So done with Shutterstock

 On June 1st, 2020, Shutterstock pretty much screwed over their contributors.  I used to make a minimum of $0.36 a download for any picture.  I used to make a minimum of $15-20 for a video download.  Now, it's $0.10 for a photo download and $0.34 a video download.  So basically getting screwed.  Under those new sales figures, I'd cash out maybe once every six months.  If I was lucky.  I disabled my portfolio immediately on June 1st.  Shutterstock basically became iStock which won the race to the bottom.  I even made a video which is published on YouTube.

If you are a contributor on Shutterstock, please consider disabling your portfolio until Shutterstock reverts its payment plan to contributors.  I had 15,600+ photos and 1,560 video clips.  6 years of hard work shooting, editing and uploading.  Shutterstock needs to understand that I do this as a passion. I love photography.  I love shooting video.  If Shutterstock doesn't change, I hope they go down in flames.  In the meantime, if you need photos, you can go to my Adobe stock portfolio.  If you need video, you can go to my Pond5 portfolio.

The future of photography

I have been pondering the future of photography over the past few days.  I started photography about 15 years ago as a hobby.  I bought a basic DSLR back in 2004.  I had no understating of ISO, aperture, shutter speed etcetera.  I learned over a few years about exposure and such.  I upgraded my equipment as well as I learned more.  I shot Canon from 2004 to about 2017 when I switched to Sony cameras.  In 2015 I started doing videos as well.  I shoot for micro stock.  Primarily landscape, wildlife and such.  No weddings, portraits, or family photography.  I really enjoy the solitude of being out in the mountains with just my Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I used to have full frame cameras such as the Canon EOS 6D and the Sony A7II.  Had pro lenses as well.  They cost a pretty penny.  Now I just use a point and shoot pocket camera.  I get the same, if not better photos out of the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I find that the experience and imagination of the photographer is more important than the equipment used.

The market is also changing.  The biggest change in the photography market I find happened in 2007 when Apple released the Apple iPhone.  That put a camera in everybody’s pocket.  The iPhone has come a long way and it completely changed the photography market.  Now anyone can be a photographer.  I’d say 98% of people can’t tell the difference between a printed photo that was shot on an iPhone 8+ or a Sony A7RIV.  In the end it’s the skill of the photographer using the equipment he/she has..

In May 2020, my contract with Freedom Mobile ends.  I want to get the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max.  I’d need at least the 256GB model.  I find the 64GB doesn’t allow that much storage for shooting 4K/60fps footage.  I want to try using just the iPhone and iPad Pro for all my photography and editing needs.  The iPad Pro is a media consumption device which doubles as a laptop replacement.  Now with IpadOS 13.2.2 released, I don’t need a physical laptop running whatever flavour of the day of O/S.

If you look at my Shutterstock portfolio, you can’t tell what camera was used to take any particular photo with a particular lens.  I have sold photos shot on the iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy s7 Edge, a Canon EOS 350D, Canon EOS 6D, Canon EOS T3i, Sony RX100 Mark IV, V, VI, VII and the Sony A7II.  I bet in that 3-5 years, DSLR’s are going to be relics of a bi gone era.  Everyone, and I mean everyone will be shooting on a smart phone.  You can see the stats now.  The big camera brands such as Canon, Nikon, Sony are seeing their camera sales falling.  There will always be a need for high definition, high mega pixel cameras for scientific research.  You can’t do astrophotography with a phone yet.  There are dedicated cameras for astrophotography.  There will a need for specialized cameras for looking at cells and microbes.  Phones won’t be able to do that yet.  Who knows what the future holds for these kinds of cameras.  100 years ago, we were learning to fly.  70 years ago, we put a man on the moon.  40 years ago, a home computer was non-existent.  20 years ago, the internet was coming into its own.  Who knows what technology is going to be invented in 20, 40, 70 or a 100 years ago.  In the Back to the Future movies we were supposed to have flying cars right now.  

