Archival route

[John Mitchell]

I'm thinking of applying for archival upload privileges, and I'm wondering if anyone has any experiences and/or advice to share regarding this option. Also, am I correct in assuming that archival images are sent via FTP?

 

Merci/Thanks

[wiskerke]

Not FTP, web based, just like the normal upload.

 

This is what the page says:

 

Archival or reportage images upload

You have been given permission to submit via this route because we believe you have valuable images which may not meet Alamy’s standard QC criteria.

Only use this route for images or groups of images which meet our Archival or Reportage criteria and please be aware that our customers have the ability to exclude these images from searches.

Archival Images – Imagery that forms a body of work that may be historically or culturally significant or may simply depict a bygone era. Examples include film stills, press archives and specialist collections

Reportage Images – Imagery that is photojournalistic in nature, it depicts or illustrates a story. It is a true and accurate reflection of people, instances and or events but is older than 48 hours so is no longer 'News' Examples include photo essays or features.

Please note that If you are submitting News images (shot within the last 48 hours) you should select the News Upload route

Images uploaded via this route should be at least 5MB (uncompressed).

 

The rest just looks like the default upload page.

 

wim

[Martyn]

I did apply for this some time ago as I had some old images that were of interest and topical at the time I applied but these particular images would not have passed QC due to slight ca. I was then asked to supply a link to my web site, which I did. I was then asked to demonstrate that I already had images with Alamy that were archival, which I did by saying which images were archival by their three digit code that I apply before upload so they are easily identifiable from newer images that have a different three digit code.Alamy then asked that I put all my older archival images under a different pseudonym….Huh?? I have far better things to do with my time, it's not difficult to identify my archival from my newer images by code and I was not prepared to spend forever moving thousands of older film images to a new pseudonym !! Upshot was that I sold them elsewhere and do not have archival access, I just upload my older images through the normal route.

[John Mitchell]

I did apply for this some time ago as I had some old images that were of interest and topical at the time I applied but these particular images would not have passed QC due to slight ca. I was then asked to supply a link to my web site, which I did. I was then asked to demonstrate that I already had images with Alamy that were archival, which I did by saying which images were archival by their three digit code that I apply before upload so they are easily identifiable from newer images that have a different three digit code.Alamy then asked that I put all my older archival images under a different pseudonym….Huh?? I have far better things to do with my time, it's not difficult to identify my archival from my newer images by code and I was not prepared to spend forever moving thousands of older film images to a new pseudonym !! Upshot was that I sold them elsewhere and do not have archival access, I just upload my older images through the normal route.

 

Interesting to hear about your experiences. Thanks.

 

Just wondering, when Alamy asked you to demonstrate that you already had images on Alamy that were archival, did they mean ones from the same time period as the ones you wanted to submit?

[fotoDogue]

I applied for the News/Archive route several years ago when Alamy first added this. I was given an ftp account but I generally upload via the web. I believe the reason I gave was that I had some previously published photos from the World Trade Center attack, shot on color negative film. I knew would continue to sell, but couldn't get them past QC. I also have a reasonably large archive of B&W negatives shot, mostly on Tri-X or Ilford HP-5, from my newspaper days.

 

At this point I consider anything shot on film to be archival. I switched to digital in 2004. Photojournalistic essays and series, or images that I don't submit to the news feed in time, go up as Reportage.

 

fD

[Martin P Wilson]

I applied for the News/Archive route several years ago when Alamy first added this. I was given an ftp account but I generally upload via the web. I believe the reason I gave was that I had some previously published photos from the World Trade Center attack, shot on color negative film. I knew would continue to sell, but couldn't get them past QC. I also have a reasonably large archive of B&W negatives shot, mostly on Tri-X or Ilford HP-5, from my newspaper days.

 

At this point I consider anything shot on film to be archival. I switched to digital in 2004. Photojournalistic essays and series, or images that I don't submit to the news feed in time, go up as Reportage.

 

fD

 

My experience was much the same except I actively use the News FTP route. Everything from film and much from my early digital days (2000-2004)  I regard as archival. I also put up as reportage through the same route, newsy stuff that I did not upload within 48hours (actually more like 24). As I recall getting News and Archival access was pretty straightforward as I have stuff going back to late 60s and had a comprehensive web site with one or two pictures from that era, I was not asked to put them in a separate pseudonym.

