Downloading Blocked Images From Flickr

Flickr has scores of interesting photos. Some of them would make excellent desktop backgrounds. But when downloading a photo, only an empty file is downloaded on your computer. This is because, if a Flickr user doesn’t want to make his photos easily available for download, he can set a corresponding setting in Flickr, which then automatically displays the transparent file on top of the photo.

However, your browser downloads the photo to its cache anyway. But, you need to search through the thousands of files in the cache. If you’re using Firefox, here is a simple way to find the desired image in the browser cache without any add-on.

Just right click the photo you want to download, then select the ‘View Page Info’ and activate the ‘Media’ tab. The list shows all the graphics on this page. Click an entry to see the preview in the lower part of the dialog box. Keep scrolling till you find the desired image. Then click ‘Save As’ and save the image on the hard disk.

NOTE: The user intends to prevent unauthorized use of his photos when he blocks them. Thus, you should make it a point to observe the license clauses and not use the photo without the consent of the person who has blocked it.