Nabble - StockPhoto

Re: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-09T06:00:30Z

I've used Sigma lenses in the past and while I don't have any complaints about their sharpness, the lenses literally loosen up and start to fall apart during day to day use. I've had to send them back every 8 months or so to get Sigma to tighten them up.

Richard Levine and Frances Roberts Stock Photography Research
Member ASMP ASPP NPPA NYPPA
http://www.levineroberts.com
http://www.levineroberts.com/alternative_stock_photos
Kodachrome tee shirts: www.cafepress.com/levineroberts

Re: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-08T23:29:41Z

DON'T buy Sigma - I have 3 of their lenses and I'll never, never buy another. After only 1 yr. of use, 2 of the 3 always seem to have some kind of problem. Now I buy only Nikon.

--- In STOCKPHOTO@..., John Fowler <john@...> wrote:

>
> About to buy a 24-70 zoom for my D700. Note that Sigma has a new
> one. It's 700 bucks less than the Nikkor.
> Take a chance or bite the bullet?
> Any reliable comparative reviews?
>
>
> John T. Fowler,
> Photography For Education
> http://www.johnfowler.ca
> 613-256-4056
> 2549 Old Perth Road
> Almonte ON K0A 1A0 Canada

Re: Canon vs Tamron....

2009-07-08T20:28:22Z

Yes, it is.... the older version had its issues, but the 16-35 II is quite a
bit sharper, a better performer edge to edge and it's been weather-proofed:

<
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-16-35mm-f-2.8-L-II-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
>

<http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/16-35mm-ii.htm>

<http://photo.net/equipment/canon/16-35>

I've been very impressed with it. I shoot with a Canon Mark III and a recent
addition, the Canon 5D Mark II, and it has been great with the full frame.

dawn

2009/7/8 David Barr <photobar@...>

> >agreed. Did you have a chance to try the 16-35 II? The best wide zoom
> Canon
> >makes by far.
> >
> >dawn
> >
>
>
> Hi Dawn is this 16-35 better than the EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM Lens?
>
> David B
> --
> __________________________________________
>
> David Barr 519 846 8827
>
> Simplify your search at http://www.photobar.com
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Canon vs Tamron....

2009-07-08T20:18:32Z

>agreed. Did you have a chance to try the 16-35 II? The best wide zoom Canon
>makes by far.
>
>dawn
>

Hi Dawn is this 16-35 better than the EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM Lens?

David B
--
__________________________________________

David Barr 519 846 8827

Simplify your search at http://www.photobar.com

Re: Canon vs Tamron....

2009-07-08T19:17:51Z

agreed. Did you have a chance to try the 16-35 II? The best wide zoom Canon
makes by far.

dawn

2009/7/8 Len Holsborg <lenswork1@...>

> In line with the Nikkor / Sigma discussion, I will offer that I just
> recently tried out, against my better judgement, the new Tamron 10 - 24mm
> zoom for my 50D. To say it was horrendous would be an understatement. Poor
> detail all around, especially at the edges. Just a total waste of time and
> money. Returned to the vendor for refund, after giving it a 100 image trial.
>
> Went instead with the Canon 17 - 40mm USM 'L', a beautiful performer. The
> 'L' really does make a huge difference over the non-L Canons that I've used.
> The only negative is the lack of IS, but I'll take the sharpness over IS any
> day.
>
> I've had a few Sigma's over the years, but their construction
> quality/durability was lacking, although the glass itself was decent. This
> was my first, and last, go with Tamron.
>
> There's a reason, I suppose, the aftermarket lenses are cheaper, and its
> more prudent and cost effective, IMHO, in the long run to stick with OEM
> glass and bite the bullet on the upfront higher cost. Why risk spoiling a
> once in a lifetime shot, or any other shot, for that matter ?
>
> regards, Len
>
> http://lenholsborg.com
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Canon vs Tamron....

2009-07-08T19:15:35Z

In line with the Nikkor / Sigma discussion, I will offer that I just recently tried out, against my better judgement, the new Tamron 10 - 24mm zoom for my 50D. To say it was horrendous would be an understatement. Poor detail all around, especially at the edges. Just a total waste of time and money. Returned to the vendor for refund, after giving it a 100 image trial.

Went instead with the Canon 17 - 40mm USM 'L', a beautiful performer. The 'L' really does make a huge difference over the non-L Canons that I've used. The only negative is the lack of IS, but I'll take the sharpness over IS any day.

