Mastering Microstock

GF3 + M42 adapter + Industar 50/2 3.5

2012-01-10T22:57:00.004-06:00

Here are some sample shots from my favorite new street cam and one of my favorite M42 lens. The Industar 50/2 3.5 is probably one of the best-kept secrets among manual focus aficionados. The Industars are clones of the Zeiss Tessars and the stock lens for the Industar bodies produced in the Soviet Union. They are remarkably lightweight and sharp wide open. They are also some of the smallest lenses out there. If you want a pancake prime for cheap, you can't get much better than the Industar 50/2 3.5. Shipping from the Ukraine will probably cost just as much as the lens, but considering how popular manual focus has become with the release of micro 4/3 cameras, SONY NEXs, and almost everyone's try at mirrorless cams, costs are just going to go up in the years to come. I have a nice set of M42 Takumar primes that I bought for about $20 each including shipping. Nowadays on Ebay some of these are selling for between $50-100, and that's just for the lens. Heck, I think I'll probably order another Industar from the Ukraine as a back-up. They shoot great on Canons as well.

The GF3 processing engine tends to be pretty faithful in reproducing real world colors and is wonderful in not blowing out highlights.

Interchangeable Lens Camera in the palm of your hand: GF3

2012-01-10T22:48:00.006-06:00

Here are some photos showing the difference in size between a DSLR and mirrorless camera. The 5D is pretty much a 2-handed affair no matter how you cut it. The GF3 fits in the palm of your hand. I have it with a EF 50 F1.4 here, which bulks it up a little, but with a Panasonic pancake prime (which I don't have yet) it is absolutely Lilliputian in size.

Both are great cameras. The 5D is a pro for low light and vivid, almost 3-dimensional images. The GF3 is wonderful for incredibly light, discrete shooting.

Panasonic GF3

2012-01-10T22:32:00.009-06:00

I received the Panasonic GF3 for Christmas 2011 and have taken an immediate liking to it. It does not have near the image quality of my 5D or even my Rebel. The Micro 4/3 sensor on the GF3 cannot compete with APS-C sensors and noise is evident in shadows even at the base ISO 160.

However, all of this is beside the point. What this wonderful little camera does is bring back the days of snapshot heaven. My very first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 3100 which I took everywhere with me. It fit in my pocket and I literally broke the camera by shooting some 65,000 frames on it. I love shooting with my Canons, and would never replace them with another brand for my microstock business, but I don't always want to lug around several pounds of weight with me. So they mostly stay in their bags except for when I do my studio, landscape, and architecture shots. However, the GF3 is so incredibly light that I can just sling it around my shoulder and barely notice it all. It's incredibly snappy like a P&S, but also takes interchangeable lenses--including those of almost every other camera maker both past and present. Shown below is the GF3 fitted with a EF 50 F1.4 via a Fotodiox adapter with stepless aperture adjustment. I also have an M42 adapter which is equally a joy to use with this tiny mirrorless camera. Stay tuned for some sample photos.

Steve Jobs: 1955-2011

2011-10-08T13:26:00.004-05:00

Apple computer's homepage recently changed due to the passing of the much respected and beloved Steven Paul Jobs on October 5, 2011. I, like many others, feel Mr. Job's passing deeply even though I have not purchased any Apple products in recent years. Perhaps the way in which he changed the face of computing, telecommunications, and digital entertainment makes most people feel like they have a personal connection with him even if they have never met him.

My first experience with an Apple product was the IIc, which was a slim-downed version of the original Apple II, and was prescient of today's laptop in terms of it's portability and fold-down briefcase handle on the back. Indeed, I spent many a day of my childhood riding my Huffy bike to friends' houses with the IIc preciously tucked between towels in my school backpack so we could play some of the best games ever created (even by today's standards).

Steve Jobs is what we should all aspire to be as people, as Americans. Like a modern Horatio Algers story, Steve came from nothing and left, in his own words, a "dent in the universe." He refused to settle for anything less but the achievement of his dreams, and vehemently encouraged others to do so as well. I will endeavor to "stay hungry, stay foolish."

