Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream G650 (N650NY)

wow cool shot

This photo is identical to this one as was uploaded earlier...

http://flightaware.com/photos/view/5208559-91e4a9207118e1ebb69d84d0871a933c653b9ebd/user/650G650/sort/votes/page/1

Whoa? Color me confused?? So, did Mr. Baker, the founder of Flight Aware, steal this pic from Olivier and then repost it as his own shot, or did Olivier (thinking that Mr. Baker would never find out) post a pic taken by Mr. Baker in an attempt to take credit for it? And ... pity the poor FA photo screener ... stuck between a rock and a hard place ... having already selected Olivier's post as a STAFF PICK, and then seeing Mr. Baker post the exact same pic just a couple hours later, and knowing that one of them stole it from the other one, had no choice but to select the boss's post as a STAFF PICK even though one of the two posters obviously swiped the other one's picture. Waaaay interesting ....!!! (ROTFLMAO)
And PS >> If you read the description under both of Oliver's posts, it almost sounds like he is a salesman. Maybe both of these posts were sales pitches ...

Hey, Cliff, check it out! Go below this pic and click on the reg number to see all the previous posts of this one. Turns out that Cheng posted a shot of it about 5 months ago, and then Olivier posted the exact same shot a few hours later. No wonder no one at FA ever seems to be very concerned about pics being stolen from official military publications or from other websites and then being reposted here. I think I'm beginning to understand better how so many stolen photos end up getting featured as STAFF PICKS even tho Jim G. or someone has pointed out that the photo is stolen. FA does it themselves so they obviously are OK with others doing it. Sort of makes me wonder if Olivier actually took ANY of the pics posted under his name. As a matter of fact, I wonder if Mr. Baker actually takes the pics in HIS folder?? Very sad to discover such deception, eh? But at least now the truth is known. (Just goes to prove ... it may take a while, but thieves and cheats will eventually be caught. Just ask Tom B. lol)

Gary, thanks for the further insight into this one... and I'm totally baffled by it all. Perhaps the "rule" is if you see a photo somewhere as you like, go ahead and "requisition" it... sans appropriate attribution to and irregardless of who the original photographer was!!!

Howdy, Jim. Hey, TY for the link. Sure 'nuff, it is indeed Mr. James's photography. .....
I agree 1000% with you, Jim, that Mr. James is exceptionally talented. And having said that, I must now say that I feel even MORE "betrayed" (I guess "betrayed" is an appropriate word) to see definitive proof that others would post his work without giving him any type of credit or acknowledging his superb photo skills in any way. I've always admired Mr. Baker's photos, and quite naturally, I've always thought he really snapped them. I mean, it never even remotely occurred to me that a person of his position in the agency he is world-famous for would bother to pull such a comparatively (for HIM) "petty" crime such as taking credit for some other photographer's talent. What could he possibly have hoped to gain? OK, so Olivier is a photo-thief, but hey, he only has less than a dozen pics in his FA folder. But Mr. Baker? He's got hundreds upon hundreds of ultra-superior quality pics in the gallery ... and now it turns out he may not have taken some of them; perhaps, NONE of them? What a shame for a person of his stature to blot his reputation. His own gallery policies specifically prohibit certain practices ... and doing this type stuff is specifically prohibited. How many extra seconds would it have taken for him to at least CREDIT Mr. James ...? But, hey, I've met plenty of people in the past who have turned out to be something less than I had originally thought they were, so the list just gets one name longer. (Anyway, a PS ... All the pictures in MY folder are mine. They may not be anywhere as superb as those in his, but ALL of them were taken by me. Just wanted to reassert that. A wave and a Thumbs Up to both of you.)

Jim, thanks very much for the additional illumination provided. While I did not see this actual photo on Thomas James' site, it is obviously in his "style" of aircraft photo work. I concur too with your assessment regarding the photo upload endeavors attributed to Olivier Leclercq.

Cliff and Jim ... need a laugh? Go to STAFF PICKS. Notice that BOTH posts of this pic are selected .... and they are only a half-dozen "spaces" away from each other. So the two IDENTICAL pictures ... posted by two DIFFERENT people ... were BOTH selected (even tho there could only have been one photographer) ... and the two posts are so closely positioned to each other that it is IMPOSSIBLE to miss seeing them both at the same time. Makes the staffer doing the selecting look rather _____ . (Super big grin)

Gary, a tip of my photographer's cap to you, my friend.

All this is adding additional rivets of reinforcement to my held opinion that "Nothing surprises me anymore"!!

Cliff and Gary, I think you're both right on. I would just add that among the photos in Mr. Baker's gallery are many that I suspect are not only borrowed (as previously discussed), but that were in part or in whole created in someone's computer, i.e. photoshopped to varying degrees. You'll notice that many of (what are probably) his photos are really just run-of-the-mill snapshots. But then there are the very creative and hard to get (air-to-air for example) shots that look amazing and almost too good to be true. Not much in between. I could be wrong, of course, but at the very least he has posted other people's photos without attribution. Oh, and I agree that Mr. Leclercq didn't take the photos, but that since it is his (i.e. the bank's) airplane he at least (maybe?) has some type of claim on them. But again, how hard is it to give the proper attribution to the actual photographer? Anyway, that's my two cents worth! Hang in there!

Oh, and I agree with Jim, as well. It does look like Mr. Leclercq is using FA for free advertising. Check out his "comment" here:

http://flightaware.com/photos/view/5208559-90641ffad49d855a9bf559bd0a56f384f564bc6e/user/650G650/sort/votes/page/1

That is (those are) quite the comment(s)!

gary and cliff.
daniel baker is owner and chief editor of flight aware and myself i am an owner of aci jet and the owner of n650ny.
we are freinds and we exchange pictures , nobody steel nothing from each other....
pleasure to see you at nbaa maybe.
olivier leclercq

Olivier... thanks for the added clarification and information. Your words explain well how the same photo was uploaded twice and attributed to two different persons. Would love to attend the 2016 NBAA show in Orlando... lots to see there!

Olivier, that's great, and I'm glad nothing underhanded is going on. Thanks for the clarification. But would it kill you guys to give proper attribution to the actual photographer for a photo you post that you didn't take? That is common practice and would have prevented all the questions regarding this photo and others. (And I won't get into any legal/copyright issues.) Thanks again.

Mr. Leclercq, Thank you, sir, for taking a moment to explain the circumstances. I am very appreciative.
Cliff and Roy, both of the "items" I wrote to FA about on May 31-June 1 have now been addressed and resolved. (Frankly speaking, I honestly did not expect that this one would actually be addressed, but I am very happy to see that I was wrong.) I wish to thank both of you as well as Colin M for also stepping forward. And I also wish to thank Mr. Haddad and Ryan J. at FA because I know they must both have had some part in "following up and following thru."
Cliff, I especially Congratulate you on your effort concerning the other issue. The entire FA community owes you a TY. Also, Cliff, if I decide to continue with my 01Jun decision, I will provide info to you and some other friends I've met here as to where my future pic posts can be found. (Both Thumbs Up)

Gary... thanks for the kind words, my friend. I certainly appreciate it and feel many of us here would have done the same. I'll be looking forward to any updates you might provide regarding your aircraft spotting photos!!!