Rick McDowell Photography & Journalism

Western Australian endemic flora - Garden World Images

2011-08-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting couple of months with the Getty buy out of Photolibrary leaving me in a pickle with Garden Picture Library. No, I decided not to jump in with Getty, but things have now worked out perfectly with Garden World Images. My first submission is now loaded up on the GWI site and I've got another submission presently going together. If only I could get the mighty G to reply to me properly and release my GPL images back to me ....

Conservation & Land Management studies. UPDATE

2011-08-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

When I started with my Conservation and Land Management studies back in February, I really didn't ever think I'd be in the position I am now. Starting at Cert II level, I wrapped that up in mid June and got ready for Cert III starting next week. That left me with a gap of about 4 weeks, so I approached the powers that be and asked to be let loose on a Cert IV assignment just for kicks. Well, I got it done and passed with a report summing up my investigative study of the endemic flora of the Quindalup dunes region of Craigie bush reserve.
Now I'm embarking on some other Cert IV units and the Cert III course hasn't even begun yet.
Sometimes you just have to jump in and I certainly don't believe in wasting any time with getting this new career direction cranking.

More Australian fungi

2011-07-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Just came across a neat Blog from over New South Wales way dealing with Australian fungi. Called, appropriately;
Australian Fungi - A Blog.
Some excellent photography and information.
Check it out by clicking here.

Western Australian fungi

2011-07-13T04:17:00.000-07:00

It might be cold and occasionally wet, but July is the key month for fungi and I've been a keen amateur (Very !!) fungatologist for several years now.
Trying to ID and recognise fungi is no easy task, but at least I'm managing to put a fair amount of variety in front of the trusty 5D and Tamron 90mm macro this year.
Thanks to the Friends of Warwick Bush and their Fungi Foray last weekend, quite a few interesting specimens were digitised, including a red fingers (stinkhorn ???) that really was a highlight of the morning.
Friends of Warwick Bush aside, I've been out in Craigie Bush Reserve as usual and spent today in Walyunga National park too, collecting more images.
All things considered, it's proving to be a good fungi season this one. Here's some of my favourite captures thus far;

Western Australian orchids

2011-07-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

Spent another few hours in Craigie Bush Reserve tidying up some aspects of my Certificate IV Monitor Biodiversity assignment and when finished, thought I'd have a walk around.
Glad I did decide to go for a wander as I spotted the first orchid for the season.
Quite sure it's a Pheladenia, or Blue Fairy Orchid. Was sitting all by its lonesome, but plenty of Hovea trispermum is out now too.
A busy season ahead I think and I've just been accepted on board by Garden World Images in the UK too, but that's for another post.

Perth rainfall figures

2011-06-30T19:35:00.001-07:00

There goes June and a ripper month it was for local rainfall. We all knew it'd be high and the Water Corp figures show how good, with 171.4mm just shy of the 175.7mm average for the month. Nonetheless, we're still a good 100mm short of what we had this time last year Jan' to June, so who knows how it will pan out over the next couple of months. Guess they'll still have to crack on with the de'sal' plants and continue mucking around with aquifers. Oh, and let's not forget about clearing more bush for the sardine can suburbs to house the expanding population ... what water crisis ?

Frog Pond update...

2011-06-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Despite some decent rains these past few weeks, attempts to vegetate around the frog pond have met with mixed success. Thanks to Adam (fellow CLM student and environmental peace activist),we've had some ferns, bullrushes and some sort of water lilly species introduced, but it's really only the lilly that has taken with new shoots appearing. The Austrostipa grass I introduced some weeks back has taken with several new shoots already up and away.

Cert IV monitor Biodiversity

2011-06-26T23:29:00.000-07:00

Having wrapped up Cert II in Conservation & Land Management, I've just signed on for Cert III which gets under way in another 3 weeks time. In the meantime however, the powers that be have allowed me to have a crack at the Cert IV level, Monitor Biodiversity, assignment. I've actually spent about a week or more in the planning and preparation stages for this one, but this morning headed out to Craigie Bush Reserve to get the survey and data sorted. I've titled my project - "An investigation into the endemic plant communities of the Quindalup Dunes region of Craigie Bush Reserve."
As can be seen in the photo above, I dragged fellow CLM student, Adam Ward, along to help out with this one (I'm the good looking one of the right, by the way). Er, anyway, after a morning spent setting up a 30M transect with mini quadrats and then a full size 10M X 10M quadrat, we set up another 10M x 10M quadrat in a Quondong thicket because I've been keen to calculate density figures within an area that visually had a high concentration of Santalum acuminatum (Quondong) trees. Over the next few weeks I'll be piecing all of the information together to investigate Genera and species diversity, density, foliage protective cover and adding in some Braun-Blanquet Cover Abundance Scale. There was another section of the Quindalup Dunes region that I was going to look at, but the Water Authority who supposedly own that piece of land won't reply to me in a positive manner. Maybe they think I'll find some rare species that'll stop them squirting water back into the aquifer ... :)

