Commons:Deletion requests/Files uploaded by Heinz Zak

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Files uploaded by Heinz Zak (talk · contribs)

Not own work as claimed, with uploader apparently depicted on the images. One image explicitly states "Mariya Nesterovska" as the author. Missing permission.

𝟙𝟤𝟯𝟺𝐪𝑤𝒆𝓇𝟷𝟮𝟥𝟜𝓺𝔴𝕖𝖗𝟰 (𝗍𝗮𝘭𝙠) 17:15, 28 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Heinz Zak is a professional German photographer whose bio is on German Wikipedia at de:Heinz Zak. An account explitily titled "Heinz Zak" uploaded these photos over 5 years ago to this German Wikipedia bio. The account said that they are the owner of the images. Just because "Mariya Nesterovska" appears in the title of the file, it does not means that they are the owner of the image.

At a commsense level, the idea that a professional German photographer would allow their images - which they can see clearly on their own Wiki Bio - to be uploaded without their consent is just not probable. It is also not probable that he would be uploading files owned by other people (even though of himself), and misrepresenting the images at owned by himeself.

These images, the "Seperate Reality" one in particular, appear in the lede of some of the most prominent Wikipedia climbing articles (such as en:Climbing) - a situation that also not probable without the image owner not being comforable with it.

thanks. Aszx5000 (talk) 13:22, 5 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Your argument seems to be reminiscent of COM:CARES. By default, copyright is owned by the photographer of the images, which (almost definitely) cannot be the person depicted in them. I am not necessarily disputing that the account is owned by the photographer depicted in the image, but there is no evidence of permission by the image author(s) (and it is them who then would allow their images [...] to be uploaded without their consent). The fact that they already misrepresent their uploads as "Own work" shows that the situation is generally not "improbable" as you claim. 𝟙𝟤𝟯𝟺𝐪𝑤𝒆𝓇𝟷𝟮𝟥𝟜𝓺𝔴𝕖𝖗𝟰 (𝗍𝗮𝘭𝙠) 15:37, 5 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That makes no sense. To claim that a professional phototographer, with a Wiki Bio (due to their photography), who is uploading photographs of themselves as their own, is instead uploading photographs owned by someone else is not credible To imply due to your reading of some erronous name in one of the file names proves somthing else, is also not credible. Nothing to do with COM:CARES, just really common sense. Aszx5000 (talk) 18:59, 5 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Professional photographers often use tripods, drones, remote controls, and timers to photograph and create video imagery in which they are depicted. There is no evidence whatsoever that there is any other owner of the photographs than Heinz Zak. Revolving Doormat (talk) 18:11, 14 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Moreover, he was hired as a photographer by Nesterovska and co. [1] Revolving Doormat (talk) 18:16, 14 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The original author's domain https://www.heinzzak.com/traeume-sterben-nie.html has copies of these images with "© 2016 Heinz Zak", as well as several other self-portrait photos. Furthermore, Wikipedia:PUBLISHED sources have this image with attribution to Heinz Zak^[1].

This seems to strongly suggest that de:Heinz Zak is the original copyright holder and make this a clear candidate to be kept.

Keep NicheRef (talk) 23:41, 18 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Keep User:Bricetofly (talk) 11:58, 14 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Keep Minoo (talk) 21:35, 15 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Keep Per comments above. Aszx5000 (talk) 20:13, 7 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

References

↑ Heinz Zak & Separate Reality - the film of his Yosemite free solo. Planet Mountain (22 March 2017). Retrieved on 19 December 2025.

Deleted: It strains credibility to suggest that the first and third images were actually taken by Zak. In the on, he is walking a tightrope and in the other hanging from a rock overhang. I can't image how he could have taken them. . Jim . . . (Jameslwoodward) (talk to me) 20:33, 19 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

[1] Heinz Zak & Separate Reality - the film of his Yosemite free solo. Planet Mountain (22 March 2017). Retrieved on 19 December 2025.

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