Someone please notify this turkey's next of kin.

I stand corrected: I predicted their demise by the end of '08. I now believe that they're hanging on hoping for federal bailout money. At least I think they're still in business although I have no proof of that.

Very often I've seen the same image of mine sold on two different sites just a few minutes or hours apart -- always different sizes. I'm thinking one site might be cheaper on one size or another and the buyer hops around using the contributor search to find the same image cheaper. Just a guess on my part but it really is eerie to see the same image downloaded on different sites so often.

Great topic!

Too many timid Tims and Tinas out there.

If you don't ASK you'll miss out on fantastic shots and experiences. I'm not talking microstock although most who've posed would have signed a release. One that I asked actually did. Let me recap a few portrait shots from my web site: http://www.louoates.com/HTML-NEW/contemporary_portraits.html

I just asked all these folks. Some I knew. Some were just strangers (for a short time). The top picture is the president of the Copper Valley RR in Arizona. I just flat-out asked if I could do his portrait. Just drove up to his RR office, saw the face, and asked. This shot was in one of the tunnels on his railroad.

In the 3rd row was a homeless guy with all his worldly goods attached. I just saw him in the shadows off a downtown Phoenix street and talked with him for a few minutes. I asked if I could shoot a few of him. He readily agreed with the proviso that HE tell his own story. And after digging into his plastic bags for about ten minutes he produced a nub of a pencil and two scraps of note paper whereupon he wrote his biography.

Several of the other shots were from a indie movie set. I just asked the director if I could shoot between scenes of the characters in their film persona. He agreed so I ended up shooting for three days on the set.

The last portrait is of Roy, a motorcycle fan I met in Superior, a small mining town in Arizona. He agreed to pose on Main street next to a US flag on the local VFW hall. He signed a release, I uploaded it to several sites and have generated small but steady sales.

Interesting note that day I shot Roy: The director of the film I described above asked me to be in a bar scene that day. I guess I looked sufficiently like a scruffy bar-fly type. I had other plans so I suggested Roy for the part. Not only did he get hired, he played a rapist in a major scene!

So if I didn't get out there and ask I would never have had these portraits. And I would never have so many interesting stories to look back on. I paid zero for all these shots and hundreds more.

Go ahead and ask next time you see something or someone interesting.

My only regret was not having that bar scene for my resume.

Cause to worry: Having just one outlet. No leverage. No control. No options. Just, "Yes sir". "Grab my ankles? -- Yes sir."
"May I go to the latrine now sir?"

Oh no! StockRiot closes! Hmm, wait a minute. I never heard of them. I'm thinking this is an early April Fool string.

This government sponsored site is exactly what a government-anything becomes. I think they're riding out whatever seed money came up front. Next time some higher-up bean-counter in Norway reviews this albatross it should be gone.

I'd be more interested in seeing my sales volume by image in a coherent manner. Istock is best in that regard with their Sales per Month stat as an example. SS's stats suck big time, worthless in most cases. It would really help to see all my images plotted out with sales stats per site. Just dreaming, I know. But I wonder how many sales are lost by, say, SS, by not providing meaningful results for contributors?

SUPPORT sent me this today after I complained about lack of IPTC reading lately:


Hi Lou,

Thank you for your message.

Our IT team is looking into this issue, we apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.  Other members have seen this issue clear up on its own within a few days - if this should happen to you as well, please do let us know.

In the meantime, you may want to try batch uploading software:

http://www.istockphoto.com/downloads.php

www.deepmeta.com

Since deepmeta doesn't support OSX I guess we Mac folk just gotta wait til it "clears up on its own" (as if that ever happens) or they get done "looking into this issue".

anaire, I agree it's bad business. If I were them I'd be looking over my shoulder at SS and DT and a few others that seem to be gaining lots of yardage on them.

They've been ignoring my embedded IPTC info also. What a pain. When considering uploading I just cringe at their stupid category requirement and the convoluted keyword reasoning. And now adding keywords again also???
Sales there have been going into the toilet for me while other sites are picking up strength. I'm reminded of the Goliath story. But in this case there are a whole bunch of Davids.

I've had 0 views on new images accepted after November 8. Plus the images can't be found with keywords. They just show up in my image portfolio.

They said they were "working on it" last week. So far, no workie.

Better check yours.

Steve-oh,
   Thanks for the frank explanation.

Snapvillage? I almost forgot about the 200+ of my best images rotting there. Are they still in business? I deleted them from my bookmarks some time ago after 6 months of zero activity.

Hibernation? I think death is a more accurate description.