February Sales Updates:

Turia river park, Valencia

Not only a short month in February but in most cases short on sales as well.

Shutterstock took first place (even with their new commission structure). A worthwhile Single sale plus an Enhanced download and a number of On Demand sales pushed them into top place. As predicted, I moved onto Level 2 during the month.

Second place went to Alamy with 4 downloads. None of them massive sales but welcome all the same. Three were from my B/W archives and the fourth was another use of my Lidl supermarket images.

Third place went to FineArtAmerica with a T shirt sale.

Dreamstime made fourth place with 5 downloads. 

Istock reached a new low in fifth place with just 8 downloads. How a major agency can sell so few I

Museu de Belle Arts, Valencia

don't know. Of course, these were essentially January sales which was bad all over, so we'll see how the February sales go when we reach the 20th.

Redbubble came in sixth place with just a single sticker sale. A far cry from their usual excellent performance.

Seventh place went to Bigstock with 4 downloads. About average for them.

And finally in eighth place were Adobe with just a single download. On the plus side this was my Illustrative Editorial image of the Covid guidance letter sent out by the UK Government. I fear that Adobe might never open up to normal Editorial (i.e. that have people in them) but, at least, the Illustrative route means I have more images to build my little Adobe portfolio (think I am approaching the dizzy heights of some 400 images soon!).

Obviously, shooting new travel images is out of the question at this time but with vaccines rolling out it's starting to look like foreign travel may be possible later in the year. That said I am building up a target list of UK shots as, all being well, travel restrictions within the UK look like being lifted fairly soon.

Montjuic castle Howitzer, Barcelona

With no choice but to trawl past images recent uploads included some from Valencia including the Museum of Fine Arts and the Turia river park. Barcelona also got revisited for an image of a 1898 vintage Howitzer mounted outside Montjuic castle.

Travel companies are going into overdrive in the UK tempting people to book for later in the year so I hope to see an upturn in image sales as the year goes on as well as my other outdoor images such as music festivals. Let's see how March goes. Regards, David.

March Sales Updates:

Church of Santos Juanes in Valencia

A mixed month for March with my three top agencies continuing to hold up despite the horrors of the Coronavirus pandemic which is bringing so much tragedy and hardship to so many lives around the World. It goes without saying, I hope, that sales of stock photos are irrelevant in importance compared to everything else that is happening. That said, my results went like this.

First place was held by Shutterstock with a strong number of downloads. Nearly half of my monthly income came from an uplift in On Demand sales aided by a couple of modest Single sales.

Alamy took second place with 3 downloads. A substantial $$ sales of the late media tycoon Robert Maxwell and 2 very small sales of two Members of Parliament. All three were from my B/W archive collection which seems to have scored a hit at Alamy.

Istock came in third place with 37 downloads and a respectable RPD. As usual my music festival

Colonnades in the Turia river park, Valencia

images came tops here with Greek and Spanish travel images also doing well.

In the runners up section Adobe took fourth place with a single download at well above usual

subscription rate payment. I assume this is their equivalent of the On Demand sales that Shutterstock have.

Fifth place went to Bigstock with 4 downloads.

Redbubble disappointed with just a single sticker sale to give them sixth place. With everything else to worry about I guess people are not ordering art products.

In bottom eighth place were Dreamstime with just 2 subscription downloads. There is nothing more I can say about Dreamstime that I haven't already said before and I just hope they can find their way back again.

Turia river park in the heart of Valencia

Shooting in March was to have centred on a six day trip to Barcelona. I haven't been for a couple of years and had a lot planned including a day trip out by train to the mountain top monastery at Montserrat. Sadly, the night before I was due to go I took the decision to stay at home as the situation was clearly escalating. My early morning Easyjet flight did still go but by mid morning Jet 2 had cancelled all flights to Spain (even turning flights back mid air) and soon after the Government advised against all travel to the country. It was the best decision I could have made as Spain shortly went onto lockdown and my return flight was cancelled. Again, my lost trip (and money) is nothing to the losses Spain is suffering. I look forward to the time in the future when this is over and normal life can resume.

With time on my hands I turned to editing and uploading more of my Valencia images from 2019. A series of images of the Turia river park (the 9km long park was created after the River Turia was diverted away from the City following severe flooding in the fifties). I also uploaded some images of the 13th century church of Santos Juanes in central Valencia.

In the coming weeks please follow all official advice and do not put yourself or others in danger in order to take photographs. Stay safe. Regards, David.

January Sales Updates:

British power pop band The Boyfriends in London, 1978

An interesting month in January when it looked like the usual front runner was doomed to relegation until a last minute sale turned things around.

In first place were Shutterstock. Though there were a good number of downloads an almost complete lack of On Demand sales (just one) made it look like I would be struggling to even make the minimum payout. Right on cue a substantial $$ Single sale came in on the last day of the month when a buyer in Russia downloaded my 1978 image of British power pop band The Boyfriends. I saw the band play many times and knew them quite well so was able to get these exclusive posed shots.

