Now selling on Fineartamerica.com

Finally signed up for a free account at Fineartamerica a few days ago. I'd been looking at them for a while but got a fresh prompt when photographer Lissandra mentioned on her blog Microstock Photography that she was selling there.
Put simply, they are a Print On Demand site specialising in prints, posters and postcards. As a photographer all you have to do is upload your images to them and add a description and keywords. You then set your price (whatever you want) for the various print options available. FAA take no commission at all (they make their money from marking up the printing costs) so if you get a sale you receive the full amount -usually the following month. FAA does all the work for you (e.g. arranging printing and despatch world wide).
I found the site very intuitive and easy to navigate. You have to upload a profile picture (anything you want) and there are options for adding biog details and other information about your work. Uploading of images (single or multiple) was quick and easy. The hard part was knowing what you should set as your pricing. I had a look through their forum for ideas and just went with a basic price structure I found there. Don't worry if you change your mind later -you can change your pricing at any time.
Downsides? Well the free account allows you to have 25 images for sale. For unlimited images you need the upgraded account for $30 per year which would soon be covered by a few sales. For the moment I'm just going with the free account to see how it goes but I'm pretty sure I'll want to upgrade soon.
Once you have images there you have the option of joining various groups and adding your images to them to increase exposure. These are, essentially, just like the "managed collections" on Dreamstime and are started and administered by fellow FAA contributors. This does mean that the admin can choose to accept or reject your image to their group. You can, of course, also start your own group/s.
What to upload? Well anything really -whatever you think somebody, somewhere might want on their wall. I went with the obvious things like landscapes and coastal scenes and a few wild card images like steam trains and even Margaret Thatcher (she still has her fans out there!).
Results so far after about a week -over 300 views and no sales but obviously it is very early days. It was certainly a lot of fun trying to pick images people might like and there is certainly a lot of potential to make some decent money there. I'll obviously update on any future sales. Meanwhile, here is a link for my profile page (it's not a referral link, though there is the opportunity to earn referral earnings if you upgrade to the paid membership).
See what you think (and feel free to order a print!). Regards, David.
4-david-fowler.fineartamerica.com

November sales updates:

A reasonable month overall in November despite the Thanksgiving holiday in the US (Shutterstock are the only site that give you an idea of where images were bought courtesy of their animated world map and judging from that most of my sales are outside the US).
So starting with Shutterstock, they produced a very neat 100 downloads ($58.20). Interesting to note that $30.15 of that came from the higher paying On Demand downloads.
Istockphoto pulled in 10 downloads ($15.98) and an additional $1.12 from 4 PP sales. My portfolio there continues to grow and I have now passed the 600 mark with, in the main, editorial images. I expect to reach my next payout in December - a far cry from the pre editorial days when sales were few.
Dreamstime did well with 18 downloads ($12.38) but a high number of sub sales pulled the earning down.
123rf managed 11 downloads ($6.17) again with a high proportion of sub sales. I will have to review 123 in January when (if?) they introduce their new commission rates/cuts. Being primarily editorial my images are not the ones that get massive sales and, consequently, I expect to drop to the minimum rate of 30% and only $0.22 for subs. Compared to the $0.33 I get for sub sales at SS that is very poor. Though not a big seller there, my portfolio currently fills editorial gaps in their library (Margaret Thatcher etc). We'll see.
Yaymicro sold an archive shot of Body Shop founder Anita Roddick paying a healthy 3.75 euros with an additional 2.48 euros coming from their Third Party programme.
Bigstock managed 4 downloads ($2.50) - a dissapointing result from them. On the plus side their wonky Bridge connector from SS got fixed and all images are now moved over.
Fotolia saw 4 sub sales netting 1 credit in commission. Best selling there seem to be my Greek island images though that is more a result of what I have uploaded and had accepted than any great industry insight.
Nothing from the rest in November. Veer continues to sit at $93 dollars in commission with no sign of even a sub sale to push me to payout level. Their upload has now been broken (for me) for two months -just "not processed/unknown error" messages after uploading. I emailed support but never got a reply.
Picturenation, sadly, reached the anniversary of my last sale there on November 30. Over 2k images, loads of views, nice friendly team -but nobody buying my images. I emailed them as well and, as ever, got a prompt reply from founder Jane Louise Green. Without breaking any confidences here suffice to say that sales there (overall) are fine -it's my portfolio that isn't selling. One theory we both explored is that buyers spot my images on PN and then look for them at cheaper prices on the micro sites. That's certainly a possibility. Either way uploading is quick and simple so I'm keeping on submitting there.
Uploading in November was down due to time constraints but one archive image that I added was from the 1991 Poll Tax Riots in London (pictured) That brought back some memories. Regards, David.
Edit: The Download Fairy appears to have paid a visit. Just days after writing about no sales on Picturenation I had two sales within hours. A 1989 image of British politician Sir Geoffrey Howe got first a Web Res sale (£0.40) then a High Res sale paying a pleasing £6 in commission. I'm assuming it was the same buyer. More of those please!

