Dear readers, you will see some changes in MicrostockExperiment earning reports: I decided to stop my month to month reporting to go ahead with a quaterly update as it is less time consuming and add more visibility. To make it easier to read, I only include the % earnings from my main photo agencies which are Shutterstock,Fotolia,Dreamstime,Canstockphoto,123RF,Veer and Istock.
Microstock photo results Q1
Microstock photo results Q2
Some interesting conclusions can be drawn from these charts:
Shutterstock confirms its dominant position taking around 40% of the earnings.
Despite regular uploads, Istock % decreased two fold between Q1 and Q2 and accounts now for 10% of the earnings (Istock did lost its leading position early 2010).
Dreamstime seems to benefit from the fall of IS and is now ahead of IS.
Fotolia is quite stable but now barely ahead of DT which a big change compared to 2010.
Amongst the small players, Veer has been dissapointing in Q2.
If these trends are confirmed in Q3, there will be no incentive at all to upload to IS as non exclusive contributor. It will interesting to monitor as low IS can go as it is 4th out of 7th at the moment.
Media distribution Q1
Media distribution Q2
Looking at the split between, photo still accounts for more of 80% of total earnings, video was quite stable between Q1 and Q2 whereas audio had a nice increase from 4 to 7%.
March was a good month with decent photo, video and audio sales with the respective following split between media: 81%, 14% and 5%.
Photo
Shutterstock finished number one once again, only few dollars away from a BME, Fotolia and Istock falling well far behind. 123rf and Veer performed quite well and ended up very close to Istock who is clearly goes downhill for more than a year now. Dreamstime also did not perform very well this month.
Video
Few dollars away from a new a BME. Four clips were sold at Pond5 and one at Shutterstock. No sales to report at Revostock and Clipcanvas this month.
Audio
Another best month ever with Pond5 taking most of the earnings.
Stay tuned for more blog updates in April and in the meantime, you can follow my updates on Twitter. You can also join my facebook photo page here.
A slight drop in earnings compared to last month with photo earnings more or less the same than last year at the same period, video seen a slight increase and audio taking for the first time more than 5% of total earnings.
Photo
The big 5 had average earnings this month with SS still leading the pack. A nice surprise came from CSP with a BME. Sales at Istock regained some momentum as IS ranked second, Fotolia being third and Veer fourth.
Video
3 clips were sold this month at Shutterstock with a BME and one at Pond.
Audio
Best month ever overall with the bulk of sales from Pond5 with a portfolio of 143 files.
Stay tuned for more blog updates in March and in the meantime, you can follow my updates on Twitter. You can also join my facebook photo page here.
This first month of the year was pretty good with a significant increase of sales in photo, video and audio compared to January 2010.
Photo
No BME to report this month. SS finished first, quite far away from Istock and Fotolia. Sales at Veer and Fotolia were pretty low and Istock was only saved by two EL sales. Compared to january 2010, Shutterstock earnings were up 18%, Fotolia up 3%, Dreamstime up 74% and Istock up 14%.
Video
3 clips were sold this month at Pond5 and Clipcanvas making actually a BME.
Audio
Few sales at Pond5 with only 1% of total multimedia earnings.
Stay tuned for more blog updates in February and in the meantime, you can follow my updates on Twitter. You can also join my facebook photo page here.
December earnings were quite stable compared to last month and 9% up compared to December 2009. Distribution between media changed slightly this month with audio (5%) earned more than video (1%), pictures accounted for the remaining 94%.
Reporting by media
Photo
No BME to report this month and Shutterstock is once again leading the pack, with Fotolia a not so distant second. Good performance of Veer which finished number three ahead of Istock.
Video
Dissapointing results this month and with only one clip sold, video took only 1% of total earnings.
Audio
With 5 % of total earnings, audio was close to a new BME.
Looking up to 2011, I wish you a great photographic new year! Stay tuned for more blog updates in January 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!
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 a slow first half, microstock photo earnings ended up being 26% higher than last year. Video sales were dissapointing and audio sales were stable giving the following splits between medias: photo (96%), video (2.6%), audio (1.4%).
Photo
Only few dollars away from March 2010 BME... Veer took the number one spot this month due to their Dash for Cash program. Shutterstock finished second (1EL) and Fotolia third. Istock is 4rd with sales still much lower than last year. Dreamstime (1EL) made a nice recovery from last month only $ 1 away from Istock.
Photo sales slowed down considerably compared to last month but a BME in video and few audio sales boosted earnings. Video sales this month accounts for 20% of total earnings and audio 1.5%.
Reporting by media
Photos
Microstock earnings were up 12% compared to last year at the same period despite a constant uploading all year. Istock is the agency with the biggest loss with earnings down to 60%. Shutterstock was slow this month but with still enough sale volume to lead the pack, FT and IS lagging not too far behind.
Earnings for this month of June were very uneven among medias. Photos had a BME and both videos and audio sales were very poor taking as photos alone took 99.2% of total earnings. For microstock photos alone, earnings increased 33% compare to June 2009. To put things into perspective, porfolio size increased by 35 % at Shutterstock, 24% at Istock, 28% at Fotolia during the same period.
Reporting per media
Photos
It was a new BME overall although only one BME was to report at Zoonar due to the uploading bonus. Overall, Shutterstock finished first (with a record of 20 on demand sales) followed by Zoonar, Istock (1EL) and Fotolia (1EL).
Isyndica Analytics screenshot
Video
No sales to report in any of the usual leading agencies i.e Pond5, Revostock and Clipcanvas.
After a slow April, earnings increased sharply for all medias: videos and audio had their BME. Overall , earnings were not higher than March 2010 (DepositPhoto upload bonus skewed the results). Photo is still the largest media in term of earnings (84 %), followed by video (13%) and audio (3%).
You will notice that my Isyndica analytics graph below includes Shutterstock now. To add this channel, simply go your Shutterstock downloads stat page, and save the earnings spreadsheet for a specific period. You can then upload the csv file to your Isyndica Analytics.
Reporting per media
Photo
3 BME this month for Shutterstock, Veer and Yaymicro. Sadly, Istock is still underperforming, very far from its best month in May 2009 ($172.29). No downloads to report at Graphic leftovers, 3DStudio, Cutcaster and Mostphotos and only 1 sub sale at DepositPhoto.
Video
BME this month with three HD clips sold at Pond5 and one at Clipcanvas. No sales at Revostock and I am still waiting (should I?) for my first sale at Shutterstock.
Audio
BME with 6 sales at Pond5. No sales to report this month at Revostock.
As you might have noticed, I changed the format of my earnings this month giving up tables for charts. Overall, earnings this month did not increase as they did last year between March and April. It was a slow month with sale commissions 35% down compared to last month and only 1% up compared to April 2009. Royalty percentages for each media are reported below with photo and audio taking 92% and 3% of the total earnings, respectively.
You can access 2009-2010 monthly earnings from Microstock Charts here.
Photo
No BME to report this month. Shutterstock led the pack, Istock earnings dropped 43% compared to last month lagging behind FT. Among the low earners agencies, it is 123RF who performed the best.
Video
It was a slow month for footage with only one sale at Pond5 despite the addition of new clips.
Audio
Surprisingly, audio did not finish far behind video and even had a best month ever.
If you are not a Isyndica user yet, you can take advantage of their 30% off on subscriptions. They also offer free syndication on new uploaded items until the 7th of May. You can use my link to signup and do not forget to enter the coupon code HAPPYBDAY on the checkout.
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.
