I've had several images up for review for about 5 days.  Slower than normal, since they are training new people.  However, I have also noticed that my images have been selling quite nicely in the last month or so.  A big change.  They are now my # 4 site, behind IS, SS, and DT.  Keep up the good work StockXpert!

The link listed above only works if you have a session cookie.  If you want a password, please contact me.  Thanks!

DD

Penny,

We are just now beginning the marketing process.  We have several thousand images, many provided by individuals from here, and are growing quickly.  Sales will follow soon, because we have a difference.  Check by the site and see what I mean.  (Notice the majority of the wildlife/plant images:  www.NaturalLifeStock.com)

I just posted a call for images here:
http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?topic=1545.0

I've been enjoying your images, Penny.  You have a great eye.  Keep uploading!

Warm Regards,
Digital Darrell
www.NaturalLifeStock.com

I like the concept here, where are you going to market?

I am starting with editors that I know at nature related magazines.   I am a published author and photographer myself, both in print and on the web. Plus, one of our photographers is nationally recognized and has been published in hundreds of journals, books, and magazines.  I will leverage his inside knowledge of his clients.

I am also going to personally contact every major book publisher, magazine, and such that consumes a regular quantity of natural history images.  There are literally thousands. 

I also plan on approaching small to medium sized designer firms who buy people and nature images.  As revenue increases, I will be putting ads in trade magazines specifically targeting graphic designers. 

Basically, I will be marketing this site to anyone I can find that buys natural images.  I will be doing this  full-time once the site has enough images to fully benefit all the photographers involved.  As revenue allows it, I'll add staff to help with the process.

I'll also be writing articles on nature stock and how to buy great images.  This attracts google searches of regular individuals looking for one or two pictures to illustrate a report.  I also am creating internal "gateway" web pages for seeding the search engines on all major web search portals.  These are webpages that are invisible to normal traffic UNLESS they do a web search.  They are pages that are like a site index whereby each link is a search on the site.  Here is an  example of one of them on birds, small mammals, and plants:  (under construction for April 1 rollout.)

http://www.naturallifestock.com/siteindex.html

These internal pages are not linked from within the main site, but instead are gateway pages that I directly seed on all the major search engines.  Their robots love these pages, since they link directly into the search engine, and expose the text and binomial names of the wildlife within.  So, an average John Smith types in "Zonotrichia leucophrys" and finds the link into our website's internal search engine for "White-crowned Sparrows."  Or they can get the same from a search of White-crowned Sparrows, instead.  In any case, I am using the world's websearch capability to expose our site to whatever buyer happens to come along looking.

So, in conclusion, I am targeting specific buyers of natural images, along with allowing websearches to generate traffic.  It will take some time to get this place off the ground, but I am sure our 100 or so photographers will have better exposure for their nature images without being buried under the One Million images of the major general microsites.

NaturalLifeStock.com will be a boutique, with a following.  That is my goal. Having buyers come back to get more of YOUR images, because they like YOUR style of shooting.  No longer a nameless, faceless business.  More personal service!

Ask any of NaturalLifeStock's current photographers about the personal service that the agency gives them.  You'll see that we truly appreciate that YOU take the time to submit your best images.  This will not change.  You are the reason we can accomplish the task at hand.  Without your images we are nothing.  That's what I mean when I say , "your images actually mean something to us."   

I honestly hope you'll join us!

Warm Regards,
Digital Darrell

Ok thanx Darrel, I updated that image..

I really like your penguin image.  It is very creative, and gets the point across:

http://www.naturallifestock.com/details.php?gid=29&sgid=&pid=1322

I hope you'll create more like that!

Hmmm.  I think I'll stay away from this one too.  Everyone has their own levels of tolerance but there are some pretty over the top terms on legalities. 

Looking at the photographer agreement, section 9 is very one sided, section 13 attempts to restrict any disputes to arbitration rather than a legal court of law, and section 14 indicates the photographer indemnifies the agency by providing for all legal costs incurred.

Tell me again what responsibility the agency is assuming in acting as "agent" for the photographer?  I don't get it.

We'll still like you , even if you don't join us!

