11 March, 2016 Celebrate The Small Things
Welcome to this lovely blog hop, started by VikLit, bless her!
Lexa Cain and her two wonderful co-hosts L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits are presiding.
Check them out and be prepared to smile!
What am I celebrating? Well, changes, comings and goings. I spoke of Jesse James (my darling old dog) earlier. He’s left quite a hole in my household, but lots of smiles, as well. And it appears that we may be having a new little presence in a couple months in the form of a puppy. Jesse’s wisdom and humor linger. We learned a lot from him, and the puppy will benefit from the years we had him. Meanwhile, we’re remembering and smiling.
On another front, I am finishing two stories, a full-length novel set in Paris and a fable that I’ve mentioned before… Or, I will be once I start up again in April. I’ve been beta-reading (VERY enjoyable!) doing this and that.
And fiddling with things.
 |
| Large male saltwater crocodile, Australia |
Which brings me to my celebration. I have a cover nearly finished for the fable. I’ve posted a version of it before. It prominently features a magnificent crocodile that is a major force in the story. The photo I found was perfect… It had been printed in a newspaper. If you are using photographs or other images, you must, if you are honest, verify that they are in the public domain and, if not, secure a license to use them. As an amateur photographer, I understand what goes into taking what your eye sees and turning it into a work of art.
So, the crocodile. I searched for the photographer…and I finally found him. Or, rather, his name. I looked him up by name and located his website. At his website, I swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
The man was a superb photographer. He did work for the National Geographic Society. He was as good as Galen Rowell (if you know photography, you will know the name). I couldn’t possibly afford him.
But one must ask. I wrote to him, told him what I wanted the image for, explained how I had tracked him down, and inquired whether I might purchase a license to use the photograph. Knowing his quality and my budget, I also started looking at stock images…
And I received this response:
Hi Diana
Thanks for your enquiry. I can confirm that the image of the crocodile is one I took in 2005. The Courier Mail published it without my permission (which is far from unheard of). I have full copyright over the image however I preference how I license images depending on the status/capacity of the use, and the user etc.I would like to provide you use of this image as a courtesy, since I appreciate the demands on writers in bringing their work to completion. I also appreciate the obvious effort you have gone to contact me.
I have attached a higher res version of the image to assist you.
If you are able to publish your work it would be great to receive a copy.
Good luck.Kind Regards
Kerry
I looked at the image he had attached and reread the note. The book will be published and he will receive a copy as well as credit for the image.
 |
| (Stars are very important in the story) |
dianawilderjottings 