Winkytiki told XBIZ that due to issues stemming from other photographers’ content being misused or misrepresented after being downloaded from online sites, he just wants to keep track of who is accessing photos.
“I'm a big supporter of sharing my work with others, as well as collecting and sharing works in the public domain. It's not that I care much about enforcing intellectual property (To be honest, how many of us actually have a version of Photoshop we actually paid for?), ‘cause I’d be a hypocrite,” Winkytiki said in an email letter.
“The real reason is I seem to spend more time and resources slapping wrists whenever I find people/companies using images they could just have paid a few bucks for. Honestly, its not worth the hassle. Suing someone in another state in a federal court for using a photo to promote a frat party is a waste of my time. If you disagree, I'd be happy to have you pay for my legal fees.”
“So thanks to the few who didn't ask ‘please,’ I am taking this all away from everyone (except for the 12-year-old nerds who can hack their way through anything as basic as a photo gallery),” Winkytiki added.
The pinup site will be updating more frequently, and added features will include the ability to post user comments and a zoom-in/zoom-out tool. Winkytiki said also that the site will soon have links to affiliate sites and downloaders will be able to use PayPal to purchase photos.
Winkytiki announced also that he has become a contributing editor to Vimby.com.
The new community-based video-hosting site launched on Oct. 10 and features documentary-style short videos from filmmakers all over the U.S.
“What it is, is a site that’s very viral-based and it’s about filmmakers in different parts of the country, making stories in a narrative way — like MTV documentary style — about what happens in their neighborhoods,” Winkytiki said. “They saw my work with the movies and said, ‘We want you to do some stories for us.’ So, I’ve been contributing documentaries for them.”
The director of several adult titles for Vivid-Alt, including “Rebel Rousers” and “Man’s Ruin,” Winkytiki said that the shorts that he is producing for Vimby.com are more mainstream, though he is profiling alternative cultures, like rockabilly, where he has access that other filmmakers would not.
Vimby also has asked him to edit the alternative lifestyles blog on the site.
