http://istockphoto.com/sell-stock-photos-exclusivity.php

Quote from FAQs:

Exclusivity only covers your royalty-free stock files. iStock does not require Exclusivity for:

    * Rights-managed files with other organizations
    * Personal portfolio sites
    * Work for hire/editorial work contracts
    * Prints for sale
    * Prints, t-shirts and the like produced on art-only sites such as cafepress.com

The mere fact of so many successful (some massively so) macro artists launching and preparing to launch collections inside micro seems to make his comments a bit off target. Lucky Oliver's success or demise can hardly be seen as an industry trend, as it wasn't typical of the industry, didn't invest in any form of marketing and probably paid too higher commissions of too little revenue.

With macro artists entering the microstock arena, I would expect rather than to see the end of micro or macro, there will just be increasing redefinition of the markets. Along with the increase in quality images, there will naturally be a niche for a slightly more select bunch of images. This is where Fotolia's infinite collection  and similar initiatives by other agencies will prove very interesting.

Hmmm... yes interesting indeed..

I meant that is it worth the investment in time, uploading to a site that you couldn't imagine will do well, anyway? I will upload to some sites because I respect their approach and their business plan, or their potential. If one of those potential sites pulls thru, then its worth being on board when it does. Its not worth it for current earning but for future earnings.

I will continue to upload to Crestock, SnapVillage and Yaymicro (when its released) because they are sites that i have and will buy images from, and can see legitimate reasons why other people would too.

I've only recently started uploading my own work for the first time. I started it just out of interest and its become a little addictive so i'm taking it further..

At the moment, I'm trying a mix of different sites with different pricing models.

IStock
Shutterstock - I will when I have a larger portfolio ready and keyworded, start with a bang there.
Dreamstime  - Have just started uploading and to the editorial, too.
Fotolia - Limited views, and perhaps harsh rejections.

The rest of the big 6 will come in time.

Crestock - Great site, nice UI. Small investment in time and hopefully sometime in the near future this site will pay dividends
SnapVillage - Simple site, just waiting for it to come alive. Its backed by Corbis, which shouldn't be sneezed at. Not paying notice to current activity.
YayMicro - Another site with potential, started by 3 guys from ScanPix with a realistic outlook and a simple approach.

Alamy, Photoshelter Panthermedia, and Mediamagnet.

Having been a microstock buyer, keyworder, photo editor and uploader I'm lucky to have a bit of insight here. And, i would never upload to a site I wouldn't want to buy from. Like Canstock or mostphotos for instance.

In the last few years Kenya has become a politically unstable and violent place, so be very, very careful and keep your wits about you.

I was saddened to see that Guiseppe di Stefano, a famous tenor in the 60's and 70's and who had probably the best relationship with Maria Callas on stage and on record was recently mugged at his home in Kenya, and being now in his 80's he died from the injuries.

I've never been there and don't intend to, but I suggest you stick very close to your guides and have plenty of dollar bills in your pocket for gratuities and bribes.

Indeed, though travel restrictions have now been lifted on a country that was considered in recent times to be one of the most stable in africa.

Without sounding too condecending, you ain't going to notice a lot of  difference in quality between a 24mm and a 24-70mm using a 40D, both lenses are top quality and can give great results.

If it was me out of those two I'd go for the 24-70, but then to be totally honest I wouldn't choose either, in the situation you describe I'd go for the 24-105mm, that way you can shoot landscapes and have a bit extra reach for some wildlife.

Either way it sounds like a nice trip, have fun.

Thanks, you're probably right. I use a 1ds Mark 2 as well, which i've been using someone else's 28-70 on, but i'm still not completely satisfied with the quality (maybe i need to give myself a break and focus on the content of the image ).. I think quality is more dependent on the glass than the body. I'm hesitant to take the 1ds to africa (kenya), tho without any assistants or any such things.

I have a canon L 70-200 with a 2x extender so i'm hoping thats enough to capture some of those furry critters.

This is probably an endless discussion. I started off wondering about the difference between the prime and the zoom at around 24mm of zoom, but there are just so many lenses and any L glass seems to be pretty top notch.

Anbody been or living in Africa with some essential tips?

Hi again,

Would like to know if anyone could offer some input on whether to go for a Canon prime wide angle lens (24mm f/1.4) or the similarly priced Canon L 24-70mm f/2.8??

I'm looking to get one before I head off on a trekking and safari trip in Africa within a couple of months. So, I'd like something that could capture some very sharp landscapes. I'm worried about the sharpness difference between the prime and the zoom, after having been using a Canon L 28-70mm lately and not being all that impressed.

Has anyone used the 24mm f/1.4? With which body?

I'm mostly worried about the sharpness of the 24-70mm at the the wider zoom, where it will get much more use.

I have a sigma 10-20mm, which is good fun with the extra width, but its not all that sharp at all.

Cheers.

Thanks mate,

I found the same with aperture, whether using it on a Macbook 2.0 or a Mac pro workstation with 2 & 4gb ram, respectively. I think i'll go back to Lightroom, at least then I can have more than one program running at a time. Aperture also seems to take a ridiculous amount of time to both import and export files...

Any thoughts on Capture One Pro?

Cheers

Thanks guys, thats some quality advice. I've been watching tutorials by Dan Margulis on LAB colour correction in CS3 via Kelbytraining.com which i highly recommend btw.