Fright Flight of the Snow Geese - a photo on Flickriver

Update time on the stolen photo! The contest has disqualified the thief's entry and I think we are on our way to a happy resolution. Thanks to those who offered advice and emailed the contest!

April 2011 Update on this Image--

As my longtime contacts know, I'm not in the habit of bumping old posts to the top of my stream. I like to keep things fresh and moving, but unfortunately I've been alerted that this image has been stolen and so I am opting to bounce it up to the top of my stream to hopefully get out the word.

I found out last night that some nitwit stole this photograph and entered it into a Jeep photo contest in Mexico. I found out because my image won first place netting the thief a free vacation (not overall grand prize, so really my image came in second) and people started emailing me about it. So now I've reached out to Jeep and am hopeful with Chrysler being a major business that they will not want to award a prize to a fraud. Sadly, the early signs are it's going to be a pain to get them to right the situation.

This has opened up a can of worms on sharing media online and whether watermarking is a good idea or even effective (esp. if watermarked tastefully). Anyone want to give their thoughts on the subject? In some ways, I sort of chalk up online image theft as inevitable if you post images online and someone wants one badly enough. On the other hand, before I had my images online I sure didn't have 3.5 million views on my work either so the entry cost almost seems worth it. Perhaps it's just the cost of doing business in the digital age? Am I hopelessly optimistic/naive?

In any case, I'm flattered my image was chosen for the prize in such a large photo contest (over 14k entries). The internet is a crazy place!

Original posting from Jan. 2007 below:

Please View 'Fright Flight of the Snow Geese' Large On Black

A feeding flock of Snow Geese take flight after being scared from the cornfield at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Often it's a coyote that spooks them or other predators. While not equal in flock size to the morning fly out, these "fright flights" are an impressive spectacle in and of themselves.

Taken in: United States / New Mexico / Tiffany (show map)

Taken on: November 21, 2006

Tags:

BiF

Geese

Flight

Birds in Flight

Bosque

Snow Geese

Bosque del Apache

New Mexico

Nature

Animals

Landscape

BRAVO!

ABigFave

Shield Of Excellence

SpecAnimal

Magic Donkey

QUALITY

FlickrPlatinum

Chen caerulescens

nikonstunninggallery

Waterfowl

Wildlife

Snow Goose

ANSERIFORMES

ANATIDAE

Anserinae

Ornithology

Birds

Bird

Birding

Goose

AnAwesomeShot

AnimalKingdomElite

Aves

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Bird Photo

FeatheryFriday

100+Faves

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2007

ABW

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earth

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ColorPhotoAward « less

Sets appears in: • My Most Interesting Images • 100+ Faves more » • 50+ Faves • 20+ Faves & Up • Landscapes & Nature • Birds I Have Known • Landscapes • Bosque del Apache • New Mexico • 2011 • What You Like: 5+ Faves & Up « less

Groups appears in: • Birds in Flight! • The Best: BRAVO (INVITED images only) more » • Quality -- Best of the Best -- (Invitation ONLY) • Feathery Friday! • Spectacular Animals-Invited Photos Only • Animal Kingdom (YOUR IMAGE MUST HAVE AN INVITE) • **A Big Fave (INVITE ONLY PLEASE) • *Karma* • Shield Of Excellence • MagicDonkey • An Awesome Shot! Invited Photos ONLY!! • Color Photo Award - PREMIER -- Post 1: Award 2 • Mega Shot Post 1, fave 2 • *ABW* Gallery « less

Camera: Nikon D70, f/10.0, 1/1250 sec, 22mm (=33mm) (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D70
Aperture:	f/10.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1250)
Focal Length:	22mm (35mm equivalent: 33mm)
Exposure Bias:	-4/3 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows
Show full info

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