I’m part of the Worth1000 community and a couple of years ago I participated in a Surf and Turf competition for which the idea was to combine a land animal and sea animal into one being. Lots of hilarious things come out of that. Mine was called the Seahound and it looked like this:

Seahound

Courtesy obligates me to mention that neither of the two images I used to create the above one were made by me. See below for the two sources. I have no way of retracing who the original photographers of these pictures were. I found them through a Google search when I came up with the idea of making a Seahound. Uses like this, non-commercial, supposedly fall under the creative commons license, meaning (in short) that, as long as the user doesn’t sell the derivative image onwards and doesn’t use it for commercial purposes, it is okay to use the source images. This image ended up 8th (out of 73) in the contest, with seven even more hilarious ones going first.

Seahound sources

Occasionally I do a Reverse Image Search on my work (typically the stuff that IS my own and COULD be used commercially) through Tineye and see if anything comes up. Several times something did come up, but nothing close to the results that were returned on this particular image. Together with a good number of other images from this competition it came up on a wide variety of sites, among which websites that sell backgrounds for cellphones and such.

Dilemma, then. What to do?
This is my image, I created it. But it it’s not completely my image, because I used source images that aren’t my own. Should I pursue this? Should I find out what I can do about it? Someone out there IS making money of images that aren’t his/her.
Kind of frustrating it is. And the biggest problem is that most likely the servers that host these images are based in some obscure country where the laws in these matters aren’t taken too seriously. And if for whatever miraculous reason they would reply to emails, or if for whatever miraculous reason the websites would be taken down, then they would simply set up another website within a couple of days.
Carrying water to the sea, that would be.

So… as you’ve noticed before in some of my posts I’m a big fan of Jim Carrey, and I’ll quote that favorite quote of mine from Liar Liar again:

…so what I am going to do is piss and moan like an impotent jerk, and then bend over and take it up the tailpipe!

Cows are probably one of the most photographed animals. And one of the most prominently visible animals on funny post cards and stuff. Why?
They’re so dang curious and they stuff their nose IN your lens if only you give them the opportunity.

I was out with the wide angle and that makes things even worse, because you get in so close and when you look through the view finder you don’t realize how close you are really… Until you get a wet slimy slobber on your glass.
But nonetheless… got myself a couple of those post cards

D700, ISO200, 1/180 sec @ f/13, Sigma 10-20mm, on-camera flash

D700, ISO200, 1/180 sec @ f/13, Sigma 10-20mm, on-camera flash

I’m proud to say that one of my pictures has won the gold medal in the Bulgarian “The Wild” photo competition. Check out also the other winning images. Great stuff there!

D200, ISO100, 1/1000 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm

After Midsummer Vappu (Labour Day, 1st of May, for ye who aren’t from around) is probably the most looked-forward to national holiday in Finland. The night before the actual Labour Day is the night to party (although it starts already well before the “night”).

Last year I mentioned already that people consummate a vast amount of alcoholic beverages, but aside that every year it’s one big dress-up party and a lot of “standard procedures”.

D700, ISO800, 1/320 sec @ f/11, Nikkor 50mm, on-camera flash (fill)

God-lovers and anarchists demonstrate side-by-side like they would be the best of friends…

D700, ISO800, 1/250 sec @ f/11, Nikkor 50mm

But the trademark Finnish Vappu is best know for is the graduates, from all ages, coming downtown with their funny white hats.

D700, ISO800, 1/250 sec @ f/11, Nikkor 50mm

And lots of these (in many different sizes, colors, shapes and with ridiculous price tags)

D700, ISO800, 1/320 sec @ f/4.8, Nikkor 50mm, on-camera flash

Here are some pictures that every photographer should have in his or her portfolio. I think
One of those images is a very cliché image of birds sitting on an electricity wire. Where I’m currently residing, obviously birds aren’t all that keen on sitting on an electricity wire in big numbers, and I’ve been looking out for an image like that for I don’t know how long. Over time I’ve seen some sitting here and there, but I never wanted to take the shot, because, cliché as it already is, I did want to have a version that stands out from the pack at least that much.
During our holidays in Oregon I finally came across a scene that could fit the description. And when I moved in closer, camera at the ready, and the birds got restless and started flying away, I think I finally got my shot.
Below a few of (a good number) of the images I shot and the last one would be my favorite…

D700, ISO200, 1/180 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 50mm 1.4

D700, ISO200, 1/180 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 50mm 1.4

D700, ISO200, 1/180 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 50mm 1.4

D700, ISO200, 1/180 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 50mm 1.4

La Palma

I’m sure they’re all over the world, and not only in La Palma, but this little… (hmm, well… it actually wasn’t all that little…) bugger I couldn’t really miss sitting in the sun. It was so big I didn’t even need the macro lens for it
One of these “attacked” me on the camping in El Hierro, when we were having breakfast…

D200, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/8, Tamron 28-75mm

Tenerife

In terms of wildlife the Canary Islands are pretty safe. The endemic wildlife is limited to birds, bugs and dinosaurs, but nothing predatory. The most dangerous species is a poisonous centipede, which, theoretically, could be lethal to small children and the faint of heart, but otherwise there’s nothing really to worry about.