Mr. Jobs, you are now in iHeaven. Thank you for your contributions. Rest in Peace.

For Sale: New Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens

2011-02-22T20:59:00.002-06:00

I am selling a New Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens on Ebay.

For Sale: NEW Canon PIXMA IP3500 Digital Photo Inkjet Printer

2011-02-17T16:01:00.003-06:00

I have a NEW Canon PIXMA IP3500 Digital Photo Inkjet Printer for sale on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220741353884#ht_1030wt_1139

It's new in the box and has a buy it now option. Better act quick, because my stuff is going fast nowadays!

SOLD: NEW Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Lens, No Reserve!!

2011-02-16T16:07:00.004-06:00

SOLD! To a happy buyer for $179.99. Thank you for bidding! ~~I have a NEW Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Lens for sale with no reserve on Ebay.~~

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220740843640#ht_1606wt_1019

If you win this bid, you will receive:

1) ONE Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Lens

2) ONE front lens cap

3) ONE rear lens cap

4) ONE cardboard box with original packaging

5) ONE instruction manual

6) ONE warranty card

Happy bidding and the best of luck to you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T16:27:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Editorial Time-Lapse of Dayglo Colors Building

2011-02-09T13:16:00.003-06:00

This video is currently pending review at Pond5.
Tell me what you think.

Canon Announces Rebel T3i

2011-02-07T11:03:00.002-06:00

Well, here's the latest warm-over from Canon:

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/eos_rebel_t3i_18_55mm_is_kit

The speed of these releases which truly don't add much new to the previous version of the camera have left me a little jaded.

The T3i has a articulated LCD and integrated wireless flash control and some other software doo-dads (video cropping) for the soccer mom/dad market. Otherwise, it's exactly the same camera as before.

What would I have liked to see?

1) Native intervalometer

2) Native HDR like on G12

3) Dual card slots

5) Microlense adjustment

6) Rotary control dial like on xxD series and above

Yes, yes, I know... Canon will never cannibalize feature sets on its higher-end DSLRs and put them in the entry-level series. Well, that's just too bad. Pentax doesn't have any problems offering even base-level nicely-specc'ed cameras. Too bad Pentax hasn't been doing at that great for the last couple of years.

The first two things on my wish list can be accomplished on the T2i thanks to the hard work of the people over at Magic Lantern. Canon could take a tip from groups like CHDK and Magic Lantern, and offer the same features in future camera firmware with a professional polish. If they did this, their cameras would have an edge over competitors and sell even better. But no, what they do is adjust the firmware to make it harder for CHDK and Magic Lantern to tweak the firmware. With the G12, they have even taken issue with people using third-party accessories; if one uses a Cybersyncs, the screen blanks out. Uh... OK... loyal customers keep coming back and buying your stuff because they can spec it out. You cut them off at the knees. Hmm, maybe they'll stop coming back?

Pond5 Video

2011-02-05T13:07:00.004-06:00

I've started submitting videos to Pond5 under the name of "editorialfootage."

Here is my most recent upload of a Houston light rail train going by.

For Sale: Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer

2011-01-27T18:20:00.004-06:00

SOLD for 159.39

I sold one of these a couple months ago, and I have another NEW Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer for sale. I want to sell it to you. Bidding starts at $0.99 on Ebay with $49 for shipping. If you follow the link, you could get a very nice BRAND NEW printer for New Year's for 1/3 to 1/2 the price that you pay on Amazon. I will send you the original purchase invoice on request.

Here's the bid link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220730973800&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123#ht_1949wt_1139

The previous winner of my bid was very happy and you can see his comments here for yourself.

$2000 Mark Achieved on Shutterstock

2011-01-21T09:24:00.002-06:00

This image tipped me over the $2000 mark at Shutterstock.

A big thanks to whoever bought it. I hope you get good use out of it.

My resolution for 2011 is to reach $3000.

Thank you for your support of Mastering-Microstock!

