Online photography community 500px has alerted one of its most prominent users, Polish photo artist Michal Karcz, that his work is no longer welcome on the platform. According to a post Karcz published on Facebook, 500px warned the artist that `non-photographic content´ on his account is now in violation of the company`s Terms of Service.
The decision to ban Karcz`s digital artwork highlights a major change in policy for 500px, which historically not only welcomed Karcz`s work, but also repeatedly praised it with multiple `Editor`s Choice´ and `Year`s Best´ designations. According to Karcz`s Facebook post, his work on 500px has received more than 7 million views, 168k `Affections,´ and his account has nearly 35,000 followers.
One of the photo illustrations Karcz shared on his 500px account. Used with permission
Karcz`s was declared a `Photoshop master´ in an article 500px published on its blog to showcase his work. The content blends photography and digital art to present viewers with unique, in some cases other-worldly, images of reality. These same images are now in violation of the 500px guidelines, a representative clarified to Karcz in a second message:
Hi there, Unfortunately photomanipulations based on photography is not photography and our website in the current iteration is evolving into a purely photography website. Not only that, our terms of service require you to be the copyright owner of the images you upload so if you´re editing bits and pieces of other peoples imagery then you´re in violation of that. I personally am a fan of your artwork but unfortunately it doesn´t fit within the conditions of our site at the moment.
Another photo illustration Karcz shared on his 500px account. Used with permission.
Karcz`s 500px account is still live on the service at this time and still features the same `non-photographic content.´ It`s unclear whether the account will be deleted, but Karcz`s work remain ...
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