When I was young my dad worked for a very large photographic film company – we lived in upstate New York if that helps identifying which company. Photography has always been a part of my life. I remember having a film camera that I had to wind to advance to the next exposure and I remember having a flipflash cube that attached to the camera for taking pictures that required the extra light.

On many early Christmas mornings my brother and I had to wait on the stairs as my dad set up the perfect shot in front of the tree. One summer in the early 2000s, I offered to help my mom with a large house cleaning project. I sorted through a box of pictures that was at least waist high putting them in chronological order and distributing any duplicates to my brother and myself. Those pictures prompted many memories I had forgotten from my childhood.

My interest in photography has not changed over the years and I count it as my favorite (but most often neglected) hobby.

Much like the organized boxes at my mom’s house, I take pictures now to preserve the memories of special people, places, and events. Even when I am taking a picture of a diabetes device or a meter result, there is a story behind the picture. There is a reason I choose to take that exact picture at that exact time.

When a picture is used without permission, there is no chance for that story to be told.

Please think twice before you use someone else’s picture and story without permission to tell your story.
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You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.
~ Ansel Adams

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I started watermarking my images consistently about 7 months ago due to the number of times they were used in other locations without my permission but that doesn’t remove almost 7 years of copyrighted but unmarked images from the internet. However this has not just happened to me. Another member of the diabetes community had her entire youtube channel copied a few years ago without her permission.

You can learn more about how to properly use someone else’s content on your site here and here.