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Last year, I was going through a box of old electronic gadgets, etc. that I had put in a box for recycling, and I came across an electronic calculator that I had bought in 1975 (dating myself here). Just for the heck of it, I decided to take a few photos of it, which I then uploaded to Alamy. To my surprise one of them licensed today for TV use. It was a bulk distributor sale, so the price was low. Still I was pleasantly surprised that someone licensed it. Anyone else had any surprising / unexpected sales lately?

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I recall David Kilpatrick advising that you should shoot whatever you buy, something that I normally forget to do until the item is well used and covered in decomposing human tissue, resulting in ages spent cleaning up the image. (Come back David, you are sorely missed).

 

As for surprising sales, my best one off $ photos generally surprise me. They are rarely those that I personally rate, and I find myself thinking "Why did somebody pay that amount for what is a run of the mill shot?". Not complaining though, it's all part of the game.

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All of my sales are unexpected! :D

 

I was walking in a local town and took a picture of a shop front, a total snapshot.  I processed it and stuck it on Alamy thinking it would never sell.  A few weeks later it sold for $200!  It amazes me what people buy.

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Yesterday, a sign of Waitrose uploaded in 2008, tucked away in a pseudo, never even zoomed.

I rarely sold signs before, plus how many Waitrose signs must there be? I haven't checked.

 

Gen

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One of my more speculative images was licensed last month, but has since been refunded. It was an IQ sale, so presumably the client was knowledgeable enough to realize they weren't buying the object depicted, but you never know.  :unsure:

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This was taken whilst b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶d̶r̶a̶g̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ visiting a well known Swedish retailer. I had my camera on me so I thought, why not quickly snap my lunch. I thought there was a small chance of a sale at some point but it actually sold within a few weeks of uploading.

a-plate-of-ikea-meatballs-with-chips-and

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I went out fishing in the early morning with my son-in-law and grandsons, loons doing their loony thing in the mist rising in golden light.

The resulting photos are the type I like, personally. They haven't sold, and that isn't the surprise.

a-loon-swims-in-early-morning-as-fog-ris

Later, as the sun got higher, I was back on the dock by the cabin and did a couple of snapshots of them out in the boat.

That's what sold, for what will probably stand as my highest amount for a single license. It definitely is the surprise.

vacationers-in-motorboat-and-canoe-as-we
 

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Have you tried looking for it using book cover as a search term?

Google keeps suggesting it's about the 2nd battle of Ypres. But does not come up with an image for that. Weird. Could it be it's only the clouds they have used?

Maybe then try this.

Or something with any of your caption/keywords.

 

wim

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Have you tried looking for it using book cover as a search term?

Google keeps suggesting it's about the 2nd battle of Ypres. But does not come up with an image for that. Weird. Could it be it's only the clouds they have used?

Maybe then try this.

Or something with any of your caption/keywords.

 

wim

 

If you remove the Alamy text below :rolleyes: , it only comes up whit "Sky" 

 

But I have a book whit some kind of cover that looks like it, but that is somewhat older book. How long is it ago that you sold it? Makes searching also easier.

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But I have a book whit some kind of cover that looks like it, but that is somewhat older book. How long is it ago that you sold it? Makes searching also easier.

 

It was November 2008 when it sold, so it is a bit old.

 

Caption - The Blasket Islands from Brandon Mountain, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

 

Thanks for looking (thanks to wim also).

 

Edit: just to add - licence ran from 05 November 2008 to 05 November 2011

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This was taken whilst b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶d̶r̶a̶g̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ visiting a well known Swedish retailer. I had my camera on me so I thought, why not quickly snap my lunch. I thought there was a small chance of a sale at some point but it actually sold within a few weeks of uploading.

a-plate-of-ikea-meatballs-with-chips-and

I shouldn't say this, especially as an ex-vegetarian, but you have almost encouraged me to offer my services, to my better half, to be dragged round this well know Scandinavian store again. Am partial to their hot-dogs!

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A poor shot (I thought) that I very nearly didn't submit - it sold for $423.08 for a book front cover.  It's the only time it's sold and I've never been able to track down the book.

 

the-blasket-islands-from-brandon-mountai

 

Edit - I have no idea why the text has turned blue.!

I have one of those. The image was severely underexposed (backlit) and when I corrected it, the colors weren't good, (autumn) but it was of a place I spent the day driving to and was desperate to save it. I did selective noise reduction, uploaded it, but then came close to deleting it.

It sold for a decent price. I was not only surprised, but shocked. To this day I'm not proud of it, but stay, it does.

Betty

an-autumn-view-near-sunset-from-talimena

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australian-census-form-for-9th-august-20Bored with this census form last year decided to photograph it. Sold it last week.  Hit a big chunk of concrete on the road last night so I'm going to photograph the smashed tyre.

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Sold this yesterday..........

For PU...........

After a zoom..........

 

that was unexpected!

 

 

 

Now, I have to agree, THAT's unexpected :D

A PU after it's been zoomed .... that is ;) (zoomed images are only reported by registered customers b.t.w.).

 

Cheers,

Philippe

Our last sale was a PU that had been recently zoomed....
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My email to memberservices is already in! Zoomed and invoiced on the same day. The only zoom of the search term. Not a pretty picture. Too many coincidences.

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I am sometimes surprised by usages I hadn;t anticipated. A while back I was watching a comedy show on TV when I saw one of my backgrounds behind the stand up comedian whilst he was talking about ebola. I made the design to put on duvet covers on POD's. Similarely some of my best sellers on POD's are images I made with text books in mind.

 

Suitable for isolation wards. ;-)

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