I've had a few Sigma's over the years, but their construction quality/durability was lacking, although the glass itself was decent. This was my first, and last, go with Tamron.

There's a reason, I suppose, the aftermarket lenses are cheaper, and its more prudent and cost effective, IMHO, in the long run to stick with OEM glass and bite the bullet on the upfront higher cost. Why risk spoiling a once in a lifetime shot, or any other shot, for that matter ?

regards, Len

http://lenholsborg.com

RE: Re: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-08T12:59:51Z

Ooops, just saw you wanted a WA at one end... sorry... carry on...
nothing to see here....
Cheers
Jeff Boucher
http://www.jeffboucher.com

RE: Re: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-08T12:49:33Z

John, Look around for a used 70-180 Macro Nikon. I use mine a lot for
nature stuff.
Cheers
Jeff Boucher
http://www.jeffboucher.com

Re: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-08T07:54:43Z

BTW for me is the lens that stays on most of the time.

Here my latest set with it (hit the play button)

http://picasaweb.google.com/constantin.moisei/20090624MusicInThePark?authkey=Gv1sRgCP7wvtTGs66AXA#slideshow/5351421291275376114

2009/7/8 Constantin Moisei <constantin.moisei@...>

> The Nikon 24-70mm is just awesome! It's like a prime - a very sharp lens,
> extremely well built !
>
>
>
> 2009/7/7 John Fowler <john@...>
>
>
>>
>> About to buy a 24-70 zoom for my D700. Note that Sigma has a new
>> one. It's 700 bucks less than the Nikkor.
>> Take a chance or bite the bullet?
>> Any reliable comparative reviews?
>>
>> John T. Fowler,
>> Photography For Education
>> http://www.johnfowler.ca
>> 613-256-4056
>> 2549 Old Perth Road
>> Almonte ON K0A 1A0 Canada
>> NOTE: You may need to add john(at)johnfowler(dot)ca
>> to your address book to ensure that you receive emails in your inbox.
>>
>>
>>
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-08T07:51:53Z

The Nikon 24-70mm is just awesome! It's like a prime - a very sharp lens,
extremely well built !

2009/7/7 John Fowler <john@...>

>
>
> About to buy a 24-70 zoom for my D700. Note that Sigma has a new
> one. It's 700 bucks less than the Nikkor.
> Take a chance or bite the bullet?
> Any reliable comparative reviews?
>
> John T. Fowler,
> Photography For Education
> http://www.johnfowler.ca
> 613-256-4056
> 2549 Old Perth Road
> Almonte ON K0A 1A0 Canada
> NOTE: You may need to add john(at)johnfowler(dot)ca
> to your address book to ensure that you receive emails in your inbox.
>
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-08T06:28:18Z

Ron, you make me so jealous! The main reson I've delayed buying that costly lens is the max length of 70mm - 105 is my favorite working lens length but there ain't no good WA-105 to fit my Nikons.
At least I can't find one.

--- In STOCKPHOTO@..., "Ron Buskirk" <ron@...> wrote:
>
> John,
>
>
>
> I had a 24-70 Sigma about 4 or 5 years ago. It was "ok", but not great. I
> bought a 24-105L with image stabilization (Canon shooter) and could never
> go back to the Sigma.

Re: Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-08T03:57:52Z

Per,

Thanks for your comments. I agree with all you say. I was aware when
I started the old photoblog ( http://ronbuskirk.com/photoblog ) years
ago that it needed text to be found by the search engines. I just
didn't like (and didn't have the time) to write.

This new format ( http://ronbuskirk.wordpress.com ) challenges me to
work on my writing. Many of the comments on this thread have helped
me to find more direction, or focus, for the blog.

Thanks to everyone who commented!

Quoting babel1855 <babel1855@...>:

> Ron,
>
> Good idea to test the waters like that, but there's a fundamental
> problem with your one-photo-a-day blog, if you don't mind my saying
> so.
>
> There's NO TEXT.
>

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-08T00:57:10Z

Ron,

Good idea to test the waters like that, but there's a fundamental problem with your one-photo-a-day blog, if you don't mind my saying so.

There's NO TEXT.

Search engines work with text, so if you don't have any descriptive text on your page they will never find it. For it to work you MUST have text that can be indexed by Google and that text should contain the keywords that are important for your photography. If it can't be indexed by Google then there's no point doing it. (That's also a reason why it's a bad idea to build websites using flash technology (flash is not search engine friendly), even if search engines are coming closer to being able to index flash effectively.)

