Upload Errors and Question about Image selection before upload

[Steven Love]

Hello.

I normally would contact technical support for this, but I cannot seem to find the link for it.

I have a couple of technical questions that need answering.

 

Lately I have been having upload problems. I get upload errors randomly during a batch upload. I suspect it might be due to my internet connection. My maximum connection speed is only 3 megabits per second. I cannot change that because I live in a remote area and internet service is limited. However, while uploading a batch some images do not upload and just display "Rejected due to Upload Error". I know it is not a problem with the image because I am able to eventually upload it by deleting the error and reselecting the image. But sometimes it takes multiple attempts to finally get the image uploaded. I was wondering if my slow connection speed could be causing this.

 

Another issue related to this I have found is that if I delete a bad image and attempt to reselect it the uploader does not respond. It will only respond if I select two or more images at one time. It will not upload images being selected one at a time. Is this normal or is it a different problem?

 

Another issue I have is when I first start a new batch the uploader only gives me a single choice when selecting the type of images I am going to upload.

In the latest batch I submitted I had a mixture of illustrations and photographs. I tried checking both the Illustration and Photo boxes but it would only let me choose one.

 

The reason I did not start a separate batch for the illustrations is because there were only five illustrations and I know from past experiences that the larger the batch the better the chances it will pass inspection.

My question is will having illustrations mixed in cause the batch to fail inspection?

 

Thank you for any advice.

[M.Chapman]

Try using FTP for upload.

https://www.alamy.com/contributor/how-to-sell-images/how-do-i-send-you-my-stock-images/

 

Mark

[meanderingemu]

i can vouch that slow internet will sometimes give "upload errors", something i would experience travelling (ah the good old days).

 

as Mark suggest FTP is usually more useful, or just go in small batches of 2-5 image at a time. 

[Steven Love]

2 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

Try using FTP for upload.

https://www.alamy.com/contributor/how-to-sell-images/how-do-i-send-you-my-stock-images/

 

Mark

I used to use FileZilla in the past, but then I started getting connection errors when I switched my Mac OSX to High Sierra back in 2017. I don't think FileZilla ever fixed the problem and recommended upgrading my OSX, but my Mac is too old for an upgrade, not to mention that I have other programs that would stop working if I changed the OSX. I never liked using 3rd party programs to upload data anyway. That is why I prefer using the Safari browser that my Mac came with.

If the problem is related to internet connection speed then I will just have to keep re-uploading over and over until all the files are uploaded.

[CAROL SAUNDERS]

When I had a similar problem a few months ago it turned out that it was an extremely slow internet connection now rectified.. hope you get it sorted..

 

Carol

[Steve F]

Steve,

I can only answer the first query. Yes, from personal experience, a slow/intermittent internet connection will cause upload errors with batch uploading. Just need to delete the rejected files at the end and re-upload.

[Steven Love]

2 hours ago, Steve F said:

Steve,

I can only answer the first query. Yes, from personal experience, a slow/intermittent internet connection will cause upload errors with batch uploading. Just need to delete the rejected files at the end and re-upload.

I figured as much that my slow internet is probably the reason. I have had similar problems with other stock sites I do business with.

The only one that has not given me any problems is Pond5. My uploads on that site seem to go through pretty quickly, so it could also be the type of uploader used by Alamy that might be part of the problem.

One thing I noticed is that when I am trying to upload to Alamy I get a warning message from Safari that the Alamy page is using more energy than what Safari considers normal. The warning message actually states that closing the page would speed my computer back up. Obviously I cannot close the page if I am in the middle of an upload, but that warning does tell me that the Alamy page is using more computer memory than other sites. That is probably part of the problem.

[Steven Love]

UPDATE.

 

The batch I submitted containing 5 illustrations and 19 photos was accepted.

So I guess that answers the other question I posed in that it does not matter if illustrations are mixed in with photos.

When I edited the images I simply changed the image type to illustration for those particular ones.

 

So now the only thing I have to contend with are these periodic upload errors.

[Richardgb]

I have also found problems when using Alamy's web-based image uploader for photos. Some, seemingly at random, images post-processed in the same way to get a jpg file just do not upload - the 'blue ring' shown when uploading keeps running and the file never starts to upload. If this happens in a batch of images then the whole lot, even those already uploaded, has to be aborted and the process started again. Sometimes the errant file then uploads without a problem; at other times it just will not, despite repeated attempts.

