Thank you.
Love the videos and information.
Subscribed!

One sold and yes, it was 'curated'.

https://crated.com/art/105380/blue-watercolor-and-ink-background-texture-by-christinarahm

Merry Christmas and congratulations to Semmick. What a fantastic year!

A bit relieved to hear it isn't just me..

I know I had a sale to that disappeared.

They owe me 4,62 dollars since several weeks. Have not heard one word about it.

Clickin'

Marco Oonk talks to Robert Henson from IMGembed about a "new" way to share and monetize imagery during the Cepic 2014 in Berlin, Germany (going on right now 4-7 June)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5c095WLz1k

Quote from: Noedelhap on June 01, 2014, 12:20

Quote from: ArtesiaWells on May 22, 2014, 15:38
I thought I'd let you know what I decided - I am closing with Fotolia.
Looking forward to payday...


Dear Fotolia

I found the one and only image that I left in my account with you on this (Chinese) page
http://www.artgalore.ca/PhotosByArtist.php?ArtistID=202540410&ArtistName=artesiawells

Since I am engaged with other agencies with much of my portfolio I need to know where my copyrighted work is being published and for sale. This new find together with the insecurities of the past month, I consider it to be of the utmost urgency that I close my account with Fotolia.

I look forward to your confirmation and a payout of the equivalent of 3.3 credits as soon as possible.


Sincerely,
xxArtesiaWells


On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 10:35 AM, Fotolia.com <[email protected]> wrote:
   
Fotolia   View in your browser

      
   

"Hello,

We're sorry to see you have recently removed some files from your portfolio.
If you change your mind please remember that you can just send us a ticket and we'll put all your files back online. However, this must be done within the next 30 days.
Also, we would like to remind you that you can choose to opt in or opt out your images from DPC in your photographers' parameters.
We hope to see you back soon and will be doing all to grow your income.

Kind Regards,

The Fotolia Team"

Chinese page? It's Canadian.

Sorry about that - it was not my intention to add to the drama or confusion - of course it is Canadian.
The reason I got Chinese was that I ended up on a Chinese page when I checked on a few other things around the same time.

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on May 30, 2014, 19:58
Happened to see that Fotolia was tweeting about a new blog post featuring Ruth Black's stunning work (and a recipe she shared).

http://blog.fotolia.com/en/2014/05/28/warning-delicious-images-ahead/

Seemed to me worth pointing out that you won't find Ruth's work on the Dollar Photo Club...

https://twitter.com/joannsnover/status/472451296822566912

Hoping the blog brings Ruth many Fotolia sales - she's such a talented photographer/baker.

Beautiful images. Good she is not on DPC at least.
RuthBlack is also featured on Photodune this week.

http://photodune.net/item/vintage-cupcakes/1900941?WT.ac=featured_author&WT.z_author=RuthBlack

Quote from: Beppe Grillo on May 22, 2014, 13:57

Quote from: HerMajesty on May 22, 2014, 11:43
I wonder what's the take on this situation in other companies. If people are able to boycott a site and take a significant amount of images down that should give them something to think about and how to avoid a similar fate.

Yes, but do the other sites know about DPC and the deactivation from the contributors?

I think they do - Agefotostock's CEO Alfonso Gutierrez was aware. He is also president of CEPIC for what that is worth. I am sure the business are in touch when something like this starts whirling around.

Here he is on LinkedIn if someone feels tempted to ask.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alfonso-gutierrez/6/609/222

+1

I thought I'd let you know what I decided - I am closing with Fotolia.
Looking forward to payday...


Dear Fotolia

I found the one and only image that I left in my account with you on this (Chinese) page
http://www.artgalore.ca/PhotosByArtist.php?ArtistID=202540410&ArtistName=artesiawells

Since I am engaged with other agencies with much of my portfolio I need to know where my copyrighted work is being published and for sale. This new find together with the insecurities of the past month, I consider it to be of the utmost urgency that I close my account with Fotolia.

I look forward to your confirmation and a payout of the equivalent of 3.3 credits as soon as possible.


Sincerely,
xxArtesiaWells


On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 10:35 AM, Fotolia.com <[email protected]> wrote:
   
Fotolia   View in your browser

      
   

"Hello,

We're sorry to see you have recently removed some files from your portfolio.
If you change your mind please remember that you can just send us a ticket and we'll put all your files back online. However, this must be done within the next 30 days.
Also, we would like to remind you that you can choose to opt in or opt out your images from DPC in your photographers' parameters.
We hope to see you back soon and will be doing all to grow your income.

Kind Regards,

The Fotolia Team"

Quote from: Ron on May 16, 2014, 21:30
Fotolia is a private company, he is CEO and he is going nowhere.

