Happy New Year 2022 - Update your copyright notice!

I hope it's a happy and healthy year for you!

Welcome to 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic is seeing unprecedented infection rates and among the unvaccinated extremely high levels of hospitalizations, ventilator usage and deaths. If you've been following my articles and columns in various publications, especially at Travelers United, you know I've had little time to write about much else, during the second year of the 21^st Century Pandemic.”

Unfortunately, due to the Omicron variant, the holiday upsurge of COVID-19 infections likely won't begin to subside until the end of January, at the earliest. This seems like deja vu, doesn't it?

While we have the means to bring the pandemic under control, though likely not end it, unfortunately political misjudgment and ballot greed, plus cult-like conspiracy group think have replaced scientifically obtained determinations and commonsense, with junk and pseudo science for tens of millions in the U.S. and more across the globe. As I'm writing this first NSL Photography Blog article for 2022, more than 291 million have been infected by the COVID-19 virus, with more than 5.4 million succumbing to it, across the globe.

If you're not already doing so, please protect yourselves and your family. It's commonsense. It's ethical. It's moral. Mask up! Social distance! Avoid crowds and crowded spaces, particularly indoors where aerosolized virus is deadly! Don't touch your face, especially your mouth, nose and eyes, before you wash your hands! Wash your hands frequency, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water, not missing the area between your fingers and don't forget your thumbs! If you can't wash, use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol!

If you're in the U.S., did you reset your clocks to standard time, but forgot to reset your camera's clock?

If your location in the U.S. changed from Daylight Time to Standard Time this past Sunday, you need to remember to change the clock in your cameras too. If you didn't remember, you can change it today.

To change your camera's clock to Standard Time, set it back one hour, or if it has a Daylight Time adjustment, turn it off.

On Sunday, November 7, 2021, most, but not all of the U.S. switched from Daylight Time to Standard Time. Some parts of the U.S., including Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation within the state, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands never switch to Daylight Time. They stick to Standard Time throughout the year.

The switch between Daylight and Standard time isn't universal among nations across the globe. More than 100 countries never change to Daylight Time and of the countries that make the switch, many do it on different dates than the U.S.

Travelers in Mexico are often confused by the back and forth disposition of the swap between Daylight and Standard time there. That's because Mexican border cities near the U.S. generally keep their clocks synchronized with the U.S. to reduce confusion, but if you travel further into Mexico, you quickly find that most of Mexico resets their clocks in April and October, not March and November, as is done in the U.S.

The time of day in the U.S. could become more disparate in the future.

Changed to "daylight" time Sunday? Don't forget to reset your camera's clock

On Sunday, March 10, 2019, most of the U.S. switched to Daylight time from Standard time. Not all of the U.S. makes the change. Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands don't switch to Daylight time in the spring nor back to Standard time in the fall. Their clocks are always set to Standard time.

If you travel internationally, it's important to be aware that the Daylight/Standard time change doesn't universally occur across the globe. More than 100 countries never change to Daylight time and more than a few countries switch between the two on different dates than other countries.

The travel photographer's checklist: 14 items to check-off before you leave

Before leaving on a trip, photographers need to prepare themselves and their gear so they'll be ready to shoot upon arrival and get quality images.

There is much that can go wrong that might end one's chance to take advantage of a great travel photo opportunity. It's impossible to predict everything, but research and a flexible plan to handle many if not most emergencies and gear failures can help you overcome problems.

I start to plan my journeys a month out, but my planning gets intense the week before I leave and with 24 hours to go. When planning is well thought out, pulling everything together before you leave should go smoothly.

Here are my 16 items to check-off before you leave on your travel photography journey.

Happy New Year 2018 - Time to change your copyright notice in your camera!

Happy New Year. I hope it's a healthy, happy and prosperous new year for you and your family.

It's January 1^st so it's time to reset the copyright notice in your camera(s) to reflect the new year, so your 2018 images will have the correct information.

Most digital cameras today, can automatically insert your copyright notice into the metadata of every image you make as they are stored. Each of my cameras have been reset this morning to insert “Copyright © 2018 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved.” into every image I make.

If you haven't been inserting your copyright notice in your images, to date, to help protect them, I suggest you consider start doing it today.