Technology evolves.  Attitudes change.  Tech just gets better.  Some of it for the better and most of it for the worse as it changes society for the worse.  But that’s just my opinion.

Why the Sony RX100 Mark VII is the best camera (for me)

As a stock photographer, I carry my camera with me everywhere.  It’s either in my coat, jeans or shorts pocket when I’m out and about.  it’s just the perfect camera for me.  Some may say it’s just an overpriced point and shoot that’s a bit better than a phone camera.  I actually beg to differ.  Just because it’s got a one inch sensor with an attached 24-200MM lens, doesn’t mean it’s not a professional camera.  It is a professional camera because it’s with me every minute of the day.  I was going to buy the Sony A7RII with the 24-240MM lens.  But that combination would cost me about $4000.  And that combination would not be with me all the time just because of the size.  I carry the Sony RX100 Mark VII with me everywhere along with my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.

I can do all sorts of photography with the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I can do portraiture, street, landscape and wildlife photography.  I can shoot during the day and at night as seen with the above photograph of the fireworks.  This was a 3.2” photograph at f9 and ISO 100.  No noise.  No shake since I had the camera on a tripod shooting with an intervalometer.  I can attach all the adapters I need to.  It is essentially the perfect camera for me.

I am a stock photographer

No weddings. No portraits.  No family shots.  Only landscapes of nature and wildlife.  With my Sony RX100 Mark VII and my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  No huge cameras.  No heavy laptops.  If I need to get closer to something, I walk towards it.  If I need to be farther away from subject, I walk away from it.  Easy as that.  I enjoy my independence.  I would rather be in my car with my camera driving to somewhere new.  Photograph something new.  Experience something new.

I honestly don’t need the latest and greatest anymore.  I am truly happy with what I have.  I have the best camera.  I have the best computer.  Why?  They are always with me.  I have decided to just do photography and shoot footage with the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  High quality photography and high quality 1080p video.  4K files are way too big and take too much time to process.  The 2018 Apple iPad Pro just flies through 1080p footage.  I keep learning about the iPadOS everyday.  Learn something new with it.

April 2020, I have decided to move to Calgary and be near the mountains.  I want to pay off my debt and just live simply.  That is my goal.

And another lousy $1.50 footage sale

Yesterday I sold another footage clip for a whopping $1.50US.  It's the second such sale and I find it pretty much insulting that I get a sale like that.  I'd rather not sell my footage if it's going to sell for a price I can't even buy a coffee for.  Thankfully I had a video sale for almost $94US earlier this month which makes up for this lousy sale.  I'm selling a lot of photography this month as well.  Weekends suck big time on every micro stock site.  Can't seem to sell anything anymore on Shutterstock on weekends.

I think today after work I'm gonna go do some photography.  Right now it's warm and sunny.  By warm, I mean +1 degree Celsius.  Which is warm for Ottawa in January.

I got extended at work till the end of February which is fantastic.  I'm hoping to get extended till the end of March so that my girlfriend and I can get the hell out of dodge and move to Calgary.  Neither of us can stand Ottawa anymore.  Neither of us are bilingual and I can't seem to get a full time job here in Ottawa.  It's always contract work.

When we do move out west I want to focus more on photography and being outdoors in the mountains.  That is my dream for now.

Sales on Shutterstock

Sales on Shutterstock are actually picking up.  I've sold more this month so far than I have sold in the past two months combined.  I've sold three footage clips which make up the majority dollar value of said sales.  A lot of subscriptions have been sold as well.

It's kind of funny but I haven't sold a photo on Pond5 or Storyblocks in a long time.  I think I've sold one photo between the two sites.  I've sold one clip on Pond5 in the past month and nothing in months on Storyblocks.  I still upload in the hopes of making sales in the future.  There is always hope for a sale here and there.

You can always see my portfolios on the right hand side of the main page on my blog.  You can also become a customer or contributor and help me out by buying or selling on Shutterstock.  It's a great passive income for photographers and the prices are great for customers as well

Need some photos, footage or some illustrations?