Native Wildflower Photography, Getty Images and IRS

2011-06-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

Photography of native Western Australian wildflowers has long been one of my specialties and I had a great rapport going with Garden Picture Library (GPL) in the UK. The recent purchase of Photolibrary (and thus GPL) by Getty Images has thrown something of a spanner in the works however.
It's not that I have an issue with Getty's 50% commission, as sales volume would probably cover that. Getty being the big giant with tentacles in markets all over the place.
No, my issue is that in order to avoid being slugged 30% on any sales by the US tax department (yes, even as a non-US citizen), I have to apply for a US tax department ITN, in order to complete a US tax department form W8-BEN or something.
Now I've made inquiries about this all before and there are other non-USA photographers whose experiences in this area make having your teeth drilled without anesthetic by a road drill a rather pleasant endevour.
I tried to ring the US consulate here in Perth this afternoon and after about five menus and press 1, then press 5 etc, I was given a Sydney number to ring.
I also know that documents have to be authenticated and I know that others have had original documents lost by the US tax department while trying to jump through hurdles with this.
No, instead I approached another UK specialty library this afternoon and had an initially positive first encounter.
The drama now will be whether Getty releases my images from GPL so that I can begin marketing them and the new ones ASAP.
I just find it so frustrating that there is a bureaucracy level in the USA that believes it can control the rest of the world - and take 30% of any money owed to me from stock sales.
Thank goodness the UK tax department doesn't enforce a system whereby Alamy - or any other UK library - has to deduct 30% of earnings even for non-UK citizens.
Maybe if Australia had had a war of independence from the Brits the situation might be different.
Last comment very much tongue in cheek :)

Joondalup Community Coast Care Planting

2011-06-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

The Joondalup Community Coast Care group are very busy with planting at the moment and I went out this morning to get involved. Spent a few hours planting Spinifex longifolius, as well as what looked like a Scaevola genera and Olearia axillaris as well as some others.
Our Cert II CLM class will be back in there this coming week to plant more.

The 100% Club !

2011-06-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

Had another plant ID test for Cert II recognise plants this week just gone and again I scored 100% - as did another 5 students in the class which is excellent to see. About time some of the rest of them lifted their game :)

Stylidium trigger plants

2011-06-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of the more fascinating groups of endemic Western Australian plants are the Stylidium trigger plants. Here's an image of Stylidium repens captured just the other day while out hunting around. As with many endemic plants, it'd be near impossible to make these captures without my trusty 90mm Tamron Macro.

Planting Western Australian Natives

2011-06-05T03:44:00.000-07:00

Spent this morning with the Friends of Maritana Park, helping to plant about 200 rootstock of mainly Calothamnus quadrifidus, Melaleuca systena as well as Scaevola, Austrostipa and some other Genus. There were a few Daviesia in the mix too. Maritana Park is a small area in Kallaroo and is dominated by Acacia saligna and Melaleuca systena. There's a lot of flowering Acanthocarpus preisii in there at the moment too, as well as plenty of Geraldton Carnation Weed (Euphorbia terracina)and other nasties. Maritana is also an important reserve for the Graceful Sun Moth (Synemon gratiosa). The local friends group do a good job in there and have had successful plantings in the past. Weeding is an on-going struggle though, as it is for many friends groups and spraying isn't allowed in this reserve. Surprisingly, I was told that there are no orchids in Maritana. I might have to investigate further and try to dispel this over the coming months. Here's hoping anyway !

How to build a frog pond ... or not.

2011-06-03T06:14:00.000-07:00

Something that we've wanted to do on the home front for a long time, is to build a frog pond. And although we've had a pond liner lying around for months, it's been one of those projects that never seemed to get going. Well, we finally made a start, the liner was dug in a few weeks back, the recent rains have filled it up and my search for some endemic grasses today resulted in a couple of mark downs from Bunnings. I would have liked some Schoenus grandiflorus or Austrostipa genus, but all I scored was two different species of Lomandra. I haven't had the courage to investigate wether they are a WA species or from over east. Terrible for a CLM student I know, but we'll try to make up for it next time around. The goal now is to get a nice big granite rock in there to accompany the Eucalyptus log I found today. Oh, and the above photo was taken by wonderful daughter, Esther.

Fencing for Dummies

2011-06-03T01:19:00.000-07:00

Fencing ?
No, not the Olympic sport involving pointy implements and lots of poking. Rather, a key means by which nature and conservation reserves can be protected. We've been doing a fair bit of fencing these last few weeks as part of the on-going Cert II Conservation & land management studies and this week it was all about strainer assemblies. That wire strainer device is a shocker though, surely someone has come up with something more ergonomic by now ?

Joondalup Natural Bush Regeneration

2011-05-31T06:18:00.000-07:00

It's really ironic that two arson attacks earlier this year could have led to the magical regeneration that is now taking place in Joondalup's Central Park. The Conservation and Land management students at TAFE up there have been using Central Park for various studies and excercises, so at the time of the fires everyone was more than a little dissapointed. Yet knowing how important fire can be to the natural process of regeneration, it was only matter of time and now, thanks to recent rains it is all kicking off. I've yet to fully identify this Drosera, or the insect performing its routine thereupon (yes, looks like a fly, but which one ?), but there's a stack of Droseras popping up all through Central Park along with a veritable smorgasbord of other plants. Some of us will be keeping a very close eye on it all in the months ahead, especially as the fungi and orchid seasons quickly approach.

Wildflowers of Western Australia

2011-05-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

Just a few shots from the past couple of weeks as I prepare the next selection for Garden Picture Library in the UK.

Testing water for Macro Invertebrates

2011-05-28T00:35:00.000-07:00

Although we're coming to the end of Certificate II in Conservation & Land Management, a Cert' III unit in Water Testing is already being undertaken. It's proving to be quite interesting and this past week it was down to Lake TAFE for samples and the discovery of numerous Macro Invertebrates - important little critters for the indication of chemicals, pollutants and overall water quality.

