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101
« on: July 08, 2009, 09:43 »
102
« on: July 08, 2009, 08:14 »
I'm now so cynical that I don't even read announcements like this in detail. I let more knowledgeable people pick them apart, and the bottom line is always another cut in prices, and commissions, packaged in spin about expanding the market.
Well, I don't think you should sit and watch, as following closely with this forum you seem to me to possess strong skills to articulate your opinion, as much as some of the best commentors here . I may be naive to think that the CEOs of sites don't pass here to read what you are saying, but looking at the changes made by Getty , I feel part of it was due to the strong reaction and combined efforts of the exclusives, and non exclusives in a small part. Open forum is a good instrument to move markets. Ignorance is bliss to monopolies , much like politics where the politicians love to see the growing population stay ignorance to their exploitation. With your input and other knowledgeable people, CEOs of sites will know that there are not only excellent photographers in the grapevine, but also equally conscious negotiators to bring about a better deal for all involved. Nobody wants to be in a win-lose situation, this will only be temporary. As someone once said to me, "to succeed in business , it has very little to do with trusting your clientele, associates,etc... or vice versa, it has more to finding a mutual interest. once there is mutual interest, the bond is impossible to break".
103
« on: July 08, 2009, 07:55 »
I mostly would agree with you Sean, but ethnic models don't seem to be as widespread . If any, they seem to move in trends, ie. afro american , then the next came chinese, and then the mixed race. Still, they seem to be mostly used by banks, or real estates in communities where these ethnics have financial clouts. eg. at one time when China took back Hong Kong, there was an exodus of chinese immigrating to Canada, the flyers were all images of chinese families happily posed in front of super large houses. It sort of died down for over a decade more or less.
Still, if you look at MSN,etc.. you can't help feeling that the cheesecake WASP is still prevalently the flavor of the day, as always.
104
« on: July 08, 2009, 07:49 »
I definitely shoot a lot more during the summer, but not necessarily for micro. My own freelancing work (fashion shows, editorial, creative photography,etc). We have lots of activity here in Halifax during the summer months , jam packed with lots of festivals. I never shot anything for micro the first 2 years here since moving from action packed yearround Montreal. This year, I am looking for photo ops in editorial stuff , as I completely missed the chance not knowing that Alamy does well in editorials. As for micro, most of my work there is isolated food , which I mostly do during the winter months when my freelance work stops , I get shut indoors (hate the winter), or travel abroad to escape the winter. The latter also will mean more new travel shots for micro, although I don't think I am too keen to sell any more of my travel work with sites pushing subs.
105
« on: July 08, 2009, 07:42 »
I've posted the chart so many times, but I can't find it now. Just figure that a P&S camera is 1/6th the size of a crop sensor, and a full frame is 60% larger than an APS. When some of the new cameras came out, say going from a 10MP to a 12MP resolution, it was pointed out that this was a 17% increase in resolution. Not a whole lot of difference to be paying for. In the case of a full frame, you could have the original 5D at 12.7MP vs the new 50D at 14.1 and the 5D still produce images with less pixel density and should be a sharper image. (although the 50D has a newer sensor design, so the comparison is scientifically flawed) The 50D is roughly the same as a full frame with an 8.6MP sensor.
your reasoning is correct until the very end, I suppose it's a typo and you wanted to say that 5D mark II is the same as a crop camera with 8.2mpix sensor. full frame camera spreads pixels over the larger area. crop factor is a linear measure of increase. Canon crop sensor is a 22.3 x 14.9 mm. Full frame camera is 24x36mm. You see, each size of full frame sensor is 1.6 times larger than with crop sensor making it's area 2.56 times greater. 5d mark II has 21mpix, so it's pixels are as big as in 21/2.56 = 8.2mpix crop camera, so apart from vignetting, fuzzy corners and such things that plague the outer areas of lens coverage, highest resolution dslrs today are no more demanding when it comes to optics than a Canon 20D, because they have the same effective resolution (meaning same number of pixels on the same surface area equals same pixel size) ! "It only want's highest class glass" is actually a myth, what's good for a 20D is good for 5DMkII apart from phenomenon I've mentioned (vignetting etc etc).
Cheers too, Aetherial.
106
« on: July 08, 2009, 07:38 »
Good as always. I'm pleased with the results.
Actually I got more credit sales directly through StockXpert so I'm confident that once the non-StockXpert-sub-deals are phased out my earning won't go dry.
I've heard they got something in the pipe. I wouldn't bet my life savings on it but I'm still optimistic that they will be around for a while.
I hope u r right. There was a bit of light at the end of the tunnel in the sense that after I decided to try uploading 4 or 5 new images, they got approved the same day. That was a welcome change for me at least after having my submissions sat weeks without review . Sales wise, I had good months a couple of months ago for 3 full months, then it dried up. Not sure if it had anything to do with the reshuffle between IS/StockXpert subs, but I like to think there is something in the pipe too.
