To me it seems like a religion run amuck, rather than a practical tool to help you describe images and let people search for them.  It is hopeless for geographic names. You can't put things in there that would help the image be found. 

Allowing the search to extend among descriptions, and/or titles, would solve a lot of these problems.  It is a reasonable option to give people so when the system is fighting them instead of helping them they have an alternative. But like religions, this system is dogmatic and reasonable alternatives are not allowed.

True. I'm sure the CV loses customers rather than retains them; it would certainly put me off shopping there (along with a few other reasons).

When Google or Amazon introduce a CV then maybe I'll start to believe that a CV might be a good thing. Until then Istock are trying to swim upstream against the established practice of the entire internet.