Shutterstock reaches 3000 downloads:

As I often say in my monthly sales updates Shutterstock is an agency that just keeps selling. Today I had my first download for December -which turns out to be exactly my sale number 3000 there. A rather appropriate image of a wing walker giving a wave was the one that did it. Part of the Breitling Wing Walking Team, this one was from the Eastbourne International Airshow (Airbourne) last August.
When I joined Shutterstock back in June 2009 I already knew their reputation for selling good volumes of photographs but the sheer scale of those sales has exceeded my expectations. With a portfolio now of just over 1500 images my monthly sales are coming close to payout each month (and reaching it if I have an Enhanced Download) making it by far my most successful agent -both in volume and cash terms.
Critics of the Microstock model frequently point to the starting commission at Shutterstock ($0.25) as an example of how worthless the business is. The reality is that Shutterstock demonstrates very nicely the low price/high volume basis of the industry. And, of course, it is not all about those subscription sales - On Demand, Single sales and Enhanced Downloads all help to push up the income.
I'm looking forward to growing my portfolio and sales at Shutterstock throughout 2013. Regards, David.

Hastings pier - rising from the ashes:

Great news here in Hastings when the Heritage Lottery Fund this week agreed an award of £11.4 million to the Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust towards the estimated £13.9 million needed to restore our fire wrecked pier.

This much loved landmark was opened in 1872 and designed by Eugenius Birch (also responsible for Eastbourne pier and Brighton's West Pier). Some 280 metres long, the pier underwent a variety of changes over the years and in the 1960s and 1970s played host to many top music acts including Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones.
Recent years saw lack of maintenance by the private owners and the pier was declared unsafe in 2008 and closed to the public. That is why, though having photographed it many times, I have never actually walked along the pier myself.
The 5th October 2010 saw a devastating fire (thought to be arson) which destroyed nearly all of the wooden upper structure and decking of the pier. As I posted at the time, I was able to get down there in the afternoon when it was still smouldering and being hosed down by the fire service. It certainly was a sad sight to see it in ruins - an event that gained coverage across the National press and Television news in the UK.
It has been a forlorn looking landmark since then but finally Hastings Borough Council have succeeded with a Compulsory Purchase Order against the owners and are handing the pier over to the charitable trust.
There is still some money to raise but, all being well, work should start in Spring 2013 with a re-opening in late 2014. It's not going to be just a rebuild of what was there but a whole new design utilising the original 1872 metal substructure -which survived the fire.

I'm greatly looking forward to watching and photographing the work in progress and, hopefully, taking my first ever walk on the pier in 2014. Regards, David.

October Sales Updates:

For a few days in October I thought we were going from the Summer Slowdown to an Autumn Abyss as the month started off so slowly. However, things picked up and October ended up being a strong month.

