so bad” with the photo sharing app. Don’t worry: it’s not about filters. (Be warned, though: there’s a bit of strong language).
You see, Instagram… it’s not about the pictures — it’s about the sharing. This is my family photo album from 1985. This album isn’t just precious because of the photography — it’s the documentation of life that makes me care. The magic of Instagram is that you get to peer into the lives of really interesting people.
As examples, he points to the Instagram accounts of rapper Rick Ross and singer Justin Bieber. While he’s a fan of both artists, Neistat says Ross is one that’s “doing it right”, as he regularly posts photos showing a ridiculous lifestyle that you don’t usually see. Bieber, on the other hand, floods his stream with photos of his own face.
Mike Lerner is a freelance photographer who has worked with some of the music industries hottest stars. He is currently Justin Bieber’s official concert photographer. Visit his website here.
PetaPixel: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Mike Lerner: I’m 27 years old and based out of Brooklyn, NY. I was born and raised on Long Island. I have been photographing professionally for about 2 years now, but started my interest in photography roughly 5 years ago. Read more…
Freelance paparazzi photographer Paul Raef was arrested back on July 6th after chasing Justin Bieber on 101 Freeway, becoming the first person charged under a new anti-paparazzi law signed by former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Raef is currently facing four misdemeanors, with two of them being “following another vehicle too closely and reckless driving, with the intent to capture pictures for commercial gain.” The punishment is up to one year in jail and $3,500 in fines.
The Los Angeles Times reports that his lawyers are now trying to have the anti-paparazzi law declared as unconstitutional, saying that it specifically and unfairly targets a certain group of news gatherers. Read more…
Tokyo-based editorial photographer Irwin Wong created this funny Justin Bieber parody song titled “Pay Me” as a shout out to all his “photographer homies who have had their copyright infringed”.
It was shot using a Canon 5D Mark II, a Canon 24-70mm, and a Steadicam Pilot.
