O LA, elle (bye bye madrid, ello london)

(Portrait of me, shown here, taken by my childhood friend Sheila Fein, at the OMM Hotel in Barcelona, Spring 2008).

Do you ever feel like the universe is having a laugh? At your expense?

This is so not the post I want to be doing. There's so much I'd rather be focusing on. And I can't bear to fight with anyone. But I'm going to ask all of you to please read this and please comment and tweet and just generally spread the word around. I'm doing it for me, but I'm also doing it for you, because when it happens to you, you're probably going to feel like I do now: a bit fragile, a bit violated.

Someone named Carmen B., who blogs for Spanish Elle, has nicked my photos. She didn't ask me - she could have asked! - and she didn't credit me. Here is her post. And if you go from the top left and work clockwise, my posts are of my dear friends Jen ('snoodie'), Estelle ('chain reaction'), dear sweet Roz ('courage'), and Hedvig ('blue jean baby'). I should add: none of the women have been contacted, either, for their permission to be used, even tho I linked each of their blogs and contact details in my posts.

But wait - it gets worse. Roz is 15 - legally under age. Her parents - who are friends - were with me when I took this shot, and of course they trusted me to post it responsibly. But Elle.es did not ask their permission. And since Roz has been travelling to London for her first appointment with the surgeon since her spine surgery, this is not the right time to drag them into this mess. (Note: Roz has since posted about it).



Two close friends independently discovered the post, which Carmen B. put up on Friday, 3rd December, on Saturday, and emailed me that night. So I woke Sunday and spent much of my Sunday morning composing the following cheerful message AS A COMMENT on the post (because I had no other way of reaching Elle on a Sunday).

This is what I wrote:
Hola desde Londres: Yo soy el fotógrafo de todas menos una de estas fotos – que fueron tomadas en mi blog: http://www.polkadot.tv
Me siento halagado por supuesto, pero como se puede ver en la mayoría de las marcas de agua, la URL de mi blog se identifica claramente. Por favor, actualice su puesto para hacer un enlace a mi blog y mi crédito como “lunares” Jill Carin Adams, también conocido como.
Muchas gracias – esto es un honor estar en español Elle. Esperamos poder visitar España de nuevo pronto, nos encanta.
PD Espero que esto funcione: Estoy usando Google Translate;)
x @ jill http://www.polkadot.tv

and then, as a second comment:
Hola de nuevo, se trata de Jill, el fotógrafo / blogger que tomó estas fotos (http://www.polkadot.tv).

And then I waited. But my comments were 'pending moderation'. I figured Carmen B. would come to work today, realise her mistake, post my comments, do the links... oh, non. When I saw a nice Spanish comment from today - the 6th - was allowed to publish, I realised she is actually withholding my comments!

Here's the cosmic joke of it all: I LOVE Spain! Oh Spain, I ask, what did I ever do to you, apart from love you from afar and await my return to your sunny land? I even did a post just last week, paying homage to your beautiful city, Barcelona!

I've now sent emails - in Spanish and English (God bless Google Translate!) to every email address I can find at Spanish Elle - AND left messages with the publisher of USA Elle Magazine, Kevin Martinez. I've also spoken with a lovely photo intern in the London office, but so far, no reply from London Elle either.

The irony is, for nearly two years I've spent so much time painstakingly putting my water marks on my photos - time I could have spent doing anything else - adjusting transparency degrees, choosing which side makes for the best composition.. I even have omitted it a few times thinking this would never happen to me. People ASK. They've asked me. But a brand as large as Elle? It just doesn't seem possible.

What's a girl to do? I ask you.