Photo of an Eastern Turkey

[Dave S]

I am looking for some place that I can find a photo of an Eastern Wild Turkey to use without infringing on copyright laws or licensing issues.

We're having our annual NWTF banquet in March and we're having mouse pads printed to hand out to those in attendance.

Is there some place that I can find some quality photo's to use without the legalities attached?

Thanks for any and all help.

[finnbay]

I'm sorry to say that I can't help you but I'm sure others on this forum can. I do want to say THANK YOU for ASKING! There are many out there that don't understand the copyright laws or ignore them. Your query warms my heart!

[Dave S]

Thank You finn for the compliment.

There are many great photographers on this site and I figured if anyone would know, I could find them here. Not to mention that I respect the work of those who have this talent. I don't know that I could ever understand everything I read here. It can be downright mind boggling.

[Steve Foss]

LEP, good man!

Actually, you probably don't have to look any further than the NWTF headquarters. They'll put you in touch with the group's magazine, and the magazine will have a stable of photographers whose work they regularly draw from.

[Dave S]

Thanks Steve.

I will double check with the NWTF. Everything that I have found so far has been copyrighted.

[Steve Foss]

LEP, everything you WILL find will be copyrighted. A photographer does not have to register a specific image to protect his/her rights to the photo, though that's an extra step many take.

If you want to use someone else's image of a wild turkey, you're either going to have to compensate them for that use or ask them to donate use of the image. That's true whether the photographer is an amateur or a pro. But the magazine should know some photogs who love turkeys and turkey hunting and support that type of hunting, and who would be willing to donate one-time use of the image or cut their rate way down.

Here's another option. I've debated about mentioning it, but this site is all about giving people help.

So you can also go to fotosearch and do a search for wild turkey. They offer many royalty-free images on that Web site. I'm very much NOT in favor of such things. In this digital age there are tons and tons of amateur photographers willing to give their work away for free just for the satisfaction and gratification of getting their name on something. That makes things much more difficult for people like me trying to make their living at it.

But in fairness, HSO/FM is all about helping people. I've looked at some of the turkey images on fotosearch, and I figure you'll easily be able to find what you need for a mouse pad. I hope that helps you out, man.

[Dave S]

Thanks again Steve.

I was actually in the fotosearch site last night and found a few pics in there. My only concern, not knowing anything about the site, was if it was legit or something that had "pirated" photos on it.

I also noticed the quality of the photos wasn't near as good as some of the others that I have seen, including those posted here.

[RainyEye]

Here's one you are welcome to use if it fits your needs: