When ever you post pictures online on flickr, your own website or wherever - you have to do so knowing that there is nothing preventing someone from taking them and doing whatever they want with them. Watermark them, low res (I don't go bigger then 600x400), really the only way to prevent unwanted use is to not post them anywhere.

FYI, got an email from them today:

Hi Jim,
We removed the images.

Thanks

Checked the site and they are not there. I'm glad it was so quickly resolved. I must I'm impressed (and surprised to be honest) with their quick response.

Great information! thanks!

What is the lowest resolution you guys recommend for posting your shot? 800x600?

thanks!

Yeah like I said before the photos aren't actually on their website. Just like the photos you guys post here aren't really "saved" by Nikonrumors.com but are simply showcased here. It's not your photo's EXIF data that leads them to your pictures. It's the "tags" you put on them that "gives" them "away". Just change the privacy settings on flickr for the photos that show up on their website.

If what they are saying is correct, then it seems to me as if they have a crawler checking the EXIF data on photographic websites for specific things.

I would guess that removing the EXIF data may put a stop to this.

You may also choose to put a more visible watermark on your pictures and get yourself some free advertising which will happen if what they say is correct.

It does seem somewhat unlikely to me, that a machine can choose quality images.

So I posted my request to remove the pictures in the comments section of the web page with the images and sent an email to the main contact address. I received resposes from both. Both messages were sent directly to my flickr account and not my email address

The main email response was from flickr user yalcin.aydin
Hi,
I'm sending this message on behalf of bascek.com.
"web page link here"
As far as I know this is a wordpress addon that just queries flickr with equipment filter and shows the images. I saw that your images are 'all rights reserved' so I understand your concern and you are definetly right.

I've connected with the tech guys and will request additional Creative Commons filters. 'All rights reserved' photos will be removed from the selection as soon as possible.
Sorry for the disturbance.

The other response was from user MGamsiz:
received your comment at BasCek.com's comment section.
"web page link here"
These photos are not handpicked by us. They are random photos from the lens pool. It seems the system chose your pictures this time :) It is not a gallery, just a free information page for anyone interested in this lens.

Pictures are still on Flickr so people can still go to your Flickr page.
Please consider this as my permission request. As I said above, we don't know what pictures will be there next. So it is not technically possible to ask permission before the picture shows up. And I am sorry for the trouble this caused on you.

But if you don't want your photos to be seen on BasCek, I will find a workaround.

This was actually a much better response than I expected. It sounds promising and I'm happy so far. We will see in a few weeks if anything happnes. I will respond to the second guy requestin they remove my pictures. I will also take note of your great advise and thank you very much for it!

I don't really like it because it adds grain to your photos and increases their file size. And it only really works for as long as you subscribe to the digimarc service which for most non commercial use is the deal breaker.

Sorry to hear about that Rusty. Usually when a job sounds too good to be true it's usually just someone making promises they know they can't keep :^(

I'd like to know about digimark watermarks, can they be seen, can they be removed? I recompressed a jpeg file with a digimark watermark, and didn't seem to find it when I checked again.

I have taken to watermarking my pictures so small and see through that it's almost impossible to tell that there is a watermark - unless you know where to look. Low res image is also good.

Niko, you were right, taking advantage they were. Thanks, something didn't sit right with me right from the outset, so I took precautions.

NikoDoby said:
watermarks are super easy to get rid of. Your best defense is low res images.

Not all watermarks are easy to remove. I use Digimarc, and as far as I and others have found, it is virtually impossible to remove, at least while maintaining any usable image quality.

NikoDoby said:
watermarks are super easy to get rid of. Your best defense is low res images.

Great advice here!!

I never post anything that I really care about in bigger res than 800 by 600. At that resolution they are safe.

@noxin

I would send them an invoice. That will quickly teach them from stealing.

I think they are looking through tags and groups to get the pics. The only place I've posted or linked them is Flickr and here. It's like I want people to see them, but through my means, with me getting the credit. I did send an email asking them to be removed, but we will see what happens. I think I might have to delete them and repost them with no tags or exif info.

Thanks for the tips guys and the compliment, I wish it was sunny that day and they might have been just a bit more crisp.

watermarks are super easy to get rid of. Your best defense is low res images.

That's why I watermark some of my images. Unless you plan on selling your shots I wouldn't get too worked up about it, honestly.

It's a turkish website. Did you post your photos anywhere else? I mean just flickr and then here? That's not good if they are copying photos from here. However they do have a link to your flickr page so I don't think they have "stolen" or saved your images. Try making your photos "private" and that might prevent them from showing up on their website.

Another reason why you guys shouldn't post such highres versions of your photos in the PhotoADay. I've had this happen to my images too.

Sometimes they don't even know they are using your images. From the looks of things they just search for photos taken with the lens via EXIF data and then have them show up.

i havnt had much trouble yet, best thing ive heard before is invoice them for your images + a extra fee for using them without permission.
Or tell them to remove the images immediatley, and pay a fee for your annoyance or you will seek further action.

Make sure you seek a lawyers advise and keep any records of it, (IE Flickr referer stats and screenshots)

But - the photos are fantastic.

Hi,
Does anyone know what that website is? I found them using a bunch of my pictures without permission. I am blocking photos of my son and will likely block the rest they are using.

http://www.bascek.com/885/nikon-af-s-vr-nikkor-300mm-f2-8g-if-ed/

Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks
Jim