Wicked wicking bed for the vegie patch

2011-05-20T00:56:00.000-07:00

It seems that the Conservation and Horticulture departments at Joondalup TAFE have taken to the concept of 'Wicking Beds' to grow vegetables in a really big way. If you don't know what a 'Wicking Bed' is, then Google it. Of course, being TAFE, the hard slogging slave labour is provided by us students and we began yesterday by digging out the reticulation trenches for the entire area. Apparently, the area will be used to grow vegies in a traditional manner, while one large 'Wicking Bed' will be built for comparison. As a home vegie gardner myself, it's a project I will be following with keen interest over the coming months.
(Photos above show Adam doing his best council worker impersonation, while Emma gets trenching. Also shown are lecturers Mike O'Halloran and Brooke Fellowes complete with sticky bun in a bag).

Developers & Conservation

2011-05-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

Am I a pessamist, or are we now really seeing developers begin to take conservation seriously ?
I've just been reading a PDF file regarding the new Trinity housing estates, er sorry, Villages, up at Alkimos and can't believe what I am reading.
Despite the fact that an entire coastal ecosystem (s) has been wiped out by the Barnett bulldozer gang just south of Yanchep, the Trinity crew will be collecting endemic seed from the area.
The seeds will then be propogated in their own nursery (yes, a developer with a native nursery, go figure ...), with the resulting plants to be used for lanscaping in the new villages.
New houses will have eco-logicial front yard landscaping packages and over six-thousand cockatoo friendly trees will be re-planted in an effort to assist the endangered Carnaby's Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris).
Mixed in with the usual spin doctoring about water-wise sustainable gardens and energy-efficient homes, it all sounds so delightful and beautiful.
Yet, much of it goes against what I am learning in my Conservation and Land Management studies at TAFE.
The use of mulches and 'native plant' fertilisers to assist with revegetation is something I'm writing against in a current assignment for starters.
Inevitably too and despite the supposed enthusiasm for native plants, the quest to have a nice pretty lawn will ensure even more stress on Perth's water supply while the chemicals to feed it will keep a steady stream of pollutants flowing to the already stressed ground water system.
I also dread to think of the impact on nearby Yanchep National Park, especially in ten, twenty or more years time, when all of the Nanna Plants planted in the new gardens have escaped, adapted and become major weeds.
And can you really bulldoze an area and then expect good intentions mixed with key phrases or in vogue methods to restore some semblance of the natural environment ?
I won't answer that one.

turning green ?

2011-05-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

Is it my imagination, or is the local bush really turning greener as winter approaches ? Craigie Bush Reserve, which has become my own almost private study area, is certainly a whole lot greener than what it was 3 weeks ago. And there is now definite activity happening in there with plants budding and even flowering, not to mention more than a few bursts of fungi here and there. Ah yes, fungi, one of my favourite subjects, but also a constant headache on the identification front.

Top of the Class

2011-05-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

I really shouldn't boast, but after achieving a 100% score in my first endemic plant identification test, I thought a post was in order.
Apparently, only about 5 or 6 students have ever achieved a 100% score in this test since the course began.
Personally, I can't ever remember cracking a 100% score in any exam ever, but I guess this proves the point that my knowledge of endemic plants didn't begin in February when I started the Conservation & Land Management studies up at Joondalup TAFE.
The photography endevours and my specialising in the photography of native plants has been on-going for over a decade now, although the CLM studies have certainly added structure to what was otherwise an 'amateur' knowledge base that had many, many gaps needing to be filled in.

New Directions ...

2011-05-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well here goes with the first post in six months and the first post since I decided to head in a whole new career direction.
I don't feel that it is appropriate to dissect all of the reasons for my decisions here and now, although I am still contracted to a major Australian car magazine publisher - but am only commiting to selected shoots and write ups on that front.
After a lifetime of interest in nature, animals, plants and the environment, I identified the Conservation and Land Management studies through TAFE as possibly providing me with a means to an end, so to speak.
I therefore began studying Cert II in Conservation and Land Management at Joondalup TAFE back in February and although the course takes up 'only' Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week, there are assignments and other things in life I need to take care off.
Despite the fact that I have not been to school (actually, it was Newtownabbey Technical College near Belfast where I studied General Engineering and specialised in electronics) since 1982, I have taken to the CLM course at Joondalup like the proverbial duck to water.
But will it lead to a decent job and if so when ?
Those indeed, are the golden questions.

Perth stock photography prints

2010-11-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

With Christmas just around the corner, it might be time to think of an alternative present and our range of Perth scenic shots might just be perfect for that something different. And we're about to add block mounting and framing to our service as well. There's too much to show here, but from Perth city scenes to the Avon River, landmarks and of course our ever growing range of endemic flora images, we've probably got something that will look fantastic on any boardroom or loungeroom wall. Don't forget too, that our prints are true photographic quality prints done by one of Perth's longest established and most professional outlets for such. Email us for more details at ricphoto@iinet.net.au

stock photography alternative thinking

2010-11-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

The old saying in stock that you never know what will sell and anything can and often does sell rings true. My daughter recently thought I was mad when I asked to borrow her Lego for some conceptual images I had in mind. Well, within 2 weeks of loading a set up to Alamy, I scored a sale on the one shown here. RF and not bad money either. A couple of hundred $$ actually. I've also had some solid Zooms on other images I've made along the same lines and am expecting good sales to follow. Only problem now, is that my daughter expects my sales with her Lego to fund an entirely new Lego set ... Hmmm, that Lego Star Wars set has me thinking ....

Adventures with Garden Picture Library

2010-11-16T19:31:00.000-08:00

Having recently received my first payment from Garden Picture Library, I must say that I am well pleased. Admittedly, that first GPL payment included a 'Monster' sale of a Eucalyptus flower and such Monsters are rare in stock world. Unfortunately too, the pressures of everyday life and bills and debt meant that the payment couldn't be used for that new 7D. However, if this is where GPL are at with pricing and sales generally, then it's full steam ahead on that front.