 

Oddly, if as the last stage of the image processing, I create the jpg file of the same 'stubborn' image through another program (Photoshop Elements), then that file will upload normally whereas the jpg file created originally (using Affinity photo) will not. The PSE file is rather smaller (~20MB) compared to that from Affinity (~28MB), both on the highest quality settings. However, given that most Affinity files upload without a problem, I am reluctant to blame the program outright (I have tried various other settings, but this makes no difference).

 

[CAROL SAUNDERS]

When I had a similar problem a few months ago it turned out that it was an extremely slow internet connection now rectified.. hope you get it sorted.

 

Just uploaded a small batch and went through very quickly 

 

Carol

[Steven Love]

On 19/05/2022 at 01:24, Richardgb said:

I have also found problems when using Alamy's web-based image uploader for photos. Some, seemingly at random, images post-processed in the same way to get a jpg file just do not upload - the 'blue ring' shown when uploading keeps running and the file never starts to upload. If this happens in a batch of images then the whole lot, even those already uploaded, has to be aborted and the process started again. Sometimes the errant file then uploads without a problem; at other times it just will not, despite repeated attempts.

 

Oddly, if as the last stage of the image processing, I create the jpg file of the same 'stubborn' image through another program (Photoshop Elements), then that file will upload normally whereas the jpg file created originally (using Affinity photo) will not. The PSE file is rather smaller (~20MB) compared to that from Affinity (~28MB), both on the highest quality settings. However, given that most Affinity files upload without a problem, I am reluctant to blame the program outright (I have tried various other settings, but this makes no difference).

 

I used Affinity Photo to process my images as well, and I have never had a problem upload the exported JPGs to other sites. It is most likely an internet connection issue that Alamy is sensitive to.

[Steven Love]

On 19/05/2022 at 04:43, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

When I had a similar problem a few months ago it turned out that it was an extremely slow internet connection now rectified.. hope you get it sorted.

 

Just uploaded a small batch and went through very quickly 

 

Carol

Unfortunately I cannot do anything about my internet.

I live in a remote rural area of Arizona and finding high speed internet has always been a problem.

We started out with CenturyLink, but they were terrible. We then went with ViaSat, but they throttled my speed if I went over the data limit.

We're now with HughesNet, and although download speeds are pretty quick, their maximum upload speed is 3 Megabits per second, and that sometimes gets slower at certain times of day when traffic on their system peaks.

That corresponds with the problems I have had with Alamy.

Sometimes my uploads will go through very quickly in the morning hours while in the afternoon or evening I get errors because of the speed slowing down.

If Alamy is sensitive to connection speeds and it may end up being a matter of uploading at a specific time of day to get around this issue.

[Nathaniel Noir]

I just started having this mysterious Upload Error for the first time ever. I just recently got VPN and I noticed that when I turn off the VPN I no longer get an error when I upload, so maybe that could help.

[sooth]

.

Edited October 19, 2023 by sooth

[Steven Love]

On 24/05/2022 at 21:28, sooth said:

unfortunately, you have to 

according to reviews, hughes net is not good because they have too many customers which they have no ability to service = too little bandwidth. it's like a gigantic snaking toilet line at a sports stadium where suddenly somebody clogs up something, and game is over nobody can use it.

 

plus the fact that data has to travel up and down satellites at great distances will increase the latency (time) of data getting from point A to point b. high latency can cause upload errors. since you already discovered, best to upload at a specific time of day where fewer people are using the internet,i.e., get to the toilet first before others can.

 

the next generation satellite services, starlink, oneweb, and amazon with their many low earth orbit satellites will likely improve connectivity and speed should the services become available in your area in the future.

 

We switched to HughesNet because our prior provider, ViaSat, was getting too expensive. And ViaSat throttled my speed down from 12 Megabits per second down to 2 MBS if I went over the data limit.

 

At least HughesNet is cheaper. ViaSat was charging us $120 a month while Hughes is about $90.

So far the only problem with Hughes is the slowdown at certain times of day, which is no doubt due to high traffic.

Unfortunately I live in a remote rural area of Arizona and my choices of internet service is very limited. Hughes and ViaSat are the only games in town for where I live.

 

[Steven Love]

On 24/05/2022 at 13:03, Nathaniel Noir said:

I just started having this mysterious Upload Error for the first time ever. I just recently got VPN and I noticed that when I turn off the VPN I no longer get an error when I upload, so maybe that could help.

I don't use VPN. Never had a need for it.

I think some websites have problems with VPN. I recall reading somewhere that VPN is best suited for communication between individuals, not for general business. I think that some websites actually have restrictions on the use of VPN and won't allow access to the site if it detects the use of VPN. If you're having upload errors when using VPN than maybe Alamy has a restriction on using it.

But that is just speculation on my part.