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You Need to Read This – The Business, Its Practices, and Your Privacy

Last updated: July 23th, 2020

This website is owned and operated by:
Thomas M Thurston LLC
P.O. Box 701
Chester, NJ 07930

While it’s perfectly acceptable to get right to the point, you’d be missing crucial information about my business and how I operate it. You may certainly jump around by using the table of contents, but I urge you to start from the preface because you’ll have a better understanding of Thomas M Thurston LLC and what we’re about.

Table of Contents:

  1. Preface
  2. Copyright
  3. Disclosure
  4. Privacy Policy
  5. Disclaimers
  6. How I Use Social Media
  7. Changes and Amendments Policy

1. Preface: A Glimpse of the Business From Behind My Tripod

Make no mistake. Thomas M Thurston LLC is a legitimate business with real-world expenses and responsibilities that need to be handled in order for us to operate ever so fluidly. I say that with a bit of hesitation because while it’s accurate, I’m truly doing what I love and I’ll never categorize this as work. Even writing these policies is a pleasure.

Before I dive into the required stuff, I’d like to give you a little glimpse into Thomas M Thurston LLC from behind my tripod.

I’m Capable of Wearing 10 Hats at Once

My life’s passions have allowed me to acquire a unique set of skills. This business is mine and I’m proud to pour my own blood, sweat, and tears into it without any outsider influence, unless of course, I need it for something really specific. Other than that, this business is all me and I won’t have it any other way.

I’m the Business Owner

I’m in charge of balancing the books, visiting the accountant, maintaining business relationships, running errands, and other administrative duties that are quick to consume hours at a time.

I’m the Website Designer and Coding Ninja

Every little design decision you see on this website is tailored from yours truly. I’ve been through a few iterations of website design and it will continually evolve, with each enhancement further reinforcing solid design and branding techniques.

Thomas M Thurston LLC is more than just a name, it’s a personality. When you think of this business and everything it stands for, I want you to envision creative, jaw-dropping beautiful, exotic, fun, honest, sincere, friendly, and respectful qualities. And think of the best, because honestly, only the best will do.

Shout out to Studiopress for developing the Genesis Framework and Minimum Theme. I couldn’t have done this without your amazing foundation and out-of-the-box style. You guys rock.

I’m the Creator and Editor of Website Content

I’m a perfectionist, so if you see something that doesn’t look correct, please bring it to my attention. I’ll fix it and be on my way. To give you an idea, some of the content you see here has been edited over 150 times because I want, sorry, need everything to be perfect. You won’t upset my feelings if you tell me. Contact me here.

And trust me, this perfectionist thing… it’s a good quality to have because I carry that over to the absolutely gorgeous signed and limited edition artwork for sale on this website.

I’m hard on myself so that it’s easy for you to love the fine art you proudly own and display on your walls.

I’m the Photographer & Artist Behind the Tripod

Empty Cognizance for me comes when I’m completely still and I have total focus of the now. My senses heighten and my creative consciousness flows through the viewfinder. Yeah, I’m Zen when I shoot.

I’m the Lead Marketer, Search Engine Optimizer, Proofreader, Researcher, and IT Guru

Sometimes my mind gets a little fuzzy because of the vastly different “responsibilities” I have to complete on any given day. What did I do with that hard drive backup?!

Oh yeah, it’s probably in the fridge. Grins.

With that said, I hope you have a greater appreciation for my business ethics and personality.

Why Write a Boring Policy When You Can Make It Exciting and Easy to Read

It’s funny, the majority of privacy policies, disclosure statements, and important information pages out there are really boring to read so no one really reads them.

Even more often, they’re generated from a business website with information that may not even pertain the the business in question, or worse, the language is damn near impossible to understand. Did I mention these pages are usually really dry, too?

Not mine. I bet you’ll scrape the plate and ask for seconds.

Onto the fun stuff… Enjoy.

2. Copyright

I’ve put my everything into this business and the last thing I want is someone stealing my content or photographs.

That means all content, photos, text, and any other form of media hosted here or on any other site I use to host digital artifacts are copyrighted by Thomas M Thurston LLC and may not be used in any way, shape, or form without prior written authorization from the artist.

If you violate this, be prepared to deal with our team of lawyers and its negative monetary impact on you. I will collect for damages in addition to all the legal fees related to the case.

3. Disclosure

Thomas M Thurston LLC may make product or service recommendations on certain pages of this website. Everything recommended here is personally vetted by the artist (ahem, me); this is important for you to know because I will only suggest extremely high quality products and resources through our affiliation network.

It’s also important to know that most, if not all of the products and services I recommend here have been previously paid for with my own hard-earned money. That means cameras, tripods, training, packs, lenses, hard-drives, and computers to name a bunch.

If it’s a freebie from a company, I’ll tell you.

If I endorse a product that I could potentially get paid an advertising fee, I’ll drop a link to my disclosure page at the bottom of the article.

I’ll also tell you my honest opinion because if a product or service sucks, you deserve to hear about it. There’s no sense in putting my name at risk for a small finders fee.