123rf get first billing here as I had a BME of $28.76 from 13 downloads. Two PEL sales of $11.25 each achieved that (Hastings pier and Dungeness lighthouse) though, in general, sales were busier there than for a long time. Hopefully, there is a return to form going on at 123.
Shutterstock (obviously) excelled with 103 downloads ($56.23). What else to say about this agency? They sell - that's it.
Dreamstime produced 10 downloads ($14.09). The search engine changes that favoured my images a few months back seems to be swinging the other way now.
Istockphoto picked up 8 downloads ($13.58) plus 2 PP sales ($0.52). Editorial images continue to grow here and my portfolio is now just off 600 in number. A far cry from the days (pre editorial) when I only had 150 images there and a rare sale. They (editorial) are currently getting excellent review times -often just an hour or two.
Bigstock saw 5 downloads ($6.90). I am still waiting to see the anticipated big boost in earnings here now that the majority of my portfolio has been transferred via the Bridge to Bigstock program, but I still feel that this is an agency that could do good things in the future.
Fotalia achieved 3 downloads (2.45 credits). This is still a very small portfolio for me but sales are encouraging on that small amount. I'm still bemused how any agency can not have a description field for uploaded images. How do buyers actually know what the image is of? My response is to have longer than usual image titles in which I try to cram in the required information. Probaly just my editorial instincts here as I want to explain the Who?What?Where?When? for my images.
Yaymicro had one download (1euro) and new tougher reviews resulting in a number of rejections for lighting/artifacts. Reminded me of the old days on Istock.
Canstockphoto produced my second ever download ($0.30). I still need to build my portfolio there.

Uploading in October saw more images of the Sussex town of Rye including the famous Mermaid Inn (pictured) and, of course, further images from my September trip to the Greek islands of Skiathos and Alonissos (pictured). Regards, David.

September sales updates:

Overall, September didn't prove to be the big climb out of the Summer Slowdown that I might have hoped but some pleasing results here and there all the same.
Shutterstock fell just short of my BME with 80 downloads bringing in $96.86. This was achieved thanks to two Enhanced Downloads (on the same day) of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher netting $28 each.

Dreamstime didn't match the excellent results of late and just managed 9 downloads ($9.39)

Istock produced 6 downloads ($5.99) plus a further $1.96 from 7 PP sales.

Bigstock saw 6 downloads ($6.40).

123rf perked up slightly with 10 downloads ($5.28). On the plus side, jumping ahead here, October started with two PEL sales on the same day bringing in $22.50 so not all bad news at 123.

Fotolia saw 2 downloads making 0.50credits. Some fresh uploading of my back images saw my portfolio here rise to 60.

Mostphotos produced one subscription sale paying 1.50euros.

Yaymicro also saw one sale achieving 0.75euros. They have a forthcoming partner deal with Alamy which hopefully will produce some sales. Sadly, editorial images are not included in the deal but it will be interesting to see how my images fare on Alamy.

Finally, my very first sale at Canstockphoto produced $0.35. It is always pleasing to get the first sale at a new agency and especially so in this case as it was an image of Herring Gull chicks in their nest on my window ledge. I didn't even have to leave home to get that photograph!

A holiday on the charming Greek island of Alonissos (pictured) produced a lot of new images (awaiting edit). Flights were to the nearby island of Skiathos where I was able to capture the low level approach of a Boeing 757. This is not an airport for nervous fliers due to the very short runway - expect some rapid braking on landing. Return flights can only take off with a limited amount of fuel before touching down again on the Greek mainland for a full re-fuel. There's some good footage on You Tube for anyone interested. Alonissos itself is very unspoilt and full of pine forests and old donkey trails to walk.

October seems to be starting strongly so I hope to have some good results to report next month. Regards, David.

August Sales Updates:

A slight Summer slowdown on some sites this month but overall not at all too bad.

As ever, Shutterstock led the way with 78 downloads ($51.54) but sadly no ELs this month.

Dreamstime kept up a strong performance with 11 downloads ($19.41) before stopping dead in its tracks towards the end of the month. No downloads at all since then.

Istock produced 12 downloads ($14.73) plus a further $1.68 from 6 PP sales. My portfolio continues to grow there and is now approaching 550 images. I was pleased to get 18/18 acceptance on my last two batches. A softening on the "no celebrities" line there also opened up more of my portfolio for upload so I was able to submit Conservative politician Amber Rudd and a number of bands from the recent Tentertainment music festival. A welcome move on their part.

Bigstock saw 8 downloads ($5.80). The Bridge connector continues to push my Shutterstock approvals over, although it can sometimes take a few days for them to show up.

