I like to share.
Oh but let’s place a caveat on that statement: I don’t like to share my boyfriend, my shoes, my camera gear or my ball glove. And none of that is negotiable.
But when I get home from a day on the dusty trail, I like to share my pictures. I post them on Flickr, Google+ and Facebook.
Maybe it’s the slightly insecure creative in me that needs to hear someone say ‘great photos, Ang!’
Maybe I’m just a bit of an egotistical showoff, knowing my pics are good and think you need to see them.
Maybe it just depends on the day.
I recently switched my Flickr protection from ‘some rights reserved’ to ‘all rights reserved.’ I think that means people can use my work as long as they give me credit.
It isn’t that hard. A Finnish website celebrating Maremma sheepdogs used several of shots of my beloved baby, Shep, and gave me a nod on each one.
I suppose, though, that sharing my photos on Facebook and Google releases me from any protection of my photos. Scott Bourne dissected the G+ licensing rights fairly well last summer and we’ve all heard — ad nauseum — how loosey-goosey Facebook is with any claim to copyright.
Basically, once you share, you have no rights.
But I expect a certain level of decorum from the people I’ve added to Facebook as ‘friends.’
Particularly those who consider themselves ‘family.’ (Another caveat: I don’t consider an individual who married my cousin to be my cousin and thus not really family.)
Last night, I posted to Facebook one of my more successful shots from a day on the road, exploring the ghost towns of southeastern Alberta. Weird hobby, I know.
I was up and at ‘em early, catching the sunrise glowing behind the Mossleigh grain elevators.
It was on my page for less than five minutes when I received the following comment: ‘Great shot, cuz! I am stealing it!’
I caught a breath. Not just because he called me ‘cuz’ but the word ‘stealing’ made that vein in my forehead throb. I responded that it would be far more appropriate if he asked me first and gave me the opportunity to say ‘yea’ or ‘nay.’
Ultimately, it’s my fault.
For being lazy and never getting around to designing a watermark.
For trusting people to respect my work.
For sharing too much.
It will make me hesitant to share in the future, knowing there’s no way to stop anyone from ‘stealing’ my pictures should they choose to … ‘family’ or otherwise.
And that kinda sucks.
How the hell am I going to get my ego stroked now?
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