The Ferret Commons photo pool on Flickr 📸

Have you found yourself in the midst of news event? Or were you at a protest? Or did you take an amazing photo that you’d just like to share with The Ferret?

As a small team with limited resources, we always struggle for interesting, up-to-date images that we can use to illustrate stories. So, we’ve found an easy way for people to share photos and videos with The Ferret - and others if you want. Meet The Ferret Commons group - on Flickr.

If you are new to Flickr, it’s free to post up to 1000 public Creative Commons licensed photos to the site - and if you put them in this group then we’ll find it easier to find them.

If you are not sure what a Creative Commons license is - it’s a special kind of license you can add to your photo that gives others permission to use it within the limits you set. We think Creative Commons licensing fits well with our cooperative ethos, so we’d encourage you to add photos to this group with this license. You can find out more about Creative Commons licensing here.

Photos that are particularly welcomed in The Ferret Commons:

  • Landscape format images
  • Photos for illustrating Scottish public bodies, councils, police etc.
  • Photos for illustrating large Scottish companies
  • Cityscapes and landscapes in Scotland.
  • Photos that illustrate environmental issues such as climate change, pollution and conservation issues in Scotland.
  • Photos that might illustrate social issues in Scotland - protests, politics, campaign events, and so on.
  • Photos that show breaking news events.

Why Flickr?

We chose to host this group on Flickr for a number of reasons.

  • It supports Creative Commons licensing “out of the box.”
  • The platform also has a suite of mobile apps that make it easy for you to get photos of your phone and into the group.
  • It is an established photographic community.
  • It’s free for 1000 public photo uploads and hosting media ourselves could get expensive.