123rf dropped yet further with just 5 downloads ($3.08). I really don't know what to make of this decline there. They were doing so well for me earlier in the year.

Yaymicro produced one sale through a partner paying 1euro in commission.

And finally, a second sale at Cutcaster -an image of Olympic cyclist Jamie Staff earning $0.46.

Shooting and uploading saw me covering the 20th Eastbourne International Airshow (Airbourne) on August 11. Good conditions this year helped produce a whole bunch of stock images with around 30 uploaded so far including the Hawker Hunter jet and the wartime Douglas C47A Dakota (both pictured).

In September I hope to start seeing some returns on all my recent uploading. Regards, David.

July Sales Updates:

Not my best seller in July, but certainly deserving to be reported first, was a BME at Dreamstime with 19 downloads pulling in a pleasing $42.43 in commission. I actually had to double check that one with a calculator just to make sure! So, what's going on at DT? Take your pick between changes to their search engine, price increases to buyers, changes to the image level system and a tweaking to the commission levels. Bottom line, for me at least, is increased sales and higher commissions ($) for most downloads. More of that please.

As ever, of course, Shutterstock was my best seller with 86 downloads making $72.58 in commission. Following my two EL sales in June, I got yet another one in July for a 1991 portrait of John Prescott (former Deputy Prime Minister of Britain).

Istock produced 7 downloads ($8.74) with a further $1.12 from four PP sales. My lack of uploading of late seems to be showing there but I'm now putting the tedium aside and making use of my 18 slots per week. Editorial images continue to sell there as my portfolio pushes close to 500 images.

123rf continues to stall with just 7 downloads ($8.29). Without one sale which earned a healthy $5 in commission that would have just left $3.29 for the month. Not sure what happened to all the editorial sales I was getting a few months back.

Bigstock produced just one download for $1.50.

My 39 image port at Fotalia managed 4 downloads earning 2.70 credits.

Finally, Yaymicro credited some third party sales of 2.97 euros. Long gone are the days when their Third Party sales raised any excitement. I am still hoping that all their recent partner deals are going to pay off but, as previously posted, they are still excluding editorial images from these so most of my portfolio is ruled out.

Recent uploading saw me completing my images of the 2012 Tentertainment music festival with a near 100% acceptance rate (DT knocked out a few "similars"). Latest uploads are from the Olympic Torch Relay event at Rye in East Sussex (pictured). Town Crier, Rex Swain, and schoolchildren with flags made for some colourful and, hopefully, saleable images.

August is generally the slowest sales month of the year and certainly the first few days haven't looked too promising. We'll see. Regards, David.

Pirates invade Hastings!

Sunday July 22, 2012 saw thousands of pirates take over my seaside home of Hastings. First started in 2009, Pirates Day forms part of the Old Town Carnival Week. The following year Hastings won the Guinness World Record for the "largest gathering of pirates". Not to be outdone, in 2011 Penzance (where else?) beat the record with nearly 9000 pirates gathered. Fighting back in earnest this year Hastings switched the day from Friday to Sunday to maximise pirate availability and went on to regain the record with a staggering 14, 231 assembled on the beach. It was a fun day for all, rounded off brilliantly by a seafront display by RAF aerobatics team The Red Arrows (making their first appearance in Hastings since the 1980s). Now let's see who can beat that record! Regards, David.

One browser or two?

Like a large chunk of the world, my computer came pre-loaded with Microsoft software which, by default, left me using Internet Explorer to access the internet. Generally it has worked just fine for me but on the odd occasion I was getting a stream of "Internet Explorer Cannot Display The Web Page" messages. I also found one or two sites where I just wasn't able to access certain parts due to incompatability.
This led me to think maybe I should have an alternative browser installed. Not being a computer expert I had concerns that this might cause problems with clashes between the two browsers. However, I eventually took the obvious step and did some research on the internet. What I found was that not only would there be no problems with having an extra browser installed but actually it was highly desirable. As one article pointed out - what happens if you cannot access the internet from your usual browser? You then have no way of downloading an alternative. Another actually claimed to have 16 different browsers installed. Apart from the fact I didn't realise that many existed I still cannot see why you would need to go to that extreme.
Now reassured, I went ahead and (based on personal recommendations) installed Google Chrome as my alternative browser. It only took a few minutes to install and there have been no problems at all. What has proved facinating is how different the various stock photo sites look when accessed by an alternative browser. Various features are in different places and some I couldn't access before now work - such as the Keyword Trends feature at Shutterstock.
In conclusion, I am glad I made the decision and though I still use IE as my usual browser there have been a number of times that I have switched to the alternative.
As I said before, I am not a computer expert so, as a health warning here, please do your own research on this and check out the various browsers available before making any decisions.
Regards, David.

