November Sales Updates:

Today launch issue from 1986 -new upload

A slow month in November with only one standout performer and nothing at all from my two POD sites -FineArtAmerica and Redbubble (so much for my hoped for Christmas surge).

Way out in first place were Shutterstock. A good Single sale of a Poll Tax Riots image pushed them up here.

Second place went to Alamy. Though I only had two modest downloads a worthwhile sum of DACS payments came in. I always count this in my totals as it is, in effect, secondary income on previous sales - and much appreciated at that.

Istock took third place with 22 downloads. The usual suspects of music festival and travel images did well here.

Fourth place went to Adobe with 10 downloads. My electric vehicle charging point sign continued to feature here. That is one good example of a saleable stock image taken just a few minutes walk from
home.

Dreamstime were in fifth place with 5 downloads. A rare credit sale from them this month.

Finally in sixth place were Bigstock with just a single download. I suspect the lack of new material

M & Co in the old Embassy Cinema building

going into my portfolio (thanks to the ending of the Bridge to Bigstock scheme) doesn't help matters here.

November also saw the ending of my Picfair store subscription (as mentioned in my last post) so I will decide what to do about them going forward. It does mean that I am no longer able to upload any further images as Unlimited Uploads was a feature of the paid store. 

Recent uploading included an image of my local branch of fashion chain Mackays (trading as M & Co) which has just gone into administration. With 170 UK stores this is quite a big business story here and a worrying time for their near two thousand staff. I took a longer shot of the building (rather than just a close up of the store sign) to show the historic Embassy sign as this was once the home of any Embassy Cinema until its closure in the sixties. 

Poll Tax Riots - good sale on Shutterstock

I have also been uploading more historic newspaper mastheads including the launch issue of National daily Today which was first published in 1986. I really liked this newspaper and was sorry to see it close in 1995. Sadly, as a former Fleet Street person, newspapers are becoming a thing of the past with constant news updates available on television news channels and our friend the internet. That said, I cannot remember the last time I actually purchased a newspaper so I am as much a part of the decline as anyone else.

As we near the end of the year I'll take this chance to wish readers  a happy Christmas (should you celebrate it) and every best wish for 2023. Regards, David.

October Sales Updates:

Planet On Sunday- first and last issue

A strong month in October mainly thanks to one agency.

Way out in first place were Alamy with 9 downloads. Most of these were from my archives including three good $$ (net) uses. Seventies rock band Tom Robinson Band sold for an editorial website. Former Chancellor of The Exchequer Denis Healey sold for use as a museum display and my WW2 ration book was used for a book/ebook. 

Second place went to Redbubble with a good value sale of a framed print of my 1980s B/W image of New Scotland Yard. Maybe a Christmas present for somebody that used to work there? That said, I have yet to see a rush of Christmas type sales as in previous years. It's getting a bit late now.

Shutterstock took third place but no large sales this month. Three On Demand and four modest Single sales helped things here.

Fourth place went to Istock with a disappointing 16 downloads and the lowest month I have had from them in a while.

Adobe made fifth place with 6 downloads. My EV charging point sign featuring again.

Denis Healey - museum sale on Alamy

Sixth place went to Dreamstime with 7 downloads. No credit sales again this month.

Bigstock came in seventh place with 3 downloads - all of the vintage cable car in Barcelona. 

Finally in eighth place were Mostphotos with a rare sale. Another Barcelona image of the beach there. I'm not sure what, if any, marketing they do but they seem never to have expanded out of their home country of Sweden. They have also increased the minimum payout to 35 euros so whether I ever see another payout from them is doubtful. 

Shooting highlight in October consisted of covering the annual Tenterden Folk Festival. This is a bigger deal than it might sound as it attracts folk dance groups and musicians from around the World. I covered the main parade down the High Street as well as individual dance performances that were going on all down the street.

WW2 ration book - good sale on Alamy

New uploading saw me continuing with my "historic" newspapers including an image of National Sunday newspaper Planet On Sunday. Launched in June 1996 with an environmental and conservation mission, it ceased publication just days after launching making my image both a first and last edition. I suspect that is some kind of record for a new newspaper.

