Re: crediting the gardener (was photo releases )

**"bbmackey" b*@prodigy.net**

As a publisher and also a photographer and writer, this issue hits me from all sides.

As a writer I have contributed to certain books that had a rigid designer format where there was no room for an extra word beyond the limit. Sorry, no garden credits. As a lecturer I usually say where photos were taken, especially for recognizable locations. This gets sticky when I speak to a local garden club because it can sound as if I am bragging about all the great gardens I have visited in many countries.

As a publisher I have control and I often but not always name the garden where a photo was taken, particularly if it is distinctive or is a recognizable scenic shot, not just a flower closeup. One of the grandest moments of my life occurred because I did this when I published the book, Creating and Planting Garden Troughs.

My friend Anne Freeman and I had taken trough photos at Wave Hill (NY). We had permission from the gardener on duty (have to say we didn't look all that professional and it was raining a little) and got some nice shots of planters and troughs. I put several of them into the book and named Wave Hill in the captions. 

When the book came out (May, 1999) I sent a free copy and a nice note to Wave Hill's then director of horticulture, Marco Polo Stufano, pointing out the photos. I was hoping to get the book into the Wave Hill bookshop. I didn't hear a word for many months. Then in December I got a phone call from Suzy Bales. She was directing the American Horticulture Society's book awards. Committee member Marco Polo Stufano had recommended that the book be considered for the award, so would I send copies to all the people on the committee. And yes, the book was selected as one of the five winners announced in 2000.

With best wishes,
Betty

Betty Mackey, Publisher
B. B. Mackey Books
P. O. Box 475
Wayne, PA 19087
bbmackey@prodigy.net
www.mackeybooks.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rich Pomerantz" <rich@richpomerantz.com>
> 
>... As a photographer I always tell magazine & book publishers when
> the grower wants credit for the plant/container/garden/specimen, etc. For
> some of the gardeners, it is a matter of their livelihood. However it is a
> rare editor or publisher who honors this request.  The problem is not the
> photographer, it's that so many publishers have so little respect for
> writers and photographers as it is, they really have no regard for the
> original gardener. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have asked for a
> gardener's name to appear & it was disregarded by the editor or publisher.
> http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
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