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Messages - kingjon
126
« on: January 03, 2010, 20:48 »
it was a BME for me by about 20$ thanks to an EL. Unusually good month (for December) - I have no XMAS photos.
127
« on: December 18, 2009, 17:12 »
the search found one of my images on flickr - but when I click on it, it just says the member is no longer active. I suspect the guy's portfolio was deactivated. Finding improper use of our images is a good use for this app. Thanks again.
128
« on: December 18, 2009, 17:02 »
tool works great. It picked up only my photos (almost 400 sales). Thanks for posting this. It's great to see our work in action.
129
« on: December 17, 2009, 12:45 »
it's not all doom and gloom. I just did some number crunching (realizing its a small sample) - I would have made 15% more money so far in December had the new price structure been in effect, assuming the number of sales don't go down with the increased prices. I'm silver at FT.
130
« on: December 04, 2009, 12:00 »
OK thanks, it does work now. Maybe its my PC at home.
131
« on: December 03, 2009, 22:23 »
Yuri's site is no longer available (I've tried for a couple of days now). Did I miss something? Anyone have suggestions for other keywording options?
thanks,
132
« on: November 30, 2009, 12:55 »
I opened a US bank account (I'm from Canada). It's a bank that has a presence in Canada so I also opened a US currency account in Canada and can transfer back and forth free of charge. The money will stay in the US account until I need it. This way money doesn't get converted into Canadian dollars then again in US dollars when I'm travelling or buying something in the US. There may be a bank in your country that can provide a similar service.
133
« on: November 16, 2009, 12:07 »
Well, as a part timer, my microstock expenses have been about 100% of my earnings upto last December. Of course, that was the whole point of microstock for me. To pay for expensive equipment that I couldn't otherwise justify. Now I have all the equipment I need and don't have time to use it.
134
« on: October 31, 2009, 13:05 »
I've purchased all the equipment I need (well...almost). I use my microstock earnings now for family vacations (usually in the US). Everyone's needs vary but with paypal forcing the conversion to Canadian dollars, I lost money twice on conversions and paypal charges a pretty penny.
This setup works great for me. If I was going to buy something with the earnings (as I did until about a year ago), then I would leave it in Paypal.
135
« on: October 31, 2009, 12:57 »
I purchased old white lightning 10000 strobes off of ebay. They usually sell for about 100$. They don't look like much but they work great and have plenty of power for my needs. You do need plenty of space for full length people shots. If the background is too close you will get a lot of light spill onto the model. You do need a bit of power for the background to light it evenly using light modifiers. The disadvantage with these older strobes is that I can't fit them with a beauty dish. I will build a bracket for one as soon as I get a free minute.
136
« on: October 30, 2009, 10:33 »
I don't know. You would have to call the bank to find out. I am not American so you can probably apply from other countries also.
good luck
137
« on: October 29, 2009, 11:41 »
For those of you who are Canadian and want to leave your Paypal earnings in US dollars, there is a simple solution. You can open a RBC Bank account (from any RBC branch in Canada). The account is in a US bank so you can request payment in US dollars (instead of paypal converting to Canadian dollars). This is not the same as having a US dollar account in a Canadian bank (I don't believe these work because paypal would recognize the transit numbers as Canadian). I travel to the US often and this is the perfect solution for me. I have a bank card and can access my US dollars at any time. I also opened a Canadian US currency RBC account so I could transfer funds back and forth (through PC banking). The US account is called a Centura account if anyone's interested.
You should be aware that there is a $3.50/month charge on the Centura account if your balance is less than 700$ (this may have changed - you should confirm). I selected the pay per use account in Canada since I don't expect to have many transactions.
138
« on: October 16, 2009, 20:36 »
I would just forget about it. Other sites will likely accept the image. Its hit and miss. Your time will be better spent shooting new images than trying to convince the various agencies to reconsider a rejection.
Regards,
139
« on: October 13, 2009, 11:54 »
Has anyone looked at the Tamron SP f2.8 70-200 as an alternate for the Canon 70-200 f2.8? I don't believe its IS but I've read the quality is pretty good. Has anyone ever tried it?
Regards,
John
140
« on: October 13, 2009, 11:39 »
OK, I just looked at the pictures. Mine weren't nearly that bad. I think my 9 year old would do a better job with his toy camera.
141
« on: October 13, 2009, 11:34 »
Well, as someone who was on the other end of the camera during a horribly bad wedding shoot, I can tell you it is hugely disappointing. For most some of us it's a once in a lifetime event. My wife and I were married in a small town in northern Canada and the photographers could be counted on one finger...
Based on my own experience, I would never shoot a wedding - not without formal training.
142
« on: September 28, 2009, 00:59 »
lets face it 90% (probably more) of microstock photographers are amateurs like myself who don't expect to make a living out of this. In my case, photography is a hobby and microstock just pays for equipment. It accounts for about 3% of my total income.
I can understand that professional photographers are upset. They do have to feed their families. If you consider your time, expenses and equipment costs, what a pro charges for a photograph is not unreasonable. I've sold images on Alamy. I don't feel like I'm ripping off the buyer if an image sells for $400 (rare as it may be). Microstock to most pro photographers is analogous to China dumping cheap merchandise on the world markets. North American and EU producers can't compete on price due to labour costs. Although microstock isn't going away, we shouldn't be too quick in judging the pro photographers for trying to defend their business model.
143
« on: September 03, 2009, 12:34 »
I bought a canon D10 for my wife. Waterproof to 30 ft. I wouldn't use it for stock though. Great for vacation/pool pics though.
144
« on: August 20, 2009, 11:46 »
chemist/Industrial Hygienist/government inspector
and now also part time photographer AND model
145
« on: June 16, 2009, 11:32 »
My views seem about normal for the new files (last uploaded mid may). My sales are about average (I had a BME last month).
146
« on: June 05, 2009, 11:26 »
Anyone in the Ottawa area interested in having local meetings and maybe pooling resources (to hire models, sharing equipment to do more elaborate shoots, etc). Please PM or post here!
Or, feel free to just say hi!
Regards,
John
147
« on: June 02, 2009, 12:38 »
I just recently insured my equipment (at least the L lenses and the 5d Mark II). Didn't have insurance prior to upgrading camera. I didn't get the commercial insurance but added it to my home insurance. I clearly described to the insurance company my use of the equipment (mostly personal) and included the fact that I sell some of my images.
148
« on: June 01, 2009, 11:39 »
Wow, that's a long post. I just read the first few paragraphs. The 25 cents/dl you make at SS is taxable income (at least it is in Canada). I declare all of my income from foreign stock sites. I've yet to actually pay any taxes due to the expenses associated with the income (I'm a microstock underachiever!).
149
« on: May 12, 2009, 11:32 »
I was rejected also. The email I received was a bit different - it suggested my port was too small. I don't remember how many images I had on SV - I had uploaded a while ago as a test to see if the site might work for me. It didn't.
I acutally see high(er) standards as a positive sign. No matter how much marketting you do, if you don't have quality images, you won't attract buyers. Didn't SV accept everything?
I probably will give them a try in the fall.
150
« on: April 28, 2009, 11:18 »
I started downsizing when I switched to the 5d II. The only sites that get the full sized image are IS, DT, FT. These sites are doing well for me and pay more for the larger sizes. I use the same workflow for SS, SX, BigStock and 123. I run noise removal (because of SS requirements) and downsize to 50%. The noise removal takes out alot of detail but SS used to reject alot of images without it.
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