I'll give it a try, too.

... You think shots like this one could get accepted if I'd put them into my application?

You need to use levels to make the backgrounds pure white. I can't see the images close enough and thus cannot make a technical judgment, so I'll make a few subjective comments:

The apple's shadow is green and will be rejected for "poor white balance and/or lighting". There is also too much whitespace around the apple - square framing better suits the subject (a "poor composition" rejection).

As it stands, the money shot won't be accepted. The out-of-focus foreground is too distracting and the coins are too "sideways". Both of these fall under the "poor composition" umbrella. The coins don't have to be perfectly vertical, but they definitely shouldn't be completely on their sides either. Try adding more out-of-focus coins and move them behind the subject of the shot, where they'll add extra interest and impact.

Why don't you just check on eBay?

Place a watch on a dozen or so auctions (from individuals, not stores) and you'll have your "fair price" answer within a week.

... I feel our portfolio earns similarly sharply, and I am earning $70/month on crestock.. not too bad, even though it is not TOO good either.  It is still money to be had for easy uploading.

I'm not anywhere near $70 this month on Crestock - this will be my second missed payout since they lowered it. Not a positive situation. I was hoping things might go better at Crestock in 2008, but it appears (for me, at least) that this was a misguided sentiment. Yes, it's pretty easy to upload there, and they take most everything I give them, but these mean very little if I can't generate significant income.

No problems here - my 2007 earnings are still listed.

The Canon 400D/Rebel XTi cannot be used in the same manner as a point-and-shoot camera. The LCD screen on this camera cannot be used as a viewfinder. You can view the images you shot using the screen, but you have to look through the viewfinder in order to take them.

If you want to use the LCD screen as a viewfinder, you will have to purchase a newer model camera such as the Canon Rebel Xsi or 40D.

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Heh ... looks like my old car.

Sadly enough, the only market for lenses like this are the most unscrupulous of the paparazzi. It must be brutal to be a celebrity ...

...I am beginning to wonder if that is really the best road to hoe. ...

I think you mean "row to hoe". "Road to hoe" can be interpreted as something else entirely different!

As far as being exculsive goes, I don't think it would be optimal to go this route until you are at least at gold level (10k DLs), or even higher. I'll be strongly considering exclusivity at IS when I hit diamond level in a year-and-a-bit.

I thought that you might be getting close, fotografer - I was a bit surprised not to see anything of yours in the 'Top 50' list when I checked it before making my post. You must occupy numbers 51 and 52!

Time out.

sjlocke relies on his istock portfolio to earn a living - making negative comments on his work may adversely affect his ability to put food on the table.

rjmiz enjoys enriching this community by openly sharing his photoshop knowledge - making pointed remarks about his efforts cannot serve a positive purpose.


Although each of you obviously have strong feelings, it might be best to ignore each other from now on, and to put everything that's happened so far in the past.