Blogging – Page 2 – 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.

Staying Busy in the Midst of Winter

I keep a journal and don’t write in it often. I would like to say there are new and exciting things going on in my life, but there just aren’t. I applied to my back to get pre-approved for a mortgage so I can stop renting and was told I need to wait six months since my divorce was just recently final, so that is on hold. I am working on getting my taxes together – which is always exciting. I’m hoping to get them done for free again this year by the folks at the River Center, where I met my tax guy who came to my house and I paid him in cookies – no kidding! My deck is buried in snow that is more like cement, and my face hasn’t been in the sun since the last time I walked across the parking lot into the grocery store a week ago. All this is very boring, I know.

I also began using a day planner for my work. The trouble I am having is that I never seem to get the lists finished and they carry over day after day. I get sidetracked easily and must have a touch of my son’s ADD. I always check my e-mail first thing and see what my recent store sales look like. Most everything is selling from Sandpiper Wedding and I attribute that to the fact that the blog is being updated every day by my daughter. Updating daily will bring more views, and more views transfer to more sales. It’s also filled with images of beaches and tropical things. Maybe that is the reason for the views.

So goes life in winter. Just keep plugging along.

Making Cheese With Flowers

Nasturtium flower — My Red / Orange (& edible) Nasturtium

I will tell you right away that I have never done this, but I visited one of my favorite bloggers (and she is so much more) only to find an amazing post that included fresh picked flowers and yogurt.

Sharon Lovejoy is an author of many books and writes the most interesting posts on her blog along with some excellent photos of her quaint and lovely home in California – and the one in Maine when she is there. I honestly don’t get around to reading the blogs I have linked to as much as I’d like because my work takes up most of my day, but I truly love to visit a great blog. As busy and popular as Sharon is, she still takes time to read my piddly little blog and leave a comment here and there. Does that tell you the kind of sweet person she is?

Actually, she reminds me very much of my grandmother (and I don’t mean to say that she is old). My Nana always had a good thing to say. She was positive and open-minded and encouraging and sharing. I don’t know Sharon personally, but I imagine that she is just as she comes across in her blog posts – and that is how she comes across.

Please view her amazing post –Stir Gently and Add Friends -about making cheese from yogurt and flowers. I learned something new today and I have to buy a strainer.

Update on My Stair Climbing

I know you have been wondering how I am doing at my “Brilliant Idea for Getting In Shape“… No?

Well, I thought I’d be doing a lot more stair climbing than I ended up doing, but I am doing it. I had hoped to get up from the computer once an hour and do the stair thing for 3 minutes. Doesn’t sound too difficult does it?

The trouble I’m having is that I set the timer, get busy working on something in one of my Zazzle stores and when the timer goes off I think, “Okay, just let me finish posting this product for sale” , or “I’ll just finish up this drawing first”, and then I totally forget – for hours – that the timer was calling me to walk!

So I end up climbing my stairs only about 2 or 3 times a day instead of the hoped for 6.

But I am doing it, and I am convinced that it is doing some good – even if it’s a tiny bit. I’m not too worried because with the cooler Fall air comes the lugging of firewood, which is plenty of exercise.