I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but from the time that the Niagara SkyWheel opened, they’ve been using a picture of the SkyWheel with a woman and a child in front of it. They have their backs to the SkyWheel and they are looking up. It has always annoyed me for a couple of reasons… You can definitely tell it is stock photography. Come on… be creative and take your own picture! The other thing is that the people aren’t looking at the wheel. They are looking away from it. Are they looking at the Casino Niagara tower? It just looks odd to me.
The following is a screenshot from the Clifton Hill web site (taken today) showing the picture:
My annoyance with the image for the first reason (stock photography) was emphasized yesterday when I found out about a promotion that Black’s Photography is doing. Black’s is a well-known, good quality store in Canada where they sell cameras, frames, develop pictures, etc. This weekend they are having a Customer Appreciation Event, and if you print off their invitation, you get a free 8×10. Notice anything similar about the picture they used?
Did Black’s use a HOCO photo without permission? Did someone submit a photo of this family looking at the Casino Niagara tower? I’m confused 
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I guess if they were actually looking at the wheel, you would only see the backs of their heads, or they would be on the other side of the wheel, too small to see. They are obviously professional models (maybe not even mother & son),shot who knows where, and that photo was bought by both Hoco and Blacks to use in their advertising. They must have got paid well, they look pretty happy;)
It all depends where the photo appeared first. If it appeared in the Black’s advertisement first, HOCO stole it, and vise versa. Also, it could be, like Rick said, a picture offered to many companies for advertisement. Who knows, if it is what i just said, you would find it in many more advertisements.
Off topic, but did anyone but Graham and I buy a season pass for MarineLand? If so, how many times did you go?
just curious.
My wife and kids went about 6 or 7 times, well worth the extra 5 bucks each.
Working in an advertising department, I know we often use stock photography and I have seen photos from the image CD collection used in all kinds of media. It always makes me do a double-take. But that’s what stock photography is for.
I was about to say the same thing Karen. I work in the advertising department at a newspaper, and if someone finds a piece of art they like, they could use it quite a bit for different projects. Could be they have the same people working on their websites, and the person working on them happens to like that photo.
Let me be clear on this… I know it is stock photography (hence the name of the posting). I know that it is common for companies to use stock photography. But given that HOCO has one of the largest properties in Niagara Falls, and that the SkyWheel is one of the most visible landmarks in Niagara Falls, it has always bugged me that they didn’t use a bit more creativity and do their own thing. I don’t think it looks good to see the same image used like this.
As i said before, it depends on who used it first.
Who woulda thought that stock photo’s would get such a response :)?
The company I work for is a big retailer…you would think we’d do all of our own shoots, too. But that’s not the case. Stock photography can be surprisingly expensive - but still cheaper than arranging a shoot.
But you’re right, Graham. All these people really would need to get unique shots is ONE really good shoot and they’d be set for years - if not life if the attraction if you do it right. In their defense, this is a difficult attraction to capture in a single image.
Is it just me, or is it odd that this gets a number of responses, yet absolutely nothing about the recent articles regarding tourism numbers. I could personally write a 3 page letter with my own thoughts about what I think it will take to turn it around. And I would start with re-inventing the slogan of “Honeymoon Capital of the World!”
Fallsview, you would be dead on with that idea. If the area marketed itself as such, and spent heavy $$$ on it, no doubt it would make a difference.
It’s not odd considering that this topic is a little more upbeat than the sagging tourism numbers.
As far as what it would take to turn the numbers around - that sounds like a great topic - and it sounds like you’d like to start it off.
What’s wrong with “Honeymoon Capitol of the World”? Most couples have probably traveled to the falls long before the honeymoon…so is it outdated? Probably. Should it be something more family-oriented?
Thoughts anyone?
Fallsview…
why don’t you put your thoughts together and email me. I’ll post it and then people can leave comments.
Maybe we could start a series of “guest posts” where regular visitors could send me their thoughts on a topic and I could post them.
I’d love to Graham, just give me a few days and I’ll e/mail it over to you. Karen I didn’t mean any disrespect towards the subject, I think all social conversation and views in person or over the internet are healthy. I just feel as if this forum could be a way to send a loud and clear message to those in power, that they are not responding to this subject properly. Those articles were fine for bringing light to the subject, but they added little in the way of solutions or responses that have not been talked about a thousand times over. Everyone knows 1 or 2 or twenty reasons why tourism is down in Niagara, but what are the real solutions? The cold hard truth is that the world is still traveling, they are just traveling somewhere else now!!
No offense taken Fallsview. I’m glad you’ll have the chance to speak your mind on the subject and we will be happy to join in. Obviously Graham has drawn an audience of people who are passionate about the Niagara area. Passion isn’t always enough to make things change, but we can try.
Well, stock photos start up conversation for that’s for sure! I have to agree with Graham, I have never liked that photo. I’d find the SkyWheel ad more appealing without it, the people just don’t seem to ‘go’ with the ad. I would think if you can afford to build something as cool as that, you could afford to foot the bill for a photo or two of your own to promote it (just my 2ยข).
The SkyWheel would be one of the many new things in the area to encourage us to return, though, the reasons we can’t make it back to the Falls are taking a hit before even packing the car. I’m not really so sure that it is all a “Falls tourism problem” in particular. Sure, there are still a lot of people traveling, but I am sure a lot of folks within driving distance are in the same boat that my husband and I are, rising costs of EVERYTHING are taking a chunk out of our travel budget, which isn’t that large to begin with. The cost of gas alone is more than double what it was the last time we drove up. We’re just not able to go anywhere. So our travel dollars haven’t gone somewhere else, they are just… gone.
I’d think the biggest thing for the immediate “Falls” area though, would be the passport issue. That is discouraging, and has to be resolved one way or another. I am sure people are just confused over the whole thing (do we need one? do we not? when will we need it? oh - they changed it again?). On the positive side - from our point of view, as Graham is so great at showing, there have been a lot of changes since our last visit, and plenty of new things to come to see and do, so we still find it and extremely attractive destination as I am sure others do.
Speaking of boats… wait till the Titanic opens, they’ll use the same stock photo I am sure… facing the parking lot perhaps? (Really Graham - it IS a stupid picture).
I can confirm the passport issue is major confusion. When calling a cab company in Buffalo earlier this year, they told me they couldn’t get me across the border w/out having one. I then had to fill them in on specifics of the law, but they didn’t believe me.