If you’ve browsed our website at phpstack-307602-2580524.cloudwaysapps.com, odds are good you’ve stumbled across our Bend FAQ page. It’s packed with frequently-asked questions ranging from Bend history to Sno-Park permits.

Useful stuff, to be sure. But the Visit Bend team fields plenty of less-commonly-asked questions on Facebook, Twitter, or in the Bend Visitor Center. While they’re not always the sort of thing we’d post in an FAQ, they pop up often enough that it seemed worthwhile to share the answers with you here.

Question 1: Pretty as a Picture

Visit Bend’s marketing director, Nate Wyeth, took this shot on a recent snowshoe outing up Tumalo Mountain.

Q: You guys have so many awesome photos of Bend. Can I use one for my brochure/website/butt tattoo?

A: Maybe it’s Bend’s scenic beauty, or maybe it’s the talent of the photographers in our area. It’s probably a bit of both, but whatever the reason, we’re lucky to have tons of great images on our website and social media sites.

Here’s the deal: Visit Bend is committed to supporting artists and making sure they’re paid fairly for their work. The photos you see on our website are images we’ve purchased for that purpose. If we give them away, it not only violates our legally-binding usage agreements, but it hurts the photographer’s ability to make a living. Make sense?

We do have a gallery of images for which we’ve purchased licensing rights to share with magazines, newspapers, and other members of the media who are writing about Bend. If you fall into that category, awesome! You can email me at tawna@visitbend.com to get the skinny on how it works.

Now, if you’re talking about photos on social media channels like Facebook, it’s a little different. Those images run the gamut from professional photographs captured by artists who’ve spent years making a living at their craft, to images shared with us by amateur photographers working to make a name for themselves in the industry, to regular old snapshots taken by tourists on their iPhones. We love them all, and we’re thrilled by how many of you are eager to share your photos on the Visit Bend Facebook page.

Whenever we can, we credit those folks in the post and tag the photographer’s  Facebook page if there is one. We also encourage all of you to “like” the post, leave a comment, and share it with your own Facebook friends. If you love the image so much that you want to see it on a poster or calendar, we encourage you to reach out to that photographer directly to find out how to do that.

Got a Bend photo of your own that you’d like to share? Message us on Facebook, reach out to us on Twitter (@VisitBendOR) or ping us on Instagram (@VisitBend).

Question 2: Guide me! Love me! Show me the way!

Q: We just got to Bend for vacation! Now what?

Use your smartphone or tablet to check out our newly-revamped website at www.phpstack-307602-2580524.cloudwaysapps.com.

A: One of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the last couple years with our website and social media traffic is that more and more of you are checking us out on the fly. Last year 44% of the traffic to phpstack-307602-2580524.cloudwaysapps.com came from a mobile device or tablet. That’s almost half of you who are using us while on-the-go.

One of the ways we’ve responded to that is with a recent website update that makes our website more friendly to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Check us out at www.phpstack-307602-2580524.cloudwaysapps.com and tell us what you think!

While you’re browsing on the fly, be sure to hit our Event Calendar for up-to-the-minute info about what’s happening while you’re here.

Facebook is another great resource for on-the-go travel info. We’re posting 2-5 times each day with updates that range from local events to scenic photos to where you can grab a great cup of coffee. Ditto that for Twitter and Instagram.

And of course, this blog is always a good source of info. Check out the “categories” sidebar on the right to search for specific posts related to drinking & dining, seasonal recreation, family-friendly activities, and more!

Question 3: We love what you’re doing! We hate what you’re doing!

Version #1 Q: Bend is so amazing! How can I move there?

Version #2 Q: Stop telling everyone Bend is amazing! We don’t want them to move here.

Visit Bend is dedicated to bringing tourists to Bend and welcoming you when you get here at the Bend Visitor Center on the corner of Lava and Oregon Ave. in Downtown Bend.

A: Visit Bend is a not-for-profit marketing agency with only one client (the City of Bend) and one primary goal—to convince tourists this is the best place in the world for vacation.

Since Bend is scenic, spectacular, and brimming with fun things to do, this isn’t exactly a hardship.

We recognize that people who vacation here often investigate the possibility of living in Bend. That’s why we added the move here tab on our website to help guide those folks to info about real estate professionals and what’s involved in relocating a business to the area.

We’re lucky to have dozens of great local organizations in Bend devoted to preserving the area’s local resources and natural beauty. From the Deschutes Land Trust to Central Oregon Trail Alliance to other similarly worthy groups, Bend has some amazing folks watching out for her well-being.

We’re excited to share this amazing place with visitors who come here and funnel much-needed tourism dollars into retailers, restaurants, and tour operators who depend that revenue to make a living. If you vacation here and decide to become a permanent resident, we won’t expect you to lock the door behind you on the way in so no one else can do the same.

We welcome everyone to enjoy, cherish, and respect Bend as much as we do. Happy travels!