How to draw the line ?

[Blue Deuce]

I have been involved with a widely known national conservation association as a volunteer research gatherer / part time photographer on the local level for a few years now. My photos are receiving exposure now on the national level either through emails or newsletters. I fully support this association and am glad to donate my time and photographs as long as no one profits from them.

The problem lies in the fact that by the time the images get passed around, resized, etc. and I happen to come across them on the net or email they no longer resemble the quality of the original photo. How should I approach this ? I like the national exposure but what others are seeing doesn't look near as good as what I took. I also don't want to offend the people on the local level who have pushed me to some level of prominence as seeming ungrateful.

[ssim]

Is the results that you are seeing because of repeated saves and is just a degradation of quality or has someone actually altered the content of your image. If it is the latter then I would certainly take them to task and would work through who my normal contact is.

It is pretty easy to see how an image gets handed around the internet. It may be saved, resized, upsized, etc. many many times. Say you start to sell them the same image, is this going to stop this, I don't think so. Anyone that knows a little about this will realize he potential for the multiple actions on a given photo. The only way to really stop this is to quit supplying them with images (be it for free or not).

I also have a couple of pet projects that I firmly believe in and it allows me the opportunity to give back to the community. Having the quality go downhill would not stop me from doing this. I guess it is a point of how much you are committed to helping this organization out. I think only you will know where to draw that line.

[Blue Deuce]

Is the results that you are seeing because of repeated saves and is just a degradation of quality or has someone actually altered the content of your image. If it is the latter then I would certainly take them to task and would work through who my normal contact is.

It is pretty easy to see how an image gets handed around the internet. It may be saved, resized, upsized, etc. many many times. Say you start to sell them the same image, is this going to stop this, I don't think so. Anyone that knows a little about this will realize he potential for the multiple actions on a given photo. The only way to really stop this is to quit supplying them with images (be it for free or not).

I also have a couple of pet projects that I firmly believe in and it allows me the opportunity to give back to the community. Having the quality go downhill would not stop me from doing this. I guess it is a point of how much you are committed to helping this organization out. I think only you will know where to draw that line.

Thanks. I guess I should get over it. If they feel like they are worthy in the first place I should feel honored. I will just keep towing the line.