If your website needs some professionally shot photos, footage or some other art work, you can purchase it here at Shutterstock.  I've been a contributor for almost 5 years now and if I needed something for my website or YouTube channel, I'd buy it at Shutterstock.  Shutterstock offers affordable plans from a small blog to a multinational corporation.

Another great place to get photos and footage is Pond5.  I prefer both Pond5 and Shutterstock as they are both great sites for both the contributor and the customer with fantastic support and fantastic photos, footage and illustrations for any kind of website or documentary.  Please stop by and purchase something during the Christmas season.

2018 Apple iPad as a computer replacement

So I'm 100% sure I'll be replacing my early 2013 MacBook Pro and late 2015 Apple iMac with a 2018 Apple iPad Pro later next year.  Considering I only write this blog, visit a few websites, edit photos and videos on my laptop and PC, I'm pretty sure the 2018 Apple iPad can handle all of my needs.  I visit maybe 10 websites that I can use Safari on.  I'll need an FTP client upload my videos and photos to sites like Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.

I want to get the 12.9" with the 1TB HD and the 6GB of RAM model.  Go big or go home as they say.  I don't who "they" are but "they" are right.  From the benchmarks that I've been seeing on Youtube videos, the 12.9" iPad outperforms both of my computers by a huge margin.  The only thing I'm worried about is space because I do shoot a lot of photos and videos.  I'm sure I can find a work around to upload my raw files to an external hard drive.  Apple will have to give the iPad some support for external hard drives.  I can use the Apple Pencil 2 as a mouse.  iOS still has to be upgraded to access a better file system.

I will also be using an Apple iPhone for the foreseeable future.  As much as I like Android phones, the Apple ecosystem is much better.  I find the apps in the Apple ecosystem are much better built and provide much more enjoyment and entertainment.  Youtube, Netflix are my go to media consumption apps.  I use a few astronomy apps such as Star Walk 2, PolarAlign, Solar Walk to name a few.  There are a few apps I would like to get once I buy the iPad such as Affinity Photo for the iPad and Luma Fusio to edit my footage to upload to my micro stock sites.  

All in all I think I'll get the Apple iPad in March of 2019 once I get enough money saved up.

One more month to go

So we have just one month to go in 2018.  I am looking forward to 2019 and see what the year holds for myself and my girlfriend.  My current contract will probably end at the end of February.  I really don't want to be in Ottawa or Ontario in April.  So we are looking for jobs out west. 

On another note, going to the gym has its benefits.  I feel stronger and healthier.  I have more energy and I actually look forward to going to the gym.  I haven't weighed myself but I probably have gained weight due to increased muscle mass.

On the photography and footage side of things, November sucked.  I sold one video on Pond5, nothing on Storyblocks and barely made payout on Shutterstock.  I think 2019 should be better.  At least I hope it is.  This year has been a disappointment in the way of photography and footage sales.  I haven't sold $1000 worth of photographs or footage on Shutterstock yet.  I really need to start going back to Parc Omega more often to get more footage and photographs.  I really do enjoy it there.  I haven't taken a day off of work since I started this contract back in March of this year mainly because I've been the only tech here.

I've still been saving for the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  Instead of getting the DJI Mavic Pro 2 with my tax return money, I've decided to get the 2018 iPad Pro with the 1TB of hard drive space.  I am going to sell my 2015 Apple iMac and just keep the 2013 Apple MacBook Pro until I can make sure I can fully do my photography and footage business on the 2018 Apple iPad.  I think it might take me a month or two to get used to just working on the Apple iPad.  I do wish Apple will upgrade iOS so it's more of a competitive operating system.

I just want to use my Sony RX10 Mark II, Sony RX100 Mark VI, Canon Vixia HF G40 and the Apple iPad Pro for my photography business.

Wow!!!! Just wow!!!!