I haven't mentioned Picfair for a long time - mainly because there was nothing to report. After two years of paying a fee to have a Store there (and allowing continued unlimited uploads) I finally took the decision to cancel my payment. My store finishes in November so I have stopped any further uploads. Not quite sure what happens after this or what to do with the already uploaded images. I'll see in a few weeks time and report back.

So far, a slow start to November so let's see how it goes. Regards, David.

September Sales Updates:

 

John Major - good sale at Shutterstock

A steady month in September with an especially strong showing from Shutterstock.

First place (as suggested above) went to Shutterstock. Two $$ downloads really helped here with a Single download of anti pornography campaigner Mary Whitehouse - a 1989 archive shot and an Enhanced Download (remember those?) of former Prime Minister John Major.

Second place was taken by Istock with 31 downloads and a reasonable RPD overall. The Greek island of Tilos featured well this month with a variety of images sold.

Alamy took third place with 3 modest priced downloads. These were all from my B/W archival images. Though not showing as sales yet the month started well with my 1989 images of Charles Wilson (former newspaper editor) being used in the Telegraph, Guardian, Racing Post and Independent. Should see those coming up in the next few weeks when they do their reporting of usages.

Fourth place went to Redbubble with 2 product sales (a sticker and a greeting card). I am hoping for the

Margaret Thatcher - as seen on Channel 4

usual upturn in sales here as Christmas (sorry to mention it!) gets nearer. Meanwhile, they have a number of new products in their range especially in the pet category such as dog/cat feeding mats, bowls and bandanas. All ideal for the pet lover in your life.

Adobe took fifth place with 7 downloads. Again my electric vehicle charging point sign featured.

Sixth place was taken by Pond 5 with a single download of Margaret Thatcher. My archive images seem to have gone down well here though certainly not with the frequency as elsewhere.

Dreamstime managed seventh place with 7 downloads (virtually all editorial images).

Finally, in eighth place were Bigstock with just 2 downloads. 

Sunday Sport launch issue - new upload

The month saw me scanning and uploading some more archive images including the old Ministry of Agriculture building in London and the masthead of the very first issue of tabloid newspaper Sunday Sport (which launched in 1986). I've actually got a few first/last issues of various newspapers so I will give some more a try.

There was a nice surprise when watching the new Channel 4 (UK) series Make Me Prime Minister where members of the public compete to come out on top and be the next (fictional) PM. The set for this is a mock up of 10 Downing Street complete with portraits in the corridor of (real) previous PMs. There's my images of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. These were all sold on a custom license on Pond 5 back in June. They also bought an image of Ted Heath but that hasn't appeared yet!

October can be a good month for sales but has started off slowly so far so it remains to be seen how it goes overall. Regards, David.

August Sales Updates:

Mickey Jupp - Alamy sale to The Guardian

Coming to the end of the Summer Slowdown (I hope) August proved to be a slow month.

In first place again Shutterstock was the exception with a good number of downloads. On Demand and Single downloads made up 40% of the earnings here and as posted last month I am continuing to get a number of higher paying subscription sales and these seem to be on the increase.

Istock took second place with a reduced 20 downloads but a higher RPD pulled them up the rankings.

Third place went to Alamy with 3 modest paying downloads. Two were archive images - David Mellor (former politician) and Seventies musician Mickey Jupp. I got a bit concerned when the same image of Mickey sold elsewhere but tracking my Alamy sale down to The Guardian (with full name credit) it turned out that, now aged 78, he has got a new album out of previously unreleased songs. So a good news story then. The third image was of Puerto Pollensa beach on Majorca. Always good to see something other than my archive stuff sell here.

Dreamstime took fourth place with 5 downloads.

Fifth place went to Redbubble with 2 product sales - a greeting card and a fridge magnet featuring the

Puerto Pollensa - Alamy travel image sale

Greek island of Skiathos.