I'm often asked the question when I run workshops, or anytime I'm with enthusiasts and we're talking photography, “You're a pro, so I understand why you place your copyright on your photos, but why should I worry about it? I'm not selling my photographs, nor using them in my work.”

Protecting your images from automated watermark removal

Many who market or sell photographs online or who just want to prevent online photo theft of the images they've posted for family and friends, often use watermarks as their first line of defense. While it's not the only defensive measure photographers can and should take to protect their images online, watermark use is sensible, practical and useful.

Although its true that someone with expert Photoshop skills can eliminate a watermark in an hour or so, even if thoughtfully constructed, watermarks still stop most thieves because it's rarely worth spending an hour or more to steal an image, especially if the final product has any telltale visual artifacts shouting, “Theft!”

This past July, at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference, Google demonstrated an algorithm capable of automating the removal of watermarks from photos. Google showed that the removal of watermarks from a series of photographs that now takes hours or days, could be done in minutes.

Happy New Year - It's time to change the copyright notice in your camera!

Happy New Year. I hope it's a healthy and prosperous new year for you and your family.

It's January 1^st so it's time to reset the copyright notice in your camera(s) to reflect the new year, so your 2016 images will have the correct information.

Most digital cameras today, can automatically insert your copyright notice into the metadata of every image you make as they are stored.

Each of my cameras will be reset on the upcoming new year's day morning to insert “Copyright © 2016 NSL Photography, All Rights Reserved” into every image I make.

If you haven't been inserting your copyright notice in your images, to date, to protect them, I suggest you consider start doing it today.

I'm often asked the question when I run workshops, or anytime I'm with enthusiasts and we're talking photography, “You're a pro, so I understand why you place your copyright on your photos, but why should I worry about it? I'm not selling my photographs, nor using them in my work.”

It's a great question.

New Years Day: Time to reset the copyright notice in your camera

January 1^st is just a couple of days away. Consider this article a reminder to reset the copyright notice in your camera to reflect the new year, so your 2015 images will have the correct information.

Most digital cameras today, can automatically insert your copyright notice into the metadata of every image you make as they are stored.

Each of my cameras will be reset on the upcoming new year's day morning to insert “Copyright © 2015 NSL Photography, All Rights Reserved” into every image I make.

If you don't insert your copyright notice in your images, to protect them, I suggest you consider doing it, starting today.

I'm often asked the question when I run workshops, or anytime I'm with enthusiasts and we're talking photography, “You're a pro, so I understand why you place your copyright on your photos, but why should I worry about it? I'm not selling my photographs, nor using them in my work.”

It's a great question.

Websites which strip image metadata may face future copyright liability

In the US District Court of the Southern District of California, Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel is hearing the case of Steven M. Gardner, vs. CafePress Inc. (Case No. 3:13-cv-1108-GPC-JMA).

CafePress.com's website allows users to upload images for printing on items like hats, T-shirts, other clothing, mugs, home decor, etc. Mr. Gardner has alleged CafePress facilitated the storage and sale of his photographs of Alaskan Wildlife, infringing on his copyright, in large part by stripping the metadata, containing his copyright information, from his images. He has claimed that before CafePress disabled access to his images in response to his lawsuit, more than $6,000 in merchandise printed with his images had been sold.

The crux of the case is the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), it's “safe harbor provisions,” and the automatic stripping of image metadata, including copyright information which some websites like CafePress perform.

NSL Photography Tip: Add Important Photography dates to your Appointment Calendar

For all photographers using a digital camera, keeping the date and time accurately in the camera is very important.

The date and time of every photograph is embedded in the meta data for each image, each time the image is made and saved in the camera. These are important pieces of information for photographers.

The date and time in each photograph's metadata establish precisely when the image was made. It helps for verification during photo editing. It's tremendously helpful in later identifying images, and greatly assists photographers in organizing their images.

What do photographers need to do to protect and document their copyright?

In Part I of my copyright series, “I'm not a "Pro." Why should I worry about copyrighting my photos?” I discussed why both professional and amateur photographers, and even weekend vacationers should seriously consider taking measures to raise the level of their copyright and other protection for their photographs.

In this article, the series continues with practical suggestions to protect your photos and establish your copyright firmly. In the next, (last) article in the series, I will discuss copyright registration in the US, how and when you can, and why you should, register your photographs, and if your copyright is violated, what remedies registration extends to you, that you otherwise wouldn't have.