Do you recognize this writer? (Pic)

backslashbaby · Oct 26, 2009

I feel like I should recognize him. He sits at the same table every day and writes. Do you know him? He could be an academic; I couldn't see what he was writing.

Judg · Oct 26, 2009

Nope.

Matera the Mad · Oct 26, 2009

Weird, he looks almost familiar, like I caught a glimpse of him on a website. I have this awrful membry for little things. BTW, you could possibly get in trouble for displaying photos of people without their permission, AFAIK.

colealpaugh · Oct 26, 2009

Matera the Mad said:
BTW, you could possibly get in trouble for displaying photos of people without their permission, AFAIK.

Nah, public place and not posted for commercial profit...totally okay.

Wonder how far off Google is from face recognition searches...

With all due respect.

Gillhoughly · Oct 26, 2009

He looks a bit like Chris Walken in one of the prophesy movies. His character was--um--different!

Am agreeing about posting a pic without the man's permission. Not good.

Just go up when he's clearly finished writing and ask what he's writing--in a nice way. You can say "You look so intense, so it must be interesting" or something like that.

Careful how to do this so it doesn't sound like a pick up line.

Tell him you're an aspiring writer and watch for that micro-expression of sheer panic when he thinks you're about to tell him all about YOUR book.

Which you will NOT. Even if he asks.

Ask if he has books in print, then split for a bookstore.

Then don't bother him again. You might scare him off from his favorite writing spot.

I've had to abandon some of my homes away from home because I got too chatty. The locals would want to talk and I'd want to work and they'd get huffy when I asked them to let me work, and then my concentration was blown, so I'd finish my cold coffee and leave for good.

ejaycee · Oct 26, 2009

Um... He looks like one of my lil bro's chess coaches.

But, uh, somehow I don't think that helped.

Cassiopeia · Oct 26, 2009

Because this shot focuses right on the person and is not a crowd shot, this is clearly in violation of their rights to privacy and you do need his permission to post it. I'd take it down ASAP.

Lucy · Oct 26, 2009

There is no right to privacy IN PUBLIC.

MaryMumsy · Oct 26, 2009

Lucy said:
There is no right to privacy IN PUBLIC.

I don't know if the rules have changed or not. Ten years ago or more I read a book by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. The title was something about the right to privacy. One case cited involved a feature piece in, I think, the NYT. They used a photo of people crossing a street in NY, focused on a well dressed professional looking black man. He did not agree with the views/conclusions expressed in the piece and tried to sue for them using his photo in this fashion. Either it was thrown out or he lost. But the bottom line was that there is no 'right to privacy' when in public.

If any one really wants, I can dig through my books to try to find it and get the specifics.

MM

Cassiopeia · Oct 26, 2009

Was he in the crowd? This man is not walking in a crowd. He's alone and the photo is clearly of him. This got hammered into me, in two of my classes in the last TWO years. You must have consent when the photo taken is clearly intended to focus on the individual only. Now, you probably can slide by because you aren't profiting from it but I'd be hesitant to shout out, that there's no right to privacy in public.

willietheshakes · Oct 26, 2009

poetinahat said:
I'm wondering how I'd feel if I found out that, unbeknownst to me, a stranger had taken my picture, posted it on a website, and asked whether anybody knew who I was.

I'm just mildly ticked that it wasn't a photo of me...

Cassiopeia · Oct 27, 2009

well, I have to admit to it now...I know who it is.

*sigh*

It's me. I've been pretending to be a woman all this time.

Cassiopeia · Oct 27, 2009

This does pose the question, if we are just free to do whatever we want based on the legality of it. Is that our only motivation for honoring someone's privacy? That we might be sued for invading it? Polenth makes a very good point about someone's safety.

backslashbaby · Oct 27, 2009

I'm so sorry, y'all! I should have explained that this is the very famous cafe, and it is very photographed. It is my own pic, and he knew I was taking pictures of him. He was a very nice man, but he was busy, so I didn't chat much with him.

I totally understand not wanting random pictures published of yourself and agree! But I thought this was ethically good to go.

