A BITTER dispute between a newlywed couple and their photographer has spiralled out of control with the parties going to war on social media, but is a hacker causing all the trouble?
Ashlea and Daniel Howard were married in front of friends and family at Bendooley Estate in the historic Southern Highlands town of Berrima in New South Wales back in February.
After searching local directories for a photographer in the area, they settled on Lee Maxwell Judd, a builder in the Highlands who takes photos as a hobby and has been covering weddings for 20 years.
Mrs Howard told the Daily Telegraph things started to turn ugly at the reception when she said Mr Maxwell Judd started to drink.
“He was heavily drinking at the wedding,” she said.
But it wasn’t until it was time for the photos from the wedding to be delivered that things turned bizarre.
A USB stick with hundreds of pictures from the day were mistakenly sent a different Ashley — a woman Mrs Howard says had inquired about Mr Maxwell Judd’s services but had never become a client.
When the error became apparent the photographer turned abusive towards Mrs Howard, she said, telling her she had to get her “head checked”.
In a text message exchange seen by the Daily Telegraph, Mr Maxwell Judd apologised for the mix-up and offensive comments.
“There was a huge mistake with another Ashley on my part and I apologise (sic) sincerely. The other Ashley wants your address so she can post your disk,” he wrote.
“You told me I needed to get my head checked and I was a crazy person,” Mrs Howard wrote.
“Yes I’m a tossa for that,” Mr Maxwell Judd responded.
When the Howards finally got their hands on the photographs, Mrs Howard said they were bitterly disappointed with the pictures.
Some were over exposed or out of focus and there were only a few that could be used forcing the couple to demand a refund from the photographer.
“There are some OK ones, however an album comprises an overview of the entire day,” she said.
“We are missing quality photos of large chunks of the day due to blur and overexposure. Mainly outside at the ceremony and the bridal/family dances.”
Not long after their request for a refund things turned nasty on Mr Maxwell Judd’s professional Facebook page.
A photo of the couple was posted on the site with an offensive comment calling Mrs Howard “ugly” and describing her as a “bridezilla”.
“Ugliest bride I have ever photographed. Winged (sic) the whole time. Bridezilla #1,” the post wrote.
Mr Maxwell Judd told the Daily Telegraph his page had been hacked and he wasn’t responsible for the post.
“I don’t even know anything about that post,” he said.
“Not long after the hacking started to happen I just unpublished the page and I haven’t bothered to even go there.”
But the messages continued and someone started to abuse friends and family of the Howards who questioned his professionalism.
“Just more proof as to how unprofessional you are … Maybe you should have sent the ‘Beautiful images’ to my friend because she didn’t receive what she paid for …” Meg Dalton wrote.
“I don’t need to explain myself to you. I explained to the woman how to open the files. Seems she is so dumb that she cannot take instruction. I offered to take back the disks and reformat. I have 20mb files in full resolution clear and exposed correctly,” Mr Maxwell Judd responded, although he claims he was not responsible for these posts.
“From here on I will offer Ash nothing. She has been a rude … with no respect.”
In another response to Ms Dalton, someone using Mr Maxwell Judd’s account continued the foul-mouthed abuse.
“Nice try Megsy. Your (sic) just annoyed because you followed me into the men’s toilet and I rejected you when you asked … me.”
There were dozens more messages of this nature.
Mr Maxwell Judd continued to deny any part in the attacks and said the shoot was just like any other and there were no issues on the day with either the bride or groom.
“They were a good couple. The bride was easy to work with, friendly and it was just a standard, typical wedding — they were good people. I had no issues with them,” he said.
“But obviously something’s gone wrong, they’ve accused me of getting drunk. It’s not what I do, it’s not part of my character.”
After the mysterious insulting comments were posted on his Facebook page, Mr Maxwell Judd said he received a message from the groom.
“I was so annoyed I just replied that I’d see him in the tribunal, telling him that I didn’t want to discuss anything,” he said.
Despite the drama, Mr Maxwell Judd said he wasn’t particularly fazed by the whole affair.
“I couldn’t care less to tell you the truth,” he said.
“Since all of that’s happened I’ve had a lot of hits on my page and I’ve had a couple of inquiries and a deposit paid,” he said.
Mrs Howard said they’re weighing their options and getting advice from other photographers before deciding on what to do.
“Once we get the true feedback from the photography industry we will decide if a refund is warranted,” she said.