107
« on: July 07, 2009, 20:03 »
hokey, I was the one who posted the old thread on how cool and awesome StockXpert was, when I first got my feet wet in microstock. They were the best site for me, and I made no secret about it. Great reviewers, fast approval time, constructive helpful hints on rejected and resubmit. Then like some bad dream it became like a ghost town, and nobody knew what the heck was going on there. According to many, no response from even the moderators or people in the know.
I know this sounds like a frigging scratch vinyl, or some bad rap musicbox, but after what seemed to be a revival of hope with my best months in feb, march, and a bit of april, StockXpert sort of forgot about me all over again.
Does anyone have anything good to say about where we are heading with this site?
Are you still uploading to them? Did you get any response from Support?
Other than Getty's invitation to move our stuff to IS.
Let me know, anything goes... no holds barred...
get dirty, I don't care, just give me the goods...
thanks.
108
« on: July 07, 2009, 17:47 »
YAYMicro gets my vote. Still no sales there. I only upload because it's easy.
Pissing on the floor is easy too .... but I don't do it anymore! 
I just had to do it, cuz you made it so easy!
-Larry
ha!ha! that's sooo funny Larry ole friend, u made my day! As 4 pissin on the floor, I've never done it ever. I don't have the luxury of a maid to wipe up after I swish. What more, it's still many years before I am incontinent ha!ha!
109
« on: July 07, 2009, 17:00 »
Not sure I understand but Tanjomast is (as far as my experience tells me) a nice photographer dude from Halifax - I did not think he was affiliated with any agency other than as a submitter. As to multiple accounts, only the overlord Leaf shall know.. and I suspect he is not paid enough in this context to really be expected to sort that out on a daily basis. As long as everyone behaves why not.. let off some steam with your alter-ego.
It is so literal in forums that trying to post new ideas in an objective way is quickly tainted by a few clicks or a language/personality barrier, if people want to stir things up, it should be allowed IMO as long as it doesn't go into the stupid-zone. Agencies smearing other agencies would be unexpected and uncalled for. We all know how hard thing's can be on both sides of the industry fence, I would pray no one has the time to engage in negativity games because it would mean they have already lost their way.
In any case, I am sorry to be still bumpin' around your thread, I will give you a ring this week to discuss my original question and the other co-op in person.
Cheers Keith for the vote of confidence. I am surprised that I was being singled out by david, and I being a nice dude is not really so nice when it comes to insinuation of any sort. Yes, if I am affliated with some of the agencies in conflict with Pixamba, then david knows much more than I do, as I haven't been that blessed to be offered a CEO spot with any of you, not even Zymmetrical, lol. What concerns me more is the defensiveness of the OP. As other posters already mentioned, there are questions and there are questions we like to post, and like you Keith, or John from Cutcaster, we are used to getting answers to questions. If david chooses to ignore these questions , and put me in the middle of all this, I am not very impressed with his method of presenting himself, whatever his ulterior motive. OK, I got that off my chest. If anyone wants to say anything about me in future, I suggest you speak now or forever hold your peace. Cheers again Keith. You are a cool dude too, in my book.
110
« on: July 07, 2009, 16:36 »
Maybe I'm confusing tethering for something entirely different. I googled for tethering with my Pentax K20D and found almost nothing definite other than hooking it up to Lightbox or some software, downloading it via USB . Another person suggested using Pentax Assistant (software that came with the k20d).
Conclusively, everyone said the problem is speed, regardless of the medium employed.
Now to explain what it is I really want to do with my K20D. We can preview our shots, much like make a screen capture by switching the shutter release button to the side, instead of depressing the release. This then gives us an image that we can inspect on the LCD . We then decided to either trash it or save it .
Now, what I want to do is to be able to see this image on a larger screen as it's too small for me to check depth of field, and minute details in a product shot.
I was wondering if someone here has done it either with the Pentax or with another camera. I was told by a Sony salesman we can do it with any camera having Live View. He didn't actually explain how , though. I guess he didn't care to elaborate since I don't own a Sony DSLR.
Any ideas?
111
« on: July 07, 2009, 13:31 »
and Thank You SalSanto for allowing me to share some ideas with you. I wish you all success in your new career.
112
« on: July 07, 2009, 13:25 »
massman / tan510jomast, thank you both very much for your feedback!
tan510jomast, I used 1/15 because anything lower was bringing in too much light. I also had the camera mounted to a tripod to help avoid camera shake. I was trying to accomplish the same settings as you would see in a Broadway show. The same settings where all the lights go out and one of the stars would come out on stage and sing a sad song under the theaters spotlight. 3 months ago I was buying throw away cameras at Rite Aid to take my photos. In your opinion, am I on the right track or could I have saved my time and taken the very same photo with the camera's Full Auto settings? I just want to make sure Im excelling and moving forward rather than just convincing myself that Im headed in the right direction.
massman, please feel fee to comment as well.