Count Down to $2000 in earnings on Shutterstock

2011-01-12T14:20:00.008-06:00

First of all, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year. I want to thank buyers for purchasing my photographs and making it possible for me to continue shooting. I want to thank those subscribed to my blog for not losing interest, and by increasing the visibility of images in search engines by clicking through the blogposts here.

I am now at $1995.35 in earnings on Shutterstock. When I was near $1000 last year, I could only chip away with $0.20 downloads. But now I have on-demand, video, and enhanced downloads to help me out. So the next download could very well be the magic one which puts me over!

I will post images here which help me cross the $2000 threshold. Thank you all for supporting Mastering Microstock!

Link to images for purchase:

For Sale: Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer

2010-12-02T16:12:00.008-06:00

SOLD! For $231.50 to a very lucky Ebay buyer. Thank you all for bidding!

I got a Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer recently with a Canon bundled DSLR deal. I want to sell it to you. Bidding starts at $0.99 on Ebay with $49 for shipping. If you follow the link, you could get a very nice BRAND NEW printer for Christmas for 1/3 to 1/2 the price that you pay on Amazon. I will send you the original purchase invoice on request.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Canon-Pixma-Pro-9000-MARK-II-Photo-InkJet-Printer-/220705441353?pt=COMP_Printers&hash=item336311c649#ht_1257wt_1139

Halloween Baby Pictures

2010-09-20T09:58:00.003-05:00

Halloween is more than a month away, but I am already uploading pictures related to this creepy day. You'll find that most microstockers upload their season-related photos 3 to 6 months in advance.

My Texas Flag Image in Use

2010-09-14T11:48:00.004-05:00

You can see my Texas Flag image in use here on this blog.

You can download it here, like many others already have.

Hush

2010-08-17T09:42:00.004-05:00

Our "model" is picking up new fine motor movements everyday. Today, it is signalling silence. Who knows, maybe AMC theatres can use this image before showing a movie.

Typhoon in a Teacup

2010-07-21T11:28:00.002-05:00

I took this at ISO 100, 1/8000, and F10 with a 580 EX II fired at full power. This flash is amazing.

More Baby Pictures

2010-04-30T11:44:00.004-05:00

I've been using a new lighting technique for shooting baby pictures. This one turned one exceptionally well with nice colors and tack sharp eyes. Enjoy! BTW, I received a payout from Dreamstimes in excess of $114 yesterday.

Microstock Baby Pictures

2010-02-17T09:05:00.004-06:00

Baby in pink.

Look at that smile!

A picture of our newest "model."

February 2010 starts of with a bang

2010-02-08T16:46:00.003-06:00

Dude, we're only 8 days into the month and I'm already at $30 on Shutterstock due to buyers pummeling my portfolio. Hey, keep it up guys. Like I said, my family can use the extra cabbage. Hopefully this will become the new norm.

Earnings for January 2010

2010-02-01T10:45:00.004-06:00

Earnings clocked in at $105.60. More cabbage for the little one, which we need plenty of.

Long Time No Blog...

2009-12-02T16:05:00.004-06:00

I've been remiss in blogging lately due to a great increase in family and work responsibilities. Sorry about that. As you can tell from my Shuttertweet sidebar, sales are still proceeding apace from my Shutterstock account. Earnings are not what they used to be, since I have not uploaded anything for the last two and half months. But any kind of passive income is always welcome!

Above is a capture of my top files from Shutterstock right now.

A Personal Thank You To Ann Parry

2009-09-23T10:12:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to thank photographer Ann Parry for making a most generous donation to Mastering Microstock. Thanks, Ann!

Ann's photography can be viewed at:

http://annparryphotography.com/

Microstock Photos Sold in September 2009

2009-09-04T09:35:00.005-05:00

Earnings for August 2009

2009-09-01T10:27:00.004-05:00

$77.80 on Shutterstock. Not the best, but I am happy that the $28 Enhanced Sale pushed me over the brink to payout at the 11th hour. You buyers are welcome buy as many Enhanced Licenses from me as you please. I got plenty!

$28 Enhanced Sale from Shutterstock

2009-08-28T09:08:00.002-05:00

It was just a matter of time before I got one of these. $28 in one pop. I love it. If anyone wants to one-up the person who bought this enhanced license, go right ahead and follow the link.

