Every now and then I snap with my tablet or cell phone few pictures of my time lapse setup.
In this post I selected several shots taken on location. If you click on the picture the corresponding clip will open in a new window. As you can see it often looks quite different than expected especially after the video is edited.
For these time-lapses, in used my old and defunct Canon HF200, a Canon 5DMKII and a GoPro3 black edition mounted on tripod, gorillapod or a suction mount depending on the situation.
I will update this post with new shots when available. Enjoy:
You can see more of my footages on my Shutterstock or Pond5 portfolios.
Sending footage to stock agencies can be a daunting task. Beside the amount of data to transfer, filling out file description on each website is time consuming.
Even with a high speed internet, uploading one movie to several agencies can take few hours. If you have a slow connection then it can became very challenging. One way to get around that is to use PicWorkFlow, a web distribution platform. I also use stocksubmitter, a stand alone application to speed up the uploading process.
Files preparation
Open Stocksubmitter to browse your video folder and it will generate automatically for each movie a 1920*1080 or 1280*720 image (with the corresponding file name). You can then enter manually title, description and keywords.
Distribution
Use your favorite ftp software to upload movies and their corresponding images to PicworkFlow.
Once the transfer is over, log into Picworflow platform to import your movies (it take only few seconds) and distribute them in few clicks to your agencies.
Finalizing uploads
For Shutterstock, Pond5 and ClipCanvas, Picworflow developed a firefox plugin with which you can fill out the movie informations in one click.
If the plugin is not available for your agency, you will have to use the copy/paste protocol from stocksubmitter and submit your footage.
In addition to save time, this workflow will allow you to have a good record of your footage on your computer as corresponding images have title, description and keywords embedded on them.
PicWorkflow (referral link included) service is not free but very affordable: it costs 1 US cent to upload 22MB of data hence for a clip of 200MB it will cost you around 10c. Taking into account the time you save and the selling price of a clip it is worth it. 100c are giving away every month allowing you to upload 2 clips to 5 channels for free so you can test the platform.
My best stock agencies in 2013 were Pond5 and Shutterstock. I put my referral links below if you want to sign up with them. Cheers!
April photo sales were 25% down from last March which follows the trend observed also last year. Audio and video had another BME, both combined taking 30% of total earnings.
Photo
Shutterstock finished number one, very far from its BME, followed by Fotolia and Dreamstime. One good surprise came from Mosphotos with a BME finishing number 6 amongst all agencies.Istock still gloom and doom, 40% down from April 2010.Overall, photo sales are 18% up compare to April 2010.
Video
Another BME with 3 clips sold at Pond5, 2 at Clipcanvas and one (also the first) at CSP.
Audio
Best month ever with Pond5 taking most of the earnings.
Stay tuned for more blog updates in May and in the meantime, you can follow my updates on Twitter. You can also join my facebook photo page here.
Christmas is at the door, so I decided to put on line for my readers a relaxing and soothing screensaver made from a HD video I recorded this year in a Buddhist temple in Asia. You just have to download the file (71 MB), copy it somewhere on your computer, right click to install et Voila!. Hope you wil enjoy it and I wish you happy holidays!
Earnings show a slowdown from previous month although the big4 are still holding with respectable earnings. No video sales to report so royalties are split between photo (97%) and audio (3%).
Reporting by media
Photo
Once again Shutterstock takes the first place with plenty of OD sales. Not too far behind is Fotolia with a new BME and third Dreamstime only few dollars away from a BME thanks to a special 100% royalty day. Although earnings for the big4 photo are growing, Istock is 300% down compared to last year.
Video
No sales this month which is a first for this year.
Audio
Audio sales represent a bit more than 3% of total earnings with most sales coming from Pond5.
As usual, stay tuned for more blog updates in December and in the meantime, you can follow my updates on Twitter. You can also join my facebook photo page here.
The end of the year slow down did not kick in yet as earnings this month were very close to numbers in September which was my best month of this year. Photo is always the best earning media (89%) followed by video (7.5%) and audio (3.5%).
Reporting by media
Photo
Shutterstock is leading again this month with a new BME (helped by 2 EL) followed by Fotolia with a BME also. Istock is third this month performing a bit better than usual. Dreamstime is not to far off a BME as well.
Video
Two sales this month including one at Pond5 with a $50 commission and one at Istock with $5 commission, no need to comment on this one:) No sales at Revostock and Clipcanvas. Since Isyndica is not around anymore and because of my slow connection speed, I upload my clips to Pond5 only.
Audio
With a bit more than 3% of total earnings, audio had another BME this month with sales at Pond5 and Revostock.
As usual, stay tuned for more blog updates in November and in the meantime, you can follow my updates on Twitter. You can also join my facebook photo page here.
I am inviting you on a Malaysian journey through the cities of Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Penang and Cameron Highlands. In this 20 minutes slideshow, you'll be given an opportunity to admire the architectural beauty of the Petronas Towers, witness slices of street life, as well as embark on a thrilling ride on the KL monorail.
You can buy the rights to license these pictures at www.stock-photo-motion.com. Should you want to order a copy of this slideshow (in 1920*1080, 700 MB), please place your request at the following e-mail: ldambies@gmail.com.
Everyday between 6.30 and 7.30 pm, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia indulge us with a magnificent show. If you patient enough, you will see the towers turned from gold to black or even sometime to deep red.
