flickr stats and paranoia

[shelfside]

Whilst it's always nice to get a random jump in my flickr stats, I often then feel immediately convinced that someone is stealing my photos

Baring in mind the pictures viewed were just from a small news event in my area that has long since passed; Am I just paranoid??

[Oly Paul]

You may well be, but if your that worried then the simple answer is don't post them on the world wide web.

But if you want them to be seen then the possibilty they may get stolen for use on the web by others is one you have to live with.

You can but a big logo all over the image but then the chances are that I and good many others will not bother looking at a image that has had the asthetics compromised so much.

Just make sure they are not big enough to be of use for printing, 1024 px maximum for the web is my advise

[AndyStevens]

Just to add... I use 600px wide images on my website - and found one in a local shop printed on canvas!! The owner had to admit to stealing it off my site - the Exif data couldnt be ignored!!

These days, modern printers can still print decent quality from a very small start image !!!

[Oly Paul]

Originally Posted by AndyStevens

These days, modern printers can still print decent quality from a very small start image !!!

Then your idea and my idea of decent quality are vastly different.

[AndyStevens]

I think we're on the same lines really Paul, just Canon iPF5100's really can make a presentable print from a 600px wide, 72ppi image - it wasn't a massive print, but it looked quite ok on canvas - and was drawing admiring glances from potential buyers - until I asked the owner where he'd got the image from...

A 'fine art' print would have been a completely different case - but canvas is quite forgiving on image 'quality'

[GeoffWessex]

I don't really know much about that printer, but I agree about with the point about printing on canvas. Only the other evening I was at a golf club and looking, from about 15 yards, at a couple of very nice colour prints - they stood out so well and appeared pin sharp, with great colours, good composition etc. I went closer to check them out and noticed they were about 14"x 11", on canvas/paper and were no sharper than any other decent print after all - it was all down to the range of viewing plus some good lighting on them.

[AndyStevens]

It's quite surprising isn't it GeoffWessex - now just don't tell me one of the prints was Corfe Castle shrouded in mist against a pink sky (I'm paranoid how many got sold )

[GeoffWessex]

Ah, no - they were simple views from around the golf course.... in Canada. One of the family that owns the course has been a leading photographer here (Kingston, Ontario) for a number of years - mainly in wildlife and 'natural' scenes, including still life.

[AndyStevens]

Cool, the 'Wessex' part made me think you might be from around here - in Wessex!

Nice part of the world you're in, spent many a happy day in Ontario

That's given me an idea though, we have lots of golf courses around here, wonder if any would like nice big canvases on their walls...?

[GeoffWessex]

Well I was from Wessex, having lived in North Dorset (Sturminster Newton and Stalbridge) for 26 years.... the countryside around here, as pretty as it is in parts, doesn't hold a candle to the history and charm of Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire.

The golf course photography is a great idea..... but there's a lot more to it than walking around taking pictures. What's required almost anywhere is extra height.... so I'm talking, ideally, of a 'cherry-picker' type of platform. Otherwise, you should look for views at dawn and dusk, particularly near water (maybe some morning mist). Take a look in a bookshop at the golf section - there are several big books with views of the great courses - the flat ones (like the links courses) are only good if you recognise the buildings or other surroundings (like St Andrews), while the ones on more rolling ground make it a lot easier to take better pictures.... again, though, dawn and dusk are best.

Maybe a look at one of the local golf guide books is in order, gathering some email addresses and sending some examples plus (the difficult part) your prices. There again, you could do a deal with them and just take lots of pictures of the course, send some samples in and even a suggestion for display etc - plus get them to see the possibilities of selling your framed pictures and dividing the profit.