Aphoenix's Sunny Skies v. [Redacted]

Hello all! I got an interesting email from one **[redacted]** about my my photo Sunny Skies. Here is the email, with Trevor's email taken out.

I believe we have been in contact before. My picture, "Sunny Skies" is still up on your website. I would appreciate this being taken down, or at least some credit given. The reason I am ticked off about this is because that everyone on your comments page thinks that you took it, when we both know that is a lie. If this is not taken down within the month, further action will be taken.

Thanks, [redacted]

There are a few things wrong with this email.

1. I took this picture. I still have the camera somewhere, and I definitely have the original. I'm anal about pictures - I never delete them.
2. I have never heard from [redacted] before. Sounds scammy to me.
3. I hate vague threats about copyright infringement, especially when there's no infringement.

I hastily penned a response, and just as hastily deleted it. It takes a bit of effort, but it doesn't hurt anyone to be polite, right? Here is my response:

Hello [redacted],

We have not been in contact before; this is the first I've heard from you.

Unfortunately, I think there is some kind of confusion. While you may have a similar picture, Sunny Skies is one of mine; I still have the original and the camera that it was taken on, and the memory card that it was originally written to. I take false allegations about copyright infringement very seriously, and I do not appreciate being called a liar.

If you wish to pursue this matter further, please note that I will be making all contact between us public on my blog. I will take further contact to mean that you agree to my publishing of emails, letters, or any other form of communication.

Sincerely,

Andrew Phoenix

I hope that stays within the bounds of civility. I was pretty angry when first reading; getting a take down notice regarding a photo that I took is aggravating, and it is even more so because this is one of my most pirated photos. It is used without attribution a lot - TinEye highlights just how much.

I guess it is time to wait and see what happens.