Cookies and Privacy Policy

What are cookies?

Explaining the concept of cookies to the average internet user is about as productive and useful as forcing airline passengers to sit through a lecture on hydrolics and aerodynamics before they board a flight. Sure, both these principles make the plane fly, but does the average passenger really need to know exactly how it works?

Without those laws of physics planes won’t take to the sky. It’s not exactly the same for websites and cookies, since most websites will hobble along without them, but it will be quite frustrating since cookies are designed to make your browsing experience slicker, better and more personalised.

Why am I telling you this?

The EU cookie directive

A while ago, some grey-suited bureaucrats in Brussels decided that all European websites should inform their visitors if they use cookies.

OK, they’re not completely mad – cookies do store bits of information about your browsing habits, so certain disreputable sites have been known to use evil forms of  cookies that track what you do online; they know what you like to buy and they know when you’ve broken up with your boyfriend or girlfriend – all so that they can spam you with ads and offers and who knows what else.

But we’re talking obviously dubious and evil examples here … and who told you to visit those dodgy porn sites anyway?

Still, apparently this issue presents a great and imminent threat over and above the dreadful recession, debt crises and staggering rates of unemployment that persists whilst these lawmakers have the time and luxury to debate such hair-brained directives.

The cookie crumbles

So there we are. The law came into effect on 28 May, which means that all European website owners are supposed to inform their site visitors that they use cookies, or risk fines of up to £500,000 if they fail to do so. Well, I don’t have £500,000 to spare, so I need to inform you that this site uses cookies.

But this is where it gets complicated.

Technically, I should get your formal consent, but the application of this law is completely unclear, and in the UK the latest advice is that I simply need to inform you that I use cookies. This is slightly different to what they’re saying in Europe and it may mean that I’m not compliant, but I’m willing to live on the edge for the sake of not annoying you with a pop-up box asking for your consent.

In any case, this is more than those Brussels bureaucrats could muster, since they couldn’t even manage to comply with their own law by the time it came into effect. Talk about practising what you preach!

Confusing? Yes, I agree – the only people who stand to gain from this are lawyers who will have to arbitrate and articulate what this ill-conceived law actually means.

So, how does this site use cookies?

First, my site doesn’t use any evil cookies. I certainly don’t want to know what you get up to online and unless I’ve had about 4 bottles of wine, I don’t want to know about your ex either.

I use cookies for these reasons:

  • Providing the Shopping Cart functionality on my photos pages
  • Analysing how people browse through and use the site, so I know which content is popular, and which pages don’t work – all to improve your browsing experience
  • To make the social sharing (Facebook, Twitter, etc) buttons on the site work
  • To provide context-relevant Google Ads

Important points to note

I can’t personally identify you using information collected buy cookies. The kind of information they gather includes general information about your computer settings, your connection to the Internet e.g. operating system and platform, IP address, your browsing patterns and timings of browsing on the Website and your location.

You can, of course, disable cookies in your browser. If you do, certain bits of this website may not work as expected – that’s entirely up to you.

See the links below if you want to change your cookie settings, but remember that if you turn off cookies in your browser then these settings apply to all websites not just this one:

Google Adsense and the DoubleClick DART Cookie

Google, as a third party advertisement vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on this site. The use of DART cookies by Google enables them to serve adverts to visitors that are based on their visits to this website as well as other sites on the internet.

To opt out of the DART cookies you may visit the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following url http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html. Tracking of users through the DART cookie mechanisms are subject to Google’s own privacy policies.

Other Third Party ad servers or ad networks may also use cookies to track users activities on this website to measure advertisement effectiveness and other reasons that will be provided in their own privacy policies. I have no access or control over these cookies that may be used by third party advertisers.

Links to third party Websites

I may include links on this site for your use and reference. I am not responsible for the cookie or privacy policies on these websites. You should be aware that the privacy policies of these sites may differ from my own.

Finally, a general note about your privacy and personal data:

I use Mailchimp to manage my email databases and subscriptions, which gives you piece of mind knowing that:
- Your personal details are safe and secure
- I will only send you emails once we have your explicit permission to do so
- Campaigns are conducted in compliance with privacy laws, including the anti-spam CAN-SPAM act
- Your details will never be shared with anyone, anywhere, without your permission
- You will ALWAYS have the option to unsubscribe, should you no longer wish to receive communications from me
- All emails will have a link where you can report abuse, should you feel that I have been overstepping the mark

If you have any questions about this, then drop me a line today.

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