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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

November updates:

November proved stronger than last month with some slower sites pulling in sales.

Shutterstock produced 67 downloads ($35.56) with just under 50% of that revenue coming from On Demand sales. My friends at http://www.microstockposts.com/ are currently running a poll on just that subject -check it out. Sadly, the month saw me just 20cents short of my $75 payout. On the plus side it will be an even better payout in January.

Dreamstime picked up with 9 downloads ($6.17) -though still far from their best performance.

Istockphoto continued to power up for me with 12 downloads ($14.79) and $0.56 in partner sales. Editorial is still doing well here and my total portfolio rose to 372 (with both editorial and commercial images being accepted).

123RF produced 13 downloads ($10.73). Sales seemed to lift towards the end of the month. A possible cause being that I changed a number of my "faved" images. For anyone not familiar with this useful feature it allows you to nominate 5% of your portfolio as favourites. These then get better exposure in search results. You can remove and add to these (up to your limit) at will.

Bigstock had a good November with 7 downloads ($5.50). Many of these from my celebrity archives. Still waiting on my invite to the "Bridge to Bigstock" program though.

Picturenation had one medium resolution sale (£4).

Yaymicro surprised with a sale paying a healthy 5 euros in commission. An archive image of former Chancellor Lord Denis Healey.

Mostphotos also surprised with a subscription sale paying 1.87 euros. Some contributors there are reluctant to allow subs (its optional) because potentially you can get a low rate per download if the buyer uses their full allowance. The three sales I had have all paid out worthwhile amounts.

Fotalia produced my third sale -a sub download (0.25 credits). Encouraging given that I still have less than 40 images online there.

Still awaiting those elusive first sales at Cutcaster and Canstockphoto and some more from Veer to take me over the payout level.

New uploads in November included images of the Sound Waves Community Choir (pictured) performing in Hastings. These had early success with downloads at Bigstock and 123RF. Choirs seem to be attracting quite a bit of interest these days so I have hopes for these images. Regards, David.

October updates:

A bit late updating this month -usually a good sign that the previous month wasn't much to get excited about. October was no exception to this rule.

Starting at the top, Shutterstock pulled in a healthy 72 downloads ($38.21) with the revenue there helped by 10 On Demand sales.

Istock saw 5 downloads ($4.82) with an additional $1.40 from 5 partner program sales. My portfolio at Istock continues to build and has now reached 339 images including a growing Editorial collection.

123RF netted 7 downloads ($3.97) with a mix of Editorial and Commercial images sold.

Dreamstime proved the biggest dissapointment with just 6 downloads ($3.13) mainly all subscriptions. No idea what happened there but my worst month on DT for a very long time.

Bigstock still showing life with 4 downloads ($2.50) all from my archive celebrity collection.

Fotalia saw my first ever sale. A subscription sale of the Greek island of Meganissi netting 0.25 credits. If my calculations are correct this amounts to around $0.30 -about average for a sub sale. My portfolio there has grown to 30 images now with the growth rate slowed by numerous "technical" rejections. A far cry from my initial 10/10 acceptance (they really were being nice to a newbie then!). The shame is that I had intended to get my portfolio up there really quickly but am now just submitting a few at a time for fear of mass rejections.

Nothing elsewhere in October.

Images sold in October saw a few of Robert Maxwell as I had expected -but nothing like I had hoped for on the 2oth anniversary of his death. Margaret Thatcher sales started to pick up as well, possibly due to the new film about her life starring Meryl Streep. That could be interesting to watch as the film gets released around the world. The film looks pretty interesting too from the clips I've seen.

Recent uploads saw a whole series taken around the Old Town Carnival Week here in Hastings. A very local event but a good opportunity for generic Editorial images such as drumming bands, dancers, a traditional Town Crier and a Tug of War competion (pictured). These were received well by the agencies with 30 accepted at Shutterstock in just one day.

November, so far, is showings signs of improvement over last month and hopefully the new uploads will start to generate sales. Regards, David.

September updates:

September saw a climb out of the Summer slowdown, pushed up by a further two Extended Licence sales.

At Shutterstock I had 63 downloads ($62.84) making it my BME there. This was achieved with the help of an EL on my Tentertainment music festival image and a good number of On Demand sales.