Apart from that it looked really nice.

(As I mentioned in my previous post I did, and do, a similar thing Today's Wine Picture, http://wine-pictures.blogspot.com/, and it gets a decent amount of traffic.)

-Per Karlsson

--- In STOCKPHOTO@..., Ron Buskirk <ron@...> wrote:

>
> I don't think you can just write blog articles and sit back and wait
> for people to find and read them. I did a "photo-a-day" photoblog for
> about two years a while back but did no promotion at all. I think the
> only people who saw it were my personal friends and family, and
> spammers that wanted to add comments containing all their spam
> garbage. It's still there if you want to take a look (spam removed)
> at http://ronbuskirk.com/photoblog , but I haven't added new images
> for over a year.
>

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-08T00:48:30Z

Well, something is better than nothing, so every other month is better than never, that's for sure. It is also certain that updating often will make it more effective than if you updateseldom.

On the other hand, updating with meaningless posts is not a good idea. Better to post more seldom but with good quality posts.

Yes, it's likely that Blogger or Wordpress will get you referenced quicker/better. But no one can be quite sure. It might not be the case. But they will also give you a much better tool to work with - with more functionality etc.

And even if you use Blogger/Wordpress you can use your own domain name (url) for it, so that it looks as if it were your own site.

I've chosen a bit of a different path. I update every single day (well, almost), but with just a "today's photo":
http://wine-pictures.blogspot.com/

Does it get traffic? Yes. Between 50 and 100 unique visits per day. Does it sell any images? Who knows.

-Per Karlsson

--- In STOCKPHOTO@..., "Dan Suzio" <dan@...> wrote:

>
>
> And while we're on the topic, here's my own question about blogs.
>
> I've been avoiding starting a blog for a long time, mostly because I don't think I can find the time to write something often enough. I do have a page on my site called "the story behind the picture" -- http://www.dansuzio.com/stories.html -- but I've only been adding to it every two or three months. So my question, for those who have blogs, is will it do any good to have a blog if I'm not updating it very often? Does interest fall off quickly, or do new readers keep discovering it?
>
> Also, I'm guessing that blogging on a site like blogspot or wordpress will probably generate more traffic than a page on my own site -- but I don't know that to be true. Can anyone answer that question?
>
> Dan
>

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-07T21:37:20Z

> PS: a resource of questionable value... http://tinyurl.com/m5c28g ;-)

Joe, you make some excellent points, especially about knowing who your audience is. Most of the photography blogs I see are mostly of interest to photographers. And, well, as much as I like photographers, they don't pay my bills ... If/when I start blogging, I hope I can write something that will interest my clients!

Dan

Re: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-07T21:33:29Z

I've been doing this photography thing for sixty years. I learned long
ago to stick with the manufacturer's own lenses and accessories.
There's an old saying that pretty much says it all... 'buy cheap, buy
twice'.

Jim

On Jul 7, 2009, at 3:07 PM, Ron Buskirk wrote:

>
>
> John,
>
> I had a 24-70 Sigma about 4 or 5 years ago. It was "ok", but not
> great. I
> bought a 24-105L with image stabilization (Canon shooter) and could
> never
> go back to the Sigma. I'm not prejudiced against Sigma, I still use a
> 70-200 and a 105 macro and I am very happy with those (but IS would
> be nice
> on the 70-200).
>
> There is a big price difference, but you will probably get what you
> pay for.
> It may depend on just how much you think you will use this lens.
>
> RonSB
>
> From: STOCKPHOTO@... [mailto:STOCKPHOTO@...]
> On
> Behalf Of John Fowler
> Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 8:08 AM
> To: STOCKPHOTO@...
> Subject: [STOCKPHOTO] Nikkor or Sigma?
>
> About to buy a 24-70 zoom for my D700. Note that Sigma has a new
> one. It's 700 bucks less than the Nikkor.
> Take a chance or bite the bullet?
> Any reliable comparative reviews?
>
> John T. Fowler,
> Photography For Education
> http://www.johnfowler.ca
> 613-256-4056
> 2549 Old Perth Road
> Almonte ON K0A 1A0 Canada
> NOTE: You may need to add john(at)johnfowler(dot)ca
> to your address book to ensure that you receive emails in your inbox.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

Jim Brick
www.visualimpressions.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

RE: Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-07T15:07:02Z

John,

I had a 24-70 Sigma about 4 or 5 years ago. It was "ok", but not great. I
bought a 24-105L with image stabilization (Canon shooter) and could never
go back to the Sigma. I'm not prejudiced against Sigma, I still use a
70-200 and a 105 macro and I am very happy with those (but IS would be nice
on the 70-200).