The dinosaurs are fairly tame, present in abundance (seriously! you have to look where you step, or you’ll step on them), and very willing to pose for a photo.

D200, ISO100, 1/180 sec @ f/3.3, Tamron 90mm macro

D200, ISO100, 1/180 sec @ f/3.3, Tamron 90mm macro

What would a ZOO be without animals…

D200, ISO100, 1/350 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm

D200, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm

D200, ISO100, 1/90 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm

D200, ISO100, 1/90 sec @ f/4, Nikkor 70-200mm, 1.4x teleconverter

D200, ISO100, 1/6 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm, 36mm extension tube

D200, ISO100, 1/30 sec @ f/4, Nikkor 70-200mm, 1.4x teleconverter

I’m not a super avid birder myself, but when I see nice ones I do like to capture them. I think I got a bit of the fever from a friend of mine I met back in the US last summer. When we drove home from a shoot we passed through a place called Ninepipes, which is supposed to be a bird-heaven. We sat there with our camera’s at the ready for close to two hours and shot some really nice pictures.

D200, ISO200, 1/400 sec @ f/4, Nikkor 70-200mm, 1.4x teleconverter

Anyway… Last weekend when I went out on a hike with my better half we encountered a supposedly rare species (at least it was rare 18 years ago when my better half got her bird book ): a eurasian three-toed woodpecker. I missed a woodpecker already earlier that hike, because I had the wrong lens on, but this time I had it right.

D200, ISO100, 1/30 sec @ f/4, Nikkor 70-200mm, 1.4x teleconverter

It’s funny how people can change when store sales come up.
Twice a year Finland’s biggest warehouse Stockmann has big sales called Hullut Päivät, Crazy Days. And really, that’s exactly what they are: crazy days.
When I first came to Finland a good number of years ago, I went to see what the fuzz was all about. I read through the sales catalogue and found a cheap flight ticket to Amsterdam. So I went, waited at the entrance and was amazed and amused by all the people.
Never in my wildest dreams had I thought to encounter this.
The otherwise so nice Finns, private, but nice, turned into the complete opposite. Sweet old grandmas turned into vicious little monsters. I’m not exaggerating. I’ve seen them fight, literally!, over pieces of clothing. Totally out of control.
I had to be on the fifth floor for my flight ticket. The doors opened at 08.00am, I was on the fifth floor by 08.04am (I did understand that I had to make haste with getting to where I had to be), I took a number from the machine and it read 178. So in the four minutes that it took me to get upstairs 177 people had managed to get upstairs ahead of me. Imagine that.
After that I swore to steer well clear of this madness.
Until now… There was an offer in this year’s catalogue which tempted me to put my life in the hands of this insane mad crowd again.
And so six years after my first experience, at 07.50am I scurried towards the entrance.

At about 07.50am there were already some 150 people waiting at the entrance

I got this scary sense of déjà-vu… But I took courage and put myself amongst the crowd waiting.
And a few minutes before 08.00am…

Rows and rows of people, at least 600, waiting for the doors to open

I’m not exaggerating. In the 10 minutes that I waited for the doors to open, the amount of people added up to about 600. In rows and rows pushed against the doors. The trams had trouble passing, because the people just stood everywhere.
And then came 08.00am. If I wouldn’t have been in the crowd trying to survive and stay alive, I swear would’ve wet myself, it was THAT hilarious. The doors opened and people really elbowed their way inside. Imagine those sweet old ladies and sophisticated business women and men pushing each other over, and RUNNING, not walking, but sprinting into the store to get to the elevators first so they’d be on their floor as fast as possible.

We’re supposed to be a civilized species. With brains. But come discount time, come sales time, we just turn into a bunch of neanderthales and if it hadn’t been this hilarious it would’ve been pathetic. Or should I just put that the other way around? If it hadn’t been this pathetic it would’ve been hilarious.
The thing that I wanted wasn’t all that popular, so I was pretty much in clear waters. But no more Crazy Days for me for a couple of years. Unless it’s from a distance to shoot pictures of people who make complete idiots out of themselves.