Chrysler 200 Convertible photographer miffed at leak, goes on Facebook rant

2012 Chrysler 200 Convertible – Click above for high-res image gallery

Creative talent can be a tricky thing. An artist may have control over their work if they keep it private, but the minute they commercialize their talents for a paying customer, well, things can get a bit ugly. That's how you get stories of artists reclaiming paintings they've sold because they don't like the people looking at them, or writers walking off movie sets infuriated at the direction their screenplay has gone. What's common in artistic circles or in Hollywood, though, doesn't come up much in the automotive industry. Not much, but it happens.

Take, for example, one Webb Bland, the photographer behind the recently leaked photos of the new 2012 Chrysler 200 Convertible. A beautiful set of shots, to be sure, but Bland has gone on an absolute tirade on his Facebook page, enraged that the photos were leaked ahead of schedule. In his fury, Bland lashed out at his client Chrysler and the "lone, misguided idiot" who leaked the photos, thus ruining "five weeks of careful planning and logistics".

Bland's wrath, however, is not reserved for his clients alone; he goes on to lambaste the "many car blogs [that] have already run many of the photos cropped awkwardly, without context or back story, and at a horribly compressed resolution, on top of that." Hey, that's us! You'll have to read the full diatribe (which we've posted for you after the jump in case the shooter gets second thoughts) to get all the expletives we've left out, but while – for our part at least – we're not about to engage Bland in his ranting, we can't help but wonder if he's ever heard the old adage, "Don't pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel."

[Source: NotBland Automotive Photography via CarScoop]
From NotBland Automotive Photography on Facebook

Thanks entirely to one lone, misguided idiot somewhere outside of the fantastic marketing team at Chrysler, many of my photos were leaked online yesterday, weeks in advance of the meticulously scheduled unveiling. Five weeks of careful planning and logistics by the crew destroyed in an instant, by one selfish arrogant douchebag who got a hold of the digital files before the CEO was set to review the images.

Today, the marketing team got the go ahead to *officially* unveil the photos that were leaked, plus five more exclusive unseen images, complete with the official introduction to the new car. So while I am excited for the world to see my newest set, it's goddamn infuriating that so many car blogs have already run many of the photos cropped awkwardly, without context or back story, and at a horribly compressed resolution, on top of that. At the time of writing this, not very many sites have run the new press release yet, so as my fans, you get a true world unveiling for several of the photos.

Rage-inducing leak aside, I hope you all enjoy my newest set. A very special thank you to the amazing Will Stern for suffering three early mornings of frigid cold wind with me, to act as my chief lighting technician all three days of shooting. And of course the awesome four-man driver/detailing crew from Prestige Autos for their expert knowledge of the area; couldn't have found many of the locations we used without them.