[Martyn]

 

I did apply for this some time ago as I had some old images that were of interest and topical at the time I applied but these particular images would not have passed QC due to slight ca. I was then asked to supply a link to my web site, which I did. I was then asked to demonstrate that I already had images with Alamy that were archival, which I did by saying which images were archival by their three digit code that I apply before upload so they are easily identifiable from newer images that have a different three digit code.Alamy then asked that I put all my older archival images under a different pseudonym….Huh?? I have far better things to do with my time, it's not difficult to identify my archival from my newer images by code and I was not prepared to spend forever moving thousands of older film images to a new pseudonym !! Upshot was that I sold them elsewhere and do not have archival access, I just upload my older images through the normal route.

 

Interesting to hear about your experiences. Thanks.

 

Just wondering, when Alamy asked you to demonstrate that you already had images on Alamy that were archival, did they mean ones from the same time period as the ones you wanted to submit?

 

No, I think they meant archival images in general from any time…..as Photo Dogue above, anything I shot on film is what I class as archival !

[John Mitchell]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I'm planning on doing a fair amount of scanning of old images during the next few months, so I probably will go ahead and ask for archival uploading privileges. There is nothing to lose by the sounds of it. I already have a couple of thousand scans on Alamy (uploaded in 2008-9), and they continue to do surprisingly well.

[fotoDogue]

I haven't figured out my percentage of archival sales but I had 3 out of 5 this month including an old B&W from 1987. I think my oldest archival sale goes back to 1979 or so, shot on Kodachrome. One interesting feature of the Archival Route is that the minimum file size is 5 mb so you can submit images from some of the earlier digital cameras too.

 

fD

[Martin P Wilson]

I haven't figured out my percentage of archival sales but I had 3 out of 5 this month including an old B&W from 1987. I think my oldest archival sale goes back to 1979 or so, shot on Kodachrome. One interesting feature of the Archival Route is that the minimum file size is 5 mb so you can submit images from some of the earlier digital cameras too.

 

fD

 

But not yet from my original Canon D30 (3mpx)!

[John Mitchell]

I just got accepted for archival upload. Guess I'll be busy scanning old images this winter. Thanks again for the info.

 

P.S. I wasn't asked to create a new pseudonym.

[John Mitchell]

Just wondering, does it take archival photos longer to go "on sale" than regular stock images? I keyworded my first submission yesterday and notice that they are still in the "ready" stage. There's no rush of course, but I'm curious to know what the usual waiting period is.

[Martin P Wilson]

Just wondering, does it take archival photos longer to go "on sale" than regular stock images? I keyworded my first submission yesterday and notice that they are still in the "ready" stage. There's no rush of course, but I'm curious to know what the usual waiting period is.

 

I don't think so John. They seem to go through essentially the same route as News but without the 48 hours on the News Feed. That said the update of images to on sale was very late this morning so there may have been some glitches. I have also noticed, in the past, when I managed images late in the the evening they did not always get put on sale the following morning, they often seemed to need an extra 24 hours.

[Brian Humek]

When applying for archival access, how many photos does Alamy want to see as a sample and do they want you to upload a minimum amount of images via this route?

I have some black and white images I took at Texas ranches back in the 20th century (well,1999) and need to have them scanned and would like to upload them as archival images. I just want to know what the minimum Alamy may require as a sample for them to approve archival upload privelages. 

 

I don't want to scan them all and then possibly get turned down for archival access. I'd prefer to scan a smaller amount to first show Alamy. 

Thanks, 
Brian 

 

P.S. John Mitchell, I asked this of you in another thread before I found this one, sorry 

[Phil Crean]

I showed a link to a web page with about 40 and they gave me the ok on that..

 

Phil

[Chuck Nacke]

I would say that 70% of the small number of images I've uploaded

to Alamy in the last five years were "archival"  On occasion I've

recaptioned and keyworded the image with current events in mind.

[Brian Humek]

Getting ready to apply for archival access in a couple weeks. Thanks for this very helpful thread. I'm assuming that everything is the same as a typical upload except that QC isn't as strict, is that correct? Just double checking since this thread is a couple years old. 

[John Mitchell]

Getting ready to apply for archival access in a couple weeks. Thanks for this very helpful thread. I'm assuming that everything is the same as a typical upload except that QC isn't as strict, is that correct? Just double checking since this thread is a couple years old. 

 

The archival route has no QC -- i.e. uploaded archival images bypass QC.