Dyn Llun

The cover of one of my books - 'Innocence of Eye' was taken at a zoo. Two-legged animal. Fourth book down from the top here: https://www.pete-davis-photography.com/printsales It's not on Alamy of course, like me come July. I'm outa here too. Won't make one iota of difference to me as 99% of my income through photography comes from print and book sales so I won't be missed. I could just stay and be a sleeper but I have always taken a stand against photographers being taken advantage of and Alamy have taken one step too far. I'm sorry for those who depend on stock for part of their income. Despite all the posturing, most of you will stay and sadly, just be ripped off more and endure more restrictions and conditions in the future without being supported. Sad state of affairs. Just to remind all of you though, there are other ways out there with far greater returns, greater satisfaction and you get to deal with decent, honest folks like gallery directors and owners and book publishers. best of luck to you all. Pete Davis

Lots and lots and lots. Image buyers and picture editors read this forum and when they see folks saying how much they love so-called 'personal sales' they chuckle and rub their hands with glee. (I know they do because they have told me). They probably know the saying from my hero the late great W.C.Fields when he said 'My boy, never give a sucker an even break'. Easy way to check if it's a genuine PU. It should not have been bought by an account client so will be paid by credit card before download. (They get a full size image of course to use in perpetuity ad infinitum). On that basis it should appear in your 'cleared balance' column right away. Doesn't mean that you will get paid right away of course, only when your balance is over $50 and at the end of the month. Don't blame Alamy or the buyers for cheating and low prices, it's up to photographers to have a bit of pride and solidarity.

...and he still does...

I had to have a vaccination certificate in 1962 to renew my passport. There was a Smallpox outbreak in the UK and certain countries required you to get a jab before visiting. It cost me 10/6 in real money. I still have it, you can see it here: https://www.instagram.com/petedavisphoto/

It's not just the cameras that are going up in price, but also good gelatin/silver prints made from negatives. Selling archival gelatin / silver prints is my main (very good) income and prices are going up and up, unlike stock which is going down and down. As for my platinum / palladium prints.......... upper and upper! Of course, a lot of photographers have boasted about how they got rid of their darkrooms........

It's because clients and picture buyers have latched on to the same idea as so-called 'personal sales', most of which are nothing of the kind. They can get a full size image for peanuts and then do what they wish with it in perpetuity without penalty. Why would anyone pay full price for something when they can walk out of the same store with the identical item for a fraction of the price? There was a discussion about 'presentation' files being lower size and res but of course this hasn't happened. If usage and image theft was policed better it would deter this but of course Alamy turns a - deliberate - blind eye so as not to antagonise buyers.

My worst was in Sardinia. I was told by a local in Cagliari that if a car in front of me indicated left, it may mean that they were turning right and it meant for me to go around their left. In the mountains the roads were very hairy and precipitous and you might meet a rusty Fiat speeding towards you in the middle of the road. I was taken out one evening in Cagliari by the president of the Arts Association and he sped through a red light. I asked innocently if at night obeying light signals were optional and he said 'Red? red? that's just a matter of opinion'. I also saw mini accidents where the drivers just drove away without as much as a stop and look and I was hooted many times for going through green lights by cars running the red light. As for pedestrians.....make sure you have good life insurance. Add to all this the habit of the banditti shooting up the roads signs in the mountains for target practice and it all concentrated the mind wonderfully. Having said all that i went back a few months later and did it all again. Made a great body of work which went on exhibition there, mainland Italy and the UK. Also a catalogue of the work https://www.pete-davis-photography.com/sardinia Also the home made grappa by the mountain men was wonderful stuff. Hope the new year is good for all of you and you keep safe and well.

The single deck trolley buses in Cardiff were used to go from the city centre down to the docks, or 'Tiger Bay' (where I had a girlfiend). There was a railway bridge across the road at the top of Bute Street that was too low for the double deckers.

...and when I was a kid in Cardiff we had electric double and single deck electric trolley buses powered by overhead cables. They were clean, quiet and had better acceleration than the regular buses. The poles connecting the bus to the overhead wires used to come off now and again stopping the bus. Then the bus conductor who collected the tickets etc. used to draw out a very long bamboo pole stored under the bus and re-connect the power connectors to the overhead wires.

The Italian and cafe and coffee culture arrived in Wales many generations ago with the influx of Italian immigrants. They came during hard times from a region of north Italy near Bardi to work in the coal and steel industries in the S. Wales Valleys. They brought their ice cream, coffee and cafe culture with them and almost every town in Wales, especially the valleys has a Conti, Gazzi, Bracchi, etc. cafe. We have a Conti's just ten minutes from here and he still makes great ice cream at the back of his cafe and he's over 90. In Splott when I was a kid we had two Gazzi's, same family. The son ran the cafe in Splott Road and mama and papa the fish and chip shop. I had an Italian 'pen friend' when i was 14 and used to go to mama and papa Gazzi's for six penny worth of chips and a translation because Louisa used to write to me in Italian. If you want a photography connection, she sent a photograph of herself with one letter. Gorgeous 16 year old, long black hair, leaning against a Vespa scooter in a piazza in Rome. She asked for a photograph of me. I duly sent one and never heard from her again.......

I was on a long photographic trip in Northumberland some years ago and was shopping for veg to take back to the place we had rented for the duration. A very nice guy who worked in the shop came up to me and asked me if I wanted anything weird. I couldn't imagine what veg would come under that category until i realised he had said weighed in a Geordie accent. Pete

Your ear will get attuned in time. I have a cottage in far northwest Wales and the accent there - like the Welsh language, is as different from here (mid west) and S. Wales as you can imagine. You get an 'ear' for it. Many people argue that Pembrokeshire isn't Wales at all. I'm saying nothing as I have several long-time friends who live there! Pete Davis

How would you manage in a S.Wales veg market if you heard someone asking for gibbons?!

MDM said that Leicas are "overpriced toys for old boys with more money than sense" I'm sorry but I find that grossly offensive. I, along with many others throughout the long time period they have been around, have been using that particular type of camera as an everyday working tool since I was 15 and still am. If others have other preferences that suit their workflow, that's great. But please don't spit out grotesquely offensive remarks because you may have another opinion.

Chuck, The M10P body is probably my next purchase. I already have good lenses so just need the body. I have a couple of exhibitions coming up, delayed because of the pandemic and three books waiting to be launched at the same time, so with a handful of print sales plus some books I'll bag one. Or of course, 2,000 sales here for so-called 'personal use'. (Assuming 50% commission, more sales if you only get 40%). Of course half of those will be refunded so probably around 3,000 + sales to buy one! I loved the RX8. V smooth engine as you would expect from a rotary. C of G very low and central and when combined with DSC meant that you could not lose it on corners and we have many corners on rural Welsh roads. Surprisingly practical for me too. I could pack my big 10" x 8" camera Pelican case into the boot. (trunk) plus (very) big Gitzo tripod and a couple of Billingham's with Leica stuff and 10" x 8" film holders etc. Pete