There is a big price difference, but you will probably get what you pay for.
It may depend on just how much you think you will use this lens.

RonSB

From: STOCKPHOTO@... [mailto:STOCKPHOTO@...] On
Behalf Of John Fowler
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 8:08 AM
To: STOCKPHOTO@...
Subject: [STOCKPHOTO] Nikkor or Sigma?

About to buy a 24-70 zoom for my D700. Note that Sigma has a new
one. It's 700 bucks less than the Nikkor.
Take a chance or bite the bullet?
Any reliable comparative reviews?

John T. Fowler,
Photography For Education
http://www.johnfowler.ca
613-256-4056
2549 Old Perth Road
Almonte ON K0A 1A0 Canada
NOTE: You may need to add john(at)johnfowler(dot)ca
to your address book to ensure that you receive emails in your inbox.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-07T09:45:59Z

I think another great value to a blog is the links you create back to your own site(s). This improves SEO, which everyone is looking to improve.
Chuck
http://www.stockmodels.com

--- In STOCKPHOTO@..., Joseph Pobereskin <joseph@...> wrote:

>
> Dan Suzio wrote:
>
> > I've been avoiding starting a blog for a long time, mostly because I
> > don't think I can find the time to write something often enough.
>
>
> Dan,
>
> This should not be your primary concern. Frequency, while desirable,
> is less a concern than relevancy. I think the things you write about
> (or show) need to be of interest to your readers. It's also helpful
> to be a good writer because nothing destroys your image faster and
> more completely than illiteracy. Leslie Burns-Dell'Acqua, a well-
> known consultant to photographers, cautions that words are a
> photographer's worst enemy, and judging from some of the things I've
> seen photographers write (including some of the things I've written) I
> can tell you with utmost certainty that she is 100% correct.
>
> All that said, writing a blog is wonderful therapy, especially when
> there's something you need to get off your chest. If you can find a
> good-natured way to do that then you're ahead of the game. Of course,
> you can probably take comfort in the fact that nobody will be even the
> slightest bit interested in what you have to say... a fact that I
> appreciate on an almost daily basis.
>
> The most astonishing thing I've learned about my blog is that people
> read it. Scary!
>
> My 2¢,
>
> Joe Pobereskin
>
> PS: a resource of questionable value... http://tinyurl.com/m5c28g ;-)
>
> --
> Joseph Pobereskin Photography | Chicago & New York
> http://pobereskin.com
> +1 (847) 215-1794
> +1 (201) 306-8250
>
> Joe's Private Stock
> http://tinyurl.com/pobereskin
>
> "Eat At Joe's"
> http://cafejoetogo.blogspot.com
>
> Member - SAA http://www.stockartistsalliance.org
> Member/Director - ASMP Chicago http://www.chimwasmp.org
> -------------------------------------------------------
>

Chuck Goodenough Photo
Photography for Apparel & Accessories in Los Angeles:
http://www.chuckgoodenough.com
http://www.stockmodels.com
http://www.myspace.com/martphoto
Phone: 213-624-1600 Fax: 213-232-3335

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-07T08:58:20Z

--- In STOCKPHOTO@..., John Fowler <john@...> wrote:
>
> I've started a promotional blog - trying to make it interesting
> enough to have people come back from time to time (and become aware
> of specific collections of stock photos I have to offer).
> If you have time on your hands (yeah, right!), comments would be
> appreciated.
> Here's the address: wolfgrovediary.blogspot.com/

Content is good and I like the otter pix - but for me I am not sure that I like the format of the page. Guess I'm more used to the blogs that have the blog text centered down the middle - maybe yours looks a bit dated?

I haven't posted to this forum in many a moon but I too have recently started a blog but in my case I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm just bored :-)

Anyway your all welcome to check it out and post disparaging comments on it:
http://dougarmand.wordpress.com/

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-07T07:33:23Z

Dan Suzio wrote:

> I've been avoiding starting a blog for a long time, mostly because I
> don't think I can find the time to write something often enough.

