For the second year, I will have an opportunity to photograph an upcoming triathlon. If anyone is in the Western New York area (or will be in August), I will be looking for a second photographer to help cover the race. My 2nd from last year did a fantastic job, but has since moved to New Jersey, so he will not be available.

I really don't make much from these smaller events, so I can only offer $60 for the day. You will, however, maintain copyright to all of your photos. This could be a great stock opportunity as well as a chance to build a sports portfolio.

I only require that you have a DSLR with 6+ MP, and a moderate telephoto lens, 70-200 is ideal. If you have a Canon DSLR, I can provde lenses.

The triathlon will be August 9th, 6:00am - end (about noon). Rain or shine. I'll buy lunch after the race, and if you're interested (and up to it) I'd be happy to shoot over to Niagara Falls (10 min. away) or Buffalo/Niagara River after to shoot just for stock. I might even be able to arrange a model or two (no promises though).

If you're interested, or have any questions, you can post here or email me at: [email protected]

Photos from last year:
http://piccillophoto.smugmug.com/Sports/353040

Thanks,
-Nick

I hope somebody can help me out with this decision.

I was a huge cheerleader for Shutterstock footage when it started up. I uploaded video there only, mainly, because of their higher prices and royalties. I began to develop a small, but specialized gallery of timelapse clips and editorial sports footage. Sales started coming in. Just a few at first, then, regularly. Soon, SS Footage was bringing in a steady $100 - $150 per month! Not a lot for some, but for me it was huge.

Then it happened:

"Dear Submitters,
We wanted to give you advanced notice that on Dec 26th, 2007 we will be lowering our footage prices. ..."

Merry Christmas!
$60 in Jan.
$0 so far in Feb.

The change inspired me to begin submitting to Pond5 and iStock.
P5 brings in the occasional sale, their 50% commission helps make those few sales more meaningful. $90 in Jan.
iStock took a while to begin approving clips. After waiting over a month in queue, they have approved all of my TL clips.
And they are selling! I think I'm averaging $15 to $20 per weekday!

Now comes the hard part. Do I go exclusive at iStock (for video only)?

Pros:
-Uploading 500MB clips is a real pain. It would be nice to deal with just one site.
-Once I reach Silver (closing in on bronze now) commissions will exceed those at SS.
-Improved "Best Match" placement and other marketing may improve sales making silver come sooner.
-I actually get sales at iStock!

Cons:
-Loss of P5 sales
-SS may improve???
-iStock does not accpet editorial footage. From my reading of their exclusivity agreement, I believe I would need to find a RM site to market those clips. This may not be worth the effort. They don't sell too often , though. At SS before the price change, if they sold one a month it would be significant ... not anymore.
-StockXpert foottage will be starting soon. (another unknown)

Over the next few months, I plan to produce a record (for me) number of TL clips. I'd like to make this decision soon. If i do go exclusive, I may be able to disable or "opt-out" my clips at SS, I will have to delete all clips at P5, and I can terminate exclusivity at iStock with 30 days notice if things aren't working out.

Can anybody help me get a handle on this? Any suggetions?

Here are links to my portfolios at: iStock Shutterstock and Pond5

Thanks to anyone who can offer some advice.
-Nick