So the day is pretty much over and I've finally sold three photos on Shutterstock.  Not a one footage sale yet for the month.  I'm hoping I sell at least one clip this week.  I need to sell $2.42 to make payout this month.  I have till Friday to do that.  I'm still saving money for a Sony RX100 Mark VI point and shoot camera.

I'm thinking more and more of just ditching my early 2013 MacBook Pro and my late 2015 Apple iMac desktop computer and just going with a 2018 Apple 12.9" iPad Pro with the 1TB hard drive.  It would seem to meet all my needs for photos and footage editing.  I want to try and do a video blog on YouTube.  I can use my Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder to shoot footage.  I can use my Sony RX10 Mark II for photos.  I want the Sony RX100 Mark VI to shoot incognito while in the city as it's a pocket sized camera.  I'm not really a people photographer but it would be good for editorial photography.  

In April 2019, I want to end up in Calgary, Alberta.  I really enjoyed myself out there in the mountains.  I've been in Ottawa since 1983 and while I've had a good time and grew up here, I think it's time to just move on and explore another part of the country.  I've been doing this contract since April of this year and for more than half of it, I've been doing it myself.  I think I need a break from the I.T. field.  I do love and enjoy photography a lot more.  It's a lot more fun and interesting

This is a drought!!!!!!

I've sold one photo.  One photo in the last 4 days.  One photo on Canstockphoto.com.  Nothing on Shutterstock.  I realize it's Thanksgiving weekend in the States but I haven't sold anything in Europe or Asia or the rest of the world on Shutterstock.  Nothing.  Bupkiss.  Nadda.  I haven't had a rut like this in years.  I was hoping to buy the Sony RX100 Mark VI in March.  But if it keeps going like this, I may never get a chance to buy it with photography money.  It looks like I may not even make the payout threshold on Shutterstock.  I have to sell a whopping $3.50 by Friday to make payout.  I have not sold any footage at all this month on Shutterstock.  51 of my 55 sales on Shutterstock have been $0.36 sales which is just awful.  

I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos lately on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  It looks to be an amazing piece of hardware.  I don't think iOS is close to being a world class replacement operating system.  It needs a proper file system, external hard drive support and mouse support.  If it gets those things in iOS 13 thru iOS 15, then you will see a lot of people ditching their laptops for a tablet.  

I really, really have to do more photography.  With short days though and the location where I work at in the city, I don't have the time or place to go out and do some photography during the day or on my lunch hour.  I have to do it on the weekends.  Or do some night photography after work.  Looks like we're going to have some warmish type weather during the week.  So it might be a possibility.

The way I look at photography

Photography for me is not a job.  It's not a career.  It is not a hobby.  It is not for making money.  It is like heaven for me.  I am outdoors in nature photographing the beauty of the universe, the beauty of what was created for us to live in.  Photography tells a story that cannot be told again.  You cannot recreate a photograph exactly.  In nature shadows change, colours change and the light is different.  You can try and attempt to recreate a photography exactly but you will fail each and every single time.  

Today is Black Friday in the States.  The "holiday" migrated to Canada as well.  I have not sold anything since Wednesday.  Nothing yesterday on American Thanksgiving and nothing yet as of today.  I had eggs for lunch and I'm still hungry.  I might just go grab a snack at some point before my deployment at 1pm. I'm trying to write some more blog posts during the day.

It has been really cold here in Ottawa the last two days.  In the low minus teens and minus twenties celsius.  Needless to say I haven't touched the camera in a while which I am missing badly.  We've been going to the gym a lot over the past several weeks.  I'm also trying to save my photography money to upgrade some of my camera equipment.  I still want to purchase the Sony RX100 Mark VI before March 31, 2019 so I can use it on the way when we move to Calgary in April of next year. I think I can use the Sony RX10 Mark II with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  They are both fantastic cameras.  When we move to Calgary next year, I want to do a lot more landscape photography.  I've done a lot of wildlife photography at Parc Omega since 2010.  In the Rocky Mountains I can actually get real wild life like black bears, mountain goats, some wild bobcats etc.

I am hoping photography sales pick up next week.  I want to get my Sony RX100 Mark VI soon.  