Royalty Free Images

2010-08-28T04:49:00.001-07:00

Some examples from recent efforts to bolster the Royalty Free side to my portfolio

Alamy stock photography pricing

2010-08-12T17:10:00.001-07:00

I must admit that I am a little shell shocked at some of the prices recent images have sold for on Alamy. Three sales in the RM editorial genre for less than $100.00 total is very scary indeed. Even a year back, those three sales would have been worth a combined $500.00 approx'. What's going on ? Package deals or similar no doubt, but it seems clear that my own strategy now should be towards pumping out as much RF material as possible. RF certainly seems to be the only way to attract decent pricing these days.

Blow Up Enlargements for Everyone !

2010-08-12T01:56:00.000-07:00

Never mind the new drag racing season coming ... it's now the downhill run to Christmas 2010. What, are you serious ?
Absoloutely and we have a wide, broad, large, even massive range of photos that can all be blown up and enlarged, making for great presents.
From drag racing to Barbagallo and not forgetting all of our WA Scenery and flora images ... all of it is available to purchase as an enlargement.
Remember too, that our enlargements are true photographic prints, printed by a professional colour photo lab in Perth.
Our 40cm X 50cm print size is proving to be especially popular, although with inflation and price increases all around, the current price of $55.00 postage included is going to rise soon - not much, but a little :)
(and no, that doesn't include framing, because if it did, even for $100.00, it'd be ridiculous !)
Have a look around this Blog and check out our images at Alamy and Gekko and on our Facebook page too.

Western Australian wildflowers & flora

2010-08-11T19:34:00.001-07:00

trying to get the next set together for Garden Picture Library. It seems to take forever just to prepare images, add keywords and make sure all dust spots are removed. Still, it's all par for the course in this game.

Keywording data base for Stock Photography

2010-08-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

I learnt a valuable lesson last week.
With backup and then backup and even more backup the name of the game with images, feature articles as well as personal information for tax and more ... you'd think I'd have devised a system for backing up my keywords and sets of keywords.
Well, when Windows XP went bye bye last week, all my stored Photoshop CS4 IPTC data fields went on a permanent holiday too.
Oh, and yes, I'm still using XP.
Big fan of XP, Vista can go take a jump ... might get to 7 eventually.
Anyway, while most of my keyword sets and groups are in my head, as well as attached to my images around the libraries, it was a valuable lesson learnt.
Even if one does use Bridge or Lightroom or whatever, a seperate backup data base for keywords and sets is a good idea.
Pity it took me this long to realise it.
Better get on with this Excel document then !

Best ever stock photography sale

2010-07-31T00:26:00.000-07:00

Just clicked over 1,000 images on Alamy this week - and then made my biggest ever stock sale with another specialist library. A nice 4-figure sum for this Eucalyptus shot, to be used by a domestic products manufacturer in a European country. A few more like this and I might be able to afford that 60Mpixel P1 ....

Avon River & up around Bells - again !

2010-07-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

Can't get enough of the Avon this time of year and further exploring yesterday produced more images. Also met up with fellow local photographer John Harney, who introduced me to the range of Yong Nuo wireless triggers. After a play with these little beauties, I have to order a set. You can go and check out some of John's images from Bells and more too ... his link is over there on the right of this page

Avon Valley & Bells Rapids

2010-07-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

After a 5 hour walk looking for running water up between Bells and Walyunga the other weekend, Perth finally got hit with some decent rain and the flow of H2O has begun ! Here's some of the first images from what I hope will be a fantastic season of shooting up in this fantastic area.

Photos of the Perth City Skyline

2010-06-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

The recent cold weather in Perth might be hard to handle, but with a big High in the Bight and calm, almost glassy waters on the Swan, it has been a perfect opportunity to grab some classic South Perth foreshore images of the ever changing Perth City Skyline. Here's a panorama we cobbled together last week.

Destruction of Bells Rapids ...

2010-05-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

I don't often get political, but word came through overnight that Peet & Co. have been given final approval to send the bulldozers into Bells Rapids and that work will start this spring. The last remaining native forest on the banks of the Swan River around Perth is to be trashed for Political / Corporate greed. Peter Garrett has approved the decimation of habitat for the endangered Black Cockatoo, the EPA didn't even consider the area worthy of their consideration and once again, Developers and politicians have done their usual back-door deals to line each other's pockets. Nice, very nice indeed.

Alamy 24Mb size

2010-05-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Alamy's decision to drop its uncompressed minimum size from 50Mb down to 24Mb has opened up a whole new World of possability and we're now back-tracking the entire collection. Already we've had 30 images I previously couldn't get up to size through and passed QC in about 4 days. Complacency will be the thing to watch however, as the Alamy QC process still exists and pixelation, shadow noise and more all have to be factored into wether an image gets uploaded or not.

Perth City Skyscrapers

2010-05-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

We've added even more Perth city skyline and skyscraper images to the portfolio. Our range of Perth skyline and skyscraper images is now becoming rather extensive and most of the images show on-going development of the skyline and city.

Perth City Council Lights Up !

2010-05-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Perth City Council have managed to give their ageing administration building in the heart of the city a whole new look with a rather amazing light show. Obviously in a still image you don't see the patterns or colours or combinations of effects. Clearly the Perth City Council is spending money in the right areas :)

Fremantle

2010-04-16T21:05:00.001-07:00

A few touristy pix from a quick few hours in Fremantle the other morning. These are off to Alamy and Gekko.

