One of the photos I have taken in the past is being featured on the Australian Embassy website! The Australian Embassy used my photo to promote the San Diego Anzac Day Service event on 25 April 2017.
A screenshot of the event page, where my photo is being featured, on the Australian Embassy website.
I normally hate using the Microsoft Edge Web Browser, but I have to admit, the full page screenshot function does come in handy sometimes. This screenshot was taken using the Microsoft Edge Web Browser.
The photo used by the Australian Embassy is a photo that I took during sunset from Tuna Harbor Park in San Diego, CA of the USS Midway Museum. I took that photo on 28 December 2014, on a family road trip to Southern California.
The sunset photo I've taken that the Australian Embassy featured on their website.
Approximate GPS Coordinates: 32° 42' 47" N 117° 10' 25" W
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III DSLR Camera | Lens: Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Aperture: f/16 | Exposure Time: 1/5 second | ISO: 100
Full disclosure, the Australian Embassy actually used my photo without contacting me first or giving me credit, but after I reached out to them, they gave me credit on the event page where they used my photo. I honestly feel very honoured that the Australian Embassy decided my photo is worthy of one of their event pages. I don't think a lot of photographers get to say their photo art is being featured on a government website.
Screenshots of the event page, where my photo is being featured, on the Australian Embassy website. I'm posting these screenshots because the first screenshot might be hard to read at the resolution on this blog.
Below are just some screenshots of the email exchanges between the Australian Embassy and I.
I got an email back from someone named Aimee H. who works at the Australian Embassy. She seems eager to give me a credit on the event page as long as she knew which event page it was.
Aimee seemed really nice and was willing to give me credit, so I responded with the exact event page where my photo is being used, and also links to my website and blog to prove ownership.
Here is me thanking Aimee and notifying her that this matter is resolved.
A screenshot of the email exchanges I had with the Australian Embassy.
You can see in the initial email, I didn't tell the Australian Embassy the exact location where my photo is being used. There is a good reason why I did not give them a direct link to the event page immediately. I was not able to find a direct contact to reach whoever is managing the event pages. I reached out to the Australian Embassy using the media contact email found on their "Media Enquiries" page. Sometimes when I email someone about copyright and ask for a credit because they used my photo, the user panics, and just removes the photo. I did not want the Australian Embassy to do that considering they've been using my photo credit free since March 2017. There are no benefits for me if the Australian Embassy just removed the photo at this point. Getting a credit on a government website would get my website and blog more visitors and attention, and possibly even boost my search engine rankings. I knew the email to their media contact wouldn't reach the right department immediately, and I didn't want whoever received that email to just completely pull the page from the Australian Embassy website.
Screenshots of the Australian Embassy event page with Google Chrome's developer tools console open.
The reason I knew the Australian Embassy has been using my photo since March 2017 is because the png file on their website is named "screen_shot_2017-03-28_at_6.40.25_pm.png". You can see it in the screenshots above as I "Inspected" the embedded image on the event page in Google Chrome.
A screenshot of the email exchanges I had with the Australian Embassy.
A screenshot of the email exchanges I had with the Australian Embassy.
A screenshot of the email exchanges I had with the Australian Embassy.
I just received word back from Aimee today that she has added a credit to the photo on the event page. It took a bit longer than usual because she was out of office for a while.
A screenshot of the email exchanges I had with the Australian Embassy.
I just want to again express that I feel very honoured that the Australian Embassy chose my photo to use on their event page. I think for many photographers, having their art featured on a government website is just a dream. Thank you Australian Embassy for choosing my photo art and thank you Aimee for helping me add a photo credit to the event page.
~~ Begin Update 1 December 2021 ~~
Screenshots of the "Like" and comment the Australian Embassy in the US (@AusintheUS) left on my Tweet on Twitter.
Thank you so much to the Australian Embassy in the US (@AusintheUS) for "Liking" and leaving a comment on my Tweet on Twitter. 😁
~~ End Update 1 December 2021 ~~
Credits:
The content in the screenshots of the event page on the Australian Embassy website (with the exception of the photo that I took) are used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license from the Embassy of Australia and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. More information on the license and copyright available on the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website here. The website of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade can be found here and the website of the Australian Embassy in the USA can be found here.
Copyright Warning: The photo that I have taken of the USS Midway Museum is one of my most popular works of art. Unauthorized usage and reproductions are strictly prohibited. Please contact me here to purchase prints and negotiate photo licenses.
