I found about him through his book Sell & Resell Your Photos (http://www.amazon.com/Sell-Re-Sell-Your-Photos-Rohn/dp/1582971765/ref=pd_sim_b_1) which is still to this day an excellent stock bible. Sent some supportive words and he immediately reciprocated with some links on his site - he is a class act and although maybe not publishing much lately about the latest trends of the day such as microstock, is an expert in good stock.   

Everyone should sit down with some stock task lists once in a while and return to the basics.. I think the key point I got from that book was 'stock is interesting people, doing interesting things', which may a bit out of date since there are so many more niches for digital imagery these days, but still.. expert knowledge doesn't have to wrapped up in some web 2.0 trendy website - basics of stock will probably never change.

I actually have a book on selling photos but it's by Jim Zuckerman.  I'm not much for photographing people, but there's plenty of other stock pictures for me to take.   
What is a stock tast list?

No one knows anything about this company?  NOTHING???

You'll find me much less around here starting in April and until the end of October. That's my prime time for shooting.

Last year it took me until January to sort all that out. Finished uploading my most recent project for Microstock two weeks ago.

I'm on break unless I get inspired with some more marginal ideas.  

I plead guilty! 

I tend to do a lot of shooting in the nicer months since I'm usually out hiking.  Winter is good for stretching my wings and trying some studio work.   

was i the inspiration to this post ?  smart alec response
 yes , i am guilty of that.

lol.  I wouldn't say any one person was the inspiration for this post, but I do see quite a few names come up regularly in just about any/every post I read. 
I was just wondering if my suspicions were true.....and they are. 

Quote from: travismanley on March 16, 2009, 16:15

Im about two hours west of Seattle, but with the price of gas + ferry + parking I dont think I will be able to make it. Sounds like fun though. I would like to meet the other five stock photographers living in the Pacific Northwest 

LOL, I think there may be up to a dozen of us up here

Mat

I'm about two hours east of Seattle, but not sure what I'd do with an Apple gift certificate. 

I would use a LR2 CS4 combo if budget permits, then a LR2 PSE, them PSE by itself using Bridge to convert.

what?  You're saying I need all three?  What does one program do that the others don't?  If I spent $700 on a program, I would expect it to do everything, plus clean the frickin' house.

Paint Shop Pro X2 costs US$70. Excellent and seems to have almost everything that PS has.
http://www.microstockgroup.com/software-general/paint-shop-pro-x2/

Thanks.  I will look into that one.  Is that what you use?  If not, which program do you use for your image editing? 

For over 10 years, I have used Microstoft's image editing software.  Originally it was called PictureIt, but the last version that they've made is called Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006.  They will not be making any new versions so I know that I will eventually have to make the switch, most likely being to Adobe.
 
So, I'm trying to figure out what Adobe program I need.

I do not care about cataloging my pictures.  I already organize them the way I like and I don't need a program to change my system of doing this. 
I do not need a program to keyword my photos.  I already have a program for that.
I do not need a program that I can do "batches" with.  Each picture I edit gets individual attention.

What I DO want is a program that can:
Adjust contrast/brightness
Adjust color (temperature, saturation, etc)
Sharpen/blur
Dodge/burn
Paintbrush/airbrush
Rotate/crop/straighten/flip
Erase elements from the picture (my program lets me just outline something and it makes it disappear)
Clone tool to fix areas of my picture
Blending tool (like the clone tool, but has softer effects)
Make layers and blend them together using a transparency effect
Remove scratches, dust, or red eye
Convert to b&w
Apply various filter effects like diffuse glow, watercolor, canvas, etc.
Cut out parts, copy, skew, distort, etc.

Aside from doing stock, I also like to do some photomanipulation.  For instance, a favorite past time of mine is taking pictures of people at work and blending their faces onto animals.  I'm not a huge photo manipulator, but I like to be able to do it now and then.

SOOOOOO.....which program would best fit my needs?  I don't want to spend $700 on CS4, only to find out that Elements 7 would've worked just fine for me.

Quote from: paulacobleigh on March 03, 2009, 17:53

Not that I believe things just because "Yuri" said it, but on his website, he says the 24-105 isn't very sharp.  http://www.arcurs.com/gear-i-regret-buying-and-things-i-really-love (#8)  Do you find that to be true in your experience with the lens?

No. Here's the truth: Yuri is an absolute perfectionist. If you're like that you probably shouldn't own a zoom lens because prime lenses will almost always be sharper. That's said I own it and I love the 28-105L. It's a great all around lens that produces professional results as you would expect from an 'L' lens. If you're anal about absolute perfection then maybe the 28-70 f/2.8L and 70-200 f/2.8L combo would be better. I have owned all three, and though the 28-70 is somewhat sharper than the 28-105 wide open, it's not noticeable enough for me to care and the extra zoom on the 28-105 makes it my general use lens. I suppose if I was photographing a landscape shot of lions running across the plains in the early morning I'd want the extra f-stops, but I haven't encountered a situation where I regret switching to the 28-105. The only times I've needed/used a lens at f/2.8 has been with big glass photographing animals at dawn and dust.