Adobe came in sixth place with 3 downloads including an editorial one of the disused Strand underground station in London. Quite a lot of history to this station which opened in 1907 and closed for good in 1994. It was, unusually, the end of a little branch of the Picadilly Line from Holborn Station. At various times it was known as Aldwych station (and was when I used to use it back in the Seventies). These days it sometimes gets used as a set for films and television.

Seventh place went to FineArtAmerica with a mug sale featuring the same image of Skiathos that Redbubble sold as a fridge magnet!

Strand Station - editorial sale at Adobe

Bigstock came back to life to take eighth place with 4 downloads including one I shot last year of vehicles queuing to get into a petrol station during temporary shortages (AKA public panic buying).

Finally, in ninth place were our Swedish friends Mostphotos with a single small download. Still nice to hear from them again. For those that don't know this is one of few (only?) agencies that let you download your own images for free. Handy bit of extra back up for your files though I would totally not recommend using them as your only back up.

Nothing much to report in both uploading and shooting. I'm still considering a late Summer trip somewhere but repeated strikes and flight cancellations and other disruptions are making me a bit cautious to commit.

Early days of September but I am seeing a few good signs. Regards, David. 

July Sales Updates:

1977 traffic jam - card sales on Redbubble

Super late posting this due to various personal reasons. A positive month in July with the old regular at number one (and zero sales at Bigstock).

Shutterstock was back in first place with one good $$ Single sale of La Toya Jackson and a good number of On Demand sales. July saw me climb back to Level 4 which will help with non subscription sales for the rest of the year. I'm also noticing an increasing  number of higher paying sub sales ranging from $0.56 right up to the best at $1.23 in one case. To be clear, these are not replacing On Demand sales which are still coming through.

Second place went to Istock with 55 downloads including several paying around $4 in commission so a good month for them.

Alamy took third place with 2 downloads. A low value shot of a Lidl supermarket and a good $$ sale of a

La Toya Jackson - good single sale on SS

2010 Conservative party election poster. That poster was on a farm gate near where I live so it was a simple matter to stop the car and get some images.

Fourth place went to Redbubble with 4 product sales. By coincidence two of these were greetings cards of a 1977 traffic jam near Brighton. I was surprised that one buyer in the USA and another in the UK should both choose that very old image within days of each other.

Adobe were back in fifth place with 7 downloads including an Illustrative Editorial image of an ESSO petrol station. In a significant move Adobe announced they were dropping their (proper) editorial section. This was a feed from various news organisations such as Reuters and USA Today. Any hope from regular contributors that the editorial section might be opened up to them as well is now gone. Still no idea why editorial is such an issue for them when just about every other agency takes them.

Election poster - nice sale on Alamy

Finally in sixth place we had Dreamstime with 8 downloads. 

Nothing much new to report on the shooting front. I need to start going through my Ithaca island images and also revisit my Lisbon shots. 

I shall endeavour to get my August report out in a more timely manner! Regards, David. 

June Sales Updates:

Gordon Brown - good sale on Pond5

 Just as May saw Alamy going from hero to zero June saw Pond5 going from zero to hero!

So, straight into first place were Pond5 with 5 custom licence sales of archive images of former British Prime Ministers. Margaret Thatcher, Ted Heath, John Major, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. These were all for decent amounts and I got the usual 50% commission for each. Whilst photo sales on Pond are not frequent when they do happen they are for reasonable amounts (though whether that will last now they are owned by Shutterstock we will see).

Shutterstock took second place with a big increase in downloads and 8 On Demand sales plus 3 modest Single sales making up over 50% of the total. They would have been an easy winner but for that nice Pond surprise.

Third place went to Istock with 37 downloads. A low RPD this month pulled them down a bit.

Fourth place went to FineArtAmerica with a T shirt sale. FAA never seem to break through in mass

Tony Blair - sticker sale on Redbubble

sales for me but always do enough each year overall to make them worthwhile.

Dreamstime took fifth place with 6 downloads including two rare credit sales of my former home town of Hastings. Just a few cents until payout now.

