That is very cool. Looks like little bubbles. How did you keep your equipment from getting wet?

Actually I did wonder if they'd been using a bubble machine at the top of the crane that I didn't notice at the time, as I was keeping my eye and focus on the people and worrying big time about the rain on my camera.
First of all, I found a bus shelter and stayed inside it (an open fronted one). Then, as I thought I'd better get a different angle, I ran to a building with an overhang (that I shot this pic from), but the rain was coming underneath the angle so I shot a few off then ran back to the bus shelter. I could see that there were other possible angles to explore had it been a dry day, but they were all open to the elements.

Thank you for all comments.

Would istock accept this, It only is a paper bag ? Since when you zoom in 100%, looks like noisy because it's paper..

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23976648/IMG_5720drop.jpg

I guess this one would have no trouble as previous.

I'm pretty sure that iStock would accept your original bag [1]. I can't see why they wouldn't accept the paper bag either: I've got a brand label carrier bag in. What's been discussed above is not about iStock but LV's apparent litigiousness.
[1] That said, I've had a very arbitrary rejection (about needing consent to submit photographs from private space when I was in a totally public place) and several which they've rejected for editorial and asked me to resubmit to the main collection (when they shouldn't be accepted for the main collection). My first Scout ticket for the latter has now been 'in but unanswered' for over nine weeks.

My son is in grade 4 and doing a project on Western Manitoba.  His assignment this weekend was to scour the Internet for photos.  

And the kids whose parents can't afford a computer and don't live near enough a public library with free internet access were to ... ?
(For kids who do have computer access, Good Practice would be to get them to look up lists of species found in Manitoba and try to get them on ARKive (399 Canadian species), and/or teach them to search filter for CC images on Flickr.)

BTW, in the UK, all pupils and teachers have access to GLOW, which inter alia has over a million images which have been cleared for use in schools. I have no idea how they did the clearing, but there's a lot of blurb about copyright in the site. And no use looking: I was kicked off GLOW three days after I left teaching, although I'm still fully paid up and registered. The photos are adequate to very good - certainly fine for school projects.

I am at 27702, so far from Sean or Lisa it is like I am not even on the same site.  I am a long long way from the top; heck, I can't even see the middle.

Hey, you gave them several years of a start.  

Actually, in life outside of stock photo land, I'm seeing a lot of buyers that DO care about how businesses conduct themselves, treat their workers, manufacture their products. Whether they are actually doing something about it is debatable. But eventually there will be a tipping point. I think it shortchanges buyers to think they are so unaware or so callous that they don't care about what's happening with corporations and how they are treating people. Because that kind of business ethic always trickles up, down, and sideways. What's done to suppliers is eventually done to buyers and vice versa.

To be fair, though, while it is certainly true in the UK that Fair Trade goods are growing in consumer awareness and some shops are getting the message at last, that also involves a willingness for the customer to pay more (realistic prices).
To bring the Fair Trade argument into the micro table, the prices would have to rise much higher than they are just now. At the moment, only a few contributors are making reasonable living wages out of micro - even some of the full timers are supported by spouse's income etc.
You yourself were a regular complainer when prices rose on iStock, even from the derisory levels they were back when I started. Are buyers willing to meet the real costs of shooting images, when you take everything into consideration? Again, while some contributors pay models, many brag that they don't, so again, the buyers are getting their cheap images on an unrealistic, unsustainable and arguably unfair/exploitative model ("my sister/girlfriend/mother doesn't mind modelling for free and doesn't care what their pics might be used for").
(I know this has nothing to do with percentages over which I'm as p*ssed off as anyone else, as my canister turned to iron pyrites this weekend, and I'll be lucky to retain even a silver %age next year if dls continue to dwindle as they are. But if you're going to bring a Fair Trade argument in, you have to see things from all the angles.)

^^^That's partially true but I still think buyers like to see new images. 

You'd think, but if so, why would the buyers be complaining about the V/A issue when they could just sort by age?

Quote from: rubyroo on April 21, 2011, 07:41

I could imagine it being used in a few scenarios.... articles pertaining to: [...] a lawsuit involving their products [...]

like the one against the photographer  

As mentioned above, why would LV be any different from e.g. CocaCola and Apple iPhone, iPad etc?
(Though Disney was said originally by JJRD to be OK, then it wasn't.)
How are we meant to know what's OK and what isn't?

I think that writing to H&F is a very good idea. The more of a PITA we can make ourselves the more likely something is to be done.

I would have chosen a different issue and drafted the letter differently, but I would definitely encourage everyone to write in about whatever issues they have with IStock.

It will at least put across to the bosses that there is a high level of perceived mismanagement at the site.

And if Management are simply dancing to H&F's tune, where will that get us?

About 2 years ago I had an image of mine of the Magma Hotel in Superior Az stolen by a rock group in Eastern Europe somewhere named "Magma Hotel". <snip>
, I thought I had forgotten about this.

You never forget where you bury the hatchet.

20 sales in the early mornings up to 12, mid-day and just one sale from there on to now. This is what makes me think independants are cut-off, certain times of the day, criminal, but there you go.

I often get sales in the UK morning then nada for the rest of the day. It isn't only independents.
If you wanted to be sure, you'd just have to keep checking that some of your easy to find (by best match or downloads, for example) files are still findable. I guess they'd have to cut off your entire portfolio, which would be easily discoverable.

Quote from: lagereek on April 19, 2011, 22:37

They were OK actually,  not tremendous but OK.

I wouldn't say tremendous either. but at least for me they were better than average, which was a surprise after yesterday being so up and down.

I had 2 XSm sales yesterday. :-(
I always seem to have to 'pay' for a good day - last week I paid for my relatively good Wednesday by three poor days on the trot.

Slow sales, but an overnight EL, counting as yesterday, helped the $$$.