All photos taken since 1989 are considered copyrighted as soon as they are taken, even if there is no watermark. When I originally uploaded this photo to Flickr, I never dreamed that people would ignore Flickr's copyright notice and upload my photo on other sites without my permission. Perhaps this is naive, but I still have a hard time understanding why anyone would do this.
Unfortunately, some ignorant people assume that non-watermarked photos are public domain, when nothing could be further from the truth. Therefore I am re-posting this as a watermarked image to make it easier to find the photographer (me) when using search engines such as Google Images. Please be respectful of other people's copyrights!
This photo is Copyright 2007 by Donna S. McCraw. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sunday, November 14, 2010
my Cam Newton photo goes viral
For the last few days, a copyrighted photo I took of football player Cam Newton in 2007 has been one of the top search results when people search for Cam Newton images on Google. At times, it has been the top image. Unfortunately, Google usually links to bootleg copies that are being used without my permission. I even found a bootleg copy on the Orlando Sentinel web site, accompanying the blog of a noted sportswriter. You would think that professional journalists would know better than to use a photo without permission!
I have to give kudos to Bing - http://www.bing.com - because when I search for Cam Newton images there, the copy on my Flickr site shows up before the bootleg copies, making it easy for people to ascertain who the photo belongs to. I wish Google would wise up and do the same thing.
Trying to stomp out the bootleg copies from various web sites is like playing Whack-a-Mole. As soon as I get one taken down, several more pop up. What part of "copyright" do people not understand? Ironically, the same writers and bloggers who are condemning Cam Newton as a thief are guilty of theft themselves. Go figure...
Hopefully when the NCAA investigation is complete and the drama dies down at Auburn University, people will move on to something else. This incident has taught me a valuable lesson tho. I will watermark every image that I put on Flickr from now on because I've had so many of my photos used without my permission!
I have to give kudos to Bing - http://www.bing.com - because when I search for Cam Newton images there, the copy on my Flickr site shows up before the bootleg copies, making it easy for people to ascertain who the photo belongs to. I wish Google would wise up and do the same thing.
Trying to stomp out the bootleg copies from various web sites is like playing Whack-a-Mole. As soon as I get one taken down, several more pop up. What part of "copyright" do people not understand? Ironically, the same writers and bloggers who are condemning Cam Newton as a thief are guilty of theft themselves. Go figure...
Hopefully when the NCAA investigation is complete and the drama dies down at Auburn University, people will move on to something else. This incident has taught me a valuable lesson tho. I will watermark every image that I put on Flickr from now on because I've had so many of my photos used without my permission!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Explore's Favorite Things
Just another silly song about Flickr's Explore algorithm, which is supposed to select 500 photos each day which have the most "interestingness". This one is to the tune of "My Favorite Things":
Sunsets and meerkats and pandas and kittens!
Rainbows and macros and babies with mittens!
HDR pictures of flowers in Spring!
These are a few of Explore's favorite things!
It's funny how some people get offended when their photos don't get selected for Explore. Folks, it's a computer program, not a human being. And it is definitely not an award for photographic excellence, so don't take it personally!
Sunsets and meerkats and pandas and kittens!
Rainbows and macros and babies with mittens!
HDR pictures of flowers in Spring!
These are a few of Explore's favorite things!
It's funny how some people get offended when their photos don't get selected for Explore. Folks, it's a computer program, not a human being. And it is definitely not an award for photographic excellence, so don't take it personally!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Aliens on Vacation
When going thru some old photos, I discovered one that I had taken on Pensacola Beach. This beach house has what looks like a space ship on top. After doing some research, I found that it is actually a Futuro home, designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in the 1960's. When I saw this creation, I assumed that it was one of a kind, but there are others out there. I've added a lot more info under the photo on my Flickr site, so click on the photo and read all about it.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Hey Now, You're a Flickr Star - NOT!
I've got almost 1500 photos on Flickr, and this crappy cell phone photo that I took of a magazine with Tim Tebow on the cover has gotten the most hits.
So I was lying in bed last night, and the Smash Mouth song "Hey Now You're a Rock Star" popped into my head. And then alternate lyrics started popping into my head too. Argggh, I hate it when that happens! So here is the result, tho it might not make sense unless you are involved with the Flickr photo service, and you are familiar with Flickr Explore and the Interestingness algorithm:
Somebody once told me that Flickr will ignore me
I ain't got any interesting stuff
EXPLORE just doesn't love me, and award pools don't invite me
Cuz my Flickr friends don't comment enough
Well the views start coming and they don't stop coming
Used "Tebow" as a tag and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense to get seven hundred hits
On a cell phone picture that ain't worth sh*t
:-)
True story: It all started when I was in the grocery store last fall and noticed a bunch of football magazines with Tim Tebow on the cover. Didn't have my camera with me, so I took cell phone photos and emailed them to Flickr. Actually I only got 699 hits, but rounded up to fit the lyrics.