Stock Photography Sales

2010-03-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

After a bit of a hump at the start of the year, stock sales have dropped off and so too Zooms on Alamy. Nonetheless, I have identified specific subjects that are being searched for and which are not being offered out there and which I can provide. In addition to which we have managed to keep getting images loaded and passed at Alamy. The value of constantly re-visiting keywords has also been made clear in recent weeks too. All of this aside, the goal for the immediate future is to crack the 900 images on Alamy mark within the next few weeks ... only about 50 images to go !

Alamy Keywords and keywording

2010-03-27T18:27:00.001-07:00

Anyone who thinks they can just add and then forget about their keywords with stock is fooling themselves. Every time I check 'Your Images' on Alamy I always end up discovering words or phrases that were initially left out. And you know what one of the biggest mistakes is ? Yep, it's plurals. Even if the image doesn't have more than one of whatever, the plural version might just be a commonly accepted description or phrase used for that subject. And don't forget those American spelling variations either. Or even commonly accepted wrong spellings for certain words.

Alamy Sales - stock photography

2010-03-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

Quite a bit of activity on the stock front this past month or so. January rounded out with two more editorial RM sales via Alamy, again, engineering and automotive mechanical images going to US publishers. Also managed to get a set of endemic Western Australian flora images up to Garden Picture Library and am currently preparing the next set for Adams Picture Library. Zooms and views at Alamy seem OK, but stock has now become a monster ...

Western Australian reptiles & insects

2009-11-08T02:47:00.000-08:00

After several busy weeks work with the car mags I finally managed to head bush, but rather than endemic flower images for stock, it was time for some creature feature action ! I'm still trying to identify the lizard, but it certainly appears to be a 'Dragon' species of some description. Had himself (or herself ..) a neat little sand cave going, which thankfully I saw before putting the right foot down. I've always found Dragons have an aspect of curiosity about their character and a slow, steady approach generally won't scare them away.
The insect action is a mother crab spider with a fresh moth / butterfly (sorry, more identification to be done !), but the thing to note is the baby crab spider on mother's back.
Once correct identifications are complete, both images will be off to the stock image libraries.

Alamy Stock Photo Sales

2009-10-27T05:31:00.000-07:00

Alamy have just scored me another sale, this time for an Australian consumer magazine - editorial useage of course. Image shows Chris Michel winning the 2007 Motorvation burnout comp. It's the 2nd Alamy sale to arrive in the last month and comes hot on the heels of my 2nd Gekko Images sale in a month. Stock photography looking up ? Here's hoping.

Stock Photo Sales - Gekko Images

2009-10-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

Another sale has just popped up on my account with Australia's Gekko Images.
This time it's one of my drag racing images.
It's also the second Gekko sale in a month and again for a figure that rivals any individual amount earned through Alamy.
I'm feeling quietly confident about the stock photography game at present, with Gekko coming through like this, Alamy zooms are back and other endevours are giving positive vibes.

Latest Alamy sale

2009-10-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

A quick check on Alamy and there's my first Alamy sale in about 6 weeks and a cut out or Silo too.
Not a bad sales figure either and yes indeed, it's for another educational book in the USA.

Digital camera POTY 2009

2009-09-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's time for another photo competition. This time the Digital camera Magazine Photographer Of The Year 2009.
I have to say that there are some stunning entries in the various categories and I've basically given up already on the 'Landscape' category. However, the 'World In Motion' category is perfect for a lot of my drag racing work, although the 'Planet Earth' division seems to be a good spot for an old favourite and a new favourite.
That Heron stood there basically stock still for the full 30 seconds exposure and says a great deal about species adapting to man's interference with the natural environment.
The Thomisidae species crab spider meanwhile, was sitting on a Ricinocarpos glaucus bush in my local Craigie Bush.
I only just spotted it there, but wasn't happy with the original shots.
Ducking back in the very next morning, the spider was still there on the very same flower - I wish my kids were that patient for their food !

More Western Australian wildflowers for GPL

2009-09-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

Another batch of 21 endemic WA wildflower images have been accepted by Garden Picture Library in the UK. From a set of 30, that's another quite high accpetance rate. Must try to keep this going.

Stock Photography Sales - Gekko Images

2009-09-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

After a year of loading what is now a total of 659 images to Australian library, Gekko Images, we've just cracked our first sale with Gekko. It's not a huge sum, but comes after winning a Microsoft software package in Gekko's Image Quest 09 competition and all up goes against the negativity merchants out there who seem to bag Gekko on the various stock forums.
Yes, it is only 1 sale, but what's the point in being pessamistic all the time ?
Stock, like nearly every other industry in the World, is feeling the economic squeeze.
The trick and approach I think is to be ready to get back up and walk again ... which in this game means keep shooting, keep keywording and keep loading.
Because when things come good again .... here endeth today's lesson.

Garden Picture Library - native flora photos

2009-09-22T05:01:00.000-07:00

Just checked Garden Picture Library and my first images are now loaded up for all to view. Very happy with that. Of course, the hard work continues to get the quantity built up at GPL. You can go direct to our images at GPL by clicking on this text.

Gekko Images stock photography

2009-09-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

Another round of our stock images have gone live on Gekko Images.
Please visit our range of images on Gekko
Curiously, the newer images are 'buried' down between pages 8 and 14 out of the 55 pages of images we have up there.
Nice to see however, that Gekko have given our range of Bells Rapids images 5-star ratings across the board.

