FREE travel photos?

[remigio]

i'm making a new web site focused on travel photography.

i've made maps for each continent and i've already a lot of photos to fill ~30 countries.

now, do you know if there are around FREE photos (no royalty, no copyright, no hassles) i can take and put in my web site to fill the empty countries?

i mean, i could ask to many travelog's owners one by one but i'm curious to know if there are already web sites giving photo for free and without (c) issues.

thanks,
remigio

[hunderdown]

If I were you I'd be contacting the government agencies, tourist information bureaus, and what-have-yous responsible for promoting tourism to their particular countries. You may be able to get a blanket OK to use, say, all the photos on a given site. Of course, those same photos may already be lots of other places....

[Syzygy]

Of course, those same photos may already be lots of other places....

Quite so. I've had dealings with tourist boards in the past - sourcing pics for articles - and many of the pics I've used were somewhat over-exposed (no pun intended) then, ie, had already been used by many other sources. I still see them being used in the present day.

Like all things, some tourist boards are fantastic. Others are absolutely awful.

Depending on the proposed useage of the required pics, a quick search on your favourite search engine will reveal sources. Also, consider some of the photo sharing sites, such as flickr. A the majority of images on there are uploaded and shared on a Creative Commons license.

I suppose you could just put up a note asking people to submit pics of specific countries & places for FREE - in return for a small published credit. Everyday people love to see their name in print (that includes the web), so why not their photo's too. You never know... it could add an advantageous marketplace spin to your offering. Just food for thought.

Syzygy

[hunderdown]

Another thought. Some people running sites of this type shoot all their own photos. Much more work, but you have truely unique photos and the ability to get exactly the shots you want. Something to develop one trip at a time, maybe.

[remigio]

thanks!

i've never tought about contacting tourist boards!
(expecially for small countries which surely like some
visibility)

i'll see what i can do :)

[thaedge]

I have a site that uses Ecards and to broaden the topics I used some photos from friends on their travels. Some I got for free, others simply wanted a link to their site.

Its a nice cheap way to get photos, what are friends and family for?