AlderCreek.Net

	What is AlderCreek.Net and who runs it?


		AlderCreek.Net is the personal non-commercial photo featuring the photography of me - Cory Christensen. This website has been around for ten years and is on version number eight.

	Are you a professional Photographer?


		I am not a professional photographer and I have no aspirations of becoming one. Photography is purely a hobby for me. I have had a few images published magazines and calendars though I do not actively seek sales.

	How often do exhibits change?


		Lately, not all that often. It depends on when I get out to shoot and when I have time to assemble a gallery.

	Can I use a photo for...?


		I hold the copyright for all photos, graphics, and design of this website and by law I must defend that copyright or I would lose it. What does that mean exactly? It means that I do not permit ANY unauthorized use of any photos I have on this site. I do give permission for photos to be used as a background (wallpaper) on your personal computer. I also allow kids to use photos as part of a school project. Any other use requires a written authorization by me. Please don't request free usage. The number of free requests has gotten out of control. Although I am not a professional, I do sell rights for publication at standard professional rates. What are the penalties for violation? Because all the images here are in the process of registration with the US Government that gives me an extra level of protection over the standard automatic copyright. Unauthorized use will result in fines of $10,000 minimum. Linking to photos is not permitted and this website has protections built in to prevent direct links from working.

	What kind of equipment do you use?


		I don't consider equipment anything more than tools and I do not consider gear as status symbols. I use a Nikon N90s for film and a Nikon D100 for digital. I have an asortment of lenses from 20mm up to 300mm. All are Nikon except for the 300mm which is a Tokina. Filters: Polarizer and 6 stop ND Filter. I used step down rings to fit these 2 filters on all my lenses except for the 300mm. It is more economical than purchasing a filter for each lens thread size. Macro: For macro shots I have a set of extension tubes that total 60mm. I generally use a 50mm lens with the tubes. If I need extra magnification, I add a 2x teleconverter. On the D100, this gives a full frame of something 1/4" long. Digital: For photo storage I use a 1Gb IBM Microdrive and a couple 512Mb compact flash cards. That allows over 200 shots between the 3 cards in RAW mode. For software I use Photoshop, Nikon View, and a few custom actions created by Fred Miranda (www.fredmiranda.com).

	I am new to photography. Do you mind answering a few questions?


		I don't mind answering questions at all. Please make them specific though. It is hard to come up with an answer for "how do I take pictures like you?" If you don't hear back from me after a while you may want to resend the letter. Sometimes Email just disappears enroute or gets killed by accident by my spam filters and sometimes I forget to answer a letter and it gets buried in with all the other mail. I generally don't answer questions that are clearly answered here in the Q & A section but since you are reading this, that wouldn't really apply.

	What are you doing with my email address or other information?


		Not a thing. As a firm hater of SPAM I have no intention of contributing to that plague. The guestbook is not available to the public so nobody else should see your email (if included). The only reason you would really need to add your email address to a guestbook entry would be if you needed a response to a question. All postcard information is kept private. I do have access to all the postcard data but since the process is fully automated, I will rarely look at this section of the database. After a postcard is 30 days old, the entire postcard (including email addresses) is automatically deleted. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me through the email form located on this site.

	What is this postcard thing?


		Here is how the postcard works: 1 - Select the 'Send this photo as a free Ecard' from any image 2 - Enter who the card is to, their email address, your name, your email address, a title and a message. If you want to be notified when the card is viewed change this field to 'yes'. Click 'send'. 3 - All your information is recorded in a database. An email is sent to the receiver with a web address that has a special code embedded (without that code, the card can not be viewed). 4 - If you requested notification, the first time the card is viewed, an email is sent to you telling you the postcard was looked at. 5 - After 30 days, all postcard information, including the email addresses are deleted (completely, permanantly, can't be brought back no matter what) from the system. The postcards are free to use. note - Since the postcards are kept in a database I do have access to all postcard info though I rarely pay any attention to it.

	Can I purchase a print?


		At this time I do not offer prints for sale.

	The page is too big for my browser


		This edition of the website is designed for a display of 1024x768 and 24 bit color. If you are running a smaller screen size, the page won't fit and you will have to scroll around to view it. In the past I have designed all my sites for 800x600 screens but the problem with that is images have to be less than 450 pixels high to fit in the window. By going to the larger size, images up to 600 height fit. Today's modern computers can easily handle 1024x768 displays. If you have Windows, you can easily change it by returning to the desktop, right-click on any empty part of the screen, select Properties, select the Settings tab, adjust the screen area to 1024x768 and colors to 24 bit or 32 bit. If you are already at 1024x768, using Internet Explorer, and the images are still cut off a little, hit F11 to go to a maximized screen. F11 will return you to the regular window.

	I have added a link and now it hasn't shown up on the list.


		Links may not be listed or removed for any of the following reasons: Your site has not been verified. Each site added has to be viewed to make sure it is an acceptable photo site. I can be slow at this so it may take a while Your site was not a photo site. Camera stores, stock photo agencies, travel sites, and any other site that does not primarily consist of a photo gallery or discussion is not accepted. Your site had large watermarks or copyright notices covering the image. Marked images are unpleasent to look at and do not keep with the gallery concept. Your site had excessive pop-ups or did not work with pop-up blocking software. Nobody likes pop-ups. One is permitted. Beyond that, the site will not be added. Your site did not function properly. The link submitted was incorrect, script, link, or other site errors, dead or extrememly slow server Your images were way too small (thumbnail size only). Tiny images are not in keeping with the gallery concept. Unless unusually bad, image quality and subject matter do not effect listing. The same goes for site design. For some strange reason a lot of photo sites have terrible design but unless the design is so bad that it is difficult to navigate or a new window opens for every image, it will be listed. Language does not effect listing. If the site is not in English, please note what language is used in your description. If you have a site listed and have changed URLs, resubmit the listing with the new address and send me an email noting the change so I can delete the old one. Do not send email requesting a link exchange. This is the only way to get links up.