Alamy sale for the environment

2009-09-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Just discovered that one of my Alamy sales last year was used for an on-line Direct Science report with a clear message re' the environment and destruction of our native bush. Peter Garret, if you're reading my blog, please follow this link and take note.
Developers like Peet & Co, Landcorp, as well as the politicians about to sign off on the Moore River, Bells Rapids and Alkimos, should read this too.

Avon Valley Bells Rapids

2009-09-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Some of our recent images from Bells Rapids and elsewhere are going up onto the Create09 website today. Have a peek !

Walyunga National Park

2009-09-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

The quest to build stock for Garden Picture Library headed to Walyunga National Park today. A favourite location, today's adventures saw me head up the Kingfisher trail through the guts of the park, which quite frankly was a waste of time ! A fantastic walk, but I couldn't find the variety of vegetation I had hoped for. Back down by the river and along the Aboriginal Heritage trail, various Fabaceae (or Papilionaceae) species emerged, as well as a Labichea species. There was more Fabaceae species on the road out too, but the rain and mist had settled in by this stage and put an end to the day.

Photographic enlargements & prints

2009-09-05T03:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a few years since we offered an enlargement service to regular clients in the local motorsport or car field, but I'm putting the effort back into this area now.
As well as Barbagallo Raceway and Perth Motorplex action, any of our scenery / nature / Aussie bush / flora imagery is available as a quality Pegasus enlargement.
We've re-established contact with Mirage Photo Laboratory in Subiaco, an outfit I first dealt with back in the late 1980s !!
Things have changed dramatically since those days, but quality is still the name of the game which is why we've decided to go this way for our prints.
I'm going to try and focus on just one size, namely 20" X 24" for $77.00 (icludes $7.00GTS which I must charge).
At the moment the offer is restricted to Australian customers and all prints are mailed out as well, with the cost of postage included.
Just email us for more details and we can email you some sample images to peruse;
ricphoto@iinet.net.au

Alamy QC - soft in the head and lacking directional definition

2009-09-05T03:14:00.000-07:00

The Alamy forums have been going right off lately with threads from dis-gruntled contributors who cannot pass Alamy QC. Personally, I don't see what the problem is in regards to interpreting Alamy's guidlines, yet every day it seems someone else comes up with a conspiracy theory about Alamy having this or that problem with shallow depth of field, selective focus etc.
In a recent thread, Alamy's James Allsworth spoke about 18,000 photographers submitting to Alamy and that only a small amount were forum 'regulars.
Well, I checked.
There are 3,460 Forumites.
That's about 19% of 18,000.
Regular complainants would drop that figure down ... possibly, perhaps ...to as low as 10%.
That's what I'd call a minority group for sure.
Getting past Alamy QC isn't rocket science.
This photographer just had another batch go through QC through from the Avon River near Bells Rapids.

Western Australian wildflowers

2009-09-05T03:09:00.000-07:00

Western Australia's Wildflower season is in full swing and I just wish I had more time to get to every location I'd like / need to. We're still managing to crack on with it all though, averaging up to 100 images / month straight to Garden Picture Library in the UK.

Fame & Fortune ?

2009-09-02T01:36:00.001-07:00

Just had Community Newspapers call. They want to do a story on my nature / bush photography and have 'booked' me for a shoot on Monday morning. That is, their photographer is to meet me at the local bush reserve, I'll 'pretend' to photograph some exotic endemic flower and he's going to shoot me shooting. Better get my hair done ... now where's that razor ....

Gekko Images Image Quest Finalists

2009-08-26T23:59:00.001-07:00

Well, I didn't win first prize, nor one of those Asukabooks, but it looks like I'm up for some Microsoft software after three of my images placed in the finalists selection in the recent Gekko Images Create09 Image Quest competition. First time I've won anything in my life .... wish Gekko would hury up and make some sales for me though :)
Anyway, here's my three finalist winning shots.

Photos of the Avon Valley

2009-08-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

The Avon Valley is one of my favourite locations, but there always seems to be new areas to find and explore. From up near Cobblers Pool, to the Avon Valley National Park and down to Walyunga then Bells ... it's a great area to get into on foot with the camera bag, a 1.25 litre bottle of water and of course, the tripod ! Some shots from yesterday, not the best weather, but we did find the waterfall I'd been meaning to scope out. Quite an exhaustive 1-hour hike (legs turning to jelly, heart pounding in my throat, yes I am 45 ...) to get the angles I wanted, but well worth it. Unfortunately, scum bags like Peet & Co. want to turn this area into a yuppie housing development. Yet another area of natural beauty and endemic importance on Perth's doorstep under threat by money grabbing developers in bed with corrupt politicians ...

Australian wildflower photos

2009-08-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

OK, let's make the announcement.
Garden Picture Library in the UK accepted our work about a month back and after the first submission of 50 images, another 30 went away yesterday. Adam Stevens from GPL came back last night on email with news that we had an acceptance of about 40 images from the intial 50. I'm very happy with that ratio, which is excellent for an exclusive library.
In addition to ramping up for GPL, I am now looking at pulling down suitable images from Alamy.
There'd be a 6 month wait for deletion from Alamy and of course, I'd have to make up the shortfall with other material.
Not sure what to do on that front to be honest.