$1000 in earnings achieved on Shutterstock!

2009-08-18T11:25:00.004-05:00

This is the photo that did it, and put me at $1000.08 in earnings at Shutterstock. As an on-demand DL, it generated $2.48 all by itself.

My images first became available on the Shutterstock search engine on Tuesday, May 27, 2008. The $1000 milestone was achieved today, August 18, 2009.

That's 448 days, or 1 year, 2 months, and 22 days since I started contributing to Shutterstock. Naturally, I have seen several hundred dollars in earnings from other sites as well during the time.

Yee-haw! Thank you, buyers. Thank you, blog lurkers. Keep 'em coming!

$3.72 from $1000 Shutterstock Earnings Goal

2009-08-17T11:58:00.002-05:00

Getting very close now.

$6.77 from $1000 Shutterstock Earnings Goal

2009-08-12T16:24:00.001-05:00

Play them bagpipes, boy!

$8.45 to $1000 Shutterstock Goal

2009-08-11T16:09:00.003-05:00

Asian temples have sold well for me.

Neon signs always seem to sell.

$9.44 from $1000 Shutterstock Goal

2009-08-11T06:47:00.002-05:00

Detail of roofing tiles atop Buddhist temple. This has sold a couple times, and I'm glad to see it sell again.

One of my first submissions on Shutterstock. Buyers love it, and so do it, as it just keeps selling and selling.

$10.43 from $1000 Shutterstock Goal

2009-08-10T23:24:00.003-05:00

Hercules isolated.

Hercules against the wall.

$11.09 to $1000 Shutterstock Goal

2009-08-10T13:52:00.003-05:00

This editorial has sold a few times.

An oldie but goodie.

Thanks, buyers, and keep 'em coming!

Now $11.75 from Shutterstock $1000 Goal

2009-08-10T09:30:00.003-05:00

Thanks to whoever bought this shot of cups of beer. Have a cold one for me. Keep on buying, bruthas'.

Now $12.08 from $1000 in earnings with Shutterstock

2009-08-09T16:18:00.003-05:00

Thank you for whoever bought this photograph of Sushi. Buy a few more and put me closer to my target of making $1000 on Shutterstock in 2009!

Selling McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009 3-User on Ebay starting at $0.99

2009-08-05T16:48:00.005-05:00

~~I'm selling a mint copy of this software on Ebay. I'm sure you'll find it useful when uploading photos to your favorite microstock agency. Press the link to jump to the auction.~~

SOLD. But don't worry, I have another pristine copy that I willing to sell in about 2 weeks time for no reserve and priority shipping.

Microstock Photos Sold for August 2009

2009-08-03T07:06:00.009-05:00

July 2009 Earnings

2009-08-02T16:03:00.002-05:00

$54.26 From Shutterstock this month.
Compared with $104.85 for July 2008, this year and month has really sucked.
Granted, I haven't exactly been gunning the upload engine last month. But at the moment, "feeding the beast" at SS doesn't seem to yield the results it used to. I guess the new search engine has changed the metrics.

Oh well, I guess the silver lining is that I've almost posted total earnings of $1000 at SS alone.

Microstock Images Sold in July 2009

2009-07-01T09:52:00.005-05:00

I'm really like the on-demand sales at Shutterstock. They give my earnings a nice boost.

June 2009 Shutterstock Earnings

2009-07-01T09:50:00.001-05:00

$138.55 from Shutterstock for June. I hope to get payout everything month from here on out.

Microstock Photos Just Sold

2009-06-09T11:39:00.010-05:00

Something must be going on this month, because I am getting a nice number of DLs.

May 2009 Earnings

2009-06-01T09:08:00.001-05:00

Fotolia paid out $68 and Shutterstock $62.13. An unremarkable month.

Microstock Editorials Just Accepted: 2009 Houston International Festival

2009-05-02T16:53:00.008-05:00

As I had mentioned in a previous blog posting, editorials don't make me a lot of money, but I certainly enjoying doing them. The following set is from the Houston International Festival held in front of City Hall last weekend. What did I learn? See the comments below.

