Christmas presents:

In keeping with the Christmas tradition of online shopping I used Christmas Eve to order a new Giotto's tripod. I made the mistake of buying a cheap tripod in the past but found it was just too flimsy to hold my Nikon D80 steady. Giotto's are running a special Christmas offer on their GTMTL9251B model complete with a MH5001 head. Normal price would be about £129 for the two but they are doing it at £99 for a limited period. Even better, when I came to order it from http://www.morrisphoto.co.uk it was only £87. We all like a bargain at Christmas. Continuing the savings I took advantage of a heavily reduced annual subscription on my two favourite photography magazines Photography Monthly and Professional Photographer. I'm now looking forward to receiving the new tripod and monthly issues of the magazines. Regards, David

Picture Nation fees:

British image library Picture Nation caused some excitement amongst contributors this week when they announced a new £10 per year membership fee. After a couple of days of heated postings on the Picture Nation forum http://picturenation.co.uk including from myself, PN posted a long explanation explaining their position. They built a well put and convincing case for the new fee and I have paid up. Interestingly, my latest batch of uploaded photographs got reviewed and approved in record time. Still on Picture Nation, I suggested on the forum recently that photos of Woolworths stores would be in demand now. Result? Their images of Woolworths stores has risen from just one to sixteen (including four of mine). Regards, David

Sources of information and news:

Here is a list of sites which aspiring stock photographers may find useful. Apart from Microstockgroup, all the others offer a free regular newsletter by email. They all have lots of interesting news, views and help with problems relating to stock photography. Try them out. Regards, David

http://pdnonline.com/

http://epuk.org/

http://microstockdiaries.com/

http://microstockgroup.com/

http://arcurs.com/

Picture opportunities (missed):

Back to pictures you can get on your doorstep (if you get round to it). I have been meaning to get some portraits of Ashford's M.P. Damien Green for ages. It wouldn't have been hard as he has a web site telling everyone what he's doing. To be honest I never got round to it since I knew it would be easy to get him any time. Then, of course, he gets arrested this week and his photo is in every paper and every TV news bulletin. I'm kicking myself for this lost sales opportunity! David

Signed up to Yay Micro

After some consideration I have picked Yay Micro as my next outlet. Signed up today and uploaded my first batch of photos. Very well laid out site and easy to upload. Top feature is the bulk editing tool which enables you to caption a batch of similar photographs in one hit rather than inputting the info one by one. Based in Norway this agency only launched this Summer so will probaly take time to build sales. They take Editorial images as well which suits my portfolio -and they pay in Euros! Regards, David

Jamie Staff photos approved

Had another thirteen photos approved by Bigstockphoto.com today including the Jamie Staff photo shown on my previous posting. Also a set of archive photos from 1978 of the Tom Robinson Band playing live in London. My portfolio on BSP now stands at 92. Check it out using the link on the left of the page. Regards, David

Nikon training:

Did you know that Nikon UK ( http://www.nikon.co.uk ) run a whole series of training courses for their various models of cameras and other things like flash photography? I've just been on a one day course especially for my Nikon D80. No doubt, unlike me, you have all read the manual from start to finish but if you haven't got round to it, these one day courses are a great way to get to grips with your gear. I certainly found out about features I hadn't realised existed! Regards, David

Picture opportunities:

It might not be as glamerous as a James Bond movie premiere but don't overlook local events. At this time of year most towns are having a "celebrity" christmas lights switch on. Last weekend was Ashfords event and I got some good shots of Olympic gold medallist (complete with medal) Jamie Staff and some of Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell in Eastenders). Two useful shots for libraries that take celebrity pictures. Get checking your local events guide now! Regards, David

Seeking Steve Hill:

I am trying to get in touch with a press photographer that I used to know but have lost contact with. Steve is probaly in his fourties now and was from Huntingdon, England. If you know Steve please ask him to get in touch! Thanks, David

First blog, First post

Well here it is then, my first posting on my first blog. I'm still working out how it all works so will probaly look a bit amateur for now! This is a blog for anyone interested in stock photography and possibly, like me, you are working towards photography as a full time career. Or maybe you haven't got started yet and want to give it a go. I'll be passing on tips, reporting on my progress and hopefully provide some useful and interesting information along the way. Thanks for reading this and do come back again, regards, David