Alamy made a small comeback in sixth place with a $ sale. This was another from my set of WW2 ration books and Identity cards. I'm really pleased with how this series is doing as they seem to be getting regular sales across all my agencies.

Seventh place went to Bigstock with 4 downloads. No sign of the Bridge returning.

Redbubble disappointed in eighth place with a single sticker sale of Tony Blair (making another outing this month. Not sure what you do with a sticker of a former Prime Minister but there you go.

Bringing up the rear in ninth place was a very rare appearance from Mostphotos with a single subscription sale. I don't know if anyone does well with this site but it certainly has never worked well for me. The big plus is that you can download your own images for free so it's another form of backup.

Food Ration book - gathering sales

Missing from the rankings list above is Adobe where I didn't get a single sale during June. I still hope for the day when they take proper editorial images and not just the limited (no people) Illustrative Editorial. Hard to figure why they are so adverse to this when just about every other agency going accepts them.

As mentioned in my last post shooting was concentrated on my Greek islands trip to Ithaca. I have yet to start editing and uploading these. I'm still continuing to go through my archives looking for further images to scan and upload.

July now takes us into the famous Summer Slowdown so we'll see what the month brings. Regards, David.

May Sales Updates:

Rua Augusta Arch, Lisbon

Late posting this month as I have been travelling. One old regular took top place and Alamy went from hero to zero.

First place then was Shutterstock. This placement was down to no less than 9 On Demand sales backed up by 6 modest Single sales. I'll have more of those On Demands please.

Second place went to Istock with 33 downloads. Usual suspects did well here as they do every month.

Redbubble took third place with 2 good T Shirt sales.

Fourth place went to Adobe with 7 downloads including an editorial of a Woolworth store. Two of the downloads were of an electric vehicle charging point sign. This is becoming a regular seller both at Adobe and elsewhere. Nice because it was literally a five minute walk from home to get the picture. I also did images of the charger unit itself and of the icon painted on the tarmac to indicate the space.

Anne Bancroft - new archive scan

Fifth place was taken by FineArtAmerica with another T Shirt sale.

Dreamstime came in sixth place with 3 downloads. Getting very close to payout there so I'm just
willing those sales to come.

Last in seventh place were Bigstock with just a single download. No sign of the Bridge programme returning and various people have reported mixed messages from it being broken to having been discontinued. As I have said many times before, the number of sales on Bigstock doesn't warrant the time involved in uploading them directly so I guess my portfolio there will be static from now on.

As mentioned at the start, I didn't get a single sale at Alamy. I cannot remember the last time that happened as I seem to have been getting some sales every month for a long time now. On the plus side I came top in the monthly forum contest with an image of the poll tax riots and got to set the June challenge choosing the theme of Transport. There have been some great entrants and in July I will have the pleasure/headache of choosing eight finalists for people to vote on. These contests are just a bit of fun really but as the Alamy forum is viewable to the public It's also a bit of extra exposure.

EV charging point - getting regular sales

Uploading in May was a mix of my Lisbon trip plus I have been having another trawl through my archives and came up with a number of images to scan including a different one of actress Anne Bancroft and actress Deborah Barrymore (daughter of Roger Moore).

Back to the travelling (and the late posting) I have just returned from two weeks on the small Greek island of Ithaca. It was great getting back to Greece for the first time since 2019. Contrary to the horror stories on the news of massive queues at the airports, flight cancellations and luggage going missing both my outward and return flights went like clockwork and on time. School holidays are coming up fast and that's when all the trip prices go up in price so I might be leaving a while before my next one. Regards, David.

April Sales Updates:

 

Chancellor Lamont - archive sale on Alamy

A steady if undramatic month in April with with the usual suspects keeping their place at the top end of the rankings.

In first place for the second month running were Redbubble with 5 product sales. Three T shirts, a greeting card and an artboard print were purchased here. 