Dan,

This should not be your primary concern. Frequency, while desirable,
is less a concern than relevancy. I think the things you write about
(or show) need to be of interest to your readers. It's also helpful
to be a good writer because nothing destroys your image faster and
more completely than illiteracy. Leslie Burns-Dell'Acqua, a well-
known consultant to photographers, cautions that words are a
photographer's worst enemy, and judging from some of the things I've
seen photographers write (including some of the things I've written) I
can tell you with utmost certainty that she is 100% correct.

All that said, writing a blog is wonderful therapy, especially when
there's something you need to get off your chest. If you can find a
good-natured way to do that then you're ahead of the game. Of course,
you can probably take comfort in the fact that nobody will be even the
slightest bit interested in what you have to say... a fact that I
appreciate on an almost daily basis.

The most astonishing thing I've learned about my blog is that people
read it. Scary!

My 2¢,

Joe Pobereskin

PS: a resource of questionable value... http://tinyurl.com/m5c28g ;-)

--
Joseph Pobereskin Photography | Chicago & New York
http://pobereskin.com
+1 (847) 215-1794
+1 (201) 306-8250

Joe's Private Stock
http://tinyurl.com/pobereskin

"Eat At Joe's"
http://cafejoetogo.blogspot.com

Member - SAA http://www.stockartistsalliance.org
Member/Director - ASMP Chicago http://www.chimwasmp.org
-------------------------------------------------------

Blogs / Further

2009-07-07T07:10:16Z

Hi:

I just posted about my blog and failed to include the links.

As you can see I am still learning about promoting the site(s.)

Please see:

http://thewellspoint.com/category/general/

for the blog and

http://thewellspoint.com/

for the general site.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

David H. Wells

Narrative Photography
www.DavidHWells.com
David@...
Don't forget the "H"

Blogs / Further

2009-07-07T07:03:22Z

It has been interesting to see how folks are blogging.

Here is my contribution to the Blogosphere:

It is called "The Wells Point" and it is a web site with video podcasts and free information for aspiring and accomplished photographers.

The craftsmanship podcasts walk you through specific techniques that will improve the craft of your photography.

The creativity podcasts will stimulate your creativity as a photographer. They build on the idea that looking at successful photographs is the second best way to become a better photographer.

New podcasts will be posted approximately every two weeks. New blog postings will appear twice a week.

David H. Wells

Narrative Photography
www.DavidHWells.com
David@...
Don't forget the "H"

Nikkor or Sigma?

2009-07-07T05:07:49Z

About to buy a 24-70 zoom for my D700. Note that Sigma has a new
one. It's 700 bucks less than the Nikkor.
Take a chance or bite the bullet?
Any reliable comparative reviews?

John T. Fowler,
Photography For Education
http://www.johnfowler.ca
613-256-4056
2549 Old Perth Road
Almonte ON K0A 1A0 Canada
NOTE: You may need to add john(at)johnfowler(dot)ca
to your address book to ensure that you receive emails in your inbox.

Re: Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-06T19:37:36Z

Hey Dan,

I think I was probably inspired by Joe and Chuck's blogs.

There are a number of blogs than I enjoy so I decided to follow them
in NetNewsWatcher. Some of these have daily comments, some are updated
infrequently. The advantage was that NetNewsWAtcher would show me what
was new so I didn't have to go back over what I might have already
read. Then if I wanted to comment I needed to open an account and,
when you sign up the provider offers you a blog in the process. Of
course once I decided to start blogging I could no longer remember by
blogspot password so I wound up opening a new wordpress account.

There are a number of differences between Blogspot and Wordpress so
you might want to check them out before you make a decision. One
advantage Wordpress has over hosting a blog on your usual site is
that it will automatically search for related posts and generate links
at the bottom of the page. That can help drive traffic to your blog.
But I think Blogspot has some other feature that might be particularly
good for photoblogs.

Some blogs are updated numerous times daily. Others may only be
updated much less frequently. Once every two or three months would be
very infrequent. Unless people are subscribed they might easily forget
about it.

