My experience with microstock

Cannolo siciliano

2010-03-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

So, the best image preview, from my view point, is provided by iStockPhoto. I speak not only about icons, but also about zooming. Basically, on iStockPhoto, you can zoom up to 100% (if I am not wrong) and then you can simply drag over a zommed picture for a better view. Really cool. In this way, I usually try to "hack" light schemes of pretty-looking images... from Vetta, he-he-he...

The current image was shot in conditions of absense any particular light scheme. It was taken on a food fair when the day was pretty cloudy. The sweet cakes were under selling tent behind glass. Another example of unfovourable conditions, for sure.

I guess, I managed to capture on of the most desirable compositions for cannolo siciliano, since it is being regularly sold in different agencies.

Cannolo siciliano is traditional sicilian pastry with ricotta cream. Yummy! Hope, it looks also yummy in picture.

Key words: cannolo, close-up, food, istockphoto, macro, pastry, sweet, yummy, sicilian

Fish Kindergarten

2010-01-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

Do not hesitate to take pictures even if conditions are unfavorable, e.g. low light, objects moving fast, reflecting surfaces, etc. Just switch off flash, raise ISO, let's say, till 1600 and shot.

In this way, I took the picture "Fish Kindergarten" in aquarium of Genoa, Italy. It has an impressive level of noise that I somehow managed to tackle with Neat Image. I passed with it three times over the picture! To be honest, now I prefer NoiseWare Professional which is more intelligent in a sense that it does not destroy edges yet recognises noise pretty successfully. In addition it has also a more comprehensible interface.

So, the picture at the end became "Editor choice" on Dreamstime and still impresses many people.

Key words: aquarium, anemona, aquatic, clownfish, color, colorful, coral, exotic, fish, kindergarted, ocean, orange, sea, tropical, underwater, water

Frozen grass

2009-11-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it happens that the image gains sales after awhile. This is true, for example, for the picture below:

This grass leaf was taken more than one year ago. It was early morning in spring. The particles of ice disappeared in a five minutes after I created the photo. Seize the moment, microstocker!

After more than a year of the sale absense, the picture obtained poppularity in all microstock agencies at once!

Keywords: Frost, Frozen, Grass, Ice, Close-up, Nature, Leaf, Winter, Macro, Green, Crystal, Morning, Backgrounds, Cold, Outdoors, Season, Plant, Rime

Villa near lake Como

2009-10-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

This lovely place is located in Como near lake Come. The lake Como seems to be more famous and more desirable to visit than Garda lake. Although thanks to George Clooney who acquired one of the Como's villas.

Lake Como is beautiful, is marvelous... But guys, it is a total boredom! Yet nice to make shot.

So this photo was taken by Minolta Dimage Z1, with no RAW available, but with rich in-camera processing inside. Take into an account a dusk light and how that compact camera try to expose it correctly, and how I manipulated with shadows... Guys, now I am really scared to look on the picture in 100% magnification. And in fact, I have never done it, with this concrete picture I mean.

That's why the photo was accepted only by BigStoockPhoto many years ago, I believe, occasionally. But buyers are unpredictable. Recently, the picture has been downloaded for the 4th time. You neve know...

Key wods: architecture, como, building, house, outdoors, design, evening, exterior, garden, green, italian, italy, lake, landscape, park, peninsula, pollard, private, residence, style, surrounded, taste, tower, tree, villa, sunset

Tomato-cherry

2009-09-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

This tomato-cherry isolated on white background was pretty successful image. Indeed, the food is what people will always think (and buy).

Just make sure that your food is clean and fresh, and make it as attractive as possible. Colors should be bright and vibrant. Object should look like so natural that one might think it's enough to hold out the hand and take this lavely fruit (or vegetable).

The photo was taken in a lightbox put against sun which is the most powerful light source in the world.

Key words: cherry, close up, close-up, closeup, dieting, food, fresh, healthy, juicy, macro, natural, nature, organic, raw, red, ripe, round, salad, tomato, tomatoe, vegetable, vegetarian, vitamin, isolated, white

Lake Garda

2009-09-17T04:11:00.000-07:00

The first photo of mine that was accepted by iStock:

Some people claim that compact cameras are useless for microstock and "big art" . Look at this photo, it looks like a masterpiece. Probably, thanks to fortune. Probably, thanks to intuition. Probably, thanks to beautiful lake Garda.

The photo was taken in a windy day, with an overcast on the sky. Occasional ray of light bumped the color of a fresh green of spring - and we have a bright accent in a gray and a bit hostile-looking water and rock.

Wind and water - feng shui - they must be well balanced according to Chinese philosophy of harmony in ambient.

I have visited that place many times since then, but I haven't managed to capture such a wonderful or at least similar moment any more.

Key words: lake, garda, nature, landscape, outdoors, wind, water, trees, green, spring, rock, mountain, italy, italian, willow

Water drop stock photo

2009-09-16T04:50:00.000-07:00

This is my first image accepted by Dreamstime (click on photo to see the site). It is done with Minolta Dimage Z1, out-of-date 3Mp camera, yet producing marvelous colors and decent quality images in general, as it is seen on the picture above.

In the base of the picture, there is a transparent glass vase of the form of a leaf. The vase is filled with a water and placed under continuous water-dropping in, so banal, kitchen. Beautiful effect of glaring water ripples is perpetuated in a successfully caught moment.

Keywords: abstract, background, color, drop, effect, fresh, freshness, glare, harmony, hope, jeans, leaf, liquid, macro, meditation, moisture, moisturizing, moment, peace, quiet, refresh, refreshing, ring, ripples, serenity, spa, splash, symmetry, water, water-drop, waves, wet, wetness

My bestseller

2009-09-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

In 2007, I was doing my stage in Sophia-Antipolis, France, at SAP Security Research group. Sophia-Antipolis, in general, is full of research institutions and... golf-fields. So, this green golf-field was one of them:

This is the first panoramic shot by my first DSLR. It is composed of three horizontal JPEG frames (I didn't know anything about RAW that time! Shame on me!) and stitched with Canon Stitcher.