Mr Standfast Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 16 hours ago, Colblimp said: Really, Alamy?! What a joke. 😂 It's not breaking news, but every day weather, shot in a timely manner is by any test of reasonableness, Live News. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colblimp Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 7 minutes ago, Mr Standfast said: It's not breaking news, but every day weather, shot in a timely manner is by any test of reasonableness, Live News. It could be classed as breaking news if something big, not forecast, hits. But I agree, it's news but not breaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyn Llun Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 On 11/04/2019 at 08:53, Simon said: How about if you redefine "News pictures" to be "Topical pictures" ? The papers need to fill their pages with topical images, a lot of which are seasonal. It's not really news that the moon and sun are going to rise over St Michaels Mount on a certain day, or that there will be murmation of starlings in the winter around a well known pier, but it's topical and it makes a pleasant relief from the B word. I went to talk last weekend by Brian Harris, veteran (real) news photographer, ex 'Times', 'Independent' etc. He put it a bit more pithily. "If I see another picture of a f*****g sunset in the Times, I swear I will explode". (His language!) Of course, as has already been noted, Alamy only cares about what sells regularly and obviously doesn't want to clutter itself up with stuff that doesn't so it is having a cull. I certainly don't buy newspapers to see pictures of lambs in springtime or snow in wintertime but presumably a lot do or they wouldn't print them. Pete Davis http://www.pete-davis-photography.com http://peteslandscape.blogspot.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dippen_Swe Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 I have followed this thread for some time now, i am new on Alamy Live news and it was fun and exciting to post pictures of political events. I even booked flight tickets from Sweden to London just to take pictures of Brexit-events and send them up to Alamy, crazy isn't it?:) Did i sell anything? No! but it was fun! I am a bit sad that they have now closed the Live news option for us newbies but i do understand that they want to set a level somewhere. However it will only be harder for us new ones who want to get into news and sports photography. So what happens now? Start looking for other alternatives? I enjoyed the setup that Alamy Live News had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkK Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 (edited) Was just in South Bend Indiana today for the announcement by Pete Buttegieg he is officially running for the President of the US. There were so many people that the fire marshall turned away people shortly after the doors opened as it was already at capacity. So, in the cold and rain, I along with many others stayed outside where a monitor was set-up. Before addressing the crowd inside, he and his partner surprisingly came out and addressed the group outside at which time I was right there to get my photos. Uncanny time/place. Since my LiveNews access was revoked, those photos of Pete w/partner, the crowd waiting outdoors, the reception of the crowd, etc. will all have to go into a review now before posting which at that point the newest news item will take over the news cycle. So I submitted to the other places which I don't get as much for live news but will likely sell them. The bottom line is that with photographers around the world capturing fleeting moments in time, a select photographers few cannot be everywhere at one time around the globe. I lived in Cleveland but drove the 5 hours to South Bend Indiana just as I will be driving to Buffalo later this week for more news stories. There are pockets of the globe where news is happening and while it may not be of interest to the English curators, it may be of interest to the thousands of publications/websites that cover the news throughout the world and purchase from Alamy. Again, the photos I have of Pete and his partner addressing the crowd today were very timely, very important in the world of US politics, and were captured by myself. I had the photos captured and sent (not to Alamy) before they were done addressing the main hall inside. It is what it is but with how fast the news moves nowadays, the photos of Pete and his partner on arguably one of the most important days of his campaign (the official announcement he is running) will not be available on Alamy for a couple days as it is Sunday here in the US as I write this, the photos won't get reviewed until Monday/Tuesday and will be live by Tuesday/Wednesday at which time it is old news. Ok, enough said. Check my photos in a couple days if you want to see the shots taken at the rally today. I am sure many of use who have been culled from submitting Live News have had or will have similar experiences. Unfortunately for two years I have submitted live news only to Alamy and didn't bother with the other outlets but will now seek out other avenues since this one has been closed off. Edited April 15, 2019 by MarkK 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MizBrown Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 As for new news photographers, the bleeding obvious solution to this, if you want to work for Alamy Live News, is to take the pictures, get in touch as quickly as possible with Alamy (phone with Skype and a data plan, or whatever) and see if this is something they want. Give Alamy enough news photos that sell more often than not, and the newbie will get access. Googling https://www.google.com.ni/search?q=pete+buttigieg+announces+presidential+bid&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCg43DhNHhAhXp1FkKHbO_BGQQ_AUIDygC&biw=2143&bih=1322#imgrc=_ gets pages of results, mostly from the big national media companies. I didn't bother to go to Managua for news because some other Alamy shooters live there and probably can beat me to anything news worthy. There are even other photographers in Jinotega, not sure if any of them submit to Alamy, and there are travelers who've submitted the big architectural shots of the local cathedral to Alamy. This is Nicaragua. The rest of the world is probably even more saturated with decent to excellent part-time and full time photographers. I'm going to focus on people working, in situations where I can get unique access, and try to take better photos. And use my upstairs studio for still lifes