AmateurSpaceImages.com, A site to gather great amateur-processed space images Options

[elakdawalla]

I can't believe I haven't started a dedicated thread on this before now!! I wanted to open a discussion on the Planetary Society's plans to develop a website called AmateurSpaceImages.com, a place that will collect amateur-processed space images into one place that is easy to browse and search for great pictures, and from which you'll be able to share them easily via social networks. The organization of the site will be based on Photojournal, which is itself based on the way the PDS structures space data -- all images will be filed under the "target" and "mission" and "instrument," plus there will be image titles, captions, and correct credits; plus there'll be tags and a search feature. The site is currently under development and is planned for launch early next year (hopefully March, if the schedule doesn't slip). We're now raising funds from the community to support its development.

Some of you have been emailing me privately with questions; I think it'd be neater (and less effort for me ) to have that discussion in the open, on this thread. If for some reason you'd like your question to be anonymous, you can email me and I'll post it here. Since this is a website we are creating especially for the community that has grown up in and around UMSF, I hope you will participate in its formation!

[ZLD]

Forgive my ignorance, but outside of photographing objects with your own camera, is it even possible to copyright images you have only composited from something such as the PDS? Maybe I'm just confused and assuming most are not talking about composite images.

[djellison]

Forgive my ignorance, but outside of photographing objects with your own camera, is it even possible to copyright images you have only composited from something such as the PDS? Maybe I'm just confused and assuming most are not talking about composite images.

The creation of mosaics, composites, anaglyphs, projections and other treatments of raw data constitute the creation of an original work - and as such the copyright for this derived imagery lies with the individual who created it. Copyright does not have to be explicitly stated to be enforcable.

(copied from UMSF forum guidelines)