New photos up at PhotoShelter

After a slow period I have managed to get some new photos uploaded at PhotoShelter. These are from a trip to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, WA. Click on the pictures to be taken to their pages at PhotoShelter.

Here you can see two flamingos making the famous heart shape with their heads. As far as I could tell they were actually two males fighting as opposed to lovers.


Here I presume is a female flamingo tending to her nest. There were several nests in the enclosure.


This giraffe was not too camera shy and stared right back at the camera.


Here's a pretty nice statue of a lion. Unfortunately the live lions were a little bit more reclusive and just laid in the grass.

Jeez, luck is not on my side

A while ago I got a hankering for a wider angle lens than my sigma 28-70. I thought, what the heck, I mothballed my kit 18-55 that came with my Rebel XT, what the heck a soft wide shot is better than no shot at all, right? Well I pulled it out and threw it on the camera and what do you know? It fails to autofocus. I'm a few months out of warranty but seriously haven't used the lens in at least a half year. Oh well, crap lens, I can live without it.

Today my Sigma 28-70 is showing problems. The focus ring is stiff to turn and it''s interfering with the autofocus motors. I took a quick look for my lens box, receipt, warranty card, etc. Can't find em. I assume I registered the lens online. I just emailed Sigma about this lens. Lets cross our fingers that this puppy is still under warranty.

Made it this time

All nine pictures I submitted from our family's trip to the zoo were accepted at Alamy. So, am I better at self editing or did I get a lucky QC pass?

One thing I will say is I had a lot of soft shots when viewing them at 1:1 pixels. Most of these shots looked great zoomed out at 50% - 75% but once I got to 100% they looked really soft. I'm trying to figure out the culprit. I was using my telephoto that doesn't have image stabilization and I didn't have a mono or tripod. I was often at focus lengths over 200mm with shutter speeds around 1/120th and the lighting was crappy and overcast. So, it it camera shake or soft lighting or a cheap non-stabilized lens?

Wow... I've been busy, but not with pictures

I've been busy doing other things apparently. After my last round of rejections at Alamy its been almost a month since I submitted new pictures. I went to the zoo with my wife and son and got some more pictures there that I am submitting to Alamy and PhotoShelter today. I got my first lightbox add at PhotoShelter the other day but nothing has come of it so far. I really prefer Alamy's stats because you know which images are hitting on which keywords and which are actually being looked at.

One thing is for certain, it takes a lot of work, time and opportunity to get decent pictures. I wish I had more of all of the above as well as some nicer equipment. It's still a fun process and having an early success like I did last month gets me in an irrational mindset. I already sold one, so they should be flying off the shelves right? I realize though that this is an unreasonable expectation since overall my catalog is still really small.

Who wants to come model for me? Who wants to give me free equipment? I promise to right good reviews like "This new Canon 1ds is super!".

It finally happened, I'm a "pro"

Well, it happened, and rather quickly all things considered. I got my first sale! I sold a picture of Travis Pastrana that I took at the Oregon Trail Rally. Before you ask (or think), yes it was sold under editorial license so I didn't need a model release.

Here's the picture:



Here's the link to it at Alamy.

That's the nice thing about stock. I've been a little busy and a havevn't put up any new pictures in a week or two but the pictures are still out there. One even sold itself. June will only be my first full month on Alamy as well. Here's hoping I can keep the streak going and get some more quality up there!

Rejections Rejections

Well, I had a ton more pics rejected at PhotoShelter. This is the same series that got me rejections at Alamy. I'm wondering if my self editing skills are lacking.

Perhaps its my post-processing? There's a book on processing RAW files that I have on my Amazon wish list - Art of RAW Conversion: How to Produce Art-Quality Photos with Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Leading RAW Converters. I understand the very basics of the histogram and mainly I work on my processing to keep things from being to over or underexposed and have proper color correction. I'm probably missing a few tricks that could really help.

Its gotten a little frustrating but oh well.

Soft, and lacking definition...

Got another rejection at Alamy. Jeez, I think I got overconfident. I think I'm looking at two problems. First, the Rebel XT, while producing much better results than point and shoot cameras, really is at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to DSLRs. Second, we have this really great light in the Seattle. "Seattle Gray" its when there is always a 100% uniform cloud cover that provides overly soft and drab light throughout the entire day. This really hurts because there are no shadows or highlights a lot of times. That means pictures end up looking soft, and lacking definition.

One picture in particular was a cruise ship... can you imagine the light I would need to make that look right? Yes, stack another 400 flashes over there please...

So I need to work more on composition and evaluating and dealing with the crappy light we have up here.

Research feedback from PhotoShelter

I like to peruse the forums at the different stock sites. You can see what sells if photographers feel like sharing. You can get suggestions. You can see whining. Sometimes you even get some great information.

