Found Photography Art project advice

swatki

hey I was wondering if i cud ask your advice on a topic , you also may like my story.
I explore abandoned sites and junkyards , and last year i found a bombproof metal case of over 200 photos of this persons life...in an open yard of a crumbling down house
basically i deduced the photos down to this one reappearing guy and picked him as the owner, a few months later i went up to the site while the council were clearing the whole place out , they told me the guys names and g so i found out some cool facts about him..being an underwater hockey champion etc ..... thing is i want to used these photos in my fine art degree show ...ive tried contacting the guy every way i can ...but cant !!....and im thinking of resorting to covering up his eyes in the display so i dont get in trouble with my tutors or the law ...........this may be seen as unethical ...can you please give me some advice on my problem ,,, ive searched the internet but cant find any information , especially for this part of the world.
I would appreciate a response
Thankx
E.

Tiriel

Hmm that is a tricky one and my gut instinct is that if you use the photography for your exhibition/project, you should have some evidence stored up to prove you have attempted to contact the owner. i.e. registered post etc.

The copyright is with the photographer.. not the subject, so in a way - while the subject may be a cause of concern, it is also the person who took the photographs that you need to think about.

There is an interesting page here, though it doesn't help directly, there is a comment section where you could post your query.

Photographer's Rights

There is also a Photography Forum on Boards.ie and I think it would be a good idea to post your query there too.
Best of luck - sounds like a really interesting project!

swatki

Thanks for the advice and the link , I am consulting a legal aid agency about this , i hope they have the knowledge to help , i have kept emails which i used to try an contact the owner but unfortunately i dont have a home address. I have talked to a copyright agency located in dublin and they said the same thing , basically if i include a disclaimer at my exhibition or in a publication stating that i have made a substantial effort to contact them. it should be ok

Chorcai

How old are the photos ? If they are old you should use copies and send the originals into the Photographic archive in Dublin http://www.nli.ie/en/photographs-catalogues-and-databases.aspx