Beaten into second place were Alamy who had led the way for most of the month with 4 downloads (the most I have had in one month so far). A good variety as well - a Shell petrol station, the Department of Health in Whitehall, an archive b/w image of Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore and, finally, a travel image of the harbour on the Greek island of Skiathos (location for one of the scenes in the film Mamma Mia). Good to see a travel image sell here.

A worthy third place went to Redbubble with 5 product sales (T shirts through to phone cases).

Alcudia marina on the Spanish island of Majorca

Istock managed fourth place with 36 downloads and a reasonable RPD this month. The Greek island of Tilos featured heavily here in my downloads probably down to the islands ongoing project to become self sufficient in power by use of solar and wind technology.

Moving down to the (much) lower levels I had Dreamstime in fifth place with just 4 downloads - all subscription sales at that.

Adobe managed sixth place with 2 downloads. Still waiting on them giving the green light to general editorial images (if they ever do).

The Palau de les Arts in Valencia

Bringing up the rear were Bigstock with 2 downloads. Never a big seller for me but a real decline for me over the last few months.


Recent uploading saw me continuing to work through my Valencia images, this time concentrating on the visually stunning Palau de les Arts at the City of Arts and Sciences. Other uploads came from my November trip to Majorca including the iconic Alcudia sign in front of the marina.


February is painfully slow so far (with one surprise exception) but, hopefully, will pick up towards the end of the month. We will see. Regards, David.

November Sales Updates:

Margaret Thatcher: Single download on Shutterstock

Another variable month in November with one agency going from hero to zero and another moving right up from the lower ranks.

No surprise in first place were Shutterstock. Downloads were down with not many On Demand sales but a Single sale of Margaret Thatcher (for Enhanced Download type $$) brought them to the top.

Second place went to Adobe Stock with 2 downloads with an Extended license for a speed camera sign in Folkestone pulling them up from the lower ranks.

Istock took third place with 27 downloads. Thomas Cook and Tentertainment music festival images continued to do well here.

In fourth place Dreamstime produced 5 downloads with a reasonable credit sale bumping them up the

Plaza de Toros, Valencia

list. Credit sales on DT are, sadly, infrequent but when they occur can produce decent levels of $. In this case a credit sale of former boxer Frank Bruno from my archives did the business.

Redbubble made fifth place with two product sales of army parachute display team The Tigers going to the same buyer. A sticker and a T shirt were the products in this case.

Bringing up the rear in sixth place were Bigstock with 4 downloads. They seem to have slowed down again after a few months where they looked to be picking up a bit. It's always a bit surprising that Bigstock do not do better given the marketing resources of parent company Shutterstock behind them.

Hero to zero? That was Alamy. Not a single download in November!

Extended License on Adobe: Speed camera sign in Folkestone

New uploads in November were very limited with some of the fortified Rhodes Old Town and the Plaza de Toros in Valencia amongst the few. Limited for two good reasons. Firstly I had a trip to the Spanish island of Majorca. I took a chance of some late Mediterranean sun but ended up with pouring rain and overcast skies for most of my stay. The sun did come out for one day when I went to the medieval town of Alcudia but otherwise I didn't get to shoot many new images.

Secondly, I am about to move home. I'm swapping the seaside location of Hastings for the quaint market town of Tenterden in Kent. Anybody who has experience of moving home will understand the work involved and I write this post surrounded by packing boxes (even after a massive exercise in de-cluttering!). My December updates will be the first from Tenterden so until then....Regards, David.

October Sales Updates:

City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia

A positive month in October overall with a strong showing from one agency and a slightly lacklustre one from another.

Straight into first place were Alamy with 2 downloads. Yet again, these were substantial $$ sales of my archive B/W images (Journalist Eve Pollard and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott). These sales alone would have put Alamy at the top but a worthwhile DACS payment also came in to push the earnings even higher. I am certainly feeling vindicated for spending a lot of time getting my back catalogue loaded up to Alamy though I am still hoping for more sales from my recent travel images.

Reduced to second place were Shutterstock. Overall, the number of downloads was good but with only two On Demand sales and two small Single downloads the earnings were down. It's those On Demands that normally push up the totals often to 50% of my earnings.

Istock took third place with 36 downloads and a reasonable RPD (pushed up by one image of the

Shoot it then drink it: lager above Valencia

Soundwaves Community Choir which netted me over $9 in commission). Reviews at Istock remain fast for Editorial but Commercial images seem to be running at several days at the moment.

Fourth place went to my favourite print site Redbubble with 4 product sales (T shirt, phone case, sticker and a zipper pouch featuring the University of Barcelona -quite probably for somebody attending there). I'm looking forward to seeing if the Christmas rush I saw here last year repeats itself.

Down at the lower end in fifth place Bigstock saw 6 downloads with Seville and Barcelona images selling.

Church of the Virgin of The Burgh, Rhodes

Dreamstime managed sixth place with just 4 downloads. All subscriptions at that.

Finally in seventh place were Adobe with just a single subscription download.