Onto the disclosure details…

  • Thomas M Thurston LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
  • Thomas M Thurston LLC is a participant in the Commission Junction Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to third-party products and services, such as those found on UniquePhoto.com.
  • Thomas M Thurston LLC is a participant in the Lynda.com® Partners Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Lynda.com® educational materials.

4. Privacy Policy

It’s really important that I keep you informed about how and what information I collect from you because identity theft is rampant and I want to make sure you’re safe while visiting Thomas M Thurston.

We Encrypt Your Experience with Domain Level Validation Digital Certificates

Thomas M Thurston LLC uses digital certificates with domain level validation from a trusted Certificate Authority so your information is safe when you’re visiting this site. The certificate authority issues a new certificate every few months to ensure there is a 100% secure connection at all times. Look for the green https security lock in the address bar and put your mind at ease.

How We Use Your Information

Thomas M Thurston LLC and this website may collect information about you for the purpose of better understanding our audience. We do this for a number of reasons:

  1. It helps us tailor our pages and content that we provide to our customers and readers.
  2. It helps us understand our entire target market so that our product and service offerings are better suited to you.
  3. It helps us pin-point our best and most popular pages so that we can make them even better.
  4. It also helps us expand our offerings into newly realized demographic areas.

None of the information for marketing purposes is personally identifiable; that means all marketing data collected by third party services such as Google Analytics is anonymous.

We also collect your personal information including credit card information during the purchase of items available for sale on this website. Credit card information is transmitted and stored offsite with a third party online payment vendor. It’s encrypted (meaning no one can read it) prior to submitting. None of your credit card data is stored here with the exception of a transaction id that links your transaction to the items you purchased here. We do, however store your personal information like name, address, email address, phone number, and other contact information so that we may be able to deliver the items purchased as well as keep in contact with you after the sale. If for any reason you would like this information, please contact me and we will be happy to provide a copy to you. In the event that your data is incorrect, you have the option to have it corrected as well.

Consent

When you explicitly provide to us your information for the purpose of conducting business together, like for example, purchasing art, e-books, or other items, you grant us your consent to collect it. If we collect your information for marketing purposes, it’ll be made clear to you at the time you provide it.

Children aren’t allowed to give consent for sharing data nor making purchases so please check with mom, dad, or a legal guardian before sharing your information or entering into a binding sales contract. If you steal their credit card and make a purchase here or share your data, we’re not liable. Seriously, check and get permission first.

If you no longer wish to grant consent for us to use your information for our internal business purposes, please contact me and let me know.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) – Disclosure

Thomas M Thurston LLC must comply with the law so if your information is requested for a legal reason, we may release it. We may also release it if you fail to comply with our Terms of Service.

Third-Party Services

Like a lot of businesses on the Internet, Thomas M Thurston LLC uses Google Analytics. We’ve also implemented Google Analytics with Demographics and Interest Reporting. See How We Use Your Information.

Other third-party services such as Amazon, Lynda.com, and Commission Junction may collect and use your information to display content or advertisements, collect information directly from you, and place cookies on visitors’ browsers.

We’ve also implemented reCAPTCHA to cut down on spam and bots. Your use of reCAPTCHA is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of digital information that’s stored in your web browser cache.

You Can Always Opt-Out or Remove Their Cookies

Should you not feel comfortable with these cookies on your computer or the idea of having anonymous information collected about you, please opt-out using the links below. In the scenario where there is no systematic way to opt-out, please visit the respective third-party privacy policy to determine specific opt-out instructions.

I won’t hold it against you; it’s your choice to choose what information is collected about you.

5. Disclaimers

  1. Since it is our mission mission to offer breathtaking fine art and landscape photography, I need to mention that while my work may look a certain way on your monitor, it’ll probably look different in person, unless you’re using a color-calibrated monitor. Calibration is done with a hardware device that reads a series of colors on the monitor and makes adjustments to the gamma, temperature, and luminance. This process is used because I must guarantee that my vision is reflected in the final product.
  2. I must also mention that the photographs displayed on this website are highly compressed so that your experience is enjoyable. Smaller files means faster page load times. Due to this reason, certain textures and details may be lost when viewing my photographs online. Don’t worry though, I use the originals when it’s time to print.
  3. This website has been tested on several internet browsers including on mobile devices. Please use Internet Explorer 7 or later, recent versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari for the best viewing experience. If you have trouble viewing the website, the internet browser you are using is more than likely outdated and should be upgraded.

6. How I Use Social Media

I’m active on social media websites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+ for the purpose of sharing various forms of media related to art, photography, or design, whether it is my own work or someone else’s creation. I give credit to the owner wherever possible. Since social media is pretty informal, expect that I may stray from the topics above from time-to-time if something interests me.

Social Media Privacy

This website uses Share, Like, and Tweet buttons to name a few. The information you share by engaging with the social media platforms here is outside our control and is the responsibility of that platform. We are not liable for any of the information you share outside this website; that falls under the realm of the social media’s business practices and privacy policy.

7. Changes and Amendments Policy

Thomas M Thurston LLC reserves the right to modify these policies at any time, so please review them frequently. Changes will be in-force immediately.

So that you’re kept in the loop, the policies on this page show a last updated clause up top.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

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