Ahhh De Havllland!!!



I have never seen a D H Heron but i Painted R A F Cosford`s Devon (The Herons Baby Brother)about 12 years ago and we had our tea breaks in the cabin!

Regards - Pete.

I have not used the X sync with my K7/540FGZ i tend to use the wireless flash mode quite a lot and find that with anything other than a small lens fitted it is better to use the built in flash as a trigger only, As a bulkier lens casts a shadow even with the hood removed.
The flash works great in high speed mode, i have used mune up to 1/4000th sec as fill in. Exposures are vastly better than with my old K10 but i still need to use the exposure compensation dial on occasion.
I also use the extension cord with the flash and Camera on my old Vivitar flash bracket with a piece of tape to insulate the flash connectors from the metal hotshoe on the grip.
The pullout white catchlight card very useful especially since losing my omni bounce diffuser.

Regards - Pete

Hi,
Have you taken a look at some of the second hand dealers that advertise in Amateur Photographer Mag?
Mifsuds.com

Ffords.com

nicholascamera.com

mxvphotographic.com

collectablecameras.com

I have not checked these sites recently but i remember Mifsuds had a Pentax FA 400mm f5.6 at £799 and a manual focus Pentax 500mm f4.5 at£599 last time i looked. Sigma do a range of new lenses in Pentax fit (zoom, telephoto and wideangle.)
If you don`t mind a manual focus wide then the old 20mm M lens is a cracker if you can find one, (Though its not that wide when fitted to a non full frame Camera being equivalent to 30mm on an APSC format)

Regards - Pete

In addition to impotentspiders comments, The dark area of sky on the right hand edge of frame would benefit from some attention too. But having got that out of the way..... What a great image, Well done!

Regards-Pete

If its simply a dull day then you will find me processing my images on the P.C as i usually have a backlog of 2-3 weeks worth of images to get through! Though i sometimes nip out in the evening to get some night shots.
However if it is wet and windy i go down to one of the nearby beaches or Harbours depending on the tides and wind direction.
Regards - Pete.
Ps Don`t do what i did once and park the car where it will get deluged by massive waves as a few days later my wipers got slower and slower before finally seizing solid and requiring a mechanic to strip the whole assembly down!

Alamy is good but probably a bit daunting for someone just starting out in stock images. With over 16 million images! Personally i would get a 2009 or 2010 copy of Freelance Photographers Handbook from Amazon and find one or two that appeals to you and go from there.
The most usual common requirements are that the images are shot in RAW and converted to Tiff (Though some use JPEG)in Adobe RGB Colourspace. Spotting out dust and NO Sharpening (as this is done depending on final use.) The biggest variation is regarding image size requirements, While some will happily accept relatively small files others require 50MB files uninterpolated. But the handbook will give you most of the info you need and the rest can be found on the Libraries own Website where you can also get an idea whether your own images will fit in with the type of work that they require.

Regards - Pete.

Just thought i should clarify something from my second post.....
When i said that you could expect to earn roughly £1 per year per image, What i meant was that is per image held with the photolibrary not per sale! So if you had 1000 images with a library you could reasonably hope that your sales might equate to £1,000 per year even though you might sell only a small proportion of that in any given year. I worked out that across all my sales the average was roughly £40 per image sold.

Best Regards - Pete.

Probably the best way to begin is to pick up a copy of the Freelance Photographers Handbook, the latest 2010 edition has only recently been published but the 2009 one will still be around on Amazon for a few quid and will list many Photolibraries and their requirements as well as a whole host of other outlets for your images. You can then find one that suits your particular style or type of subject matter.
I`m closely guarding the name of the one i use as it is relatively small and i would like to keep it that way!
Just beware of the Vanity sites, I came across loads of them when i first started looking for an outlet for sales. They usually charge you for putting your images on their sites.
No it isn`t a get rich quick scheme by any means but you can get a steady income from your images which can help pay for that new lens or whatever you fancy! Plus its always nice to see your photo`s in Books,Calendars,Magazines etc.And the great thing about digital is that you still have the original image to enjoy at home!

Regards - Pete.

I sympathise with this man, I too know several long time professional photographers who are finding it tougher year on year. With the market being flooded with cheap or even free high quality images available with only a few clicks it is only an elite few who are at the cutting edge of creative photography and those who engage in the loathsome trade of Paparazzi that are still commanding high fees.
I too miss the smell of developer and the wonderful moment when the image just begins to appear on the paper in the dull red glow of a safelight or to draw out a dazzling 16x12 Cibachrom print from the developing drum, Yet Digital work can be satisfying in its own way, In fact since i bought the K7 i have felt a closer connection with my old film Pentax Cameras. I think it is the feel of the metal body coupled with the bright 100% viewfinder which means i don`t need to review my images on the screen half as much as i used to.

Regards - Pete.

Hi,
It depends very much on the type of image and its use, my own images have ranged from £5 for web use to over £200 for Display at exhibitions etc, But the same image can sell over and over again. The biggest single image sale was £3000 from my photolibrary (Not one of mine unfortunately) but it is the cumulative selling of images that clocks the money for me not each individual sale unless you are lucky enough to get that special shot!. Plus Some Libraries do not require exclusive rights so you are free to send your images to others as long as they all have the same policy. There is quite a market for people shots (with Model release) or the unusual like the Table and chair with parasol in the ocean which you have probably seen which has been a fantastic earner for the lucky chap who thought that one up!
All i do is photograph whatever i choose for my own pleasure and if i get something i think might sell. I put it in a separate file, When i have enough to fill a DVD or two then i post them off, They choose the ones they like and put them on their website and also contact any of their clients who might be interested. I get 50% of any sales plus the pleasure of seeing my images in print.
It usually takes around 6 months before you see any return after your first submission but if you keep it up and build up a good portfolio of images then you can expect a regular payout. I read somewhere that you can expect around £1 per year per image from stock and i can say so far that seems to be holding true.

I hope that has been a little bit of help!

Regards - Pete