June sales updates:

A mixed set of results in June - but overall pleasing.

Shutterstock excelled with 104 downloads bringing in a BME in earnings of $98.26. This was achieved from two Enhanced Downloads paying $28 each. One was the ever popular Tentertainment music festival (pictured) and the other was an archive B/W image of the 1989 Trades Union Congress in Blackpool. June also saw another milestone as my total earnings at SS crossed the $1000.00 line.

Dreamstime produced 7 downloads ($10.90). Frustratingly their review of editorial images has slowed greatly (I now have three batches going back some 14 days in the queue). According to their forum they have seen a big increase in editorial submissions and are training up extra reviewers to catch up with the backlog.

Bigstock continues to show promise with 5 downloads ($7.70) -all editorial images.

Istock dissapointed in June with just 8 downloads ($4.88) plus a further $3.64 from a BME of 13 Partner Program sales.

123RF also dissapointed with just 7 downloads ($5.04). My worst month there since October 2011. Not sure what's happening there - they were gaining me a growing number of (mainly) editorial sales but that seems to have tailed off in the last few months.

Yaymicro sold one image of media tycoon Robert Maxwell, paying a worthwhile 3.75 euro.

Finally, another nice surprise from Mostphoto when an image of The Red Arrows produced a subscription sale for 5 euros. This took me neatly over the 10 euro payout level so I was able to get my first ever payment from them. Annoyingly I had to pay a 0.70 euro fee to Paypal to get this. An email to Mostphotos received a prompt and friendly reply that this was normal on Paypal. Well, no it's not - not unless you are selling something on Ebay or whatever. This did happen once before with a payment from Yaymicro and they (Yay) promptly apologised and credited my account with the fee amount. Anyone else had this issue with Mostphotos payouts?

Recent shoots saw images of the historic Cinque Port town of Rye in East Sussex (some now online) and coverage of the 2012 Tentertainment music festival (awaiting edit).

July has seen a good start at Shutterstock, so I'll see if this continues before the famous Summer Slowdown kicks in. Regards, David.

May sales update:

May saw the usual strong performance from Shutterstock with 93 downloads ($38.62).

Dreamstime saw a good increase with 17 downloads ($17.04).

Istock dropped down with 9 downloads ($10.01) plus three PP sales adding $0.84.

123rf produced 11 downloads ($10.67).

Bigstock perked up with 5 downloads ($7.70) plus a $0.60 commission adjustment. All but one sale here were editorial images.

Yaymicro saw 2 downloads (4.05 Euros). Interestingly, one of these was via their Pixmac partner.

Fotalia produced 3 downloads from my small port there (0.75 credits).

And finally, Cutcaster produced my first ever sale there. A small download of the Sudbury Stages Enduro race (pictured) made $0.46. Taken in November 1977, I had only uploaded this set of images a few days before. They have also been getting some early sales at Shutterstock, so I have hopes for these. On a personally pleasing note, some of the images feature my brother and his wife (both keen motorcyclists at the time).

Looking ahead, June seems to have started well (including a $28 Enhanced Download at Shutterstock). I just hope that continues. Regards, David.

April sales updates:

April saw another strong month at Shutterstock with 96 downloads ($52.51) and, as usual, a good number of On Demand sales.

Istock pleased with 11 downloads ($16.54) and three PP sales ($0.84). Editorial images were well to the fore here including two downloads of RAF display team The Red Arrows (pictured). The airshow season is approaching here so I expect to see more sales on Red Arrows images in the coming weeks. Also pleased to see that they are scheduled to do a display here in Hastings on July 22nd - the first time in twenty four years they have been here.

