Cool place for free photos

AdamsRib · 05-11-2009, 11:52 AM

Some of you may be interested in knowing that your tax dollars may be able to help you in your Internet business. This is specifically for people who need -- for whatever reason -- free archival photos.

Just do a Google search for:
library of congress prints & photographs online catalog

This should bring up the The LOC prints and photographs collection which number more than 13.7 million images. The collection is searchable.

(I'd include a direct link here, but I'm new so I can't yet!)

The photos that are available for download in a high resolution format are generally in the public domain. You'll want to avoid those that you need to order because they generally have copyright issues.

The collection here is amazing! Hope this helps!

Kelly Verge · 05-11-2009, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Not all images displayed in this catalog are in the public domain. The Library offers broad public access to these materials as a contribution to education and scholarship. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

That's from the LoC site.

AdamsRib · 05-12-2009, 11:14 AM

You're right, Kelly. Not all images are in the public domain.

I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the LOC about a year ago in an effort to figure this out, and as I remember the conversation, what it comes down to is that if you're able to download an image in a high resolution format and you confirm that it's over 75 years old, it's usually in the public domain.

Hope this helps!

commerce cat · 05-13-2009, 08:23 AM

Copyright has changed so many times in the US - it really depends on when it was published and whether it was registered. There's a lot that's in the public domain because the registration wasn't renewed back when registration was more important than it is now. Also much of the work created by the US government is public domain (there can be exceptions like when they use contractors). It's really a big mess. Here's a chart that may (or may not) help: Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States

05-11-2009, 11:52 AM	#1
AdamsRib Warrior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: USA Posts: 14 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Cool place for free photos Some of you may be interested in knowing that your tax dollars may be able to help you in your Internet business. This is specifically for people who need -- for whatever reason -- free archival photos. Just do a Google search for: library of congress prints & photographs online catalog This should bring up the The LOC prints and photographs collection which number more than 13.7 million images. The collection is searchable. (I'd include a direct link here, but I'm new so I can't yet!) The photos that are available for download in a high resolution format are generally in the public domain. You'll want to avoid those that you need to order because they generally have copyright issues. The collection here is amazing! Hope this helps!

05-12-2009, 11:14 AM	#3
AdamsRib Warrior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: USA Posts: 14 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Cool place for free photos You're right, Kelly. Not all images are in the public domain. I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the LOC about a year ago in an effort to figure this out, and as I remember the conversation, what it comes down to is that if you're able to download an image in a high resolution format and you confirm that it's over 75 years old, it's usually in the public domain. Hope this helps!

05-13-2009, 08:23 AM	#4
commerce cat Rookie Publisher War Room Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 51 Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts Social Networking	Re: Cool place for free photos Copyright has changed so many times in the US - it really depends on when it was published and whether it was registered. There's a lot that's in the public domain because the registration wasn't renewed back when registration was more important than it is now. Also much of the work created by the US government is public domain (there can be exceptions like when they use contractors). It's really a big mess. Here's a chart that may (or may not) help: Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States
	Catherine @ Tasty Press WSO: Become an expert at Thesis Theme Customizations... Thesis Blueprints Blog: Product Creation blog Twitter: www.twitter.com/productcreate