SalSanto, I feel it's better that you shoot with more fill to get details in your shadow, so they don't block. Don't worry if it looks too much on camera RAW. You can play with the variations in Photoshop. Many times, I would have shot something final in rim lighting or profile lighting, only to wish I could have add more here, taken off there,etc.. Now, I shoot for as high as I can for the highlight without clipping, and fill as much for the shadows to get the subtle details without blocking. Then I will play around with the highlight/shadows on Photoshop until I get as many variations as I want. If you shoot with a high res DSLR, you can end up with more than one final image but creative cropping. Whereas if you just crop in and shoot with that restricting lighting , you end up with no variations. If the final shot fails, you have nothing. Also, if you study the stage lighting of a good movie, there is shadow detail too. It's not just blocked shadows. It's not so apparent with your eyes, but if you study the lighting of the old masters of the movies like Cecil Beaton, you will see the dramatization take into consideration both highlight and shadow.
113
« on: July 07, 2009, 12:03 »
You could have use some addition light to give it some impact. Even a reflector to add more shadow details. You don't want the obvious question like massman just said, "what is it?".
If you wish to emphasize the rembrandt type lighting to get nice chiaroscuro of light and dark, you could work with your placement of addition bounce to get the texture off the dog's fur. Back lit to get some separation with a well adjusted rim light. Or else it just looks like another dog in the dark.
Furthermore, why did you choose to shoot at 1/15 for a dynamic subject. The dog may be sleeping but there is still the camera vibration that could blur the image.
Which is why I suggest additional ambient lighting so you could shoot at a faster speed. Even fill flash can add interest to the image. Then use photoshop to control how much of the dynamic range you want to pull out of this lighting .
You want to make the dog seem to be three dimensional and coming out of the dark. If you know what I mean.
114
« on: July 07, 2009, 11:52 »
I sell some travel images of Tunisia with BigStock. Also, my good friend Larry is with BigStock and he does awesomely well with a portfolio of landscape and wilderness . Psst, much much better than me .
115
« on: July 07, 2009, 11:46 »
So in almost every area that you address, it seems that you are just trying to undercut your competitors to get some sales. Is that your business plan? Undercut the competition!
Geopappas, good point. However, I don't think david holds the proprietary rights to "UNDERCUT THE COMPETITION". Every single one of the Big 6 has got there before him. This is why we are still discussing "better pay". If the disparity in subs price between StockXpert and IS is not equivalent to "UNDERCUTTING THE COMPETITION" albeit in the same team, what is? Which one of the Big 6 has not UNDERCUT THE COMPETITION? Hmm? 
Does big 6+1 count? Bigstock as far as I know has not undercut the competition. I am still getting 50 cts - $1 for each download. They don't sell so much but it's a relief to see Bigstock not trying to follow the rest over the cliff, so to speak . Keep it up Liz, Joseph, BigStock !!!
116
« on: July 07, 2009, 08:07 »
I actually had tethering in mind after I switched from my old and used up Olympus E300 to Pentax K20D . I got a few email exchanges with some people here who gave me some hints on tethering. With live view and "snapshot preview" ( i don't know what they call this, but it's what you do on the K20D, you push the slide instead of pressing the shutter and it takes a snapshot of the image. you preview it and then you decide whether you want to save it or not)., i found it fantastic to not have to shoot everytime, and i review and adjust the lighting and setup,etc.. before saving the final shot.
i only have one complaint about this feature, and that is i want to be able to look at it via a monitor so i can check depth of field, and other subtle areas , which is impossible to see with your camera LCD. i haven't bought a screen yet. i am told i could use even a simple TV for that.
if there is anyone here already having used tethering with the K20D it would be wonderful to get a PM from you to have your experience and advice .
117
« on: July 06, 2009, 16:43 »
I agree with you to some extent gostwyck, but they DO make improvements in memory cards so to think that the $20 card is as good as the $200 card is a bit of a stretch. To do the test yourself, find your oldest card (assuming you have one about 5 years old) and take a few pictures in rapid fire mode and see how long it takes to save them. For me I saw a big difference.
I have to agree with Tyler. With my K20D using the Panasonic 16 g Class 6 SDHC, I can do RAW and RAW+ rapid firing to create similar time lapse motion slides shooting over 40 -50 frames with only a short wait. With my older Olympus E3 which is only 7MP and uses the older Class 2 or 4 (I think, since it's 5 years old) CF card, I can't even shoot off sequential shots without having to wait till I fall asleep. (exaggeration, .. lol.. but I think you catch my drift). It will work if I shoot SQ or HQ jpg, but not with RAW. (there is no option for RAW+ either . If it did, I am sure it will be even slower , since it has to process 2 images each time).
