They spent all the IT infrastructure money on vegetarian pizzas and organic coffee for the brainstorming meetings - the ones where they came up with a subscription model and one price fits all strategies....which I believe someone else already came up with ten years ago.

There was a kerfuffle on the forums about this but I haven't followed it because the glib responses from the moderators made me angry.

Quote from: Hobostocker on October 15, 2014, 23:36

Quote from: Red On on October 15, 2014, 03:52

Indeed: in 1994 photojournalism was a serious matter

journalism and news photography are not a godgiven right.

they will exist only as long as somebody is willing to pay for it and this happens in every other industry in the world.

there's not one single reason for journalists to think they're a special case deserving any privilege.

there's a supply and there's demand.
if now they're all begging for money it means their product is no more in demand enough, simple as that.

Information is one of the main actor in democracy. The day when all (again: all) info will be manipulated, distorted  and organised to bring consensus to one part, without exception, we will understand that information isn't an industry or a business like every other. We are not too far from it

Surely then it is imperative that everyone must have the freedom to submit their news/editorial/reportage images* wherever they want and in vast quantities to ensure that democratic flow of information remains constant and undiluted.....As opposed to leaving it to a few select and subjective photographers and editors to channel the flow for their profit.

* Some of which is first class by the way

How many images of random neighborhood parades, airshows, etc., would one expect to sell?  Mostly it's just a thing for an agency to toss to micro shooters who want to submit things they don't have releases for.  It isn't breaking journalism or anything.

I agree that type of stuff is plain lazy and subsequently doesn't do very well. There is a lot more to it than that.

Please, don't sell news on microstock agencies, we can't destroy photography and photographers more than this.

With respect this is 2014 not 1994

I'll take them both over DT reviewers and their fatuous "this file is similar..." nonsense.

When someone shows you their best ever snaps and you find yourself saying: None of these are sharp. Also your white balance is light years off and everybody is leaning to the left. That sky is blown to f**k and the bits that aren't are full of dust spots. In fact, these are perfect for print on demand sites.

Quote from: Red Dove on October 02, 2014, 15:40

Of course, in an effort to make my previous comments look stupid and churlish, DT has poked the dying embers of my portfolio and managed to get a roaring fire going for the first two days of October. Typical.

Tell 'em to share the wealth, will you? 

DT are like the kings and queens of old, scattering their coin among the poor. Unfortunately, two days of bread and wine are often followed by a week in the thumbscrews.

Of course, in an effort to make my previous comments look stupid and churlish, DT has poked the dying embers of my portfolio and managed to get a roaring fire going for the first two days of October. Typical.

Dreamstime has become Donkeytime.


Never did like saying to people I was a Dreamstime photographer - they thought with a name like that it had to involve some form of seedy boudoir photography - or worse

I'd drop them a line at:

[email protected]

I've always found the responses from a chap called Mate Toth (I'm sure there are others) comprehensive and helpful and usually within 48 hours.

I hope it drives sales - DT needs to do something tout de suite to stay in the top 4 for me.

What amuses me is the way they talk about it as if they invented it. And this goes for all agencies who, despite the fact some contributors think of them as virtual online art galleries for the discerning buyer are nothing more than bang 'em out retailers - and being shopkeepers should have taken their cue from Amazon and others years ago to enhance the contributor/customer experience.

I can still make a cup of tea and feed the cat in the time it takes my stats page to load.

Slight uptick in sales but I'm holding off doing any cartwheels until it emerges as a sustained pattern.