06/14/2026
I hate that I’m even having to make this post.
I’ve debated making it for a long time because I genuinely hoped this situation would be handled privately. I kept hoping someone would pick up the phone, sit down across a table, acknowledge what happened, and have an honest conversation.
That never happened.
And at this point, it doesn’t appear that it’s going to.
So here we are.
Back in 2019, under different leadership, I was asked if I would be interested in participating in a grant project involving the Greenville Square. I volunteered my time, created the images that were requested, and supported the effort because I care about this community.
The grant never moved forward.
The project ended.
The images were never used for that project and remained mine.
For years, I maintained a good working relationship with Greenville Tourism. I photographed events, supported local initiatives, promoted our community, and was proud to contribute wherever I could.
That’s why what happened next was so disappointing.
Over time, I began noticing my photography being used without permission. Images were being screenshotted, cropped, branded, and shared without licensing, compensation, permission, or even a conversation. When I raised concerns about it, I was told it would stop.
Then I discovered something much bigger.
One of my photographs had become a tourism logo.
Not something similar.
Not something inspired by it.
My photograph.
The reason I say that with confidence isn’t because the logo vaguely resembles my image.
It’s because when you place the logo over my original photograph in Photoshop and reduce the opacity, everything lines up.
The angle lines up.
The perspective lines up.
The proportions line up.
The clock faces line up.
The architectural details line up.
The entire composition lines up.
We’re not talking about two people standing in front of the same clock tower and taking similar photographs.
We’re talking about the exact same perspective, the exact same composition, and the exact same details lining up when one image is placed over the other.
That’s when I started asking questions.
In December, I was directed to reach out to the individual overseeing Greenville Tourism’s media and marketing efforts at the time, which happened to be a local creative and marketing agency owned by "Lauren."
So I did.
We played phone tag for a bit before finally connecting.
When I answered the phone, I apologized for missing her call and asked if it was a good time to talk.
Her response was, “I’ll stop you right there. F**k you. Quit bullying me.”
That was the start of the conversation.
From there, I was told my work wasn’t any good and that she wouldn’t use it anyway.
I asked for the contact information of the graphic designer in Hopkinsville who supposedly created the logo because I wanted answers.
How does a logo allegedly designed from scratch contain the exact same clock tower, from the exact same angle, with the exact same details as my original photograph?
I was never given that information.
I was told she would follow up with me.
She never did.
At that point, I explained that if nobody was willing to provide answers or information, I didn’t know what other option I had besides speaking with an attorney.
Then months passed.
March came around.
I still had not heard back.
Instead, I received an email from Greenville Tourism informing me that they were changing decor and asking me to come pick up the framed prints of my work that had been displayed there.
When I arrived, I was surprised to find that one of the prints hanging there since 2020 was the exact photograph at the center of this entire issue.
The same image.
The same clock tower.
The same photograph I was being told wasn’t used.
I once again asked for a meeting.
Not a lawsuit.
Not a Facebook post.
Not a public fight.
A meeting.
I was told that once Onalee returned from vacation, we would sit down and have that conversation.
Instead, I later received an email directing me to communicate through the city attorney.
No meeting.
No conversation.
No accountability.
Just lawyers.
What frustrates me most is that none of this ever had to happen.
Had someone simply asked permission to use my work, we could have had a conversation.
Had someone acknowledged the issue when it was first brought to their attention, we could have had a conversation.
Had someone followed through on the promises to call me back, we could have had a conversation.
Instead, every attempt I made to resolve this privately was met with silence, delays, excuses, or redirection.
The logo may have disappeared.
But the situation didn’t.
The questions didn’t.
And the way this was handled certainly didn’t.
I have the emails.
I have the messages.
I have the timeline.
For a long time, I stayed quiet because I genuinely believed this would eventually be handled the right way.
It wasn’t.
And after months of trying to resolve this privately, I felt it was finally time to tell my side of the story.
Not because I wanted to.
Not because I enjoy conflict.
But because I simply don’t have the time, energy, or money to continue defending something I shouldn’t have to defend in the first place.
Not only as a creative.
Not only as a photographer.
But as a small business owner serving the very community at the center of this situation.
At some point, accountability has to matter.
Permission has to matter.
And the work of local creators has to matter.
Chris Barnes
Owner/Operator
