Bryan

I've lots of shots, too many in truth, of Durham and the cathedral, but the light was just right as I walked past the church and I couldn't resist another!

I would be hesitant to recommend that anyone should take up stock photography as a means of providing a regular income. I quite enjoy the work involved, but, for me, this is one of a series of retirement activities that fill my time. While the cash generated is certainly useful, if I needed to make real money I would be doing something else! WRT your photos, there's some saleable stuff in there, but I'm seeing quite a lot of repetition, e.g. the tank standing outside the museum. I would recommend that you be a bit more disciplined over what you upload, choosing only your best 2 or 3 shots, preferably, including both landscape and portrait, of any given view of a subject. There are two reasons for this. One, your Alamy rank will suffer if you get loads of views but few hits resulting in fewer views in future, and two, Alamy appears to present views on an arbitrary basis, with the result that your weakest shot can be the only one that the customer sees.

Yes some good looking photos, you do seem to have the eye for it! However, as others have said, this is a very small collection and maybe you need to diversify a little, e.g. include the built environment and more day to day subject matter. It doesn't have to be a work of art to sell, provided it tells or illustrates a story.

Some low speed action from me Children carrying a religious float, Andalucia, Spain Boys making shadows, Dumfries, Scotland Children stroking dog in vintage motorcycle sidecar

Unfortunately, as a landlord, your property insurance premium is linked to the credit rating and financial status of your prospective tenant. So, for example, if you take a person who is on state benefits of any kind, or who is not in full time work, the premium can go up substantially. Not implying in any way that you fall into any of these categories Ed, but there are reasons why property owners are reluctant to let to certain sectors of the community. Not sure how the credit check works for someone entering the country, but I can foresee possible difficulties with references etc. Then we have irresponsible landlords who are above the law, don't use reputable letting agents, and rent accommodation that is totally unsatisfactory - I know someone who recently bought a house from such a person. It had been used as a house of multiple occupancy. Had a building inspector visited it would have been closed down immediately. There were electrical cables strung from room to room, sockets hanging off the walls, cockroaches, leaking toilets, and numerous other horrors. It's now largely restored to a decent state, but what a journey!

Presumably it passed Alan? I recently uploaded W2AM9A taken with a short telephoto. The castle in the background and, in particular the sign to the left, show clear signs of heat haze wobble, but the front of the locomotive is clear. Maybe the trick is to try to include a foreground object that isn't affected by the haze?

Have you checked out Birkenhead? Maybe too quiet and remote from city for you but flats to be had for around £400 per month.

A while since I've seen a $$$ sale, so this one very welcome! Amiens Dewailly Clock and Notre-Dame cathedral, France. Country: Worldwide ; Usage: Marketing package - Large business ; Start: 17-July-2019 ; End: 17-July-2024 ; Additional Details: Use in marketing materials, worldwide for 5 years (excludes advertising). This license is for large companies with more than 10 people." USA

All this talk of Liverpool reminds me of my student days. I recall attending a concert given by the then young Kyung Wha Chung probably in the Philharmonic Hall, she was fabulous. Across the road is a fine traditional pub. Also have pleasant memories of jogging around Sefton Park every morning - had to do something to keep fit after my bikes were pinched! I attended one football match (to see my local team play) and foolishly stood in the Kop. We scored first and I let out an involuntary whoop of joy. Fortunately we were well beaten by the end of the game and there were no reprisals. Then there is the ferry across the Mersey - made a 300 mile pilgrimage to revisit some years ago only to find that the landing stage had sunk and the ferries temporarily cancelled. Must mention the Mersey Tunnel, it seems all city centre roads head there, if you ever have to drive beware the lure of the tunnel, it's so easy to be drawn in and there is no escape......

Just wondering when does an image fall into the Travel category. If I shoot photos in one of my local cities, say Durham, not much travel involved, but if I were a tourist- and the place is sometimes overrun with them, it would be a Travel image maybe. When I go on my travels in mainland Europe all the shots are related to my Travel. So how do we define Travel images, do they have to depict exotic locations, scenes (that would be Landscapes maybe) or groups of tourists (Lifestyle?) or what? Do old buildings fall into Architecture or Historic, or is that category meant for photos taken in the past? Some clarification would be useful.

Long time ago John, and the non Sony manual focus glass is not recorded by the camera so no way of checking, but, from fading memory, I stood back with a longer lens. Happy with the Rokinon however, it has its downsides, but overall very acceptable. I made a high $$$ sale with it last year - could use a few of them this year!

Just received a mailing from Alamy urging me to add categories to my photos. I have done so for quite a while now, but sometimes struggle to know which category particular images fall into. Does there exist anywhere any guidance on the use of categories, maybe with a list of examples?

Only one sale so far this month and that a chased outstanding usage! The Capitol building in Richmond Virginia. Educational textbook unlimited period, repeat use permitted, a tad disappointing at mid $$.

Many thanks for the spot Alan. a spot of encouragement needed, as a pretty grim month to date.

Not sure what the fuss is about. The lowest PU sale price is higher than the Newspaper scheme web usage fee, while the highest is currently coming in at about my average sale price. I've dumped Novel Use, but very much sticking with PU. Maybe it depends what market you are operating in and the likely use of your photos?