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"Borrowing" photos on the internet

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I'm in-between canoe trips at the moment, and so I was goofing around on the internet searching some of the trips I have done in the past. Came across this interesting blog about the Steel River Loop.

http://baron-troutbirder.blogspot.ca/2014_06_01_archive.html

You have to scroll to the bottom to read it in order. Anyway, I always like reading other people's perspectives on routes I have done. However, I started to think that some of the pics were a little too familiar, so I cross referenced with my solo report I had submitted on this site. Voila! At least two of the pics in this guys blog are from my report!
http://www.canoetripping.net/forums...eports/271-solo-on-the-steel-northern-ontario

I think another pic is from an old report I submitted on another site. Now I have no problem having my images go other places, there is no protection on the inter-web. But it just seems to me that if you are submitting an "authentic" blog, you should use your own pics, or at least pics from the same trip, not pics taken a few decades later. Or if you do use them, give credit where credit is due. Seeing my pics caused me to examine all the old pictures closely, and most are not of the places referenced in the blog, which makes me wonder if he made the whole thing up, or just couldn't remember where the pics were taken.

Any thoughts?
 
Well Memaquay, Just some thoughts; I've told you in the past that I admire you and if I'm honest, envy your life just a little bit. The world is full of people who for various reasons, feel a lack in who and what they are. You on the other hand are the genuine article and it's really no surprise that you find yourself being plundered by folks who would like, if only in their imagination, to furbish their lives with something from yours.

You remember the quote from the 1930's, somebody asked Dillinger why he robbed banks, his reply was "that's where they keep the money". Well my friend, in this case, you're the bank!

Now as far as it being an authentic "blog", anyone with the brains of a codfish knows you really need to look at anything you find on the web with a very suspicious eye. In so far as I can tell he's not encouraging folks to do something that could get them into trouble, so this is mainly ego surfing and not dangerous.

Granted I'm at a comfortable remove from all this, but when I see this kind "borrowing" happening my overhelming feeling is of pity. Pity for the person who feels their own life hasn't enough real experiences to make it of value, but that they need to borrow from others and claim it as their own. And poor sod, his transgressions are hanging out there for all the world to see on the net. Maybe forever.

The other day in town, I saw a young man in his mid-twenty's whizzing along on his skate board. It's a common thing to see. And I thought to myself "This is it ? You're at your prime of life and your messing around on a F______ skate board??" I think the term is arrested development. I would suggest that a major portion of the population is suffering from arrested development. Their feet aren't on the ground, not connected to real life. That young man, I'd bet, goes home (his parents home) and plays a computer game where he's some epic warrior battling monsters for the good of mankind. Laudable idea, but the monsters aren't real.
What the lad needs is to go with memaquay and carry various loads over one of those awful portages. Then he'd know adversity and have a real grip on what it required to overcome it. And that "camp robber" with the photos, if it was me, I'd just do a mental "toilet flush".

Best Wishes, Rob (tor)
 
Mem, just copy your post onto other paddling sites.. Embarrassment might be a influencing factor..
 
Geeze, TOR, you had me snorting coffee out my nose at this early hour, I really appreciate your penetrating observations of this strange world we live in. You should be syndicated in some National newspaper. I'm not bent out of shape by this, I really don't mind that much. I'm pretty sure I read his report years ago, but it didn't have the pictures. I remember reading the part about arriving at the parking lot and having beers with the locals. I'm fairly certain I can locate some of his actual pictures at various sites on the Steel loop, they're just no where near where he says. The fact that he borrowed some pics from others is pretty standard in todays methods of research.

Not to get too off track, but one of the biggest problems we have with students "now-a-days" is getting actual original research papers from them. Worst case scenario, they go to a website and buy an actual paper for the question at hand. The more usual scenario is that they will surf a bunch of articles and strategically cut and paste sentences or entire paragraphs, and build a paper, with none of their own thoughts, and no documentation of their sources. These papers often read like Chinese instructions translated into english by a defective translator, and the kids have absolutely no idea of what they just "wrote" about. The internet is building some strange birds out of today's kids.

But back to the picture borrower. I'd like to think that his blog is based in fact, and that he just ripped some pics to spice it up. To contemplate otherwise would be somewhat disturbing for me. I mean, can you imagine someone faking a canoe trip report? That blows my mind.
 
I am guilty of saving pictures from the web on items of interest. On days where I am sick at home (today) I can scroll through and build plans for future trips or for items that I want to add or modify to meet my needs. I would not feel comfortable showing others pictures on a trip report of mine unless there was an explanation underneath on why I was unable to get my own picture of that spot (I.e. -storm/broken camera etc). I have a huge amount of pictures on the www and have found them reproduced in many different areas of the world. Just part of that web mentality that all is fair game to be copied when its on the web. I would ask the poster for credit on your pics as he may just be using them to fill in details from his trips. I think the whole idea of sharing pictures and stories on the web is to show and inspire others how to do the same with their time/stuff. I have learned a lot from the web on several different hobbies and have inspired other to try new hobbies as well. I think its neat to find stuff of mine in different countries around the world.
 
Ha, that's quite a website Glenn! I'm pretty sure none of my photos are worth copyrighting anyway, let alone disputing their ownership.
 