He acted like I should know who he was... I'm thinking not the chess coach

JamieFord · Oct 27, 2009

It looks like Will Ferrell as Neil Diamond...

backslashbaby · Oct 27, 2009

^^^

Here's me that day, to be fair:

Who's this writer? She shouldn't smoke, and I'm sure she's not famous

Phaeal · Oct 27, 2009

I wouldn't post the picture unless I had specific permission to do so. But, in this case, it would have been easier to ask his name than to go into a spiel about posting a picture on AW.

Not a legal consideration on my part, but a "Do unto others" consideration. I'd make a crummy papparazza.

backslashbaby · Oct 27, 2009

It would have been easier, but I didn't

I've gotten more curious since the trip. And since then, I hung out with a bestseller who gets recognized frequently. I was surprised! I didn't know people recognized authors.

It is an interesting discussion, actually (imho). Please y'all feel free to discuss the 'public pic' thing. Hopefully tons of us will have our books get well-known enough that we really will be the ones people are snapping public pics of!

ETA: Maybe I should explain that I got pics taken of me, directly, left and right in Ireland for my red hair, apparently. Meh

If I'm in a very public area, I know that's cool. And this dude was proud to sit right by the sign and write, imho... ifyaknowwhatImean. I don't think he's shy

swvaughn · Oct 27, 2009

Gillhoughly said:
He looks a bit like Chris Walken in one of the prophesy movies. His character was--um--different!

Different, eh? Not the word I'd use to describe. Walken's Gabriel was totally awesome, imho.

Also awesome was Tilda Swinton's Gabriel in Constantine. Now that performance was ... different. Awesomely different.

Oh, and the OP - no idea, never seen the guy before. But he looks like someone I'd totally strike up a conversation with. If I could do it without interrupting his writing.

mscelina · Oct 27, 2009

Oh I know who this guy is. He's a used car dealer in Meaux. He just does that so people will think he's a big important writer and ask their friend about him. His name is Jean-Jacques.

*grin*

Okay, so--no I don't. He looks like he's trying out for a Bach re-enactor though. Maybe he's writing music.

Jamesaritchie · Oct 27, 2009

Lucy said:
There is no right to privacy IN PUBLIC.

Trust me, as a former journalist, you're wrong about this. There most certainly is a right to this kind of privacy in public. If there weren't, I wouldn't have had to get so many people to sign waivers that allowed me to use their photos.

backslashbaby · Oct 27, 2009

Jamesaritchie said:
Trust me, as a former journalist, you're wrong about this. There most certainly is a right to this kind of privacy in public. If there weren't, I wouldn't have had to get so many people to sign waivers that allowed me to use their photos.

Really? Is it because of commercial use? I've been filmed by the news many times for school or just in public, and they didn't say boo. My friend and I had to try to hide once because we were skipping class at that very moment!

eta: Oh and

at the fun posts, too, y'all.

ejwriter · Oct 27, 2009

Jamesaritchie said:
Trust me, as a former journalist, you're wrong about this. There most certainly is a right to this kind of privacy in public. If there weren't, I wouldn't have had to get so many people to sign waivers that allowed me to use their photos.

just jumping in here - as a current journalist, i have to say this is not accurate.
we tape people on the street all the time (and in stores and in restaurants and on public transit and even on private property, if we can see it from the very public sidewalk!). they do not sign waivers. we don't even have waivers.

i know some reality/entertainment programs require permission (my friend just met a group of real world kids and was filmed, so had to sign a waiver). but in NEWS/JOURNALISM - no.
(one exception - we get verbal parental permission to show children's faces out of courtesy. and often, we make a respectful decision not to show faces of crime victims, witnesses, etc...)

just for the record.

backslashbaby - still no word on who he might be? i'm so curious!! actually, the whole little mysterious sounds like a fun start to a story.

backslashbaby · Oct 27, 2009

He'd make a great character! I saw him every day for 3 days straight, smoking his pipe and writing and thinking a lot. We only talked about pipes because I was also with a pipe smoker

I do wish I'd asked him more about himself.

Siddow · Oct 27, 2009

At first, I thought it was Burt Reynolds, minus the toup.

Then I thought it was my old teacher, Professor McWannabe, but the tweed was missing.

THEN I realized, it's Christoper Lloyd.

Do you recognize this writer? (Pic)

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