Due to extensive discussion here about "What is a Nature Image?," We have changed the name of our stock agency to NaturalLifeStock.com.   This allows a strong nature concept, with the ability to add man-made items and human images to the site.  The site's theme is "Life Lived Actively in a Natural World."  Do you have images like that?

Also, with the kind advice of YinYang0, we have our new "attorney approved" legal documents online.  Our primary marketing begins on April 1st.  We have several thousand premium nature images online already, with most of them having the binomial nomenclature (latin names) needed to attract professional nature buyers.

We are still seeking excellent nature images, with good keywords, and latin names.  I have been assisting several photographers in becoming used to acquiring and using the latin names we need.  This site is turning into a world-class nature site.  All we are missing is YOUR images!

If you have GREAT nature images and the other stock sites give you messages like "too many of these on our files already," come and see us.  We probably want them.  We are not looking for photographers to dump their nature stuff that they can put nowhere else.  We want photographers who are willing to show they care about natural history images by including latin names and some species info on their excellent images.  We want our site to be waaaaay above the rest in the nature field.  Our market will, of course, include general stock buyers, but will be specifically targeted for book publishers, magazines, and other buyers of natural images.

We have full IPTC data pickup, so your current keywords will come in automatically.  We offer FTP and HTTP uploading, with fast image turnaround.  Your commission rate is 50%.

Right now we have a shortage of good "people enjoying nature" images.  Do you have some of those?  Well, we need them, and will value them.  At our site, your images will actually make a difference, instead of being buried under 50,000 other photographers.  The future is uncertain in this world, but I think we have a great opportunity to fill a gap in the stock industry.  Do you want to join us?  I hope so!

Here is the Photographer's Signup Page:

http://www.naturallifestock.com/photographer_signup.php

I hope you'll add your images in these last few days before the nationwide marketing begins.  The call is out ... Will you join us!

Warm Regards,
Digital Darrell
www.NaturalLifeStock.com

Quote from: DigitalDarrell on February 27, 2007, 17:15

Is this a "nature" image, in your opinion?

I would have to say that it is not a nature shot, since the subject is the log cabin.  To me, the picture is of a log cabin surrounded by nature.

Nice shot by the way!

So, you would say the cabin is a "natural" shot, but not a "nature" shot?

I have to agree with Adelaide.

To me, the answer is fairly clear, if not simple:  A nature image is an image in which the emphasis is the natural world.  Note that this does not exclude people, or even the odd artificial object like a building or car.  But, the point of the picture, its central focus, is nature--flora, fauna, and landscapes that do not prominently feature anything artificial.  Under my definition, then, I would judge the following as "natural" images:

1. Beautiful places of the earth.
2. Beautiful animals enjoying life.
5. Things people have made in natural settings, such as a sailboat on a lake.  (If the emphasis is on the setting rather than the "things")
6. A bride and groom kissing next to lovely lake. (depending on how much a part of the photo the setting would comprise)
7. Children playing in the surf on the beach. (depending on how much a part of the photo the setting would comprise)
8. A lion eating a gazelle.  (Gross but natural)
9. A family having a picnic under a beautiful oak tree. (depending on how much a part of the photo the setting would comprise)
...
Obviously, no matter what criteria are used to determine if an image qualifies, there will be gray areas.  But, I think that if the emphasis in the photo--the interesting visual elements, the parts that give the photo its character--isn't in some way about flora, fauna, or unspoiled land, then it should not qualify.

I must say I agree with you Professor!   "A nature image is an image in which the emphasis is the natural world."  That sums my feelings up pretty well. 

Emphasis is the keyword here.  Emphasizing nature in all its forms.  Hopefully leaving few things out over time.  I relish leaving behind model/property releases and creating beautiful artistic pure nature images.  But, I also like shooting pics of cute kids doing things like swimming in a mountain river, and friends looking up at a huge redwood tree.  If people using nature are not valid natural images, why do they sell so well?

Honestly, even though the site name is PURENatureStock, it would be very difficult to limit the site to nothing but non-human nature images.  I think that humans enjoying nature are a very valid subject.  Backpackers in the mountains, people rappelling down the side of a cliff, a fisherman flyfishing in Alaska, a photographer taking images for his stock agency dreams.

