William Caram

5 hours ago, andremichel said:

 

It may not be dying for those hobbyists who still love doing what they do, and do not the count costs, both financial and time spent, against what they earn at this. 

I don't really understand why you had to make this comment.....There are always costs and whether you're well off, or a pensioner or other ....you still consider the costs...If you are a professional (as i have been ) then you have to work harder if your chosen income market is drying up....or find other markets....Do you resent hobbyists or part timers taking a slice of the pie?.....just saying

4 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

Horrendous! Never thought that might happen. Something else to worry about......

Totally agree!!  You have celebrated your great sale...spent the money and then wham...( like in Pearl's case ) you have to pay it back after 6 months....ridiculous!

I feel your pain,i think many of us have experienced the high sale value being refunded and then resold at a lower price...One does wonder if in some cases the buyer is dishonest ,freaks out at the higher price for image use criteria...and then rebuys at a lower price but still goes and uses the higher value licence use...Very hard to keep track of this type of thing happening..

14 minutes ago, Foreign Export said:

just got a bit busier - two nice sales dropped in here on christmas day morning - very pleasant and they were for good $$ amounts

 

in fact this month has been the best average sale price for 2018

Well done Martin nice to hear that prices have risen for you..This year the number of sales have dropped for me but i know i need to increase image numbers and content variety... 

**** Best wishes to all **** Tall short fat or slim ....rich or poor....or just perfect  Have a good one....and find time for a laugh 

Cheers Bill

 Duplicate by mistake again  

Duplicate by mistake

20 hours ago, BobD said:

 

You managed to encompass everyone in one post. 

Thanks Bob, yes we can get a little too serious sometimes so i thought i'd counter that with a bit of humour  My dad used say often " You gotta laugh " Hope others were not offended.

Cheers Bill

What's all this?.......Well there's quite a debate going on with venting and screaming and crying too...There's those that feel that they have been " thrown under the bus"...and accusations that others members here, have in particular been responsible for such horrid actions...indeed!...Some have said without pointing the finger that the culprits might be those grey haired retirees, who are taking pictures for a laugh!...and virtually stealing food off the table of hard working professional togs...unbelievable!...And some that aspire to The Jack system.."Well I'm alright Jack" as I'm a pensioner..Then there's those that have split the atom once again and with a million scenarios in how to get the Alamy bus back on the road.

Then there are those humble togs with gazillions of images saying...look at me i don't want to talk out LOUD....but something has to be done with those pesky grey haired nomads of the image world...they have the gall to think life owes them some pocket money!!!...Alamy gave togs two choices with their latest declaration...YES or NO....with i suggest a third option if you don't like it...wait for it....or GO!

Well this pensioner is back uploading his humble pics....don't be too hard on me with lots of RED ARROWS...Ha.....Now where was i ? OH yes buses.....The wheels on the bus go round and round....We're on the road to nowhere...The magical mystery tour....The long and winding road....and what about Hendrix..Crosstown traffic...well that sums it up....You gotta laugh!

34 minutes ago, John Walker said:

I'm possibly in a better position than many other contributors.  Being retired this isn't now my main income.  I have a small private pension which tops up my state pension and I can manage on that.  My monthly payments from Alamy allow me some spending money and is most welcome (but well earned).

 

Alamy is the only agency that I supply to so opting for 'Exclusive' is no problem to me.

I spend a lot of time checking and editing every image before it's submitted so like many of you, I am not happy at the very low prices that some images are sold for.  To have a full resolution image available for a few pence is not really acceptable.  Once it's out there unwatermarked it's open to abuse.  Maybe a variable image size option could be a better way of controlling prices.

 

John

My sentiments exactly John, well said...Like you i am now retired and on a pension and i would like to build my image portfolio..One can only hope with such an outpouring of anger and dismay at Alamy's recent 60/40 directive, and now this offer that they can think of their contributors as people with legitimate concerns for fairer outcomes...You can build a better Alamy by looking after your contributors as well...Sure Alamy can say..."My way or the highway" and there are a lot of agencies out there that say basically that..but i give credit to Alamy for at least listening and giving us a choice....We can only do what's best for us within our means, but we still have a choice..

1 hour ago, JeffGreenberg said:

 

Maximizes net $$.

Can produce more than just hobby money.

Have never been anything but nonexclusive.

Some don't see how they're closing in the walls of their future potential, IMO, but...

Only my images not selected by other agencies will continue on at 50/50 here.

No plans to surrender the rest to 40/60.