And for what it's worth, I do have a better photo of Tim Tebow:
So I was lying in bed last night, and the Smash Mouth song "Hey Now You're a Rock Star" popped into my head. And then alternate lyrics started popping into my head too. Argggh, I hate it when that happens! So here is the result, tho it might not make sense unless you are involved with the Flickr photo service, and you are familiar with Flickr Explore and the Interestingness algorithm:
Somebody once told me that Flickr will ignore me
I ain't got any interesting stuff
EXPLORE just doesn't love me, and award pools don't invite me
Cuz my Flickr friends don't comment enough
Well the views start coming and they don't stop coming
Used "Tebow" as a tag and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense to get seven hundred hits
On a cell phone picture that ain't worth sh*t
:-)
True story: It all started when I was in the grocery store last fall and noticed a bunch of football magazines with Tim Tebow on the cover. Didn't have my camera with me, so I took cell phone photos and emailed them to Flickr. Actually I only got 699 hits, but rounded up to fit the lyrics.
And for what it's worth, I do have a better photo of Tim Tebow:
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Lunar Eclipse
Last night, I made a stab at photographing the lunar eclipse.
I was disappointed when I realized that the lunar eclipse would be going on during the Florida Gator basketball game, but was hoping to catch it later. I guess the eclipse brought the Gators some luck, because they pulled out a victory in the final seconds.
By the time I got home from the game, the moon was starting to turn bright again. I grabbed my camera for a few shots, and quickly discovered that my "prosumer" camera just wasn't adequate for the job. My tripod is totally inadequate too because it is one of those little mini tripods, just a few inches tall. It could not support the weight of my camera and telephoto lens, so I braced the camera against my car. I took a bunch of shots, but most were blurry and out of focus.
Oh well, maybe the next time we have a lunar eclipse, I will have a DSLR and a good tripod!
I was disappointed when I realized that the lunar eclipse would be going on during the Florida Gator basketball game, but was hoping to catch it later. I guess the eclipse brought the Gators some luck, because they pulled out a victory in the final seconds.
By the time I got home from the game, the moon was starting to turn bright again. I grabbed my camera for a few shots, and quickly discovered that my "prosumer" camera just wasn't adequate for the job. My tripod is totally inadequate too because it is one of those little mini tripods, just a few inches tall. It could not support the weight of my camera and telephoto lens, so I braced the camera against my car. I took a bunch of shots, but most were blurry and out of focus.
Oh well, maybe the next time we have a lunar eclipse, I will have a DSLR and a good tripod!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Whooping Cranes!
On Sunday, Jan 27, 2008, I had a unique opportunity to view a flyover by the Operation Migration team, who led a group of whooping cranes over the Dunnellon FL airport en route to their winter home at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. They planned to spend the night at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve before flying on to Chassahowitzka.
It looked like the flyover was a go for Friday, Jan 25th, so I drove down from Gainesville that day. Altho the skies were clear, the wind was too strong for the pilots and cranes, so the flyover was canceled. Saturday wasn't good either, so it was postponed until Sunday.
The skies were quite gray on Sunday, but there was an opening in the clouds that enabled the pilots to lead the cranes down below the clouds and over the crowd of Craniacs who had gathered there.
This was a wonderfully organized event, which included a short movie about how the whooping cranes are raised and trained to follow the ultralights. We were also treated to a question and answer session with whooping crane experts. Several birding groups set up tables with merchandise for sale.
You too can be an official certified Craniac! Just go towww.operationmigration.org and sign up!
See my Flickr photo site for more photos of this event:
www.flickr.com/photos/luv2run/sets/72157603808999057/
It looked like the flyover was a go for Friday, Jan 25th, so I drove down from Gainesville that day. Altho the skies were clear, the wind was too strong for the pilots and cranes, so the flyover was canceled. Saturday wasn't good either, so it was postponed until Sunday.
The skies were quite gray on Sunday, but there was an opening in the clouds that enabled the pilots to lead the cranes down below the clouds and over the crowd of Craniacs who had gathered there.
This was a wonderfully organized event, which included a short movie about how the whooping cranes are raised and trained to follow the ultralights. We were also treated to a question and answer session with whooping crane experts. Several birding groups set up tables with merchandise for sale.
You too can be an official certified Craniac! Just go to
See my Flickr photo site for more photos of this event:
www.flickr.com/photos/luv2run/sets/72157603808999057/
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