500px Mistakenly Suspended One Of Its Users For Editing Images And “Using Unphotographed Images.”

Tim Gamble is a photographer based in Manchester, England, who uses the technique of “light painting” to create surreal and abstract works of art.

Although Gamble’s photos are almost all unmanipulated and taken only with a camera, 500px unexpectedly removed all of this photographer’s photos for being fake.

After this incident, Gamble quickly contacted 500px to ask why his photos were removed. In Gamble’s response, the website officials stated the reason for suspending his user account was the use of content other than photos and further emphasized that “we currently do not accept images and graphic designers.”

^{She is painting with light, using long exposures and camera rotation. To create this image, first, the photo is exposed to blue background light for a long time, then the lens door is closed, and the camera is rotated 180 degrees. After taking the picture, the e-lens is exposed for the second time with a red light.}

In a blog post, Gamble points out that 99% of his photos are shot with a camera and lighting techniques and tools, and goes on to say:

I use different cameras and tools to capture the light in the photo frame, which can be extraordinary and incredible. As I said, 99% of my work is shot with the camera using “long exposure,” and then I edit the RAW photo file in Lightroom. Sometimes I like to convert the photos I took during the 356 days photography challenge into multiple-exposure images in Photoshop. Still, these photos are very few in my profile, and wherever I have used this technique, I must have mentioned it in the photo’s description. However, I would still not categorize these photos as graphic images.

In addition, Gamble’s photos were all uploaded to 500px with full Exif details; Therefore, according to the specifications of the photography equipment and exposure information, the officials of 500px should have realized that these photos were created with a camera, not graphic software.

Gamble says about this:

I am not upset about this; [that my real photos are mistaken for graphic images] complements my photography art. It is not surprising that non-professionals, at first glance, think that these images were created in a way other than photography. Still, such specialized platform operators are expected to be familiar with the “light painting” technique.

What made me bitter was that they didn’t ask me for any explanation and deleted my photos without warning.

^{Tim Gamble’s light painting gallery}

Suppose you have a user account on the 500px site and use light painting and similar techniques to create surreal and abstract photos. In that case, it is better to be more careful in uploading your photos and add sufficient descriptions to your image.

Also, note that the program you are editing your images with has not removed the Exif information.