Polite Texas 8th Grader Asking Permission First

Fairly frequently I get an email asking permission to use some of my photos from my Eyes on Texas website.

Usually the request comes from a student.

One time it came from a restaurant decorator wanting Fort Worth images to put on its wall.

Another request came from Backpacker Magazine. They wanted to use a picture of a Longhorn in Wildflowers that I took by the west end of Lake Grapevine. One time the request was for a charity coffee table type book featuring Waxachachie. I think I said yes to everyone but the restaurant designers. I didn't see why he should use my pictures for free. And he wasn't willing to pay anything for them.

Sometimes I learn someone has hotlinked to one of my photos. That annoys me. It's like stealing, with them using my server bandwidth to put my photo on their webpage. When I find one of those I alter the photo and upload both the original and the altered one to my server. Sometimes it takes a long time for the photo thief to find the picture has been changed.

Today I got an email from an 8th grader named Tiffany, politely asking for permission to use some of my Dallas photos.

I'll paste Tiffany's request below. It's nice to see we're getting some kids being taught well, here in Texas, coherent, grammatically correct and with no spelling errors. If only I could manage all three of those attributes.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am an eighth grader at Livingston Junior High in Livingston, Texas, and I am writing to request information for a school project.

My class is involved in a large project called "Business Professionals of America." This project has many different categories of competition such as keyboarding, spreadsheets, prepared speech, etc. and i am participating in web site design. Every year this project follows a theme set by the Business Professionals of America office, and for the 2008-2009 school year our theme is "The Top Ten Things To Do In Dallas." For this project, we are required to design a web site rating the top ten things to do during your stay in Dallas.

I am writing to ask for written permission for the use of the pictures on your website. If this would be possible, it would be extremely helpful. I appreciate your time and assistance. Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,
Tiffany Shelby