Inchiquin

Yes, and Pretty Pictures didn't show up to set a theme so I actually set the theme of Togetherness for the next one as my pic came second. Alan

That's exactly what I thought too. Alan

That's so interesting Betty, because it's exactly the opposite for me! Although I love music (more than visual art) and 'feel' a piece of music in my soul, when I hear something from the past it reminds me of what I was doing at the time, whereas a photograph reminds me of what I was feeling. Alan

It's actually in our interest to help less experienced stock photographers because the better the overall quality of pics on Alamy, the more customers will come, and stay. But help is not just about saying kind words, it's about giving an honest appraisal. Some newcomers need to understand that although we are not all professional photographers, this is a professional marketplace, not a camera club, and if you want to make a success in a professional space it pays to listen to the advice given, in good faith, by more experienced contributors. Alan

Just one more thing to say and then I'm off. Your photo of the red fishing boat that Steve highlighted: firstly, I can't see that it's red at all on my screen. Secondly, below is the histogram for that photo. If that's not underexposed I don't know what is! Alan

Well I hope you'll trust what I have to say Bridget. Some of your pics, including the two that Steve highlighted, look seriously underexposed. On the other hand, many of them are just fine (although you should take on board Kumar's point about dull lighting). So what I don't understand is this: if the underexposed ones look fine on your monitor, surely the correctly exposed ones will look horribly washed out? If you take a look at the portfolios of other posters in this thread, you will see lots and lots of perfectly exposed photos, with a full dynamic range and bristling with life and colour. Some of yours look dull in comparison and a few look hopelessly underexposed. I don't think, and clearly the other people who've made similar comments don't think, that these are ever likely to sell. Having said that, your pics of events and demos are full of life and well exposed. You asked for criticism and the contributors who have responded want to help. They wouldn't have bothered otherwise. Alan

Ah! This explains why there's never anyone behind me when I go in to buy a stamp! Alan

Although strictly speaking those are setts, not cobblestones. Alan

That sounds interesting. Unfortunately although I'll probably be in London that day, I'll be tied up (not literally) elsewhere all day. Alan

Some very nice pictures. You've certainly got some saleable material there. Pay a little attention to some of your captions. Most of them are good but for example T39P6R caught my eye. I thought "What a beautiful image - I want to know where it is" but sadly the caption doesn't tell me. Captions are very important. A busy picture researcher won't necessarily bother to zoom the image to find missing details. Alan

Isn't it running 10 Downing Street? Oh no, that's the Rottweiler. Alan

This is absolutely my approach. And I've never been queried or confronted. All these pics were total strangers, candids, no permission sought nor denied, no questions asked. Alan

I will probably be in London last weekend in October if anyone wants to arrange something. Alan

My Mk2 has suffered badly from oil spots for years. I had a really good clean done a few years ago by an experienced guy at Dale Photographic in Leeds which removed them for a little while but they soon came back. I've just learned to live with them. On clear blue skies they're easy to clone out, on most other backgrounds they aren't noticeable. Alan

I started on the road to stock in 1977 when I submitted a few pics to Barnabys Picture Library. At the time I was only a hobbyist so wasn't really taking it seriously, but after joining J Allan Cash in 1980 I quickly learned that stock was not about pretty or arty pictures but about useful pictures. At the time I was living in Germany so I was able to supply them with a steady stream of contemporary images from Europe. I stayed with them until they went out of business around 2000. I was put off joining Alamy for a long time because of all the letters in the BFP newsletter saying how difficult it was to pass QC. Now I kick myself for not having cashed in when the going was good! Alan