123RF produced 16 downloads ($8.24) , again mainly from my editorial images.

Dreamstime managed 6 downloads ($7.67) -a slow month for them.

A dissapointing single sale at Bigstock produced $0.50 (jumping ahead, May has started off much better for them).

Yaymicro saw one editorial sale (0.75 euros). I had hoped to see a jump in sales at Yay as they signed up with a number of new partner sites. Sadly, for various reasons, they are not currently including editorial images in these arrangements - thus excluding most of my portfolio. They tell me that this might change in the future.

Finally, Mostphotos produced one subscription sale (0.20 euros).

Uploading in April saw a continued push on my archive political images with a near 100% acceptance rate bringing my portfolio numbers up substantially.

Regards, David.

March sales updates:

A variable month in March underpinned by one basic fact: Shutterstock sells! Month after month this agency just keeps performing well. I still have a few zero sales days there (usually weekends) but these have become the exception.

So, starting there, Shutterstock pulled in 108 downloads ($51.43) with $18.43 coming from the increasing number of On Demand sales.

Dreamstime produced 16 downloads ($10.92).

Istock bounced back from February with 17 downloads ($17.21) with a further $1.68 from 6 PP sales. Most of these were editorial images. My portfolio now stands at 443 but I must admit to not uploading in the last few weeks - the process is just so tedious that I need to take a break now and again. No other agency makes you upload images one by one and then makes you disambiguate virtually every keyword. Please -just give us batch upload, batch editing and let us put the keywords we want! There were hints some while back with talk of an easier "upload process" so I live in hope.

123rf dropped a bit in March with just 11 downloads ($5.51) which was dissapointing given their strong performance recently.

Bigstock also dissapointed with 4 downloads ($2.50) and just to make things worse the "bridge" connector from Shutterstock seems to have stopped working. I keep checking but none of my SS accepted images over the last couple of weeks have crossed over. Time to email support!

Fotalia produced one download (0.20 credits). I still need to push my back portfolio to them but the high rejection rate isn't much of an incentive.

Recent uploading saw me concentrating on my archive political images which I am still working through. I especially liked my images of Nina Temple, Secretary of the Democratic Left party (pictured) at their manifesto launch. This party (more of a campaign group in truth) grew out of the old Communist Party of Great Britain. She is holding up an issue of their New Times newspaper which clearly shows their opposition to the then Conservative government of John Major. A little slice of political history there. Regards, David.

February updates:

For a short month February provided excellent sales.

Shutterstock had a BME in quantity of downloads with 113 sales ($59.65). It fell a couple of dollars short of BME in earnings with last September still holding the record thanks to an EL sale. A large chunk of earning came from On Demand sales and one Single Sale (paying $4.75).

123rf produced a healthy 23 downloads ($16.55) taking me to a second payout.

Dreamstime perked up with 12 downloads ($15.34). A Tiff sale of Margaret Thatcher for $9.20 helped push that earnings figure. The extra portfolio exposure there was very welcome.

Bigstock pleased with 6 downloads($11.10), all Editorial images. The Bridge connector continues to do its job there with SS approved images showing up in my Bigstock port a day or two later.

Istock proved a bit dissapointing with no sales up to Feb 16. A flurry at the end produced 8 downloads ($6.52) with a further $1.12 from four PP sales.

Yaymicro saw 2 downloads (both of Margaret Thatcher) earning 2euros.

Fotalia also saw 2 downloads (2 credits). Clearly there are sales to be had at FT if I could just get more accepted.

Uploading in February saw another delve into my archives with colour images of Lech Walesa and former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine amongst them. I only have a limited number of colour archive images available compared to my B/W files but it certainly made a change. Regards, David.

Featured artist on Microstockposts.com:

February has certainly been a great month for exposure of my portfolio. On top of being featured at Dreamstime I am also a featured artist at http://www.microstockposts.com/ this time for several weeks. This offbeat look at the microstock industry is always a good read and attracts a lot of traffic. They chose one of my Rock and Roll Radio Campaign march images to represent my portfolio. That set has been attracting some sales in the last few weeks, no doubt helped by the increased exposure. So a big thank you to Microstockposts for that. Regards, David.

