"Dark and Mysterious" -  Most photos caught my attention right from the start.

Stats:
Joined: 3/25/08
354 images uploaded
1 download
$17.52 paid to my paypal account
Points: 265.5

Joining MP is like belonging to a photo club, rather than a stock site.
Contributing Members can, and WILL rate your images. They gain points for doing so. I have 265.5

"What do you do with the points?" "Are they worth money?" The points you earn are useless. They represent
your participation in this community of photograpgers and artists.

There are no reviews. You can't be turned away, and all that you upload is guaranteed to appear in your portfolio.
This is a haven for all the "Stockies" that constantly cry and complain about rejections on other sites. It's almost
as though MP is a stock site with "training wheels", so you don't fall and break your ego.

I had my first download on MP the very first day I uploaded. Since they pay in Euros this equated to something like $17 and change
into my PayPal account 4 days later. I was thrilled. The downside to this is my thrill was short lived. I have had not 1 DL since.

There are many talented photog's and artists on MP. You will find images there you will NEVER find on any other stock site.

I rate MP from 1 to 10 Ten being highest:
Earning potential 2
Ease of use 9
Ease of interface menus 10
Fun factor 10

It's a fun site to be on. You can rate other images, and gain personal points.
Chat with anyone on line. Get real time stats on your portfolio and images.

This site is NOT for the serious stock photographer. The site does not advertise or market their wares.
It's as much like the now defunct Lucky Oliver, (a novelty site)  only on steroids.

The MIZ

I contend that LO closure will not have a significant impact of the stock community.
It was never a strong contender right from the very start.

It was a struggling  new site that in the beginning showed promise and creativity.
As time progressed, LO did not. I suspect they had very little venture capital to throw
into a marketing campaign. They did little or no marketing, and was no where close to the competition.

No one ever made a killing on LO. In the beginning payouts were to far in between, and less frequent than the competition.
Lowering the payouts kept some contributors from bailing out, but it was too little too late. LO was already doomed.

This should serve as a lesson to those who sometimes dream of opening their own stock site thinking its a walk in the park.

The MIZ

Time to move on. It's not productive to spend any time in the past. Make more images.
Rejected images like you mention are history.

This is not an attempt to put down people who use PAS cameras.

Basically the PAS camera makes every attempt to bring everything in the frame into focus.
The way this is accomplished is to set the aperture to it's highest settings (usually about f22)

This means the shutter speed is a bit slower. Moving subjects may be a problem.
You at a loss to be able to make use of DOF as much. So your creativity and appeal are limited.
The sensor is usually very, very tiny compared to a DSLR. So the quality of the image may, or may not suffer.

You are very limited in changing lenses and this feature is non existent in almost most PAS.
PAS do however serve a valid reason for owning one.
They are compact and easy to carry. The images are very good. Real estate agents love the PAS for shooting potential homes to sell.
They are like a tape recorder compared to a studio recording...the information is all there. It's just the quality that differs.

There are quite a few photographers I know that have been very successful in stock using a PAS.
On the other hand, I have never heard of a professional shooting a wedding, studio fashion, or sports with one.

I own one. its 4 yrs old...4 MP. I have had no use for it in the last 3 years....but I wont get rid of it

The MIZ

With so many images in que, I wonder, did you just begin to upload to stock?
....or are you a real shutter nut that takes images like 24 hours a day?

The MIZ

I just did some research on the low pass filter coatings.

Seems that some wet cleaning solutions (alcohol solvent based) may or may not present a hazard with Nikon cameras with ITO coatings.
 
ITO coating: D40, D40x, D70s, D80, D300, D2xs, D3
No coating: D1, D1h, D1x, D2h, D2hs, D2x, D50, D70*, D100, D200

However disco film is water based, and will not harm filters with ITO coatings

The only 100% guaranteed way to get your sensor cleaned without worry is to send it back to the manufacturer.
ALL cleaning methods (EVERY SINGLE ONE) has some inherent risk if you decide to clean it yourself.

The MIZ

PS Lizard is correct. Disco film will NOT remove grease, fingerprints, transmission fluid, discarded oil from your last oil change, bacon grease,
Vaseline, WD-40, bearing grease, peanut butter, butter, or margarine.

Perhaps shooting film again might not be a bad idea after all - no sensors

"if you don't do it correctly and the solution can damage the low pass filter coating"
Not possible. The coating on the filter is on the OTHER side of the glass -  facing down.

accidentally applying it on the edges of the sensor and not being able to remove it all
This is altogether a REAL possibility. However, a re-application will reabsorb any stuck on pieces.....if any.

accidentally spilling the product inside the camera
Not possible if you don't bring the bottle near the camera. I have the bottle opened on a table beside me.
I hold the camera in one hand, and the brush in the other. Until I grow a third arm I will not be able to spill it into the camera.

"scratching the low pass filter with the tweezers as you are trying to insert or pull the "tab" to remove the gel"
This was a concern of mine also. But consider this. I don't use a tweezer with sharp points. Also I bend the strip of paper
when I place it into the corner of the sensor. It bananas up so I can grab it with my fingers. I use my fingers instead.
But try to scratch glass with a tweezer. go ahead try it. I did.... on a mirror. Didn't work. It would not scratch. as hard as
I tried the glass would not scratch.

The MIZ

I live, eat, and sleep photoshop. Have been for years.
I have PS muscles. I watch photoshop TV, I belong to NAPP, and my hero is Scott Kelby.

I live in a very very expensive house, because I bought a run down shack, and converted
it into a mansion using photoshop. All my enemies are ugly and disgusting, and all my friends
are young and beautiful....cause I made them that way with photoshop.

I got student discounts on the internet using my college ID I made in Photoshop.
I am a professor of Physics at Berkley University. I have the ID to prove it.

Photoshop has changed my life. It can do the same for you too!

The MIZ

 

Yeah but but it costs $31.60 USA  -  plus  $7.90 shipping.

I can sell it for less than half that price!

Unfortunately it's not sold here in the USA.
I have personal connections over in Europe, so thats how I got it.
I'm thinking of re-packaging it and selling it here in the USA.

I'm not sure if it would be worth my time and effort though.
The MIZ

I hear people talk about this PS clone all the time. I hear only good reports.
I think this is the premiere PS clone

http://www.gimp.org

A word of caution about illustrations before you go head long into attempting this aspect of stock.

You need to know right from the start, that this form of imaging is quite different than actual photography.
On the other hand it can be rewarding, and very productive financially if, and this is a BIG "IF", you are good.
I mean really good.

You need a total command of your vector software, ie. Adobe Illustrator. You should know also that it will be required that
you are a talented artist, with knowledge of balance, color, and composition. Each vector image requires planning and thought.
A process you should be familiar with as a photographer already.

It will require a lot of time and effort to learn the software. It it not easy either. The software is very expensive to boot!
You will be required to submit an EPS image along with a jpg of your illustration. Usually an EPS image compatable with illustrator ver 8

There is fierce competition in this field of stock. Those that are very good are at the top, those that are anything but good sink to the bottom.
There are no shades of gray in between good and bad. You are either good, or a bad illustrator. There is no room for mediocre illustrators.

IT's a fun skill to learn. Very rewarding, and I wish you luck
The MIZ