Ebay madness...

[Skyraider3D]

Originally Posted by wrackplatz

The ominous archive shouldn't be a charity organisation.

But at this rate they will definitely not make their money back... so what is it that they want with all these photos?

[Dan O'Connell]

Ronnie, you are right. I never did get an answer to my question. I was willing to pay a reasonable (hopefully small) fee to use Me 262 photos, but had no idea how to approach Sudek. I still don't.

[Qs-man]

Hello all!

After ages of lurking here I decided to "come out of the closet"...

First of all, good day to you all! (and please calm down on this subject )

I wanted to add my "two cents" to this post as it conserns me too.

As some of you know, I also collect photos from ebay. I also have some "angsts" towards sudek13, and yes it is because he is for me unbeatable. -The reason is... yes you guessed it. Money! -He has many times more than I do.
-But this is not a reason imho to start complaingn about it... no use guys!
It is a fact of life that some have more of it than others.

If Hoependoepl or anyone else gets to use Sudek 13's photos for publications be happy about it... if this is true it is the best news I have got out of this... as my biggest matter of anger was that I was afraid they would simply "disappear"!!!

And it is quite obvious that these photos are not intended for everyone (if for anyone). When I first got "trouble" from Sudek, I tried contacting him to ask for purchasing digital copies of my loved Heinkel He 70 he got, but never received an answer... and I offered imho fairly decent sums! -With many collectors I have managed this. -I had to try... and I bet sudek13 has got numerous similar requests...

I am not trying to defend Sudek13, as I hope he would vanish like many others of you do... but I just want to share my pointers here... and I dont see what this written so far helps in genral.

I personally gladly share what I have and hope that it benefits me by getting copies from other persons collections...

Also it was mentioned earlier in this post that he gets everything... well I disagree! He might be able to crab most top photos (some of them going to other high rollers), and making life hard for us others... still a lot of gems go unnoticed/unwanted.

My strategy has been to browse other auction sites from other countries with the help of a few friends and try to gather photos that way. Also try walking around your neighbourhood "antique" shps etc... I guess most of you, like me do that.

But your discussion here is imho pointless... as after many posts you are still in the start zone...

The value of any photo is exactly the amount some "nut" is willing to pay for it... me being one of thousands of such "nuts"

I hope I got my points straight, as I dont mean to start a flame war here...

Best wishes, Joel Kuusman

[Skyraider3D]

The point is... why is Sudek indiscriminately scooping up Luftwaffe (etc.) pics, thereby possibly aiding to history being LOST for good as genuinely interested researchers don't get a chance. Who has more money isn't interesting, preserving history is (before it's too late).

Imagine somebody with a lot of money buying up all Luftwaffe aircraft from museums, making the aircraft inaccessible to the public and nobody knows what's happening to them afterwards. Would you still say "It's okay, he's got the money, he can do this"?

[John Vasco]

In answer to previous posts, this, from QS-man, sums up what to do: "...And it is quite obvious that these photos are not intended for everyone (if for anyone). When I first got "trouble" from Sudek, I tried contacting him to ask for purchasing digital copies of my loved Heinkel He 70 he got, but never received an answer... and I offered imho fairly decent sums! -With many collectors I have managed this. -I had to try... and I bet sudek13 has got numerous similar requests... ..."

Everyone can contact him, but it is his prerogative to decide whether to answer or not, and whether to assist or not. The same applies to me - you can contact me, but I then decide whether to invest the time in replying/providing help. We all have a life outside of research, and I would rather devote what's left of my life to my grandson and my immediate family... Getting wound up about a bidder on e-bay - not worth the hassle. I'd love to buy shitloads more Gibson guitars, but I can't afford to, so they'll disappear to someone else's guitar collection. Tough! Get the idea?

[Qs-man]

I understand what you are saying Sky, but my point was that there is nothing we can do... This same thing happens with almost everything that has any value...

But unless I understood previous posts wrong, I was under the impression that at least some photos with the help of some authors are being printed...? That was the main thing that triggered my responce, as I had the same anger as you, but if these photos truly are in the reach of someon... it is better than to not have anyone have access to them...

You should know very well that I am 100% for photos being made available for enthusisats and researchers to aid their research. -I help when I can, but I prefer to help those who I know help others... thus occasionally I do leave some people unasnwered...

Thanks John, for summing up my scribble

-Joel Kuusman

[John Vasco]

Originally Posted by Skyraider3D

The point is... why is Sudek indiscriminately scooping up Luftwaffe (etc.) pics, thereby possibly aiding to history being LOST for good as genuinely interested researchers don't get a chance. Who has more money isn't interesting, preserving history is (before it's too late).

Imagine somebody with a lot of money buying up all Luftwaffe aircraft from museums, making the aircraft inaccessible to the public and nobody knows what's happening to them afterwards. Would you still say "It's okay, he's got the money, he can do this"?

FFS! They are not lost to history, he's just not showering them around like confetti. This kind of thing has been covered before on the old forum, albeit not with the e-bay buyer slant. Older heads may remember the topic concerning some individuals who think they simply ask and they should automatically get what they want at no cost whatsoever in time etc.. Research doesn't work like that, although some people think that it should (I'm not getting at you here, Skyraider, merely pointing out a particular train of thought that has been prevalent for some time. I got a request this morning by e-mail which basically said: ' Send me your digital photos of pilot XXXX of such a unit, as I am interested in him'. What?? Excuse me, but I have never had contact with this person before, don't know who he is, don't know what he is doing/has done by way of research, yet I receive what is almost a demand for things from my research collection. Is it really any wonder that researchers/collectors are guarded about what they posess, when this kind of shit comes along? No introduction, nothing, just send me some of what you have! Beggars belief! The answer is, put your hand in your pocket, buy one of my particular books, and all you want is there. But then, is it wrong for me to say that?)

[Dan O'Connell]

I hear you John.........I've even had people ask for electronic copies of my book!

[Skyraider3D]

Originally Posted by Qs-man

...I had the same anger as you...

Hold on, I have no anger whatsoever. I'm just questioning the morals of what could possibly be going on here As I've said before, I'm an ill-informed outsider with a strong interest in the subject, that is trying to get wiser. What John said makes perfect sense.
In my personal work (aviation art) I also get a lot of requests as well as beggars. It's difficult to distinguish between the two, often. Somewhat demanding kind of e-mails as the one John gave an example of, occasionally can be the result of poor knowledge of English (but more often a display of plain stupidity, arrogance or ignorance).
Anyway, I find it a very interesting topic - and indeed no need to get too excited about

[John Vasco]

Dan & Skyraider,

Quite right in what you both say. And has been previously stated on this forum, you will find some of sudek's photos in the magnificent range of work on the Jagdfliegerverbande, which we all know about. And I have been fortunate enough to to be able to include photos from 'that' archive in my 2-volume Classic series on the Bf 110. As far as I am concerned, what I have been able to use has resulted in enthusiasts seeing photos that have not been seen, or published, before. No bad thing, I think. I also used photos from another individual's collection that had not seen the light of day before, but did not make a big song and dance about it. There's a volume of work coming out later this year to which I have provided many unpublished photos, gratis. I'm not making a big deal out of it, just illustrating that this kind of thing goes on continually, and for the most part, readers/enthusiasts know little about it. What I AM grateful for, is the fact that new information and photos continue to surface in print, and that is great for the wider Lw community.