Second place went to Alamy with 2 downloads. Both of these were from my B/W archives - Norman Lamont (then Chancellor of the Exchequer) and a good $$ sale of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Shutterstock took third place. I hit 5 On Demand sales this month and 3 Single sales. As expected, I also moved up to Level 3 which gives a 25% commission on credit sales. I have already noticed higher amounts earned for On Demand and some bigger subscription sales in the $0.50 to $0.70 range (i.e higher than the old fixed $0.36 I used to get under the previous schedule). Obviously, still plenty of the $0.10 sales in the mix as well.

Fourth place went to Istock with 31 downloads and a reasonable RPD. Travel and music festival shots

Bexhill Hospital - welcome to my portfolio

featured heavily here as ever. Barcelona University seems to be an ongoing seller.

Fifth place was taken by Dreamstime with a bigger than usual 9 downloads (including the rare beast of an actual credit sale).

Adobe came in sixth place with 5 downloads.

Bringing up the bottom of the list in seventh place were Bigstock with just 1 download. There's a problem here as the Bridge to Bigstock link seems to have stopped working. No images approved at Shutterstock from the last week of April have moved over. Its been mentioned on the Microstockgroup forum so it's not just me. It's not the first time this has happened and previously got sorted out in the end.

New shooting included some images of the welcome sign at Bexhill Hospital in Sussex. I had an appointment there so made the most of the opportunity!

Thames Television studios in London, 1989

I have also been revisiting my old archive material and scanning some images that I never got round to before. The Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper building, Capital Radio in London and the Thames Television studios featured in these. Because these were all shot between 1987-1989 I didn't bother uploading to Shutterstock because of their strange rule that any images taken before 1990 have to have a signed property release for each one. Like they cannot believe that any contributor could possibly have taken photographs before that date and must have stolen them from somewhere. Nobody else has an issue with this. 

For anyone that's interested in the technical details of scanning I am using an Epson Perfection V300 Photo scanner. This comes with a special holder for both 35mm negative strips and 35mm colour transparencies. I have scanned some medium format (120) negatives where the point of interest fell within the 35mm size area (if that makes sense). The V300 is an old model but they may well have an updated version available. 

It is always strange initially to be working with these old images because they look so different to todays grain free crisp digital images but, of course, that is exactly the appeal to photo buyers looking for an authentic older look. Regards, David.

March Sales Updates:

Vintage tram in Lisbon

 A line up of nine agents to report on for March. Only Picfair and Pond5 fail to feature.

Redbubble took first place with 5 product sales including T shirts, poster and baby clothes.

Second place went to Shutterstock. An uplift in On Demand sales over February helped pull up the earnings here. Now closing in on Level Three which while it doesn't help much with many of the subscription sales will help increase the value of On Demand and Single sales.

Alamy came in third place with 7 downloads. Four of these were from my b/w archives with Sarah Owen MP and a Lidl supermarket making up the rest.

Fourth place went to Istock with 33 downloads. A low RPD this month dragged them down the rankings.

Fifth place was taken by an improved Dreamstime with 8 downloads. Two of these were the better $2 subscriptions. These were both from my WW2 rationing book series which I am pleased to say are starting to gain some traction across most sites. It's nice to see sales from something my parents used to keep tucked away in a drawer (perhaps they thought rationing might come back?).

Sixth place went to FineArtAmerica for another baby clothes product. Good to hear from them again after a bit of a gap.

Adobe slowed with 3 downloads. One of these was an editorial of a Monsoon fashion store sign.

Tenterden supporting Ukraine

Eighth place went to Bigstock with just a single download. Could be interesting to see how long Shutterstock keep this going as a separate agency. Still, with my SS uploads just automatically transferring over the odd sale or two here is just a bonus for no extra effort.

Finally, in ninth place we had a rare appearance from Mostphotos with a single subscription sale. I did opt out of subs for quite a long time but as my sales dropped to zero I thought I may as well get something out of them.