118
« on: July 06, 2009, 14:05 »
I guess I am the odd man out. I use a Panasonic Class 6 SDHC 16 gig. I had a great deal on it when I bought my camera . Been using it regularly and of course, my 2 battery paks run out before I can even fill up my mem card , even shooting RAW and RAW+ , Ext Dyn ISO combined of 200 and 400 ,sequential drive,with my 14.6MP cam.
119
« on: July 04, 2009, 16:12 »
Please don't get sucked in to traditional vs microstock vs Subscriptions, all have a place in the market with a different core customer base, some assets are on different models at different price points, so you cannot use content and quality as a true argument, only personal choice.
I only wanted that sites let me choose not to sell to the customers that want buy subs. This should be our choice, not the site's.
Totally agree.... !
Patrick H.
Absolutely
120
« on: July 04, 2009, 13:18 »
i think the reality will probably be that you won't know what you want until you've shot a bit more.... probably most people go along the 'buy the most reasonably priced entry-level dslr' route and then upgrade when they know what their needs are.
good point. But it doesn't have to be entry level. Getting last year's model of a prosumer DSLR would not cost much nowadays. Each time a new model comes out, the previous model half in price. So I would say wiser to get last year, or the previous years' model. example is the Olympus E series. the E300 I paid over 1.5K in 2005 is now no more than 300 dollars .
Hey a current model E420 is $279 at B&H... I think you're being a bit optimistic with $300 for the E300.... 
no exaggeration holgs. i was at henry's opening of their halifax new centre, and these were the prices on their flyer: E510 with lens kit 399C$ E620D with lens 649C$ with trade in of E510 or 500. a trade in for my e300 with 2 zooms was almost not enough to even buy me a prime lens for my Pentax k20D. so i decided to keep them as a backup camera and 2 zoom lenses. this was back on april 25th... This in canadian currency, which is about 85centsUS on foreign exch +-
121
« on: July 04, 2009, 11:18 »
I don' t intend to do anything but get out and enjoy the heat and good looking girls in shorts, ha!ha!...
So you won't be shooting the scenery -just enjoying it!
U GOT IT TAKESTOCK, some things should never be interrupted by taking photos:- 1) drinking my guinness 2) bird watching :p
122
« on: July 03, 2009, 18:14 »
I quit Istock some time ago, but I agree it's a good time for IS exclusives. I am happy for them that at last their fidelity with one site is being rewarded. Even after the rough time they had with Getty's subscription curve ball. The exclusives displeasure paid off and it's good to see Getty doing a changeover to the exclusives benefit.
This tier system can be a good sign for the rest of us who are independent. It can turn the road for the other Big 6 to take notice and start doing something good for those who stick with them as well. That, or risk an exodus to any site who has their ears to the grapevine and conscious that pleasing the contributors mean a win win situation for all.
I wish the exclusives at IStock good results.
123
« on: July 03, 2009, 17:06 »
Sales are down 4 folds, except for Fotolia.
Guinness intake is up 4 folds... no exceptions.
Stock Images production is out of the question for now , except for Fotolia and maybe Veer Marketplace.
Summer's here in Halifax, and I don' t intend to do anything but get out and enjoy the heat and good looking girls in shorts, ha!ha!...
124
« on: July 03, 2009, 17:01 »
Tell me Madelaide - and you have been around for some time in stock, what is the purpose of this?
I know it can be educational and may help submitters realise what type of image sells, but why has it to appear on everyone's profile,blogs etc.
-Suppose it 's a slow month, something to keep our minds off no sales no views??? -Give some work to the programmers??? y'know idle minds, not good ! ha!ha! just joking . Seriously, I don't see any use in it. If they wanted to improve keywords, they could have got the programmers to do same thing like Veer with a keyword helper. Just my two bobs worth !
125
« on: July 03, 2009, 16:14 »
Cheers all for your input. It's good to know that ext lic with Fotolia is not just once in a blue moon situation. I hope more with come for me.
fotografer, or anyone with more experience in Fotolia, additional question for you all:
As a newbie I notice that going exclusive image with Fotolia does not give you any benefit viz: more money. You have to be at the even higher level to make exclusive images worth the exclusiveness.
For this , I don't understand why I should want to make any of my images exclusive with Fotolia. At least, not until I reach a higher level to get something better. Did I read it wrongly?
No real benefit I can see to having exclusive images at Fotolia anymore.
They used to give you more $ and let you set your price for exclusive images, but now you have to be 100% exclusive artist to do that. So no longer any point to give Fotolia exclusive images... 
o' well, too bad. H'ever, maybe with this new thing at IStock with exclusives, Fotolia might think of something good too. Afterall, they just hired 2 ex-IStock CEOs . Who knows, we might see some new ideas from Fotolia too. Cheers again PixelBytes for the quick response.
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