Dreamstime achieved 10 downloads ($21.71) including $12.71 for a print EL of a Folkestone harbour image.

Istock saw 9 downloads ($13.52) plus just one partner sale at $0.28. Editorial continues to do well there and a lot of new material has been accepted (including an almost unbelievable 18/18 on one batch). My portfolio there is approaching 300 files now.

123RF saw 9 downloads ($4.50) with my portfolio there now over 1000 images (mainly editorial).

Bigstock had a resurgence with 4 downloads ($4.50). The more exciting news there is that, following correspondence with one of their executives, Bigstock are now accepting my archive celebrity images (the ones previously rejected for "grain") and my portfolio has now moved beyond 600. I should also be joining the "Bridge to Bigstock" program which will see all my additional files accepted at Shutterstock (but not at Bigstock) moved over. Just waiting on the official invite for that.

Yaymicro produced 2 downloads (3euro) and finally posted the third party sales for the second quarter of 2011 (a dissapointing 4.7 euro).

Mostphotos surprised with a second subsciption sale (0.77 euro).

Picturenation had one web resolution sale (£0.40) -my 'pigs head with an apple in its mouth' image.

Over at Canstockphoto my portfolio rose to over 100 (no sales as yet) and I cleared up the keyword rejection issue. Duncan at CSP was most helpful in giving me examples of what they do and don't want in keywords. Best summarised as only keywording what you can Physically see in the image without adding related keywords. They've now been re-submitted and accepted.

Cutcaster continues to build but I must admit some dissapointment in not having any sales yet. All the same, they are easy to upload to and will remain part of my workflow. This could prove a good site in the long term.

Fotolia hasn't had much of my attention yet but I did submit a handful more taking my port to 16 images. A long way to go there.

September saw a big push on uploading -mainly concentrating on my archive celebrity images. For contrast I also uploaded a set of images of a 1928 vintage Hastings trolley bus named Happy Harold (pictured). Well Harold made me happy by getting virtual 100% acceptance and a sale within hours on Shutterstock.

Regards, David.

August updates:

August was a month of highs and lows. The Summer slowdown really showed in my overall quantity of downloads but some unexpected sales boosted the month.

Starting over in Sweden with Mostphotos, I finally had my first sale. An image of a solar heating panel in Greece sold as a subscription sale netting Euro 2.48 (about as much or more than you get for a regular sale on most sites). It's hard to not like a site that lets you upload your images without reviews. At least you know that images you believe in are getting online somewhere. Sales are a welcome bonus.

Over at Shutterstock downloads fell to just 55 with a number of days returning no sales at all. As previously posted though a $28 EL took my August earnings there to $50.44 (ironically making it my BME there).

Dreamstime produced 11 downloads ($5.16). The fact that they were virtually all subscription sales dragging the earnings down further.

123RF netted 9 downloads ($4.99) enough to take me over the $50 payout level.

Veer surprised with two sales including my second EL ($19.60). My Romanian flag image (pictured) taking me close to payout at Veer.

Istock slowed as well with just 3 downloads ($3.96) with an additional $1.68 from 6 partner program sales. On the plus side there I have continued to get high acceptance of my Editorial images pushing my portfolio to 254 images. (Edit to add: Forgot to mention that I also reached my first ever $100 payout in August! Pushed there by Editorial sales).

Bigstock managed just 1 download ($1), another dissapointing month from them.

Yaymicro also proved dissapointing when the anticipated Third Party sales (2nd Quarter) failed to be posted. Uploading has been down for a couple of weeks now -just to make things worse.

Uploading saw a further push of my portfolio to Canstockphoto taking it to over 70 images. Very quick reviews and a good acceptance rate with (strangely) a batch of 6 or so rejected for "invalid keywords". Didn't understand that one so I have queried those.

I also, finally, signed up to the last of the "big four" sites -Fotalia. I had always been a bit put off them by many on Microstockgroup saying that Fotalia do not like landscape and travel images. Well that's what I submitted and got 10/10 accepted from my first batch! Will see how that one goes (perhaps they were being nice to a newbie?). Regards, David.