WW2 rationing books -gaining sales

At last I got back to travelling in March with an eight day trip to Lisbon. After over two years staying at home it felt strange to be getting on a plane again. Lisbon is certainly as charming as I expected and the vintage trams were my personal highlight. All very photogenic except for the fact that, though warm, the sun spent most of my time there behind clouds - making all the buildings and trams look dull and grey. It required a lot of patience and time just waiting for the odd moments the clouds cleared. Still, even if I didn't get nearly as many images as I had hoped for, at least I've actually been somewhere and seen a new place.

Other recent shooting (much nearer home) was more images of my home town of Tenterden including some more store signs and topically the historic Town Hall with a Ukraine flag draped over the balcony as a sign of support.

I'm already starting to think about my next trip but I think it is very likely to be a Greek island (either an old favourite or maybe somewhere new). I just hope all the easing of travel restrictions remains in place. We'll see. Regards, David.

February Sales Update:

Ken Russell - card on Redbubble

Given that it is a short month I tend not to have great expectations for February but I was proved wrong by one very large sale this time.

First place (by a very long way) went to Alamy with 5 downloads. Four were from my B/W archives plus one digital image of the Greek island of Halki. The winner here was my 1991 image of Body Shop founder Anita Roddick speaking at a rally in Trafalgar Square, London. Alamy contacted me to ask if I would waive the Editorial Use Only restriction as the client wanted to use it for a social media campaign. Assured that they had the required permissions, I agreed and was delighted to see a sale just short of $400.00 (gross) later that day. Following on from my biggest ever sale in January it was exciting to see that repeated and exceeded in February.

Staying on the subject of Alamy it is worth noting that April is the one time of year when you can choose to opt out of different selling options. In particular you can review the countries where they have distribution partners and opt out of any regions you would prefer not to have your images on sale. A few spring to mind at present. You can also opt out of the low value Novel Use scheme as well (though I must say I have never actually had any of those sales).

Shutterstock took second place. A few On Demand sales and two modest Single sales kept them up in

Anita Roddick - big sale on Alamy

the rankings.

Third place went to Istock with 19 downloads. A bit disappointing in quantity but, of course, these were mainly January sales being reported.

Redbubble took fourth place with 2 product sales. This month it was greeting cards of British film director Ken Russell and legendary WW2 singer Dame Vera Lynne.

Fifth place went to Adobe with 5 downloads though nothing on the editorial front this month despite my having a number of new ones accepted recently. Edit: I was wrong - one of them was of Waitrose supermarket trolleys.

Dreamstime made sixth place with 3 downloads. All editorials in their case.

Finally in eighth place were Bigstock with 2 downloads. Those months last year when I was getting dozens of airshow image sales seem line a distant memory now.

Ferry at Skopelos - archives to Pond5

New uploading still consisted mainly of my back catalogue to Pond 5. Not too many left to go on that front but no sign of any further sales at the moment.

I have continued to research travel ideas (in particular Lisbon) but have yet to book anything for certain. At least things are getting easier with most European destinations no longer requiring a Covid test before you go (for vaccinated people) and no testing required to return to the UK. There is also talk of the PLF (Passenger Locator Form) being scrapped for UK return. Having not travelled since November 2019 I am very much looking forward to seeing some new (and old) destinations this year.

Too early to predict how March will go but in general it is usually an upturn month. Let's see. Regards, David. 

January Sales Updates:

 

Robert Maxwell - mega sale on SS

A good end to January after a slow start with one exceptional sale making a big difference.

Shutterstock took first place not least because of a mega Single sale of the late media tycoon Robert Maxwell. TOS do not allow too much detail but suffice to say this sale came in at just over the start of $$$ amounts. This was, in fact, the highest single commission I have ever received while selling online. Even Alamy hasn't quite matched that (though they have come close several times). These big sales are rare, of course, but very welcome when they do happen.

Second place went to Alamy with 5 downloads. Three from my political archives and images of a Lidl store and my WW2 ration book series making up the total.

Redbubble made third place with 3 product sales. Two photographic posters and a greetings card.

Istock came in fourth place with 22 downloads. Nice to see a sale of St. Mildreds church from my home town of Tenterden in there.