that aren't necessarily "de Nicaragua." More and more, I think this is about promoting Alamy's brand by first creating a better reputation among news editors and secondary brand promotion by having a lot of memorable Alamy shots show up where they get the most eyeballs. If media remember seeing Alamy news shots, they're likely to see if Alamy can meet other photographic needs. If they go to the live news feeds and can't find what they're looking, after several tries, they'll go elsewhere when under time constraints. Alamy does show up (mostly in the UK media), but some other agencies show up more internationally. A while back, someone commented that it was impossible to beat the wire service guys on the big photo ops because they transmitted their pictures from their cameras seconds after taking them (if warranted). Going to announced press events are probably going to be very difficult to get a unique emotionally charged photo of the primary event. The people announcing something are more likely to be emotionally guarded. The world famous Che Guevara photo was taken by a very experienced Cuban photographer who did catch an emotional moment. Some of the official White House photographers have done similar work with US presidents, being very familiar with their subjects. So, what I need to do next for me is look over some of my all time favorite photographs, news or otherwise, and think about how to take better photographs. Maybe at 71, I'll never take better enough photographs. Shrug. Trying is better than not trying. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb photos Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 29 minutes ago, MizBrown said: As for new news photographers, the bleeding obvious solution to this, if you want to work for Alamy Live News, is to take the pictures, get in touch as quickly as possible with Alamy (phone with Skype and a data plan, or whatever) and see if this is something they want. Give Alamy enough news photos that sell more often than not, and the newbie will get access. I read way back on this thread that live news staff go home at 9:30pm. If correct, I'm curious how contributors with withdrawn live news rights that are non UK photographers (time difference issue) or uk photographers phone Alamy for a form to submit breaking news and have their submission checked after 9:30pm? Or in reality is there 24 hour coverage? Breaking news doesn't stop happening after Alamy's staff go home after a hard days work. Anyone had this problem or can comment on the actual hours that the live news staff can be contacted for a quick response? Emails to news@alamy.com likely won't be read for some time, then live news will be old news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Douglas Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 2 hours ago, MizBrown said: So, what I need to do next for me is look over some of my all time favorite photographs, news or otherwise, and think about how to take better photographs. Maybe at 71, I'll never take better enough photographs. Shrug. Trying is better than not trying. Have you come across the book: Pictures On A Page: Photojournalism,Graphics and Picture Editing by Harold Evans. First published in 1978, updated in 1997. "For the general reader it is a classic collection of news photographs fascinating in their own right. For the professional and the student it remains an unrivalled study of photo-journalism, a complete analysis of how photographs are taken, selected and edited for newspapers and magazines." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanDavidson Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Keith Douglas said: Have you come across the book: Pictures On A Page: Photojournalism,Graphics and Picture Editing by Harold Evans. First published in 1978, updated in 1997. "For the general reader it is a classic collection of news photographs fascinating in their own right. For the professional and the student it remains an unrivalled study of photo-journalism, a complete analysis of how photographs are taken, selected and edited for newspapers and magazines." I have this work and it is a classic. Although, initially, it may seem dated, it is an outstanding manual of the craft of photojournalism. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 21 hours ago, Dyn Llun said: I went to talk last weekend by Brian Harris, veteran (real) news photographer, ex 'Times', 'Independent' etc. He put it a bit more pithily. "If I see another picture of a f*****g sunset in the Times, I swear I will explode". (His language!) Of course, as has already been noted, Alamy only cares about what sells regularly and obviously doesn't want to clutter itself up with stuff that doesn't so it is having a cull. I certainly don't buy newspapers to see pictures of lambs in springtime or snow in wintertime but presumably a lot do or they wouldn't print them. Pete Davis http://www.pete-davis-photography.com http://peteslandscape.blogspot.com Each to their own. I enjoy the photos that the Times includes as the News in Pictures etc, they are always well composed, or dramatic, and visually appealing. My personal bête noire would be those clearly model posed agency images showing impossibly attractive people in unrealistically clean and tidy surroundings, add to that the boring heads of politicians etc yawn snooze.... Not sure that they add anything to my enjoyment of the paper, but people have to make a living. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colblimp Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 30 minutes ago, Bryan said: My personal bête noire would be those clearly model posed agency images showing impossibly attractive people in unrealistically clean and tidy surroundings Those pics drive me mad - so false and yet they keep being used. Any stock pics I set up are purposely shot to look real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanDavidson Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Bryan said: Each to their own. I enjoy the photos that the Times includes as the News in Pictures etc, they are always well composed, or dramatic, and visually appealing. My personal bête noire would be those clearly model posed agency images showing impossibly attractive people in unrealistically clean and tidy surroundings, add to that the boring heads of politicians etc yawn snooze.... Not sure that they add anything to my enjoyment of the paper, but people have to make a living. Sorry about the boring heads of politicians but they sell and sell and sell.