Pam – Page 108 – New England's Narrow Road

Borrowing Photos Belonging to Others – Not Cool!

cowry seashells — My Cowry Seashells photo

I imagine there are many clueless bloggers and such out there who think it is perfectly fine to help themselves to anything they find on the internet. They see a great photo and it suits their purpose, or they think their readers will be impressed with the pictures on their site, so they add it.

It’s not theirs in any way, shape or form, but they put it up there for readers to view without even a link back to the one who did all the work – took the shot in the first place! They never think to ask for permission, or even admit it’s not theirs.

That is simply rude.

Have you ever visited a blog with fantastic pictures but clicking on them takes you nowhere? And the blogger gives no credit for them. You may read and think, wow, he / she has a great photo.

All the photos on my New England’s Narrow Road blog (except for the ones used through Zemanta – a great resource), are my own! It’s one of the reasons I blog – to share my photos of the New England area.

I have a blog, Sandpiper Wedding, to write about beach wedding info and I’ve linked to Etsy designers many times using their photos – with permission from the Etsy shop owner! It’s not hard to ask permission, and I think you’ll find that many people will be happy to have the promotion and link.

I recently began to enjoy the Pinterest website. It’s a great place to share pictures that (many times) lead to ideas for decorating, cooking, and purchasing great products. But I’ve also noticed that many times great pictures lead to nothing when they are clicked on. If a photo leads nowhere, how will the person who took it get credit? Even if the picture is fantastic I do not add it to my board, as without a link, it is not right to promote it.

I recently had (and still have) an issue with someone who is using one of my seashell photos as her own on her blog. When searching for this particular shell type, my picture comes up and is linked to her website! Yes, I am ticked! She has no way to leave a message or contact her on the site, so I left a message on her Facebook page, which she apparently ignored.

So please be considerate when you need pictures and use the ones that are listed as “free” to use and don’t just go grab any old photo you see on the web. We photographers work hard to promote ourselves and our blogs, and truthfully, when I’ve been asked, I usually grant permission for use of a picture- with a link back to me! It’s only right.

Please visit my Cowry Shell page @ Seashells by Millhill and like, tweet or whatever – so I can get IT to be the one that shows for the shells that are mine! Thanks.

Here are some great resources for adding free photos to your blog if you don’t have Zemanta – which is the easiest – here at WordPress.

Pixabay and MorgueFile are two sites that I use to get free to use, public domain images for my work.

Our Local Lake (Sea) Plane

Each year when the weather begins to warm and the ice on the lake melts (don’t have that problem this year!) the sound of the local “sea” plane fills our skies over Antrim, New Hampshire. I no longer live there, but I’m close enough that I will go back to take my son to swim in Gregg Lake and visit with our old friends, and most likely I will get to see the plane either take off or land on the lake. If not, I may hear it buzzing overhead.

I don’t know the man who owns the plane, but I’ve heard that he owns this little piece of land on the inlet that goes into the lake and that is where he keeps the plane in summer. For a short time one summer, I rented the house just beyond the one in the photo and the kids and I would see the plane passing by the cottage on it’s way to the lake for takeoff.

Shortly after I had moved to Antrim (the first time) I took my son and his friend up to the lake to swim and the plane come in for a landing! That was fun. The boys totally enjoyed it.

Gregg Lake is pretty small, so I imagine the plane owner can only take off and land when it’s not too busy with watercraft and fishermen.

This photo of the plane was taken in October 2008. For more pictures of fall from this area, check out my Fall Foliage Season post.

Pictures of Fall in Spring (Almost)

orange foliage — Tree in Fall with orange leaves

I know it is almost Spring, but there is just nothing to get photos of just yet. I searched my blog for “Fall” stuff, and couldn’t find anything! Why not? I live where the Fall season is usually stunning, but this past Fall I was busy moving into my new place and besides that, Fall was not very stunning. I hate to say it, but we missed out on some great color that we usually see. So, between being busy and not seeing any scenery that caught my eye, I didn’t get any photos. I guess that is why there are none up on my blog.

So I’ve added a shot I took when I lived near the lake in Antrim, New Hampshire (named after Antrim in Ireland – Happy St. Paddy’s Day!!!). I lived there for three Autumn seasons and every one provided glorious color so I took loads of photos. I’d walk the dirt roads and the narrow (and bumpy) lake road, and sometimes travel the Girl Scout Camp road – always on the lookout for bears! – and I usually took my camera with me, no matter what the season.

I have pictures of deer that I got just a week ago, but haven’t uploaded them yet, so please enjoy my Fall pics in Spring.

Sharing My Photos of Winter White

Short and sweet post today to show off my favorite snow, white, and winter pictures.

I took these myself over the past years and they were all taken at different addresses, back when I lived like a nomad. I’m so glad those days are over, but it gave me the opportunity to check out parts of the state I would not have ever known so well. Some I am glad to be away from, and others I miss.

And I miss my cat, Richie. That picture was taken at my last rental on the back porch. I couldn’t believe the cat stayed outside while the snow covered him, but he was a hunter and couldn’t tear himself away. It made a cool photo.