Below are three timelapse videos taken from the same spot on three different days. Enjoy the show and stay tuned for more videos on this page. Click on a thumbnail and video will open in a new window.
As expected, sales picked up as often microstock sales reach a peak in September and this month was not exception being a BME in both Photo and Audio. Compared to last year at the same period, microstock photos sales are up 30% which is in line with the increase of my portfolio size.
Photos is still the main earner with 86%, following by video (11%) and audio (3%). A lot of things happened this month: Isyndica distribution platform is closing down:( This service will be greatly missed and I want to thank personally Sebastien and Hugo for their hard work and for having raised new standards in media distribution platform technology.
Another big news this month, is coming from Istock which decided to cut down commission for non exclusives from 20 to 15% . I personally stopped sending pictures to Istock 4 months ago now and I do not plan resuming uploads there. If you are an exclusive contributor and looking to give up your crown I can recommend the following five agencies: Shutterstock, Dreamstime, and Yaymicro (interesting 3rd party program) and Stockfresh (a venture from previous Stockxpert's owners).
Reporting by media
Photo
Shutterstock finished far ahead of all sites with a record number of on demand sales, finishing close to a BME. Second was Fotolia, only few cents from a BME and 3rd was Veer helped by three extended sales. Istock was number 4 with a dramatic decrease in earnings of 100% compared to September 2009.On a positive note I had my first sale at Alamy this month, hope more will follow:)
Isyndica Analytics screenshot
Video
Pond5 had a BME with sales making most of my video earnings this month.However, no sales at Revostock, Shutterstock and Clipcanvas....
Audio
Audio represents only 3% of total earnings but had its BME this month with 4 sales at Pond5 and 1 at Revostock.
As usual, stay tuned for more blog updates in October and in the meantime, you can follow my daily updates on Twitter. You can also join my facebook photo page here.
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia is the home of the Petronas Twin Towers. Completed in 1998 and topping at 451.9 meters, these towers were until 2004 the tallest building in the world before being surpassed by Taipei 101. To this day, they remain the tallest twin towers in the world. By day or by night, the Petronas Twin Towers offer never ending opportunities to aspiring photographers and videographers. You can find below a compilation of my favorite HD videos and photos of the Twin Towers which I will update from time to time with new additions.
By clicking on the respective thumbnails, you can see play the videos. From there, you can also buy royalty-free license to distribute these videos and photos.
After my visit to Antelope Canyon in Arizona, I took you on a multimedia tour of Bryce Canyon in Southern Utah, a well known spot for photographers. If you click on the pictures you will be redirected to my webpage to see a larger size and have the option also to order prints and licenses. Please hit the back button of your browser to go back to this page. Enjoy your visit!
Bryce Canyon is one of the jewels of United States National Parks and located just North of Zion National Park in Southern Utah. The 18-mile-long park road allows you drive along the plateau rim and stop to up to 14 viewpoints amongst them Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration, Bryce points which encircle the main Bryce amphitheater.
The first day of this 2 days trip was spent visiting Inspiration, Bryce and Sunset points. Standing on the edge of the rim at Inspiration point, the first thing that came to mind is how Nature could manage to make such complex and beautiful structures? These tall thin spires of rock, also called hoodoos, were not formed by wind but by successives freeze/thaw cycles over the years. As erosion continues inexorably, these spires will be gone in few thousand years.
Inspiration point entrance
Bryce canyon amphitheater from Inspiration point
Panoramic view from Inspiration point (58 megapixels)
Panoramic view from Inspiration point
Powershot G9 set up for infrared shot (see result below)
Infrared panoramic view from Inspiration point
View of the amphitheater from Bryce point is quite spectacular and you can admire its amazing geological features.
Panoramic view from Bryce point
Infrared panoramic view from Bryce point
Sunset point was the last stop of the day, just it time to see the rocks turning to a nice golden color.
Panoramic view from sunset Point
View of Bryce canyon amphitheater from sunset point
22 millions megapixels panoramic view from Sunset point (HD video of the left hand side below)
HD timelapse video of shadow moving on the spires
Bryce canyon amphitheater large hoodoo at sunset point
From there, we went down on the Navajo loop trail, where you can have a spectacular view of the hoodoos from below. Speaking from experience, you have to be careful not to slip on the icy trail especially when carrying photo equipment…
View from the Navajo trail
View from the bottom of the Navajo trail
Second day’s trip started with an early visit to Sunrise point. We arrived just in time to set up the camcorder to record sunrise which was at 5.30 am braving temperature of below zero Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius).
Sunrise over Bryce Canyon from Sunrise point
Sunrise over Bryce Canyon from Sunrise point
HD timelapse video of sunrise over Bryce Canyon amphitheater
Trail to Sunrise point at dawn
Later in the day, the sky was cloudy and we went to Paria viewpoint. In winter, the road is close but easily accessed by cross country skiing. The view was not as spectacular as Inspiration and Bryce points because there are less stone formations.
Panoramic view from Paria viewpoint
Bryce canyon from Paria view
Beside a good workout, you can enjoy there a pure silence and listen to your footsteps in the fresh snow.
Despite freezing temperatures, visiting Bryce canyon in winter is truly an unforgetable experience and a paradise for landcape photographers. Be prepared, in addition to your tripod, to carry additionnal batteries and memory cards, you will probably need them. A cloth tissue can also be useful to clean up condensation which builds over time between the filter and the lens. If you have been there also, feel free to post the link to your pictures in the comments.