I don't own the 100-400 L, but if I was buying new gear I'd probably go with the 28-105L and the 100-400L. It's a rare situation where I wish I had a lower f-stop, but for me it's relatively common to wish I had brought a lens with more reach (but big glass is so fing heavy to hike with).

Actually, Yuri says not to buy the 50mm either, and it's a prime    I didn't have the L glass version, but I had the f/1.4 and although it was a great lens and I'd buy it again, it was still a bit soft on my 400D.
I'm not a total perfectionist because I can't afford to be, but I would like to buy the better lenses since I plan on doing this for a very long time. 
I do photograph a lot of nature/landscape/animals, but I don't necessarily need the extra f-stops because I'm usually using a tripod.  And for stock purposes, I almost always get rejected if I use too shallow of a DOF.
I'm still considering all of my options, but perhaps the 17-40, 28-70, and the 70-200 would be a good combo.  I won't be able to get all of them right away, but I don't like buying things to just get by until I can get the real thing because it's money down the drain.
I'll have to keep researching until I bleed out my eyes before I make any purchases... 

Quote from: Zeus on March 02, 2009, 16:14

Wow, sorry to here about that. I think the 5DII will take you a long ways however I'd get the kit lens,, 24-105. It's very good and the extra speed and
quality are better than the extra length.

So sorry about your ordeal!  That is really scary.  More than the loss of your stuff is the sense of being violated.  We've been there. 

On the lens - DEFINITELY get the  24-105 kit lens.  It is really an amazing lens, and the kit deal is quite a bargain.  It is suitable for pretty much any stock-related shoot you want to do.   I paid full price ($1100+) for my 24-105 a year ago before it came as part of a kit and it was worth every dime. 

If you need more reach down the line you can always pay for a longer lens with the money the 24-105 earns you in microstock

Thanks.  Yeah, the whole robbery thing sucks.  And so does trying to deal with the insurance people and wondering when the #%*@ I'm going to get my $$.

I'm one of those people who will research and talk to people until I'm about ready to bleed out my ears and eyes before I make a major purchase.  I'm even weighing my options if I were to get a lesser body like the 40D or 5D.  If I bought the 40D, I'd have much more leftover for lenses.   But I want the 5D primarily for it's lack of noise at high ISO's and it's better dynamic range (for my landscape work).

Not that I believe things just because "Yuri" said it, but on his website, he says the 24-105 isn't very sharp.  http://www.arcurs.com/gear-i-regret-buying-and-things-i-really-love (#8)  Do you find that to be true in your experience with the lens?

Hi there!

I apologize if this has already been discussed - if so, please point me in the right direction.

I was wondering when/if you have to claim microstock earnings on your US federal taxes? I have heard that you have to make over $500 as well as $600 - not sure what to believe. Also, does that mean $500 or $600 for each site? or all together considering you are on multiple sites? With having to fill out a 1099 for SS, I was thinking maybe the rules have changed? I have not made $500 there yet but still had to do a 1099. I'd ask about state as well, but I'm sure it varies from state to state, so I won't bother.

Thanks everybody!
-J

TECHNICALLY, you have to report ANY and ALL income.  SS will send you a 1099-MISC form for your earnings (you most likely would have gotten it by now because they have to be sent out by the end of Jan).  IMO it's not worth the fines and penalties to try and avoid paying $75 in taxes (approximately) on $500.  Just report it, pay your taxes, and feel like a good person for being honest.  If you have any questions about how to file, refer to the irs website.  Just google irs and 1099 and it'll come right up.  It's a PDF file.

I think what I am going to do is get the 17-40mm f/4L again (loved that lens) and perhaps the 70-200 f/4L IS with either a 1.4x or 2x extender.  And later I'll get my 50mm f/1.4 I had.  I need the wide angle for my waterfalls and landscapes and I need the telephoto for nature/animals.  The 50mm is a good portrait lens.  I can do all my stock with those lenses.  I had the Sigma 70-300mm macro, and I got pictures accepted, but they weren't as sharp as I wanted.
Paula

Paul,
I have the 28-300mm f/3.5-4.6L IS USM. I use it on a tripod, and have had loads of pictures taken at the 300 end accepted for stock.
Previously I had the Sigma equivalent, and it was useless for stock.
Try to buy the 5d with the kit lens. It is a great walk round lens.

I think I fall into the obsessed-with-photography group so staying motivated doesn't seem to be a problem (at least for shooting).  I have more ideas of what to shoot than I have time to carry out those ideas.  The hard part is staying motivated to key word.  I hate doing that.  But my sales are going up as I get more images in my portfolio so that is what keeps me motivated to keep uploading.