It's mid month

I've sold 1 video for roughly $260.  I got about $130 for that.  Other than that, I've sold maybe 40 photos for roughly $0.36 each on Shutterstock.  Shutterstock is somewhat disappointing this month.  I think there's been one or two months where I haven't sold a video on Shutterstock and it really hinders sales and payouts.  I'm not losing hope yet as we're only half way through the month.  After Fine Art America and Pond5 pay out what they owe me, I'll be about a third of the way there to get the new Sony RX100 Mark VI.  If a the Sony RX100 Mark VII comes out in April or May, I'll wait to buy that camera if it's worth it.

I am still editing photos from the trip to Parc Omega this past weekend.  Took a lot of phots and videos so it takes time.  I'm using ON1 Capture Raw 2019 to edit the photos.  It's a new program for me so I'm learning the ins and outs of the program.  So far so god.

I am getting the Sony RX100 Mark V fixed tomorrow.  The latch that holds the battery in the camera broke on me a few months ago while I was doing some astrophotography with it.  It's about time I get it fixed.  I'm conflicted somewhat about getting the Sony RX100 Mark VI as I do have the Sony RX100 Mark V.  The only new feature would be the 24-200MM lens.  It would mean I'd carry around one less camera as the Mark VI would be good enough to shoot stills and footage.  I'd just have to carry around a light tripod with the RX100 Mark VI and that's pretty much it.  I don't shoot headshots for people.  I focus mainly on landscapes and wildlife.  I'd like to get the Sony RX10 Mark IV for wildlife as it does have a 24-600MM lens on it.  It would mean I could sit back at a good distance and not disturb the wildlife.  That I think will be my next purchase with my photography money.

It's very weird

I've noticed that I sell every day on Shutterstock except for Saturdays.  I've been adding various shots to my portfolio trying to diversify it.  It's weird that my old stuff from 2-5 years ago sells but new stuff barely sells.  One of my 2017 shots from my time in Calgary is my number one seller.  This shot from 2014 is my second most popular shot.  This shot from 2015 is my third most popular photo as far as dollar value goes.  This shot is my fourth most popular downloaded shot.

But it's been a long time since I sold anything on a Saturday at Shutterstock.  It's like the whole world just shuts off.  I honestly do not know why.  Pond5 and Storyblocks are not selling either.  It's been months since I've sold a video on either site, let alone a picture.  I've been adding photos and footage to all my sites but sales are stagnating.  I've recently sold a picture on Fine Art America (FAA) for $70US which is awesome but that's my third sale on that site.  I have to renew my domain name for my http://www.josefpittnerphotography.com or I'll just let that one go and set up just a http://www.josefpittner.photo site.  I'll probably do that in the next couple of weeks.  I am really busy with work this week and we are moving next week so I've been kinda busy.  I think this weekend I'm gonna head to Parc Omega by myself so I can take more photos and shoot more video.

Also, my own site isn't earning as much as far as clicks are going.  Mind you I haven't been posting as much as I should.  I will try and keep up with my photography and footage.  I will try to be with my cameras more.

1982

11:41am and I have 1982 views from Israel.  I typically get 30-65 views a day.  Not bad for a new blog.  I'm still trying to grow my views and especially them clicks on the ads which support this blog and my photography and footage sales.  But geez.  1982 views from one country?  Has to be a mistake.  I'm glad to get the views.  Helps a lot. 

Non existant sales

This weekend has been a total disaster for photo and footage sales.  Not a one sale on the stock sites I upload to the most.  Not a single sale.  Nothing.  Nadda.  I am hoping it picks up tomorrow.  The past 3 weeks have been horrible.  Sales are down 50%+. 

Drone flight at dusk

Was out with the girlfriend last night at a friends place for dinner and a sit down by a fire.  I decided to test the DJI Spark out at dusk just to see how the camera would perform.  It's ok.  But it could be better.  A lot better.  Maybe in the spring I will upgrade to the DJI Mavic Pro 2.  The Hasselblad camera should help a bit.

