Robert M Estall

The riders on the outside seem one legged, I'm not sure how the middle rider has deployed his right leg, all we can see is a knee. I know Ostriches are big birds but carrying a full sized man seems a big ask. I guess hurdles or fences would be too big an ask? It seems some years ago when ostrich steaks were last seen on menus. I tried it a couple of times, but was not not that struck

I operated as a niche agency for about 20 years with reasonable results. I had two refunds in total, both cases of bankruptcy. The only way you could recover the VAT was to issue a credit note. Call them refunds if you like. If it wasn't for the VAT aspect, I would just have written them off as bad debts.

My BHZ image has been pretty well stationary for a couple of years. I never took it as a reliable measure, but it seemed usefully indicative if you might be on the right track. Alamy never liked it but didn't try to penalize those who played the little game as far as I could see.

I've not seen this before; there are so many aspects of this to criticize, it's too hard to start. And a cruddy fee to add insult!

I still pay a few things by cheque; it's that old thing: Use it or Lose it. Hey, I still pay BT by cheque. They don't even make me pay extra anymore. I'm sure they hate it but there are some folks out there who really can't pay on-line or contactless. In the UK, the Post Office is helping out a lot.

Sure I remember Hirondelle! I'm sure I could run up a modest list of cheap blends heavily marketed back in the 70s & 80s, but who wants to know? And how did Blue Nun survive all these years? but sorry, this well of topic...

Great photos for free and no compulsory attribution. What's not to like? For users that is!

A few of my neighbours have had their second jab and I shall certainly hot-foot-it along to the health centre as soon as I get the call. But even after it has had a chance to seep in, I won't be "ripping the ass out of it" A trip to the beach with a cold beer and a sandwich with a bit of warm sun would be really nice! We're getting the table & chairs out for the patio so we can invite a few over for a drink and nibble soon. That's what normal looks like here. An extra hour at the end of the day is always very welcome, that's my idea of coming out of lock-down. Canada changed their clocks a

the rules which apply are those existing when you took the shots. Back in the 70s we didn't have anything like the restrictions we have these days.

Given the emergence of a third wave in northern Europe and Italy, I would still be ultra cautious. As you suggest, the streets of central London present many subjects but I think I would still take a packed lunch and hunker down on a bench or set of steps. We are not anywhere near out of this!

Like so many place names in Massachusetts, Acton is most probably named after a village just a few miles from Boxford where I now live near Sudbury. Boxford merges with Groton on the way to Acton. My son lives a few miles East in Ipswich. There are many other examples.

lots of terrific images in your portfolio, you clearly know your way around a camera and a computer. Don't fret too much about the green/orange discoverability bars, I'm not at all sure they really have much effect on zooms and sales. But time and effort spent on keywording (tagging) will reward you. Stock platforms like Alamy better reward thoughtful content than artistic photography. More's the pity!

Nice upper $$$ fee; rural subject in Canada. Particularly satisfying to sell a Canadian subject to a Canadian client. Although I haven't lived in Canada for many years I made at least yearly trips across the pond and put together a substantial portfolio of Canadian images, mostly sold direct to British clients. I don't think I have ever managed to sell a shot of Niagara Falls or a Mountie in ceremonial kit to a Canadian client, but that's a pretty big ask!

I've been here about 15 years and can count on one hand the number of weekend sales. And NO, I don't think I am cursed!

I've been away from Canada such a long time; I have no idea what is in those bags/packages! The prices don't help me guess.

You could caption better and edit tighter, sure, but if the same images are available at much cheaper prices at microstock sites you are NEVER going to sell on Alamy. Well, you might get lucky once or twice.but buyers do shop around for the best deals

are these same photos also available on a micro-stock site? If that were the case, why would anyone pay more. Clients do check other sites. As others have suggested, your information is limited. You hardly ever name the location. Clients really want to know this information.

I clearly remember when the TV picked up this story of an old soldier walking his garden terrace with his walking frame to raise £1,000 before his coming 100th birthday for the National Health Service. No one could imagine how this would take off and the roughly £39 million could wind up in the fund. Heroic! The end came very quickly which, sadly, is how this virus so often works.

photos from mobile phones are improving all the time, but a phone is still a phone and a camera is a camera, not a phone. As ever, use the right tool for the job

The whole egg mayonnaise sounds a great idea at first, but what to do when you want to make a souffle or maybe meringues if you don't have a store of spare egg whites? The whites don't seem to mind being frozen so I keep a couple of little pots in the freezer and top them up every time I have a couple left over from my weekly mayonnaise. If I get too far out of balance, the dog is a willing option. She may look a bit designer-dog but will eat anything.

one little cooking tip many probably wouldn't know. You can't make mayonnaise with eggs which have been frozen. I can't imagine why that should be. I always get my eggs from the local little shop who get their eggs from the bloke up the road who has several hundred rescue hens from battery producers. They scratch & peck right where I walk the dog in the mornings. They gather the eggs every day and keep them in a draughty shed. We've been having heavy frosts so they likely freeze. You can beat those yolks as long as you like before drizzling in the oil but they will never thicken. Happened

finally broke my duck on the 26th of the month. $$ PU which doesn't really save the month. Same image which fetched very high $$$ back in August. Go figure?

nothing, nada, zilch, so far in January. No refunds at least!

An alarming horde stashed away with batteries removed: several Canon F-1s with lots of FD lenses, couple of Pentax 67s, a wide angled Fuji 4.5x6. All earned their keep all those years ago. All in good nick. I toy with the idea of sending some of them off to Ffordes but don't get it done

The sky has fallen Henny Penny and the bottom has dropped out . A few interesting zooms but where are the sales? To bed and hope for better news tomorrow.