Stacy

On Jul 6, 2009, at 11:50 AM, Dan Suzio wrote:

>
>
>
> And while we're on the topic, here's my own question about blogs.
>
> I've been avoiding starting a blog for a long time, mostly because I
> don't think I can find the time to write something often enough. I
> do have a page on my site called "the story behind the picture" -- http://www.dansuzio.com/stories.html
> -- but I've only been adding to it every two or three months. So my
> question, for those who have blogs, is will it do any good to have a
> blog if I'm not updating it very often? Does interest fall off
> quickly, or do new readers keep discovering it?
>
> Also, I'm guessing that blogging on a site like blogspot or
> wordpress will probably generate more traffic than a page on my own
> site -- but I don't know that to be true. Can anyone answer that
> question?
>
> Dan
>
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Urgent Quote help required - Car Wrap

2009-07-06T16:10:35Z

my experience is limited but I've used a few images for truck wraps and they
were more pricey than billboards since the wraps last on average about 2
years (or so we were told) and are out and about constantly--whereas a
billboard has a much more limited lifespan usually. Car and truck wraps are
usually left on until they start to deteriorate because they are so
expensive.

dawn

2009/7/6 <pb@...>

> I would probably go with billboard usage. You just need to determine the
> time it will be up.
>
> Peter Bennett
> A$bient Images
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Ian M Butterfield" <ian@...>
>
> Date: Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:27:31
> To: <STOCKPHOTO@...>
> Subject: [STOCKPHOTO] Urgent Quote help required - Car Wrap
>
>
> Hi
> I've been asked to quote for a rather unusual image use. A "car wrap", one
> car, to be driven round one town, in the UK. It will be a form of
> advertising/promotion for a car dealership.
>
> I have absolutely no idea how to pick a price for this one and it falls
> outside the scope of all the stock image price calculators I've looked at.
>
> Any one able to help or offer suggestions?
> Thanks,
> Ian M Butterfield
> www.imb.biz
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Courtesy of The STOCKPHOTO Network - http://www.stockphoto.net/
> Reproduction of STOCKPHOTO posts require permission of author
> Posting Rules - http://www.stockphoto.net/Subscriptions.php#rules
> STOCKPHOTO Archives - http://www.stockphoto.net/Archives.php
> STOCKPHOTO Bookstore - http://www.stockphoto.net/bookstore/
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo!
> Groups Links
>
>
>
>

--
dawn
http://www.pbase.com/dawncampbell
http://www.dawnleblanc.com
http://www.fineartphotoblog.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Getty Stacks

2009-07-06T11:21:24Z

Hi Again!

I just had a very quick reply back from Getty, which didn't clear things
up much.

Apparently, the image that ends up on top depends entirely on what
language the client uses to search and the stack is shuffled according
to search terms.

That is odd to say the least... surely an English speaking Canadian will
want the same image as a French speaking Canadian.

For the image in question, the search terms most likely to be used will
be its location. As this is a name, it will not be translated, so the
results will be the same.

All very strange.

If they'd just stuck to proper similars being stacked,
vertical/horizontals, tighter crops, black and white/colour versions,
with the most relevant image to the search term plonked on the top,
stacking would make complete sense.

It may also be their way of stopping people submitting too many images
on the same subjects. It may help a little with this, but it will
equally mean people spread images that would have all been in one
submission over a longer period of time in the hope they don't get
stacked. Thus, Getty will have a harder time of keeping track of true
similars.

A good idea, perhaps, but spoilt in its execution.

Cheers,
Al.
___________________________________

Alan Copson Pictures

Blog
www.alancopsonpictures.com/blog
___________________________________

Re: Getty Stacks

2009-07-06T09:49:28Z

In a message dated 7/6/09 10:19:45 AM, contact@...
writes:

> I was wondering if anyone has noticed Getty's new Stacks feature, where
> in a given search result, some images from the same photographer are stacked
> "By means of a complex set of formulas aimed at clustering “like” images
> without suppressing the unique ones."
>

I hate it, I really hate it. I have images with and without people of the
same subject stacked which make no sense because they don't even look the
same. I also have images stacked of the same subject and they are TOTALLY of
different parts of the building and they do not look in any way or shape
similar, the only thing they have in common is the fact that they are of the same
building.

I don't think that the stacks are a good idea and I hope Getty do away with
it soon. Both Getty and the photographers are losing sales because of the
stacks idea I think.

Hisham Ibrahim
www.PhotoV.com
PhotoV A Stock Photo Agency

**************
Summer concert season is here! Find your favorite artists on
tour at TourTracker.com.
(http://www.tourtracker.com/?ncid=emlcntusmusi00000006)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-06T09:34:42Z

I just finally jumped in recently to starting a blog because - like you - I wasn't
sure I'd want to or have time to post daily. I finally decided I could probably do
at least once a week, so got started. Then I discovered (thankfully) at least that
with Blogger, you can simply email your messages daily. I have an email folder now
accumulating 'future' messages that I can work on when I have time so I can quickly
pick & send a daily message. Supposedly, you can also set a 'publish date' for
messages you store on site, but haven't checked that out yet.