Another Alamy sale

2009-08-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

Do I have education photographer stamped on my forehead or what ?
The latest Alamy sale is yet again another education book and yet again another car shot.
Hey, I am not complaining ... well, maybe about the price of US$70, but at least I haven't been caught by any of those Russian Federation spot size prices yet, nor the UK newspaper subscription thing.
Still, we've got heaps more car type shots going up on Alamy at the moment, so the more we can help with World education in the right direction the better :)

Perth stock photos for sale

2009-08-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note.
While our work is mainly for Image Libraries, most of our images can be sold directly for genuine commercial purposes. This is well within the boundaries of any contracts we have with Alamy, Gekko etc, etc.
Wether it's for a book, a brochure, presentation or whatever, this Blog gives a good indication of the imagery we have available.
If you think we can help out with a suitable image, simply send an email to ricphoto@iinet.net.au.
Naturally, we adhere to what might be called industry standard pricing - all we need to know is how many copies of the book / brochure are to be printed, wether Worldwide or just one country, size the image is to be used etc, etc.
We look forward to being of service.

Photos of Perth Redevelopment

2009-08-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Just had another couple of shots of the new Perth city skyscrapers go through Alamy QC. Will be interesting to watch these new buildings grow over the coming months and we'll be recording their development all the way.

Gekko Image Quest

2009-08-05T04:45:00.000-07:00

I never win anything and hardly enter competitions, but I reckon I might have a chance with the new Gekko Images Quest comp'. It's all a part of Gekko's Create09 push and I've already put a mix of motorsport and nature images through for the Quest Comp. I've just loaded up two of my all time favourite panoramas - Yanchep lake on dusk and Into the Gimmlet. We shall see what happens !

Western Australian endemic flora

2009-07-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

The push continues to produce 50 initial images for the new exclusive flora library in the UK that has kindly accepted our work. Just plodding along in stock and producing images is fine, but having a set target is really quite difficult to achieve. We just clicked over the 40 mark an hour ago. Should get the final 10 sorted in a day or so. Then of course we have to keep it going ...

Create 09 Gekko Images

2009-07-27T01:42:00.000-07:00

A post without any photo, well yes !
Image libraries seem to be on a push with 'Self Help' options for us struggling photographers in these days of economic woe ... Alamy have just released FAP (Find A Photographer), while Gekko Images here in Australia are celebrating the launch of their Create 09 website. It's fantastic that libraries such as Alamy and Gekko can offer these services to photographers, but it has taken me nearly an entire day to work out Create 09, build galleries, tag options, enter the Image Quest competition .... it seems so true that the days when you could just be a photographer and leave it at that are long gone. Now the photographer has to be a self marketer, a web site guru, computer specialist, Java know-it-all and, quite possibly, a rocket scientist to survive let alone earn a few miserable dolleros :)

Eucalyptus Wandoo

2009-07-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

Two endemic Western Australian trees I really admire are Eucalyptus Salubris (Gimlet) and Eucalyptus Wandoo. Hard to believe that Wandoo is under threat, but there are good stands remaining just out of Perth. A beautiful tree with amazing bark, even more so after rain when it goes almost blood red. The attached photo in full colour format is part of our first batch to a new exclusive library in the UK dealing with flora images. Been a busy month getting the first 50 ready for them.

Alamy Sales

2009-07-25T04:12:00.000-07:00

It is always said that one never knows what will sell in stock, but this year seems to be the year of the educational book in the US of A as far as my Alamy sales go. Curiously, my two recent sales are not what one would expect for a school book. Well, not in my day anyway ! Still, no complaints.

Western Australian Fungi

2009-07-09T05:08:00.000-07:00

Think wildflowers and most people don't think Fungi, yet these are an important part of the bush and do some really important jobs like helping with decomposition. Unfortunately, there are very few scientists studying our native fungi and as more of the bush is cleared, we lose knowledge of this fascinating flora. And unlike the so-called wildflower season that lasts for many months, July is basically the key month for fungi activity. Oh, and before anyone asks, you have to be really careful about eating any of these. Apparently some are as deadly as any snake bite, even worse.

Western Australian Wildflowers

2009-07-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

With wildflower season started, it's probably the right time to expand the stock endevours to include a specialist image library as well as the generals. I won't reveal which garden / flora specific library we are 'negotiating' with at present, but the wheels are in motion to have them as the exclusive source for our endemic Western Australian flora images. More details in a future post.

2009-06-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Ah the Perth Wheel !!
Just because every other city in the World has a big wheel or a big eye or a big banana or whatever, someone in the Perth City Council figured we needed a Big Wheel. There's a few photos of this monstrosity starting to get about, but this is a bit of a different approach.

2009-06-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

Continually looking for new angles in and around the city. I stil reckon the Bell Tower is a waste of space, but this angle took my fancy for some reason.

Photos of Perth

2009-06-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

City traffic heading out to the southern suburbs at rush hour - kinda' like the heart of the city bleeding out at the end of the day. Yes, I should have been a poet.

Winter wildflowers

2009-06-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks I've had several people approach me whilst out bushwalking or exploring local nature reserves. These people are all experts of course and insist that I should return in the springtime for the 'Wildflowers'.
Hmmmmm !!
Yes, springtime is peak season for our unique Western Australian wildflowers, but if you look closely and follow the signs, it's quite amazing what is around at any time of the year.
The small white flower - with a diameter smaller than an Aussie 5 cent coin - was blooming in the desolated Yanchep Rose walk trail area where the only other vegetation was green re-growth after the summer bush fire.
The small tube like flower is Astroloma ciliate, spotted in my local Craigie Bush.

Aboriginal Art

2009-05-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

This is all a bit of an experiment really, but through family connections we will be putting selected images of genuine Aboriginal artwork into the stock portfolio over the coming months. This subject is a tricky one, as Aboriginal Art from certain regions of Australia has been over represented, used for financial profiteering and more, while many really good artists haven't been able to get a look in. No, we are not setting out to re-invent the wheel, but will be trying something that hopefully might give something back to some genuinely talented people. This is being done 'within the family' so to speak and any image license sales will see proceeds go back to the artist.

