I'm going to take kebmo's explanation a step further. If I decide to delete my account, or if I'm deleted by the Abuse Panel or by admin, POOF! my pictures are gone.
Although my profile is deleted by any of the above avenues, if I have commented on a member's picture(s), blog(s) or made posts in the forum, my comments will remain and in the upper left hand corner where my thumbnail picture and screen name would be will now be replaced with MY membership number.
You should also know that only those pics that are part of the site disappear, any you have downloaded to a private file will remain. I have hundreds with tributes on them
Although my profile is deleted by any of the above avenues, if I have commented on a member's picture(s), blog(s) or made posts in the forum, my comments will remain and in the upper left hand corner where my thumbnail picture and screen name would be will now be replaced with MY membership number.