A once in a lifetime photo.
This photograph is a good example of two things. The first is that the best camera you can have is the one that is in your hand, at the time you need to take the photo. Had I not had a camera in my hands at the time I came upon these two, I would not have gotten the shot. As it was they were as startled to see me as I was to see them. Their first instinct was to stand still which gave me time to take several photos using an old Kodak digital EasyShare Z981. The camera has an agonizing lag time between photos, but I still managed to take nine photos before they both took off in separate directions. It is hard to say who would've won the battle as I think they were evenly matched, but personally I think the leopard lizard had bit off more than he could chew.
The second is, that in this day and age of high-tech, an artisan needs to protect their artwork by whatever means necessary. It is unfortunate in this day and age that as an artisan we must protect our work with such drastic measures as using watermarks and other high-tech protection. The Internet has made this even more important not only because so many think that anything that is on the Internet is free for the taking, but because so many international laws around the world are so different from one another.
At one time decreasing the resolution to 72 ppi might have been enough, but now there are computer programs that can enlarge a photo without any distortion. There are also photographic editing tools that would allow me to remove any visible watermarks such as these. Although in this case it would take a great deal of work to do so, it is not impossible. Yes, even the invisible watermarks that are encoded into the photograph itself do not guarantee a 100% protection. With technology moving so quickly, it is almost impossible to keep up and stay ahead of the criminal element.
As a result, most of my work is on a third-party website which helps give a second layer of protection. One such website is
Zazzle.com which sells products with my artwork on them. I retain all the copyrights and receive a royalty for any products that I sell. I set up a virtual store with products such as clothing or housewares and use my photographic images on those products. I then sell the products and upon completion of the transaction I receive a royalty from the sale of those products. I also have the option of keeping those products and images private which means I can show the images and products to a select private group. Keep in mind that even the best of third-party websites cannot guarantee 100% protection.
The universe is a living thing that we are a part of and connected to, co_creating what we dream.