Point of focus

2009-05-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

I couldn't pass up this opportunity at the Kings Park State War Memorial. That single poppy on the wall in amongst all those names sure says something visually. I actually seperated the poppy and turned the background into black and white ... had a go at sepia toning the wall and names, but it didn't look right.

2009-05-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

Photographing endemic flora in natural surroundings is fine for the most part, yet I do like the concentrated detail possible from a cut out. Having my own native garden with an amazing Eucalyptus Lehmanni tree helps, but I've made a little home office backdrop set up after a visit to Lyncraft. It's a great way to keep native flowers still too ... into Photoshop and using selection tools yes, but I've just discovered the power of edge modifying tools by accident. I really need to go do a Photoshop course instead of finding these tools by accident, eh ?
And it goes without saying that you wouldn't go picking native flora out of the bush for this kind of endevour. Just wanted to make that point :)

Invasion of Privacy

2009-05-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

You never know what's going to pop out of a Banksia flower sometimes. This little Lampropholis species skink just stuck his head out the other day and had a good look around at the new Tamron SP AF90mm f2.8 being aimed at him (or her !). Hand held, deep breath, squeeze too... no time to set up the tripod as the little creature, although curious, was a bit nervous. Still managed to get the shot up to 5100 on the long side and through QC on the mighty Alamy.

Yanchep National Park

2009-04-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

Yanchep National Park isn't exactly pretty these days following the summer bush fire that swept through the park. Still makes for good photography opportunities though.

Perth city, Western Australia

2009-04-13T03:15:00.000-07:00

The city skyline of Perth, Western Australia, is set to change rather dramatically over the next ten years and from a stock photo perspective that means having the most up to date images as all the new skyscrapers go up (World economic crisis and varying State Governments 'negging on deals aside ...). We are following all of the new Perth development from a photography perspective quite closely and have many images from unusual or un-common angles offering a new and refreshing perspective. We still have the traditional Kings Park vistas by the bucket load of course !

2009-04-13T01:12:00.000-07:00

Western Australia's native or endemic Eucalyptus trees are flowering like crazy around the place right now and we're naturally adding these to the growing endemic Western Australian flora data base. We have an Excel file already under construction,
with file numbers, a size key for varying dimensions of image and more.

One aspect to the cataloguing of our native flora images is the correct latin name. Keep an eye out for more on our catalogue of native Western Australian flora images in future posts.

Stock Photography

2009-04-13T00:07:00.000-07:00

I've made the decision to use this blog more for my stock photography endevours, as we near the 700 image mark with Alamy and 550 files with Gekko Images. Most in this business would agree that it is not a good time to be trying to grow and expand, but I have been researching some other non-exclusive outlets and considering direct marketing through a dedicated website. Lots to think about and consider in the weeks ahead.

2009-02-23T18:43:00.000-08:00

Our first stock sale for the new year and it's Ben Bray in the Castrol Monaro TD from a season back. Editorial use of course, but curiously for an educational book in the US of A. Wish they had photos like that in my school books when I was a boy ...

2009-01-13T22:32:00.000-08:00

Just had the first 2009 Alamy stock sale pop up and it goes against what a lot of people say will sell on Alamy - a flower photo. More specifically, flowers and red bud caps of the endemic Eucalyptus erythrocorys tree. For a gardening book to be sold here in Australia and NZ.

2009-01-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

PHEW !
Just cracked over the 300 images point with Gekko Images. I should by now have 600 images up there, but it takes time to add IPTC data to nearly 1,000 images when I was too lazy to add the IPTC data in the first place. Oh my ..... Check out our range of images on Gekko here

2009-01-03T00:20:00.000-08:00

A key task over the holiday period has been to get as much of the already existing stock portfolio up to Gekko Images here in Australia. Unfortunately, yours truly never bothered with IPTC data in the early days of stocking, so the chore of adding IPTC data to nearly 1,000 images - and adding such data to all the new images - well, you get the idea !! It'll be interesting to see how Gekko sales pan out in the months ahead as there is some conjecture on this front. At least Gekko doesn't have the upper size limit as per Alamy,w hich ultimately means more images going to Gekko.

2009-01-03T00:13:00.001-08:00

There's been a fair amount of contention on the Alamy forums about wether flower photos actually sell, but whatever, it's Eucalyptus season here in Perth and most species are in full flower right now around the suburbs. Naturally, we're bagging as many as possible as part of the on-going (but yet to be proven) process of photographing as much endemic Australian flora as possible for the stock portfolio.

2008-12-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Another recent private stock sale was this image of a summer thunderstorm rolling over Burns Beach north of Perth. The image was sold to a company in the UK whose client, an environmental consultant, was or is involved with some of the re-development going on in Perth's northern suburbs. A touchy subject that one to be honest. The image is to be used in a corporate brochure.

2008-12-09T03:22:00.001-08:00

Readers Digest Australia recently joined our list of customers, purchasing two images for a new Australian travel book. This particular shot is from Karalee rock east of Merredin in the Wheatbelt. Don't forget to check out the link to Alamy.com (in the 'About Me' profile over on the right of this page) to see a full selection of our commercially available images.

2008-11-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

Every photographer who treads the Stock route has their 'Best Sellers'. Alamy has been making sales for me since April this year and this Carnaby's Black Cockatoo shot sold for the 3rd time late last month. There was a fair amount of risk involved in getting the shot too, as I had to crouch down in the middle of the road over a blind rise in a full-on 110km/h zone. And to think I almost didn't bother to get out of the Pajero to try the shot.....