The PhotoShelter forums yesterday had a blog entry about their research system and what is and isn't a good submission. They had examples that were actually submitted to the research request and provided individual feedback on what is and isn't good. While they don't have time to provide feedback on each individual submission, these general results are extremely helpful.

Alamy not Alamay

For some reason I always say Alamy in my head as Al-uh-may. To that end, I'm not even sure of the proper pronunciation, is it all-uh-me, al-uh-me, al-uh-my? Who knows? I like to think its all-uh-me as a play on "all of me". I'm just rambling now aren't I?

Rejection at Alamy

Garden 5-31-32
Originally uploaded by punkd0rk

Well, I failed my first quality control (QC) at Alamy. It was one of my artichoke pictures. I'm not sure which because I don't use a common naming scheme between Alamy and my Flickr account. I've got the image at home and I can figure it out there.

The rejection reasons were:
Interpolation artifacts
Soft or lacking definition

Well, perhaps they didn't like my depth of field regarding the Soft or Lacking Definition. I'll have to take a closer look regarding the interpolation artifacts too.

It looks like I should drag a strobe out to the garden for my next shots. There wasn't a ton of light for this artichoke and thats why I used a large aperture and hence the shallow depth of field. Again, when I get home I'll confirm exactly which artichoke picture was rejected and throw that one up here.

I was starting to think I was invincible on Alamy... no sales though. I am up to 15 views. The nice thing about the views from Alamy is they tell you what the key words were, this helps you to figure out what the customers are actually looking for and if you're missing the mark.

UPDATE: I had a second rejection on another artichoke shot so I pulled them and resubmitted. That submission was approved this morning. I guess I'll go back with more light or take another look at the shot to get some more dept of field in there.

A new opportunity at PhotoShelter

PhotoShelter has added a new opportunity. Research assignments. These are assignments where they have potential customers but their needs aren't met by what is currently in their collection. They post a research need and you can submit new pictures directly to that need.

I participated in my first one on Sunday night. There is a client looking for pictures of herbs and vegetables, etc. I uploaded a few shots from our garden. We'll see what happens.

I wonder how long before I get a sale somewhere. It'll happen, just gotta keep shooting...

PhotoShelter more picky?

Or am I just a poor self editor? 2 of 8 pictures accepted yesterday. Not a great run. Again, I don't take it personally. However, I don't like wasting their or my time. I really wish they had a subject/technical checkbox for rejections so I could figure out why things were rejected and better self edit for their collection.

That's where the issue is. They have something in mind for their collection, a certain feel. They want "pictures of real life". The quote is something like that. Anway, one of their editor's choice is a father sitting on the messy floor of an apartment changing a diaper. Its almost a snapshot (who am I kidding, I can't tell that piece of art from a snapshot). When we were out at the Tulip festival I took a picture of my wife holding my 6mo son while he grabbed a tulip. Cute picture, real life. To me it had more composure than a snapshot without being posed. It was rejected.

So did I miss the ball technically? Did they hate the composure? Or do I not get the "real life"?

Oh well, as I keep saying. Just gotta take more pictures.

Stock whiners

Something I've noticed in the forums on a lot of stock photo sites. Whiny photographers. There's a few typical complainers.

There's the guy with 4 pictures online for OVER A WEEK who hasn't had a single sale yet!!!!?!?! Don't mention that all four pictures are of the same subject, his cat.

Then there is the PROFESSIONAL Photographer. He's the one convinced that cheap DSLRs are going to put him out of business. Hey, if all you have is your equipment, you've been overcharging your clients. There should be some skill, technique and experience you have that Joe Schmoe with his Rebel XT can't match.

Last is the microstocker alarmist/gloater. Very closely related to the above. These are the people convinced that anyone with a high megapixel digicam is going to put them out of a job. They also gloat heavily when anything bad happens to a microstock agency (see Lucky Oliver).

Lastly are the ones who complain about editors. Listen, the deal is, if your image is declined, the particular editor feels it doesn't meet a technical or subject matter bar and its not marketable. If the image is so great, sell it yourself.

Granted, I'm doing this part time and my livelihood is not dependent on this. However, I've also yet to make a sale so I don't see how I'm digging into their profits.

Got my first hit at alamy, no sales yet...

Well, I was checking my "Alamy Measures" and I got my first views and zooms on Alamy yesterday. A "view" as termed by Alamy is when one of your thumbnails shows up in search results. A "zoom" is when one of your thumbnails is clicked on.

Not bad, as of yesterday I only had about 20 pictures online. I've got over 40 today so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

One quick note about Alamy. I HATE their image tagging setup, if you accidently click the wrong link you lose all your unsaved data. I really need to get ITPC (I think that's the acronym) worked into my workflow.

Alamy's rocking and rolling

Alamy is certainly different than PhotoShelter. For one, they are better known and currently have stronger sales stats. Secondly, they are not an edited collection. They have quality standards that must be met but they don't edit for content. After your initial submission is approved, consecutive submissions are only spot checked (if the spot check fails, the whole batch is rejected).

