Copyright.PamRotella.com

So, you want to use my pictures?
[Posted 24 October 2002, last updated 4 July 2013]

Special notice, 26 October 2003:  The photos on my page about the Today's Medical Fad:  The Genetic Myth (http://www.pamrotella.com/health/geneticfad.html) are not subject to this agreement because the pictures of Joel Wallach and Royal Rife are not my own. 

Special modification to agreement, 4 July 2013: Photos with the watermark "PamRotella.com" do NOT require the wording "Photo by Pam Rotella" as specified below. However, if the "PamRotella.com" watermark is not shown, or if the watermark is removed, use of my photos does require the wording stated below. Also, limitations on the number of images and restrictions on commercial use remain in effect.

This page was originally created before social media sites became pervasive, bringing many people online with a minimum of computer skills. Watermarks should make posting my photos more convenient for everyone who has difficulty including photo credits with a photo.

Also, my large photo galleries were created in the early days of digital photography, when 1 or 2 megapixels was state of the art. At the time I often didn't trim the size of the photo files before publishing them. I wanted the photos to be larger than most found online, so that people could hang their favorites on their walls, or use them as as desktop wallpaper on big computer screens. This policy included pictures as large as 300 kb -- huge by today's standards.

Today, most people have needs that require very little size or resolution, like pictures to include with school reports, or to post on their personal blogs. And so I'll gradually reduce most photo sizes in the gallery to about 10" wide or tall -- whichever is the longest edge. That's large enough for people to print an 8x10 picture for their apartment, or have a pretty picture with good detail on their computer's desktop, yet small enough for those wanting to copy and paste pictures directly into a blog.

I'll gradually add watermarks to most gallery photos, for the convenience of those wanting to use the photos online. (For those wanting to decorate their cubicles or homes with the pictures, my watermarks are usually in the lower corner, and partially transparent -- many commercial prints have photo or artist credits that occupy the entire bottom of the frame, and so mine aren't anything out of the ordinary.)

For those with a decorating budget, and a desire to purchase some of my better photography, see HoriconBirds.com.

**********

Remainder of copyright agreement to follow:

Most photos on this web site are saved at a low resolution, to make the file size small enough for dial-in users to load and view the pictures within a few seconds.  Such poor photo resolutions are typically too low to be used for anything but small pictures on a web site.  However, the photos at 50k or larger are sometimes big enough to use as desktop wallpaper on a computer, or as a photo hung on the wall.  All you have to do is right-click the photo and select the save or copy option.

I have "photo galleries" depicting caverns, scenery, and other tourist attractions I've visited, and people may want to use some of my photos.  For example someone might want to save a Luray Caverns photo as wallpaper on their computer, because they think it's pretty or because they engage in spelunking as a hobby.  I don't have a problem with that, and don't want anyone to think I'll sue them if I find they're using my photos for their own personal enjoyment.

Recording and publishing houses have been on the offensive lately, trying to intimidate people who share illegal (i.e. not purchased through them) copies of songs and other copyrighted material.  Some artists complain that such policies limit their exposure, as "sharing" of their work is in effect free advertising -- and advertising can be expensive through commercial venues.  (Fortunately, my publisher was cool about letting me publish 12 sample recipes from my book on the web.)  I'm the sole owner of the photos on this web site, and I've never sold rights to any of my photos.  So I've decided to grant LIMITED USE for all of the photos on pamrotella.com, as stated below.  If you want to show your appreciation, refer my web site to a friend, buy my book, or eat vegetarian meals more often.  Otherwise, if you stay within the limited use guidelines below, the pictures are free.

Professional photographers expect to sell their photos, and I can understand why they want to be compensated for their work, especially if the person using their work makes a lot of money by publishing it.  However, I'm just an amateur photographer, and if someone wants to tape one of my photos on their wall at work to help them get through the day, that's fine with me.  Kids should be able to use my cave or turtle pictures in their school reports if they want, and as long as my name is cited as one of the photographers, I don't see anything wrong with other web designers using just a few of my photographs.  (I don't want them to use more than 5 without permission, though, so that I can review their site first & decide if their page is something I want to support with my work.)  And like professional photographers, I don't want someone to publish my photos and make millions of dollars partly because of my work, while I'm only a few paychecks away from the poor house.  But when it comes to an ordinary person just trying to beautify their surroundings, they shouldn't have to fear "the copyright police", so to speak.  Fair enough?  So all photographs on the pamrotella.com web site pages are copyrighted by Pam Rotella, all rights strictly reserved, with the following permissions granted for limited use:



Copyright notice granting LIMITED USE as of 24 October 2002:
All photos on all pages and directories of this web site (pamrotella.com) copyright by Pam Rotella.  Limited use is granted as follows:

1.)  Photos located anywhere within the pamrotella.com domain may not be copied, reproduced, or used for any purpose not specifically stated on this page, without prior written consent from Pam Rotella.  Contact Ms. Rotella at pam@veggiecooking.com to negotiate any usage not specifically expressed within this document.

2.)  Individuals may save an unlimited number of photos from this web site onto their personal hard disks for purposes of personal viewing, wallpaper on their computer's desktop, or screensaver purposes.  (A free screen saver/wallpaper program allowing add-in of personal photo files in .jpeg format can be found at http://www.secondnaturecd.com/ -- follow the link to Free Screen Savers and Updates, currently located at http://www.secondnaturecd.com/upsam.html.)  Such photos may be stored on media other than a hard disk, for example floppy disks and CDs, and kept as a backup of the original files.  Resale of any such photos from pamrotella.com is strictly prohibited.

3.)  An unlimited number of photos within the pamrotella.com web site may be copied and printed for decorative purposes, for example printed as a photo and framed as a wall hanging, or pinned to an office cubicle wall.  Sale of such printed photos is strictly prohibited.  The inclusion of the photographer's name, Pam Rotella, is not necessary in the case of decorative purposes.  However, there must be no claim that the photographs were taken by anyone other than Pam Rotella.

4.)  An unlimited number of photos within the pamrotella.com web site may be copied and included in students' school reports and projects.  The inclusion of the photographer's name, Pam Rotella, is not necessary in the case of student reports.  However, the student must not claim that the photographs were taken by anyone other than Pam Rotella.

5.) Up to 5 (five) (see list item 6 below) photos may be copied and used on any other web site, provided that each page which displays a photo from pamrotella.com includes the phrase "Photographs(s) by Pam Rotella".  It is preferred that the name "Pam Rotella" be provided as a link back to pamrotella.com, but not required.  The phrase "Photographs(s) by Pam Rotella" could be included as a caption of each photo, or as a footnote at the end of the document.  It is also acceptable to group Pam Rotella's name with other photographers used on the site, for example, "Photographs by Jane Buck, John Doe, and Pam Rotella."

6.) The limit of 5 photos per web site does not apply to the owners of the subject of the photograph, if any.  For example, ownership of The House on the Rock or Luray Caverns may include a dozen or more of these photographs on their web sites, provided the phrase "Photograph(s) by Pam Rotella" as stated in item 5 is observed.  State or Federal landmarks, for the purposes of this document, are "owned" by the agency directly administering and/or caretaking each landmark or monument.

7.)  Resale of any photos from pamrotella.com is strictly prohibited.

8.)  All other uses must be approved in writing by Pam Rotella.

You may want to print and retain a copy of this document for your records.

Back to the top

© 2002 by Pam Rotella

Back to Pam's vegan vegetarian FUN page

Pam's vegan vegetarian cookbook, with vegan vegetarian recipes