CHOICES choices choices...Alamy have given us another choice and it's up to us to make the best choice we can available to us, and at that time..What works for one contributor will not work for another...So for the big players and smaller players alike whether you're motivated by monetary return or principles and or both..just do what's best for you in these times of uncertainty....Jeff you've seen plenty of changes in this industry and like many of us who have been around for awhile we know change is a certainty....I am doing what i think is best for me, and that's my choice..And for the walls closing in on us...well walls come down and walls go up lol....Hope you can find the best route around or over or through the walls that try and close you in..

Topic Deleted

Hi John - I have both - have had the Mk2 for 4 years and the Mk3 for 6 mths

 

Differences:

 

1. Mk3 - much better focusing - 65 AF points c/w 9 on the Mk2; I have found it much better for wildlife etc

2. I think the sensor is better on the Mk3 - reds better reproduced

3. Weather sealing is supposedly better - I havent had a problem with it but was recently in india with red earth dust ++, and no problems with the Mk3

4. I find the Mk3 beter at ISO 3200 + than the Mk2

5. Mk3 has a specific on/off switch on the top of the camera

6. 6fps rather than 4-5fps

7. (Important to me) - has the facility of a much quiet shutter release than the Mk2

 

Overall I felt the upgrade was worth it - I dont think the upgrade to the Mk4 from the Mk3 is worth it for me, particularly given the high price of the Mk4 body

 

Hope this helps!

 

Kumar (the Doc one)

Thanks Kumar..

All that Kumar said above...plus i recently upgraded from the 5D2 to the 5D3..Now the #2 was a great camera and still is,but the #3 is more refined,and just feels better in the hand.There is a improvement in shadow detail and less noise also..I am pleased with the camera and the other already mentioned improvements.

Bill

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice,much appreciated...I will just get on with it and try to shoot images that avoid these sorts of problems..

ATB out there..

Cheers Bill

 

 

Happened to me with images from the Smithsonian in Washington DC and the Tate Modern here in the UK...

 

K

....exxcept that's not written into law.

 

Precisely. In this case, Alamy are making the law, as I guess they don't want to tread on toes, risk legal problems or garner a bad reputation from potential clients. I can kind of understand.

 

It has made me more mindful of potential copyright and intellectual copyright problems...I wanted to do some stock shots at a popular tourist attraction here in Ballarat,and i know that many photographers have just taken images and uploaded them to stock libraries...I do forsee a potential problem down the track,so i think that i will approach them and be upfront about it...maybe i can sell them some shots and or they may let me use some shots after they vet what i have taken...Maybe that way i can i can gain something rather than risk losing out down the track...What are your thoughts? 

Bill

Well done Kumar...certainly a lot of work has gone into that great result and impressive portfolio.

Bill

Sorry to hear that the fear of free publicity has drifted down to Australian, Bill. 

 

Edo

Thanks Ed,yes it is free publicity and we photographers may gain a few dollars but they see it as photographers taking a few dollars from their bottom line....Well for the moment there is still plenty to photograph...right LOL.

PS..Well i was getting closer to my 3000 image mark and less the 35 culled images...but i have quite a few batches that i`ve been working on so i`d better get on with it..I sort of slowed up waiting for the new management tools to be implemented.

Bill 

I guess most stock photographers will have come up against the issue of restricted commercial use of images due to not having property releases...Well in this instance i had taken shots of the Shrine of Remembrance War Memorial in Melbourne Australia..The images were taken of the shrine buildings and monuments from the grounds of the shrine,these images have been on Alamy for quite a few years..

Well my images were deleted yesterday along with many other contributor images of the shrine,after a representative of the trustees of the shrine pointed out to Alamy that we did not have permissions or releases to use these images for commercial gain..Apparently there is an act dated 1978 that prohibits commercial use of photography...well if you pay for the permission you may or may not be granted a release...Alamy has done the right thing in deleting the images,ahh that`s the life of the stock shooter today..you win some...you lose some.

PS..There are about 155 images still online,but are of activities at the shrine as these images are not close up images of the buildings or monuments...Images taken looking away from the shrine,say towards the city of Melbourne skyline are ok.

Cheers Bill

Well when my ETRS camera became a paperweight  i bought my first digital camera the Canon 20D in (2005)...I really wanted a 5D1 full frame but could not afford one at the time,but managed to eventually get one..I loved the fact that my wide angle lens was now a full wide angle and not cropped...Ok moved up to the 5D2 which i have used for 3 years and was a good upgrade with the bigger file size,i enjoyed using this camera..

So now the 5D4 is out and it was a good time to get a used 5D3 so i just bought a mint used one and it is lovely!...a refinement over the 5D2 and it feels better in the hands and much better in the focussing area,and the files look that bit cleaner and much better shadow detail (less noise)....Did i really need it...no but i just had to have one  So most likely in about 3 years time i will be after a good used 5D4,but meantime i will have to get some good use out of the new addition.

Cheers Bill