My image has been stolen!

Making your way home

So it finally happened, or at least the first time i’ve caught someone. If you follow me on Instagram, @lostangelino, you know i love to capture images from my daily commute on the local commuter train here in South Florida called Tri-Rail. I then use various hashtags to get some attention. Apparently it worked pretty well as a train enthusiast took a liking to one my images and posted it on Twitter without any attribution to myself.
I must admit i’ve been pretty lackadaisical about watermarking or even specifying the copyright to my images. My thought being that i post my images on social sites because i see them as my thoughts and observations on any particular day. I am, though, a professional and these are original works be they thoughts or award winning images. So, while i want them to be shared with people who will appreciate them, when no attribution is given and they are merely posted for the sake of posting that really pisses me off!
The nuts and bolts of it was @railyardhobo on Twitter went into Instagram saw my image, downloaded it and then posted it on his Twitter account. I happen to be trolling Twitter using the #trains and saw my image. I often post the same images from Instagram to Twitter so i was perplexed whether or not i had done that. When i discovered i had not posted i began an hour long journey of trying to figure out how to extract my justice.
Twitter does not make it easy, or at least for a novice like myself, to notify the proper authority. In the end i posted a WARNING to all on Twitter about this thief and sent him a message asking him whyyyyy? I felt a bit like a friend betrayed, thought we where all photographers who understood each other?
There are various schools of thought on sharing your work, and you have to find the one that satisfies you, but one thing is always a must; ATTRIBUTE! No matter the level of the creator, never ever share someone’s work and not give them the credit that they are due.