This has allowed me to toss a lot of images up rather quickly in comparison to the much slower review cycle at PhotoShelter. This is both a good and a bad thing. If I just toss up noise, I'm diluting the quality of Alamy's catalog and its value to its customers. On the other hand, if I think a particular image is marketable and PhotoShelter disagrees I have another avenue to sell on. Neither site requires exclusivity so the only real investment is time.

Time time time. I really need to crack down on this. I have all of my images up on a server. However I currently do a lot of editing via a laptop that is joined to my work domain. I have a domain at home but that is just becoming an administrative nightmare. I keep intending to install a Windows Home Server instead and use Lightroom to catalog ALL of my images from a share hosted on the server. If I put all the relative data into the tags on the images I could save a lot of time on processing accepted uploads. Man I hope I can see some success at stock photography. Just enough to let my wife stay at home and take care of our son. Two working adults is well and great before kids, but those boogers take a lot of time and money.

Alamy says yes

Well, Alamy accepted my submissions so now I get to upload to them as well. I'm feeling better about my self-editing capabilities now. I submitted 4 pictures to Alamy and all 4 were accepted.

When populated, my gallery will be available here. The 4 images I applied with should be available there within 24 hours.

Now I get to learn a new agency!

Breaking news..

My first Breaking News submission has been process at PhotoShelter and the following pictures were accepted from the 2008 Oregon Trail Rally.

Here a car is worked on at the service park held in Vernonia, OR.


A fan-favorite Jamie "SubieGal" Thomas navigates a water splash at a spectator stage.


The winner of the Oregon Trail Rally '08, Travis Pastrana, talks to the press on Saturday morning at the Parc Expose.


Later, Travis Pastrana can be seen blasting through a water splash to the delight of spectators.


The team Rockstar cars wait following service to continue the competition.


A vintage Saab navigates a corner and heads to the water splash.


The youngest driver at the event, Kyle Sarasin, is only 18.

Three more pictures accepted

Just a few pictures of some P.O. Boxes from the Issaquah post office. As usual, click on the pictures to see them at PhotoShelter.

The one that got away...

Normally its about fishing. This time its about photography. I was out at the Oregon Trail Rally this weekend (I'll post some pictures once I get some stuff over to PhotoShelter) and I saw a shot I desperately wanted.

I was in Vernonia, OR to take a look at the service. There's a Kwik-E-Mart in town that probably does more business on the Oregon Trail weekend than in any other month of the year, spectators and competitors stop in for cold drinks and fried food that has probably been sitting under a heat lamp for far too long. I ordered a bean and cheese burrito and ended up with a BBQ meat burrito (who thought that was a good idea). I sat down to eat it while my dad used the restroom.

As a budding photographer, I'm always looking around evaluating everything to see if it would make a good shot. Honestly, I'm probably missing the good ones and taking the cookie cutter shots. I digress. A large man, most likely a local sits down at a table across from me. He's heavyset, tall, and has a bushy salt and pepper beard. That's just the start, he's wearing overalls and aviator glasses, and a breathe right strip (I thought those were for sleeping, but for him, a fashion accessory). He also proudly wore a headband, brand name Everlast, and the logo was upside down. He then proceded to eat a corndog with great enthusiasm. It was beautiful.

I couldn't think of a way to pull out my camera and take the picture without drawing his attention to me. I was right in front of him. I also thought that basically, I found his appearence amusing, not really a good thing to say when directly asking him for permission either. I couldn't find a way to respectfully get the shot so, unfortunately, I had to let that one go.

Back that thing up!!!

I was thinking this morning about my backup solution and I figured it'd be a good thing to write about here. Using a second/external hard drive or DVDs is all well and good, but it doesn't really offer as much protection as one needs. In case of a fire, likely everything is gone. Thats where using an Internet backup solution is a big win. Its already located "off-site" so you don't have to worry about any problems you have locally

I use http://www.idrive.com. For $4.95/month they offer "unlimited" personal backup space. Fine print says 150GB = unlimited. Which is interesting because when I checked my account, I'm up to 190GB. Yes, it takes a while to upload that much, even over broadband but the piece of mind is worth it. Not to mention they offer a few things that most local backups don't.

1. They actually back up your data. Lets face it, most of us are lazy about backups. With this service, install the software, configure it and let it go.
2. Multiple versions. They perform differential and incremental backups. What does this mean to you? Say you're working on a letter or a book. Something you're working on for several days. You make a bunch of changes, save it and then realize, no, this is crap, I want to go to last week's version. Connect to the software and download last week's version. If I remember correctly they either keep 30 days or 30 versions, I forget which.
3. Off-site, which I already touched on.

There are many players in the online backup game, do some research, find the one you like and go with it. In the long run it is not that expensive and the cost is well worth the time you will save if you ever have to use the restore option.