Ha, that's quite a website Glenn! I'm pretty sure none of my photos are worth copyrighting anyway, let alone disputing their ownership.
but secretely doesn't the little voice in a part of your brain want to send that link to the offender?;)
 
If you are 100% sure the photos are yours, I would just write the blogger and ask him to remove the photos. If he does not comply, you can threaten to post on several forums around the Internet and that should be sufficient for him to comply.

All content (including pictures) you create is covered by copyright whether you explicitly indicate the copyright or not.
 
mem,
I would be equal parts flattered and peeved.
Flattered that the lowlife valued your photo enough to steal it.
Peeved that he did not ask (hence the "steal") and did not give credit.
You would need to contact the lowlife to find if he was intentionally misleading his readers.
He may be one of those skateboard riding losers trying to make his own life appear bigger than it is, or he could just be lazy. Maybe both!

Unless you have previously taken steps to protect your photos, the internet is like the old wold west, just about lawless!
In my real life (like this isn't?!) I have to pay much money to patent attorneys and to maintain our copyrighted logos.
Artistic works are no different...

And a quick side note. MDB and I have many income properties, we generally advertise a vacancy on Craigslist.
Two times now, we have found photos and descriptions for our rental units (2 different ones) on Craigslist, long after we had removed the listing.
The Craigslist ads offer our unit, with our description, but a completely different set of contacts.

How could this possibly benefit the fraudulent poster??
At least I can understand the potential benefit to your thief...
I would definitely call him out on it!
 
Hi Gavia, I couldn't make out any white text. I did spot the bullfrog with "Gavia's photo" tattooed on his fanny, do you use the same frog in all your aquatic photos or do you get a new one each time?

Best wishes, Rob
 
And the other question miss in this thread would be how many did he actually take and how many did he borrow.

I'd just drop him a note about your pics, he might think twice about doing it again w/o credit to the pics.
 
I left a polite little comment in his comment section a couple of days ago, no response yet. I'll leave it at that, not the arguing kind, and can't get to wound up about a few pics.
 
I recently posted an add on Craigslist looking for a an old John Deere garden tractor, another expensive addictive hobby I have. To help the viewer know exactly what I was looking to purchase, I copied a picture from Google pictures of the exact same tractor "restored" and added it to my Craigslist post.

I got a reply from an older guy who had what I was looking for, at a very reasonable price. While we where loading it onto my truck, he mentioned he liked what I had done with the tractor in the picture in my add. Opps. I explained to him about the picture not being mine, but someone elses, and the reason I used the picture.

He asked me if his tractor would look like the one in the picture some day, I told him that's my plan, he smiled and said that's what he wanted for his old JD.

Not the same as what happened to Memaquay, but similar, I used someone else's picture for my gain without permission. In my case it was to clarify what I was looking for, not to say look at what I have done. In the sellers case, he assumed it was my picture of my tractor which I need to rectify if I ever do it again.

On another note, I understand watermarks on pictures, but if I see a trip report with them I pretty much lose interest. They send an unfriendly message that the owner thinks I might steal his/her "work", not to worry, I won't even look at it.
 
I don't mind watermarks and understand the reason why they are there. Everything can be copied by anyone and its no personal attack on me implying I could steal it. People do. This site is visible by the whole world. Many others are too and its not fair to appropriate pics from someone who is making their living at photography.

My other spendy vice is photo equipment. Maybe when I get better I and can sell some pics I will also watermark them.. If you don't want to read of course that's your prerogative but I would post them free with the watermark for all to enjoy here. The rest of the world I would expect money from.
 
There are a few who make their living selling pictures who use forums like these to target a specific audience, posting a watermarked photo of a canoe scene on a canoe site is no different than a google ad running across the top that sells canoes.
I could see a link at the bottom where you could view her/his better watermarked stuff for sale, but a trip report on a canoe website with watermarked pictures is tacky. Save the stuff for sale elsewhere(imo)
This is not to say you can't do it, do what you want, as long as it's canoes, just my 2 cents.
 
I'm calling BS on that. Note I am not calling BS on you. It's commercial only when you have a link to a site that sells the pics. It's a way to protect ourselves from others who sell our pictures even if we are not selling them. If I find that has happened to one of my photos I will watermark and find another avenue to share them with canoeing friends.

I suspect that is not your intended result. You take nice pictures. How would you feel if you found them for sale on Etsy?
 
If you read the terms and conditions of photo hosting sites they will usually tell you how to put restrictions on the usage of your photos by third parties, including watermarks, plus the sites may reserve rights to themselves to use the photos as they want. If you don't restrict your photos in some discernible way, I think it's a fair assumption by others that you are putting them into the public domain. While you may technically retain copyright protection under some country's law, in an infringement lawsuit you would have to prove some sort of commercial monetary damages if someone else copies your photo.

I find it difficult to believe that there are many people posting pictures of personal canoe trips who are trying to make money out the photographs. I also find it difficult to believe that anyone would pay money for someone else's canoe trip pics. But I'm a virgin and naive in many other ways.
 
I'm in agreement with Robin, water marks on pics in a trip report sort of bug me too. I can understand why people do it, but its not for me. I have no aspirations to be a money making photographer, I just enjoy having a visual chronicle of some of my experiences. If the dude in the other blog had asked me to use the pics, I would have said yes, it's no big deal.
 
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