~~ Glenda ~~

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Suzio" <dan@...>
To: <STOCKPHOTO@...>
Sent: Monday, July 06, 2009 10:50 AM
Subject: [STOCKPHOTO] Re: First kick at the blog cat

>
> And while we're on the topic, here's my own question about blogs.
>
> I've been avoiding starting a blog for a long time, mostly because I don't think I
> can find the time to write something often enough. I do have a page on my site
> called "the story behind the picture" -- http://www.dansuzio.com/stories.html --
> but I've only been adding to it every two or three months. So my question, for
> those who have blogs, is will it do any good to have a blog if I'm not updating it
> very often? Does interest fall off quickly, or do new readers keep discovering it?
>
> Also, I'm guessing that blogging on a site like blogspot or wordpress will probably
> generate more traffic than a page on my own site -- but I don't know that to be
> true. Can anyone answer that question?
>
> Dan
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Courtesy of The STOCKPHOTO Network - http://www.stockphoto.net/
> Reproduction of STOCKPHOTO posts require permission of author
> Posting Rules - http://www.stockphoto.net/Subscriptions.php#rules
> STOCKPHOTO Archives - http://www.stockphoto.net/Archives.php
> STOCKPHOTO Bookstore - http://www.stockphoto.net/bookstore/
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups
> Links
>
>
>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.5/2220 - Release Date: 07/05/09 17:54:00

Re: Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-06T09:31:11Z

Dan,

I too will be interested in the answers you get to your questions.

Your "story behind the picture" is really a blog in itself, just an
informal one with a different format. I loved several of your frog
shots!

My decision to start my "Ever been..." blog was made to "test the
waters" with blogging as a method of self-promotion. Most of my stock
photography relates to travel, and I THINK that, at some point in the
future, I would maybe like to market some story/photo packages to
magazines. But I don't have much experience with writing. So,
hopefully, "Ever been..." will inspire me to work on my writing skills
and possibly help market my photography at the same time.

I don't think you can just write blog articles and sit back and wait
for people to find and read them. I did a "photo-a-day" photoblog for
about two years a while back but did no promotion at all. I think the
only people who saw it were my personal friends and family, and
spammers that wanted to add comments containing all their spam
garbage. It's still there if you want to take a look (spam removed)
at http://ronbuskirk.com/photoblog , but I haven't added new images
for over a year.

All I have read indicates that blogging is all about self-promotion,
SEO (search enging optimization) and marketing. These are other areas
that I don't really have any experience with, but I am hoping to use
"Ever been..." to develop my skills as I think these will become more
and more important in the future. There may be some marketing
advantages to using one of the big blogger sites, as they show their
users other blogs of thiers that are similar to theirs. One area I
have started to use is the "social media" sites. I have drawn some
attention to my blog through Facebook and am just starting to use
Twitter as well. This in itself is a new challenge as I tend to be
introverted and not a "social butterfly". As I write this, it is
sounding like the whole thing is a "self help" project. Maybe it is...

The challenge for me will be to find the time to keep up with it all.
I knew I didn't want another project that REQUIRED a new post every
day. I am hoping to add a post about once a week, but won't worry
about it if stretched a little longer. I think there is an advantage
to regularity once you get "an audience" who are looking for your next
post. But I'm not there yet. The advantage of the "social media"
sites is you can just post an announcement when you have something new
to share.

Good luck,

Ron

Quoting Dan Suzio <dan@...>:

>
> And while we're on the topic, here's my own question about blogs.
>
> I've been avoiding starting a blog for a long time, mostly because I
> don't think I can find the time to write something often enough. I
> do have a page on my site called "the story behind the picture" --
> http://www.dansuzio.com/stories.html -- but I've only been adding to
> it every two or three months. So my question, for those who have
> blogs, is will it do any good to have a blog if I'm not updating it
> very often? Does interest fall off quickly, or do new readers keep
> discovering it?
>
> Also, I'm guessing that blogging on a site like blogspot or
> wordpress will probably generate more traffic than a page on my own
> site -- but I don't know that to be true. Can anyone answer that
> question?
>
> Dan
>
>
>
>

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-06T08:50:21Z

And while we're on the topic, here's my own question about blogs.

I've been avoiding starting a blog for a long time, mostly because I don't think I can find the time to write something often enough. I do have a page on my site called "the story behind the picture" -- http://www.dansuzio.com/stories.html -- but I've only been adding to it every two or three months. So my question, for those who have blogs, is will it do any good to have a blog if I'm not updating it very often? Does interest fall off quickly, or do new readers keep discovering it?