Recent uploading saw me continuing with Valencia images including more of the stunning City of Arts and Sciences and for something different my glass of lager with the Valencia skyline in the background. My Rhodes and Tilos trip also saw a number of uploads including the medieval Church of the Virgin of The Burgh in Rhodes Old Town. Recent shooting should have seen a whole stack of new images from the Spanish island of Majorca. Sadly, the weather was against me and heavy rain saw me only shooting for one day out of six. That will probably teach me to book so late in the year but I had hoped for some late season sun which, mainly, didn't happen. Too early to judge November yet but there are already a few highlights. More next month. Regards, David.

September Sales Updates:

Science Museum, Valencia

A stable month in September with various signs of life and a flurry of sales created by the national news.

Shutterstock were in first place. A worthwhile Single sale boosted things at the start of the month and the sad news of the Thomas Cook travel company going into administration led to a whole bunch of sales of my signage outside the Hastings branch. The fact that these were taken in 2009 and featured their old logo didn't seem to deter buyers -such is the nature of stock imagery. Pleased to hear in the last few days that the chain of UK stores has been bought by Hays Travel and that many former employees will be offered jobs by the new owners.

Second place went to Istock with 37 downloads. An improved RPD this month brought the earnings up. My Thomas Cook images also featured here.

Alamy took third place with 2 downloads once again from my archive material. Conservative party leader Michael Howard and Mirror newspapers owner Robert Maxwell delivering sales here.

Fourth place went to Redbubble with 3 product sales. This month two T shirts and a laptop sleeve

The Umbracle sculpture gardens, Valencia

(the latter with my image of Barcelona University).

Fifth place went to Dreamstime with an improved 10 downloads. Thomas Cook again plus several of my archive celebrity images.

Adobe perked up with 4 downloads to make sixth place. Just waiting for Illustrative Editorial to be rolled out to bronze level now (and then, hopefully, general editorial).

Eighth place went to Bigstock with just 4 downloads (three of which were -guess what).

Thomas Cook branch -selling well in September

I posted in May how Yaymicro had added on Depositphotos as a new partner and automatically signed me into the deal. I had another surprise recently when I spotted a whole bunch of new partners including the dubious sounding Darius at Yay. I opted out of these right away but decided there was really only one sure way to stop this keep happening so deleted all my K2.4 images. One by one -several clicks per deletion. It took a long time but at least they are now gone. It's a shame because Yay started off with a lot of hope and were getting reasonable sales up until 2013 when it all went downhill.

New uploads continued with my Valencia images -in particular the futuristic buildings of the City of Arts and Sciences. Accepted everywhere except by Shutterstock who say they cannot take any images of these buildings for commercial OR editorial use. Why their policy is different to everyone else I have no idea but it's disappointing to not be able to upload to my top selling agancy. A fairly slow start to October so far but more next month. Regards, David.

August Sales Updates:

Poll Tax Riots -sold on Alamy

Not a bad month in August considering it is the height of the annual Summer Slowdown but as usual the best agencies did the business and the others did what they do as well.

First up we had Shutterstock with a respectable number of downloads pushed up by (as mentioned previously) an Enhanced Download on the first day of the month. This was, yet again, from my local Tentertainment music festival images which continue to sell pretty much every day.

Istock took second place with 45 downloads. A lower RPD (rate per download) dragged the dollars down here but Istock continues to be a worthwhile agency notwithstanding their paltry 15% commission rate and a few very low paying sales each month. Luckily the higher paying sales continue to dominate here.

Alamy made third place with a single sale for a modest $$ figure. Once again this was from my old B/W archive images -in this case the 1991 Poll Tax Riots in London.

Fourth place went to Redbubble with two product sales. I really like the way this site continues to tick away each month.

Fishing boats on Aegina island, Greece

Dreamstime made fifth place with just 2 downloads. Luckily one of those was a higher paying credit sale which pulled them up my rankings.

Sixth place went to Bigstock with 6 downloads. As I have said many times, Bigstock takes no effort
on my part as my Shutterstock images get mirrored automatically (via the now closed Bridge to Bigstock scheme) so I am happy to collect the small amounts they rack up each month.

Seventh place went to FineArtAmerica with the sale of a coffee mug featuring one of my airshow images. Nice to see something from them again.

City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia

Bringing up the rear in eighth place were Adobe with 2 downloads. Given my tiny portfolio there  (just over 300) I'm always quite surprised to get anything much from them. Adobe are now, finally, taking a very limited approach to Editorial with so called Illustrative Editorial being accepted. Still no general editorial (e.g. street scenes, parades, celebrities -anything with unreleased  people in) allowed. Whether that will follow later they haven't said but I have my doubts. Even the Illustrative Editorial is currently limited to high level contributors though I do expect that to be opened up in due course.

Uploading in August included backtracking to my 2017 trips to Aegina island in Greece and the Spanish island of Majorca. I do like to revisit old sets from time to time as, being human, I often move on to my latest images before fully working the older ones.

The end of August saw me making my first ever trip to the Spanish City of Valencia. The photographic highlight of Valencia was the stunning City of Arts and Sciences with a bunch of modern architecture on display. I made two visits during my time there to take advantage of different light and perspectives. More on Valencia next month no doubt. Regards, David.

***Edited on Oct 13 to add in the FineArtAmerica sale***