If these guys see a risk with their investment, he may...
http://blog.fotolia.com/en/2013/04/17/fotolia-appoints-two-new-board-members/

"Philipp Justus, former CEO of Zanox, and Simon Levene, venture capitalist and private angel investor, have joined the board of Fotolia

NEW YORK, NY, USA – April 4, 2013 – Fotolia, one of the leading microstock companies, has named two new members to the company's supervisory board. Oleg Tscheltzoff, Founder and CEO of Fotolia, said: "Both Philipp and Simon have extensive online marketplace insights as well as remarkable management expertise. We are delighted that they join our board to support the next stage of Fotolia's internationalization. Philipp and Simon, together with Martin Veilleux, whom we appointed as CFO last year, will further strengthen our world-class team."

Over the past 13 years, Philipp Justus has held several senior leadership positions at various leading online marketplace corporations: From 2010-2013, he served as CEO of the performance advertising network Zanox.de AG. Philipp drove significant international growth and helped to transform the company into the leading affiliate marketing network in Europe. Prior to Zanox, Philipp had spent ten years with eBay Inc. He was the General Manager of eBay Europe and Senior Vice President of PayPal's Global Markets.

Simon Levene is a London-based venture capitalist as well as a private angel investor. He focuses on Internet services and applications across multiple stages from seed to growth. Simon brings over 18 years of successful company building in Europe and the US, both as an operator and an investor. Operationally, he spent a decade in executive management roles at Yahoo! and Excite@Home (based in Silicon Valley). As an investor, he is currently working with several Internet marketplace businesses including Etsy, Shapeways, and Shipserv.

Fotolia's new board member Philipp Justus pointed out: "Having managed a variety of online marketplaces in the fields of e-commerce, payments, and online advertising, I look forward to sharing my experiences and accompanying Fotolia on its continuous growth track." Simon Levene added: "Fotolia is already the leading microstock company in Europe and is ranked among the top stock photography websites globally. I am honoured to join its board with its exceptional team and support the further development of Fotolia with my long-time investment know-how."

In 2012, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR) made a $150 million growth equity investment in Fotolia. Since this transaction, Philipp Freise, Partner and head of KKR's European Media Investment Team, chairs Fotolia's supervisory board which has a total of 6 members."

Quote from: Svetlana on May 16, 2014, 10:03
ArtesiaWells, only you can decide what is right for you.
Just wanted to say that there's no need to wait for a minimum payout amount - if you're closing your account before reaching the minimum amount, you get your earnings minus 1$ (Fotolia's commission in such cases).

Thanks!

I've had too many rejections as well lately with Canstock

My story with Fotolia

Uploaded 10 about a year ago. Felt appalled by a sense of greed and stopped.
In the beginning of April I thought what the heck and began to upload more, about 200 files.
End of April learned about the D-Day and I opted out of DPC (Don't Puff Cigars) and deleted all - but one.

This one I had a sale on the day after...

Thinking of closing up the account but I have some money there and I hate to leave it, even if it is a small amount.

Today I got this in the mail

"Hello,

We're sorry to see you have recently removed some files from your portfolio.
If you change your mind please remember that you can just send us a ticket and we'll put all your files back online. However, this must be done within the next 30 days.
Also, we would like to remind you that you can choose to opt in or opt out your images from DPC in your photographers' parameters.
We hope to see you back soon and will be doing all to grow your income.

Kind Regards,

The Fotolia Team"

I would like to do the right thing and the whole situation feels rotten.

What to do... Go for the trickle of pennies or stand up straight?
Put those images back and then not upload anymore?

Quote from: Fairplay on May 15, 2014, 19:52
https://twitter.com/microstockgroup

I was already a follower 

...so maybe Microstockgroup could open a Twitter account.
We could all follow it and retweet important messages.

Possible?

Quote from: MatHayward on May 13, 2014, 22:51

Fotolia is going the other direction

What direction was that again?

Nice

I'm trying it out too, with art and photography.

http://www.crated.com/christinarahm

Quote from: fotoVoyager on May 01, 2014, 10:01

Quote from: ArtesiaWells on May 01, 2014, 08:49
Just saw this in a forum:
alfonso gutierrez: I´m glad to see that photographers are making their voice to be listened and are acting upon. http://boycottfotolia.org/

Alfonso Gutierrez is a photographer and the founder of Agefotostock and President of Cepic

Why invent the wheel? Cepic seems to do interesting work.

The text below should perhaps be given its own thread, but for the purpose of context I'll leave it in:
Cut from http://www.cepic.org/join_us

"What is CEPIC?

(1) To consolidate copyright protection for photography and ensure that it not be weakened by the process of the harmonisation of copyright laws in European countries. Also to advise on copyright protection as new technology develops.

(2) To fight for comparable trade regulations in all European countries. The now existing different copyright laws in single countries and the lack of a "droit moral" for photography are serious trade barriers which cannot be accepted.

(3) To support the exchange of information between European picture sources and diverse associations with similar interests worldwide.

(4) To develop and fight for ethical standards which will guarantee the protection of rights for all photographers, copyright holders and agencies.

(5) To develop guidelines for a fair business competition between photographers, picture agencies and users."

Unfortunately CEPIC and similar organisations have shown little interest in the interest of artists like us, originally perceived much as a threat rather than the huge pool of talent waiting to be represented that we are.

Appreciate the information.
How sad though...