I edited about 6 clips which I'm currently uploading to Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.

No photography, no sales

Well it's been a busy week this week.  New job, problems with the bank and the weather has been stupid hot and humid.  Today it felt like 41 degrees Celsius with the humidity.  Yesterday was about the same.  Couldn't even breath yesterday it was so bad.  Luckily today we got some severe thunderstorms to take the humidity away.

I haven't had a chance to do any photography this week and my Shutterstock sales prove it.  I've had only 2 photo sales this week on Shutterstock.  With 12,382 photos and 1466 clips available for sale, I should be making 15-20 sales a day.  I have no excuses.  I know school starts next week so parents are taking last minute vacations in Europe and North America but not everyone is on vacation.  I've tried to vary my photography and my footage clips but no sales.  This year I'm down 50% in sales even though I've increased my portfolio by about 4000 photos.

Anyways, I think I'll go flying with the drone tomorrow and try and get some new photos and new footage.  I think it might be quite a surprise to know where I want to go do some photography.  It has not been overdone yet.  At least I don't think.

BTW, Royal Bank of Canada sucks.  I hope I pay my car loan off sooner than later.

And the month isn't even over yet

Thanks to a $96US video sale, August has turned out to be the best month of 2018 yet.  Compared to 2017 or even 2016, this year sales are down at least 50%.  Shutterstock has probably doubled the amount of stock it has in the previous year so the sales cut is to be expected.  I have right now 12,372 photos and 1462 footage clips.  That's an increase of 50% of stock for me so I should be making the same if not more sales.  I've increased my portfolios on all three sites I deal with and sales are not increasing.

What I've noticed on Shutterstock especially is the low quality of photos available for sale.  When I signed up 4 years ago, it was tough to get onto Shutterstock.  I had to get 7 out of 10 photos accepted.  Now it's just 1 out of 10 photos.  It also seems like Shutterstock will accept anything and everything to its stock database.  When I first started I picked my best photography and footage to go up.  Now it seems like I can throw up anything and it'll be accepted.  Which is not good for the good photographers and videographers along with customers because they'll have to find the good photos and footage among the crap.

Of the 3 agencies I deal with Shutterstock seems to be the best with consistent and constant sales.  Image and footage acceptance is fast and easy.  Approval is quick, typically within 24-36 hours.  Pond5 is easy as well.  Acceptance for me now is with 48 to 72 hours for both photos and footage.  Pond5 seems to have hired staff to review photos and footage over the last several weeks or maybe people are not contributing as much during the summer time in the northern hemisphere.  Storyblocks takes it's time.  It can take up to 3 weeks and sometime 5 to get your photos and video either accepted or denied.  Sales on Pond5 are sporadic.  I can sell between 0 and 10 files a month.  With Storyblocks, I can go months without selling some footage.  I have not sold a photo on Storyblocks at all.  Come to think of it, I think I've sold 1 photo on Pond5 since I started.  I get the vast majority of my sales on Shutterstock followed by Pond5.  I'll break the $5000US barrier on Shutterstock either this month or next depending on how Shutterstock does in the next 8 days.  With Pond5 I might break $2000US by either the end of the year or mid next year.  Depends on sales as usual.

DJI is looking

Looks like DJI is looking at the drone data right now.  Hopefully I will hear something tomorrow if I'm getting a credit from DJI or if it was pilot error.  I'm 100% certain that it was equipment failure and not user error.  Tomorrow DJI apparently has an event where they're going to announce new drones like the DJI Spark 2.  I was at my local camera store and from what the sales guy told me is that DJI has discontinued the DJI Spark.  With the event tomorrow, I might just stay at home and watch the event online if it's streamed.

In other news I got a new contract with Global Affairs Canada that I start next week.  I am pretty happy about that.  I'm thinking of doing some photography tomorrow as well with my Apple iPhone 8 Plus and my DJI Osmo 2.  I just have to figure out where to go.