Realistically, absolutely pure nature images are rather static and many designers don't want them.    Most designers are interested in people doing things.  Interacting with animals in nature, enjoying nature, or using nature in some way.  That type of image sells as well as the isolated people with paint specks and smiling business people ready to shake hands.

I can picture that a lot of buyers might be plain sick of using images of supermodels on white backgrounds, and might welcome a few good looking real people enjoying themselves in a natural setting.  Most of my sales on SS and IS are that type of sale.  I sell  fewer absolutely pure nature images, but I guess that is due to the heavy competition for those images.

Let me just say that I am not a purist in the sense that I want to be fanatical about nature being absolutely natural.  We are natural too, and a big part of nature.  I am happiest when I am out taking pictures in the Smoky Mountains.  I feel natural at that time, even though I am laden down with camera bodies and lenses.

What I think are Nature images:

1. Beautiful places of the earth.
2. Beautiful animals enjoying life.
3. Man-made structures in beautiful settings.
4. People being humans in various ways, including some technology in natural settings. 
5. Things people have made in natural settings, such as a sailboat on a lake.
6. A bride and groom kissing next to lovely lake.
7. Children playing in the surf on the beach.
8. A lion eating a gazelle.  (Gross but natural)
9. A family having a picnic under a beautiful oak tree.

Things which I think are not quite nature images:

1. People up close, posed, doing things artificial like typing on computers in a field of flowers.  (How often do people really do that?)
2. Closeups of man made objects like that same sailboat on the lake, with no natural setting.
3. Children playing sports in a school field.
4. A bear in a cage or zoo with exposed captured habitat.
5. A family having a picnic on a picnic table at a roadside pulloff.

All I am trying to say is that a balance must be reached.  I think being a human in nature and doing the things that humans do is as natural as a Lion eating a Gazelle.

We don't need absolute micromanagement of what is a nature image, do we?  Do you think you can decide what is a nature image, based in part on your experience as a stock photographer?

What type of nature images sell best for you?

DD

Creative Microstock Photographers,

Since my new nature stock agency is in its infancy, I am asking for your input as to the creative aspect of "nature" images.  My desire is to have a nature stock agency unlike SS, IS, DT and the others.  It is still going to be an RF agency, with similar pricing, but better commissions (50%), but, it will be a boutique with limited photographers (50 to 100, haven't decided yet).  The official name, according to my attorney is PureNatureStock, LLC.

Now, what exactly is a Nature Image, in YOUR opinion?   

Could we be successful with a site that refuses to allow a beautiful barn in an open field of yellow flowers?  What if a person was using a cellphone next to a huge waterfall?  How about a pair of binoculars to look at a bear?  (What's the difference?)  Are people in nature acceptable? (are people natural?)  How about log cabins in the Great Smoky Mountains?

Clearly wildlife of all sorts will be acceptable, but what if a bear is stealing food from a picnic table at a state park.  Is that a nature image?  Do you see my quandry?

I don't want to make this site so restricting that it is boring to buyers.  How many pretty landscapes and flowers do we need?  At the same time, I don't want to lose the legitimate business of those looking for a guy using his laptop in the park, OR turn buyers away who are looking for pure nature.

I really need your help in deciding these issues.  I will be drawing on you as photographers, and you know what you think a Nature image is. I want to know YOUR thoughts.  My agency title says a lot.  (www.PureNatureStock.com)  Now, please help me figure out what is really nature!

Warm Regards,
Digital Darrell
www.PureNatureStock.com

YingYang0,

After sleeping on it I am making changes today.  I have called my attorney and am arranging for the contracts to be reviewed and supplemented by him.  I appreciate your input on this.

To Others,

If any of you do decide to join, it is with the understanding that the site is not ready for marketing images yet.  I am creating an LLC (corporation), which will take a little time.  And, these contracts must be finalized.  I still am only going to have about 50 photographers, and I am up to 29 right now.

I am also removing any image not related to nature directly.  I am convinced that a "Pure" Nature Stock agency is different enough to draw buyers, and will proceed in that direction.  No pictures of a woman sitting at a park bench enjoying her notebok computer.  A picture of the same woman climbing up a cliff face is fine...IF...you have a model release.  If we display people they must be enjoying nature in some way. 

This whole genre is still under development in my mind, and I would appreciate your thoughts on what is really a nature image.  Comments?