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSnapper Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 4 hours ago, sb photos said: Breaking news doesn't stop happening after Alamy's staff go home after a hard days work. you don't have to be in the office to be at work.... km 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 I have just taken a look at the latest live news feed. There is one group of peach blossom and one group of Arial pictures of Chinese fields. While they mat be great pictures in their own right, how are they live news? As I have said this doesn't much affect me, but it is the inconsistency of Alamy that I can understand infuriates those that it does affect. It seams to me it is the way Alamy tries to do everything on the cheap that causes the problem. If they manually accepted the images put through to the live news feed there would be no need to shut everyone out, just not accept any non-newsworthy images. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 They're Agency pictures. It seems that Alamy make no effort to curate these, they're simply added to the News feed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, Russell said: They're Agency pictures. It seems that Alamy make no effort to curate these, they're simply added to the News feed. So they've thrown out the baby with the bathwater but they haven't turned off the tap. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 20 minutes ago, Russell said: They're Agency pictures. It seems that Alamy make no effort to curate these, they're simply added to the News feed. I think they must be doing some curating, possibly conscious of the criticism being levelled at them. When I looked at Live News first thing this morning there was a group of 25 images of bunny rabbits with a wicker basket and small Easter eggs (pure stock fodder). A while after the Alamy office opened, they had gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryP Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 (edited) Hi all. I'm also out of the news live. I have covered events such as the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, racing championships, comic-con, etc ... and, soon, the Tennis Open. I have a press card and a letter of recommendation from Alamy for the events. Sometimes I have sent jobs to Alamy only faster than the most powerful News Agencies. I mean agencies that carry five or six people working in the field (Ge ..., Z ..., E ..., etc ... complete the ellipses ;-)) Sending images for news at least three times a month. I know that's not much. A single person will never have the means that a News Agency like the ones we all know. But Alamy has chosen, for the signatures that we can see in the live news, he has chosen those mega-agencies to the detriment of independent photographers. I will not pray. I've never done. So, feeling it a lot, I'm already looking for a better port. A port where my work and effort are rewarded, not with money, but with respect. And forgive everyone for my disastrous English. Edited April 15, 2019 by HenryP 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Quote I think they must be doing some curating , Joseph, Did you notice whether the Bunny pics were submitted by an agency or an individual contributor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starsphinx Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 1 hour ago, HenryP said: Hi all. I'm also out of the news live. I have covered events such as the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, racing championships, comic-con, etc ... and, soon, the Tennis Open. I have a press card and a letter of recommendation from Alamy for the events. Sometimes I have sent jobs to Alamy only faster than the most powerful News Agencies. I mean agencies that carry five or six people working in the field (Ge ..., Z ..., E ..., etc ... complete the ellipses ;-)) Sending images for news at least three times a month. I know that's not much. A single person will never have the means that a News Agency like the ones we all know. But Alamy has chosen, for the signatures that we can see in the live news, he has chosen those mega-agencies to the detriment of independent photographers. I will not pray. I've never done. So, feeling it a lot, I'm already looking for a better port. A port where my work and effort are rewarded, not with money, but with respect. And forgive everyone for my disastrous English. Your English may not be letter perfect but it does properly express your feelings on the subject - and you have my regret this has happened as you clearly do not deserve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Glendell Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 I haven't read every post here - I do have a life - so can anyone that was taken off the live news list and that has since applied to join has been accepted or declined. I see many people complaining that they have been taken off the list, even those with press cards but have they applied to see if they can join. I applied last week and am waiting to see the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 16 minutes ago, Paul Glendell said: I haven't read every post here - I do have a life - so can anyone that was taken off the live news list and that has since applied to join has been accepted or declined. I see many people complaining that they have been taken off the list, even those with press cards but have they applied to see if they can join. I applied last week and am waiting to see the result. I applied the same day as I received the initial 'bad news' email and I received another on Saturday declining my new application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryP Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 27 minutes ago, Starsphinx said: Your English may not be letter perfect but it does properly express your feelings on the subject - and you have my regret this has happened as you clearly do not deserve it. Thank you very much! I also applied last week and I'm waiting to see the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Russell said: Joseph, Did you notice whether the Bunny pics were submitted by an agency or an individual contributor? It was early this morning and I didn't make more than a passing mental note, but I think is was an agency - possibly Xinhua, but I'm not certain of the precise ID. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andremichel Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Any of you elite live news guys submitted the Notre dame on fire yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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