Someone suggested a newsletter for all photographers.
Mailchimp is free up to 2000 subscribers..

Just saw this in a forum:
alfonso gutierrez: I´m glad to see that photographers are making their voice to be listened and are acting upon. http://boycottfotolia.org/

Alfonso Gutierrez is a photographer and the founder of Agefotostock and President of Cepic

Why invent the wheel? Cepic seems to do interesting work.

The text below should perhaps be given its own thread, but for the purpose of context I'll leave it in:
Cut from http://www.cepic.org/join_us

"What is CEPIC?

CEPIC stands for the Coordination of European Picture Agencies Stock, Press and Heritage. It aims to be the centre of the picture industry.
As the Center of the Picture Industry, CEPIC federates nearly a thousand of picture agencies and photo libraries in 20 countries across Europe, both within and outside the European Union. It has affiliates in North America and Asia. CEPIC's membership includes large and smaller stock photo libraries, major photo news agencies, art galleries and museums, video companies. CEPIC has among its members the big global players such as Getty and Corbis. Through this membership, CEPIC represents more than 150.000 authors in direct licensing. The annual CEPIC Congress is the largest global gathering of the international photo community and extends CEPIC's network on all five continents. CEPIC has been a member of IPTC since 2005 and of ICOMP since 2009.

Our members are producers, collectors and distributors of content – moving and still images. They are well versed in dealing with rights issues such as the right to reproduce, moral rights of authors and the global distribution of assets for commercial and non commercial use. Our members have been digitising content for over 15 years, and making the resulting digital asset available for commercial use, such as to newspapers, magazines and broadcasters, off and on-line, as well as in non- commercial environments for the purposes of research and education.

Alongside the need for access comes the need to support the creative economy that produces and delivers this work, namely the artists and those that make their work available. CEPIC's imperative is to ensure that the creators are the beneficiary of direct payment. We believe that based on its professionalism and IT experience, our industry is in a position to propose solutions to the challenges of the Digital Age.

The aim of CEPIC is to be a united voice for the press, stock & heritage organisations of Europe in all matters pertaining to the photographic industry, including, but not limited to the following:

(1) To consolidate copyright protection for photography and ensure that it not be weakened by the process of the harmonisation of copyright laws in European countries. Also to advise on copyright protection as new technology develops.

(2) To fight for comparable trade regulations in all European countries. The now existing different copyright laws in single countries and the lack of a "droit moral" for photography are serious trade barriers which cannot be accepted.

(3) To support the exchange of information between European picture sources and diverse associations with similar interests worldwide.

(4) To develop and fight for ethical standards which will guarantee the protection of rights for all photographers, copyright holders and agencies.

(5) To develop guidelines for a fair business competition between photographers, picture agencies and users."

Hi

I have been in this less than a year so I am certainly not an expert. It has been a surprisingly fun, struggling and learning experience to build up a small portfolio and try to think 'microstock'.

Now, I thought I would share a few thoughts on my perspective of this world that may come out as a bit simplified, but still, I feel there is a 'the emperor has no clothes' scenario here that many of you, us, need to wake up from.

Don't ever forget this (1):

The world needs new, unique, outstanding, beautiful and interesting images, vectors, sketches, visuals like never ever before and this demand will double and triple over the next years. Creating an image is very hard work and takes plenty of talent and skill as you know, but maybe forgot to value. As image makers we need to visualize, know various techniques, have color skills, know everything from sketching, design, computer skills, word skills for key wording and so much more.

I feel very disturbed when agencies dump prices like what is happening with Fotolia and the cheap dollar club just now. In my world it is a violation of a silent agreement that should be underlying all business you do in a partnership. 

The damage was done simply by them trying because it revealed a very ugly attitude. Trust needs to be earned, and I don't think it helps to change conditions just because of our D-day reaction.

Is there an international stock photographers association? And a counterpart like a stock agency association? Why not get together with some of the honest and ethical smaller agencies and set up a midsize, mid stock or micro stock photographer's owned agency.

Some have perhaps tried and done that. I guess there are lots of 'doesn't work because...' I guess there are lots of small, midsize agencies struggling. Maybe someone can get an idea on some steps that could be taken for a win-win situation for everyone.

But what I think I am mostly after is a way to kind of group together and agree on a few basic standards that we want to see in a stock agency. This 'group' should also be prepared to take a stand, ignore and leave out agencies that don't want to adhere to those standards.

This group could invite leadership from the stock agencies and have yearly discussions that should be about the future of photography, image creating, markets etc. There could be negotiations about development yearly, agreements that two parts would be held accountable to keep. Vows to keep every year.

The market would accept whatever the status would be, if they want to buy images with a quality mark through acceptable agencies on the good list.

If they want to buy from the dollar clubs, then let them.

Don't ever forget this (2):
You can't be a doormat until you lay down!

Stand up and walk away from this.
Your work is too valuable.
Something great may come of this.

Quote from: bolsher on April 29, 2014, 18:49

We need a midstock! Not more cheaper and cheaper.

Sorry for bad english.

Sounds like good English to me;-)