When I first arrived at noon, there was barely anyone there (probably everyone was at church). I was able to take pictures from all angles around the center stage with my 100-400 L + 30D combo.

As you can see, a metal bar surrounds the stage to prevent the performers from accidentally falling into the reflecting pool in front of City Hall. Since I had full access from 180 degrees, it wasn't much of a problem positioning my camera over this bar or using selective focus to completely blur it out. The above 2 photos are of Irish bagpipe players.

This set of photos of the Cass Irish Dancers was taken at around 3 PM. Now there was a ton of people elbow to elbow, some with kids on their shoulders, and a bevy of professional photographers who had already staked out strategic places around the stage (where the bars offered the least compositional interference) and were not budging from their positions.

I struggled to get a good vantage point. One shooter left his choice spot and I promptly took it as my own. However, I soon found out that I was too close to the stage and that the dancers would often move beyond the closest focusing distance of my 100-400L.

Hence, most of the photos I took were when the dancers retreated to the rear of the stage for some routines. That means that I missed out on 90% of the shots. My lense was to too long up close!
Plus these dancers were jumping, pirouetting, and just doing all manner of crazy things, which made it truly difficult for me to use my spot-meter + center-focus-point only + press focus button + recompose method of nailing the focus. I switched to auto focus and it worked a lot better than I thought. I just framed the composition and let my 30D focus computer do the rest. I'd say that the 30D only focused on something irrelevant 10% of the time.

Next time I'll bring my 28-105L (I didn't bring it this time because I had wanted to travel light).

Anyhow, most of my shots got accepted, so I'm happy. I have a few more from this shoot that I need to cull through. If those get accepted as well, I'll be sure to post them here for your viewing pleasure.

Update 20090505: More of the same set just accepted.
Irish drummers drumming along with the bagpipes.
Caribbean belly dancing.
More belly dancing.

Microstock Photo Just Sold: LED Street Light

2009-05-01T15:06:00.003-05:00

What good fortune! The same picture sold at 2 different sites.

Microstock Editorial Just Sold: Korean Guards

2009-05-01T09:26:00.002-05:00

Typically I've found that editorials don't make you that much money. But I still shoot events from time to time so that if I ever decide to become a photo-journalist (not likely), I can show prospective employers that I can get in there and take some usable shots.

Payout for last month amounts to $120.93 and I should be getting that by the 15th of this month. Sales have been erratic at Shutterstock, which makes me wonder the company's owners are thinking about selling the business.

Microstock Photo Just Sold: Architecture

2009-04-29T16:44:00.001-05:00

Microstock Photos Just Sold: Houston Building and Cups of Beer

2009-04-27T11:51:00.003-05:00

Just sold. Perhaps some people needed a picture of City Hall to blog about I-fest, which happened yesterday.

With the economy doing so poorly, surely everyone needs a couple drinks.

A powerful image of Houston after Ike.

Microstock Photo Just Sold: Houston on a Beautiful Day

2009-04-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

Just sold.

Mr. Rogers was right: "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood." Even more beautiful when sales are good.

Microstock Photo Just Sold: Houston

2009-04-23T15:54:00.000-05:00

Another photo of Houston just sold.

Microstock Photo Just Sold: Houston Skyline

2009-04-23T15:52:00.000-05:00

Just sold.
Houston cityscapes seem to be selling quite nicely today.

Microstock Photo Just Sold: Traffic Barrels

2009-04-23T09:36:00.002-05:00

Just sold.

This certainly isn't one of my best photos, but for some reason it is selling like hot cakes. Hey, can't complain, right?

Microstock Photo Just Sold: Stingray Meat at the Korean Market

2009-04-22T14:07:00.002-05:00

Just sold.
Shutterstock seems to be selling alot more of my older photos alongside my new ones nowadays. Hey, I ain't got no complaints. This photograph was taken in a Korean market. Some lady chopped the brains out of these stingrays and then left them in the sun to cure. I guess the stingrays probably weren't too happy about that.