Dreamstime interview

For anyone interested my interview as Featured Contributor is up on Dreamstime. Here is the link: http://blog.dreamstime.com/2012/02/06/capturing-the-moment-on-photojournalism-and-more-with-david-fowler_art37058
I had good fun choosing the images to go with it! Regards, David.

January updates:

A good start to the year in January.

Shutterstock saw a BME for quantity with 95 downloads ($37.87). 36 of these were from my B/W archives including one of the late Phil Lynott (pictured). January also marked my 2000th download at Shutterstock.

Dreamstime produced a healthy 17 downloads ($7.15) though a large number of subscription sales helped keep the actual revenue down.

Istock achieved 7 downloads ($10.01) with a further $1.68 from 6 partner sales. My portfolio continued to climb -now reaching 426 images.

123RF saw 12 downloads ($6.20). Again, subs sales to the fore. Eleven of the sales were Editorial.

Bigstock produced 3 downloads ($4.20). The Bridge connector continued to push my new Shutterstock approvals over without any further effort on my part. I also identified a number of images that got missed in the initial transfer and uploaded those direct.

Yaymicro saw 1 download but paying a very nice 7.5 euros. Enough to earn me another payout.

Fotalia got 2 dowloads (0.45 credits).

Mostphotos saw another subscription sale at just 0.12 euros. As I have said before, previous sub sales have paid out good amounts, so I won't complain about that.

Uploading in January saw the previously posted Rock and Roll pictures as well as a set of a 1992 anti fox hunting demonstration in Tenterden, Kent.

Though these are January updates I have to jump ahead to say I was delighted yesterday to hear from http://www.dreamstime.com/that I am their featured photographer of the week. It commenced today with a selection of my portfolio appearing on their home page. I have also answered some interview questions about my photography which should be published in the next day or so (with some images of my choice). And I even get a T shirt! So thanks to Dreamstime for the great exposure my port will get. Regards, David.

Rock and Roll time

Digging back through my negative archives I recently came across these images from May 15, 1976 when music fans held a fun march through the West End of London as part of the Rock and Roll Radio Campaign. The campaign aimed to get more vintage Rock and roll music played on British radio. At that time there were far fewer radio stations available and, of course, the internet didn't exist. Assembling in Hyde Park the march proceeded along Oxford Street ending at BBC Broadcasting House (home to BBC radio). The whole thing was very colourful (if I can use that word for B/W images) with many dressed in fifties "teddy boy" style, a vintage car on hand and Rockabilly band The Flying Saucers playing on the back of a truck.

From three rolls of 35mm negatives I selected 12 images to work with and uploaded these to all my editorial sites over the last couple of weeks. Pleased to report that they all got accepted 100% so far.

Shutterstock came up trumps when 6 of the images were downloaded within a couple of days of going online (along with 20 or so more varied images from the same era -somebody is obviously working on a 1970's related project!).

It was good to see these images which I took 36 years ago getting a whole new lease of life on the internet. Regards, David.

December updates:

A steady end to 2011 with sales continuing up to the Christmas holidays and, in a first for me, three sales on Christmas Day itself.

Shutterstock, as ever, led the pack with 70 downloads ($30.69) and another payout reached.

123rf carried on in great form with 20 downloads ($21.18) pushed up by two XLTiff sales paying $4.50 and $4.70.

Dreamstime continued to improve with 8 downloads ($9.21) and my third payout from them.

Istock produced 7 downloads ($7.69) with a further 5 PP downloads ($2.32). My portfolio broke through the 400 barrier and now stands at 412 with both Editorial and Commercial images being accepted.

Bigstock had 2 downloads ($4.00) and, as previously posted, a big boost to my portfolio size.

Fotalia produced I download (0.20 credits) and a continuing bunch of rejections of new uploads! (Needless to say these were images accepted elsewhere -this is going to be a long haul to build much of a portfolio there).

New uploads in December included an image of the charming Elizabethan houses at Sinnock Square in the Old Town area of Hastings (pictured).

Well, that's another year over -now onto 2012. Regards, David.