Also, I'm guessing that blogging on a site like blogspot or wordpress will probably generate more traffic than a page on my own site -- but I don't know that to be true. Can anyone answer that question?

Dan

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-06T08:36:31Z

Great story, John. I'm looking forward to more.

Dan

--- In STOCKPHOTO@..., John Fowler <john@...> wrote:
>
> I've started a promotional blog - trying to make it interesting
> enough to have people come back from time to time (and become aware
> of specific collections of stock photos I have to offer).
> If you have time on your hands (yeah, right!), comments would be
> appreciated.
> Here's the address: wolfgrovediary.blogspot.com/

Getty Stacks

2009-07-06T07:18:40Z

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone has noticed Getty's new Stacks feature, where in a given search result, some images from the same photographer are stacked "By means of a complex set of formulas aimed at clustering “like” images without suppressing the unique ones."

From one point of view, it seems like a good idea, in terms of cleaning up the interface.

Of course there is the obvious fear that one's most worthy images might end up hidden for all time!

Now, that wouldn't be too bad, if the images were true similars, as defined by the photographers' contract, but the definition of "like" here is much more vague.

All this is worrying enough, but one of my best selling images to the tune of almost $6000 of sales now is hidden beneath one that has sold for a total of only $800.

How can that be good for eithe the photographer or Getty.

I have mentioned this to Claudia Micare, as suggested on the Contributors Pages, but I was wondering if anyone here has noticed it going wrong so badly. I have very few images on Getty, so this was easy to spot, but contributors with more images will be none the wiser, perhaps just left wondering why they're seeing their sales fall.

Cheers,

Al.

___________________________________

Alan Copson Pictures

Blog
www.alancopsonpictures.com/blog
___________________________________

------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Courtesy of The STOCKPHOTO Network - http://www.stockphoto.net/
Reproduction of STOCKPHOTO posts require permission of author
Posting Rules - http://www.stockphoto.net/Subscriptions.php#rules
STOCKPHOTO Archives - http://www.stockphoto.net/Archives.php
STOCKPHOTO Bookstore - http://www.stockphoto.net/bookstore/
----------------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/STOCKPHOTO/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/STOCKPHOTO/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:STOCKPHOTO-digest@...
mailto:STOCKPHOTO-fullfeatured@...

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
STOCKPHOTO-unsubscribe@...

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-06T07:05:20Z

On Jul 6, 2009, at 8:20 AM, Stacy Walsh-Rosenstock wrote:

> Well since we're on the topic of blogs, I've resurrected stacy's home
> journal at http://stacyshomejournal.wordpress.com/

It's about time!

JP

--
Joseph Pobereskin Photography | Chicago
http://pobereskin.com
+1 (847) 215-1794

Joe's Private Stock
http://tinyurl.com/pobereskin

Need A Light Snack? "Eat At Joe's"
http://cafejoetogo.blogspot.com

Member - SAA http://www.stockartistsalliance.org
Member/Director - ASMP Chicago http://www.chimwasmp.org
-------------------------------------------------------
Why do I need T.V. when I've got T-Rex?

Re: First kick at the blog cat

2009-07-06T06:47:27Z

Thanks Chuck, and all who made such encouraging comments. Enjoyed reading Ron's and Stacy's blogs and especially appreciate the solid tips from Ron and Gary. (Actually, that photo is not the sharpest one I've ever made, but it likely can be improved.)

I'll get to work on those things toute suite.

--- In STOCKPHOTO@..., Chuck Goodenough <chuck@...> wrote:
>
> John,
> Nice job!

Re: Urgent Quote help required - Car Wrap

2009-07-06T06:44:03Z

I would probably go with billboard usage. You just need to determine the time it will be up.

Peter Bennett
A$bient Images
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: "Ian M Butterfield" <ian@...>

Date: Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:27:31
To: <STOCKPHOTO@...>
Subject: [STOCKPHOTO] Urgent Quote help required - Car Wrap

Hi
I've been asked to quote for a rather unusual image use. A "car wrap", one car, to be driven round one town, in the UK. It will be a form of advertising/promotion for a car dealership.

I have absolutely no idea how to pick a price for this one and it falls outside the scope of all the stock image price calculators I've looked at.

Any one able to help or offer suggestions?
Thanks,
Ian M Butterfield
www.imb.biz

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]