Copyright Issues

Under current U.S. law, copyright protection arises automatically when an "original work of authorship" is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression". A work is "original" in the copyright sense if it owes its origin to the author. For example, a photograph of Yosemite's Bridalveil Fall is original so long as it was created by the photographer, even if it's the zillionth photo to be taken of that scene. Only minimal creativity is required to meet the originality requirement, no artistic merit or beauty is required.

Fair Use

Walter Lara's photographs are sold as "fair use" for the art works he photographs. So you don't need permission. Whether a use of a copyrighted work is fair use is decided on a case-by-case basis by considering the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect on the potential market for or value of the protected work. There is no simple rule to determine when an unauthorized use is "fair use". You are more likely to be able to rely on fair use for photographing copyrighted items if your work serves a traditional fair use purpose (educational, research, news reporting, criticism, or public interest). Fair use is always subject to interpretation.