At the lower levels Dreamstime made fifth place with 3 downloads. Two images of Folkestone and an

Tenterden - home town sales on Istock

archive B/W of  pop singer Alvin Stardust.

Adobe continued their long run of zero downloads which ran from the end of November right through to the last few days of January when a single download gave them sixth place. On the plus side I have had a number of new images accepted by them (mainly in the Illustrative Editorial category).

Finally we had Bigstock in seventh place also with a single download. 

Jamie Staff - archives to Pond 5

No new shooting in January (pretty dull weather most of the time here) but I have been going through my film archives and selecting a number of images for future scanning. I have pretty much exhausted my celebrity shots but have a variety of other images that might have value -especially to Alamy. 

I have also started to have a good look at travel websites with a view to making a booking in the coming weeks. Being someone that mainly does travel photography these days it has been sad not to gone anywhere new for such a long time. Lisbon has been getting particular attention from me as the architecture looks great and they have all those photogenic trams - but who knows what I'll pick as my first trip.

Uploading is still concentrating on getting my back catalogue to Pond 5 (plus filling a few gaps elsewhere at the same time). I now have over 2.5k images there including my recent uploads of Olympic gold medal cyclist Jamie Staff (2008 Beijing games) who I photographed making an appearance in his home town of Ashford, Kent.

Early days for February so far and, of course, it's a short month so we will see how it pans out. Regards, David.

December Sales Updates:

Hawker Hunter - Chinese sale on Alamy

A slightly delayed update for a fairly low key month in December. Hardly surprising when large chunks of the picture buying world shut down for the lengthy Christmas and New Year holidays. 

Leading the way in first place were Alamy with 7 downloads. Six of these were from my archive political shots with the exception being a distributor sale to China of a 1950s vintage Hawker Hunter. Notwithstanding the later horror of the Shoreham airshow crash when another Hunter caused eleven fatalities after crashing onto a road, this is actually one of my favourite aircraft. For anyone aware of the infamous Chinese sales incident when hundreds (thousands?) of sales were suddenly reported on December 30/31 for a sub microstock price of 15cents each ( paying contributors a whopping 4cents after commission deductions) this wasn't one of those and sold for $9 or so. In fact, I didn't get a single one of the 4cent sales I'm pleased to say. I suspect that this is because the bulk of my Alamy portfolio is Editorial. Alamy have responded to questions about these mass low payments and confirmed they are looking into the whole thing. I rather get the impression that they were as surprised as anyone when these sales came in. Further updates on their forum have been promised.

Second place went to Shutterstock (with only 3 On Demand sales and no Single sales pulling the total

Sa Calobra - sold on Redbubble

down).

Istock took third place with 39 downloads. As is usual, music festival and travel images made up the bulk of these.

In fourth place were Redbubble with 2 product sales (last minute Christmas gifts I imagine). A mug of the famous hairpin road down to Sa Calobra in Majorca (beloved by hardened cyclists) and a pack of postcards featuring the (old) Hastings lifeboat taking part in the annual Old Town Carnival.

Dreamstime scraped fifth place with just 2 downloads. Maybe 2022 will be the year sales will pick up again here?

Finally in sixth place were Bigstock with just a single download. 

Missing from the ranking is Adobe as I didn't get a single sale after the end of November (and still haven't at the time of writing). This was especially disappointing as it looked like sales were increasing there despite my tiny 400 odd portfolio.

Paxos - archives to Pond 5

Shooting and travelling didn't happen in December although I did receive an early Christmas present when my new passport arrived by courier on Christmas Eve. At least I am set to go as and when travel restrictions start to ease and which is already starting to happen.

Uploading in December saw me concentrating on getting more of my back portfolio onto Pond 5 including my images of the Greek island of Paxos. Whether or not I ever see much in the way of sales here remains to be seen but I am determined that it won't be because they are not available. Further any agency that lets you determine your own selling price and pays 50% commission deserves to be supported. That said, some contributors there are quite delusional - setting a price of  hundreds of dollars for routine travel shots. They probably wonder why they don't get any sales.

More next month. Regards, David.