One of the nice things about releasing photos on Flickr with a Creative Commons license is that once in a while there’s a nice surprise when you see your photo used on another website.
Last week, Vancity Buzz posted an article summarizing a bit of Seabus history with photographs which included some of my SeaBus photos. Many of the photos that were used from my collection were taken during the APTA conference here in Vancouver in 2010. I was able to take a tour of the SeaBus operations and maintenance centre and get a unique glimpse to the areas of the Burrard Pacific Breeze that regular passengers don’t get to see.
Many transit enthusiasts are very protective of their photography and add watermarks and strict rules on how the photo can(not) be used by others. On the other hand, I’m all right with others using my photos so long as they give appropriate credit (for those with eagle eyes, yes there are a couple other stipulations in the specific license I use). The Creative Commons licenses allow me to retain ownership of my photos and at the same time allow others to use my photos. Others are free to use the photos as they wish (mostly) as long as attribution is given, usually in the form of a link.
If you are interested in learning more about Creative Commons licensing, PCWorld has an informative article on protecting artistic works with Creative Commons licensing. The article goes over common questions and concerns when using the license.
If you have any experiences with Creative Commons licensing, feel free to leave a comment.
