We’re currently updating our website and our terms for photo use. We add this as we, from time to time, get asked if a photo may be used elsewhere. We truly appreciate people asking as often people will just use photos off the internet without any attribution at all — we’ve had this happen.
Photos in Posts or Galleries in Posts
If you see a photo here and want to use it and it’s a photo that’s in one of our posts, please contact us and ask if you may use it. Most of the photos we use are our own, but we also sometimes use stock photos or photos with Creative Commons licenses when we cannot find one in our own collection that fits our need. We always try to attribute images used from Flickr but for photos from photo sharing sites that do not require attribution, we may not note the source.
We ask that if you use a photo from one of our posts, you attribute it and link back to our website. As we do not want you attributing photos to us that are not ours, we ask that you ask permission first!
Photos in Galleries
We use galleries for many different things on this website. Here are the terms for media in various types of galleries you might find here
Stock Photos/Videos
Some galleries offer photo purchases or downloads. You’ll know these because you’ll see purchase options when you open the photos in the lightbox. We are also trying to add a clickable popup with information about terms in the lightboxes for these images. Here’s what you should know:
- If you download an item for free, we do ask for attribution and a link back.
- If you purchase an item, no attribution or link back is necessary.
- You may use the media on the web, in print, for personal use on items, or for a few for-sale items — however, if you want to mass produce an item for sale, you’ll want to contact us for an additional license.
- Downloadable item purchases are non-refundable.
- You may modify purchased images or artwork.
- For photos and videos we consider “stock” and sell, our usual genres are objects, landscapes, animals, nature, etc…subjects that generally do not require a release form. If we sell an image featuring a person or property, we will have a release form on file for it.
Downloadable Media Galleries
You may find some galleries which have a lightbox that offers direct downloads of original images. We may use this feature on some galleries which may be of interest, but which we feel we cannot, or do not want to, sell. An example would be event images. We like to go to events, but these photos may feature people for whom we cannot get photo releases. But as they’re public images, they go under the format of “editorial content.”
Please observe the following if using images from such galleries:
Some of our galleries, like certain event galleries, may feature a different lightbox that allows for free download of the image. If you see this on a gallery’s lightbox, it means that you may download the image without checking with us for permission if you observe the following terms:
- Please give us credit for the image and consider linking back to our website at https://www.pnwbeyond.com OR to the specific image URL on our site which you can find in your browser tab.
- If the image is watermarked at the lower edge, please keep that watermark in place.
- Event images are considered “editorial use only” and may feature people who participated in an event publicly and, for which, we could not get a model release. Please treat any such photos with people in them with respect and do not modify the photo.
- For photos we uploaded starting in 2024, we are trying to include the metadata which includes the copyright status of the image in question. If you cannot find that please observe the following about your photo:
- If the photo is an event image and includes recognizable people consider it a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 4.0 International license.
- For free downloadable photos which do not include recognizable people, personal property, or public works of art, consider it a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
- If the image contains a recognizable public work of art, please consider it an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. Why? We sometimes like to take photos of public works of art such as statues and murals, street art, and even buildings. In some cases, though, the artist in question is actually merchandising and living off of their street art and even though the mural (in this hypothetical case) may be there for all to admire, you do not own the right to make mugs from it, so we ask that you only use such image non-commercially.
Cooperative Galleries
You may find some galleries on this website, particularly in some of our “pnwwiki” pages, that allow user uploads. We’ve asked that any users who upload images to such galleries put their name as author on the gallery and they can add a custom link to their profile or any other page which identifies them.
You may not use images on cooperative galleries without asking the image owner — which you should find in the lightbox for the image. If you do not and wish to use an image there, you may contact us and we can seek permission from the image creator.
General Galleries
You may find some galleries which are just compiled by tags. Here’s a simple rule of thumb for all galleries: if the gallery lightbox allows image purchase, you may purchase it and use it under the terms of “stock photo galleries.” If the gallery lightbox allows free download, you can download and use the image, observing the terms under “downloadable media galleries.” If you find neither on a gallery, you may only use the photo by permission.
Member Profile and Group Media and Albums
There are also options to upload and share media with other users of this site and in groups and compile them into albums.
This is separate from sitewide galleries. You can control some privacy levels on your user media. If you make them public, other users may view and share them. Public group media will also be public as well. Private group media should stay visible only to members of the private group.
How we may use your media
If you upload media to a cooperative gallery, it will be visible to visitors of this website. Your name and custom link will be on it IF you put it there when you upload the photo. We may occasionally link opinion polls, ratings, etc to such media at our discretion. We may also post photos (with credit) to social media or post a link to the gallery (without credit as it’s multi-user) to social media. We have control over what media we will publish on the front end of the website. Such media can only be deleted by request. We do not offer payment for media, but we, also will not sell your media and will ask your permission if a user wants to use your media. We make cooperative galleries not right-clickable. However, as it’s the internet we cannot 100% guarantee someone will not illegally use your image.
Media uploaded via groups or on your user profile can be controlled by you in terms of privacy levels and ability to delete the media. Public media, again, may be shared. We may, from time to time, share our favorite public media to social media.
