Since I have kicked my other agencies to the curb (minus the 35 images that I am waiting to be eligible to be deleted at one agency), I have more time to do other things. So, why do I STILL wish I had more time? Because I know I could make a living doing photography. Problem is that I am only 6 years away from retirement from the Army. I couldn't get out if I wanted to because of my service obligation, but to do so would be throwing away alot of great benefits that will make my life a thousand times easier once I do start my new career as a photographer.

As I look around DT at all the great photographers and their portfolios, I get a little jealous, because I know I could compete if I just had more time to devote to my photography. I look forward ...

Well, I have decided to stop uploading to other sites, which is the first step to becoming EXCLUSIVE with Dreamstime. Over the next few months I will be able to disable images from other sites to allow the individual images to become exclusive here at DT. As soon as I can delete all the images at other sites, i will go completely exclusive here. Why? Here are the top reasons:

1. RF stock is only part of my photography business and uploading to many sites and tracking them all is VERY time consuming because of the difference in reviewing standards, types of images that are accepted, model release requirements, etc.

2. Protecting the use of my images is IMPOSSIBLE if I have them strewn all over the web. With one location to purchase my images,...

I have begun to upload some of the images that I took while in Iraq for editorial use and as I go through them, even after being home since November, it seems like only yesterday I faced IED laiden roads and intermittent rocket attacks on our forward operating base. It has been therapeutic for me to go back and look through the images so I can kind of let it go and look forward, realizing that I made it through relatively unscathed. Some of my fellow soldiers were not so fortunate.

This Memorial Day I am making a vow to all my fellow comrades who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan that I will not allow their memory to be forgotten. I will use my photography to keep that memory alive. Even when there is only one OIF veteran alive (just like there ...

The new editorial license was one of the most exciting additions here at DT for me. I have hundreds of images from my tour in Iraq that will offer newsworthy images of Iraq from a soldier's point of view. I have just begun to get themuploaded, but hope that this collection of images offers a unique perspective that will give editors the ability to show what is REALLY going on in Iraq.

With education, security, and the rebuilding of the Iraqi infrastruction being big issues in Iraq, I can spread the word about how coalition forces are going about aiding that country in accomplishing its goals.

I know other Microstock agencies have editorial licenses, but ...

In the last month I have uploaded over 200 new images to Dreamstime. With an acceptance ratio that is near 85%, I thought I was doing rather well. I THOUGHT I was doing well. When I first starting doing stock, I would have been exstatic! My acceptance ratio was horrific!

Problem is that now I measure my success by downloads. There were only 600,000 images on DT when I started. Since then, the numbers have grown exponentially.

So, although getting an image accepted is an accomplishment in and of itself, it is suppose to be one step closer to $$$$! This means that I have to get those images noticed. Keywords are a big deal and I always make sure that they are accurate and properly spelled. Beyond that, it is ...

Well, here it is, January and I have been home from Iraq now for two months now. Even with the holidays, I have managed to add over 100 new images to my portfolio, and many more are on their way.

Being away from my family was absolutely NO FUN, but the extra money I saved being away has given me the opportunity to get new gear. So, for Christmas I got a new set of strobes from RPS studios. Not exactly high end equipment, but reliable and adjustable output, so I am loving it! Not to mention it comes with a wireless trigger system that makes me wonder how I ever did it with that silly PS Synch cord!

Along with that, I am also going to be ordering a brand new Canon EOS 5D body. With all the work I have ...

Well, my time in Iraq is drawing to a close. In less than a month, I will be back in the United States. In some ways I am happy. VERY HAPPY. I mean, I miss my family. I miss my dog.I miss my friends.

The things that I am aprehensive about are the commercialism and the rat race that I don't have to deal with right now. I am not trying to keep up with the Jones'. I am not telling my kids that they can't have that great new toy that is on the commercials during their favorite show on Nick, Jr. I am not wondering how many calories are in that large order of french fries I just ate from McDonald's. I have a simple life. A simple life leads one to think simply. Moving past all of the physical distractions can easily open one up to a spiritual ...

OK, so I used a false pretense to lure you in, but its not the first time this has happened to you, right? I mean, I know of a company who used one of my friend's perfect stock images to illustrate how much better of an image you can get with the latest greatest digital P&S camera. They took his great image and 'dumbed it down' a bit to create the before picture. Wow! talk about false advertising! I mean it really makes you think!

Is this against any rules? Probably not.

Is it questionable marketing technique? Definitely.

Does it happen everyday? You bet!

So, what can be done about it? Well, I have always been a sucker for a fancy marketing scheme. I mean who isn't? The difference is that, it lures me in to the point where I want to ...

If you have been following my blog posts (I don't know why you would, and I am not presumptuous enough to assume that you are, but play along like you know what I am talking about, k?), I have been talking alot about light lately.

Why shouldn't eye..er..I mean I? Without light, all we have is a black screen. No matter how many cool or original items we put in front of our viewfinder, no light-no picture. I don't think I have to tell you that Photography literally means "painting with light", do I? I mean, we all study the background of words that mean so much to us, like what our names mean. The word photography is almost as important as your own name, right? Most of us name our businesses "INSERT YOUR NAME HERE PHOTOGRAPHY", don't we? So, it'...

If you haven't read "Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting" by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, and Paul Fugua, then you are missing out.

This book is quite amazing. OK, there were alot of things I probably already knew. But, there were a few tips and tricks I didn't know!

One example is photographing shiny objects. The book talks about the difference between direct reflection and polarized direct reflection. For the most part, subjects that conduct electricity have a tendency to create direct reflection, when the light is placed within the family of angles (where the camera sees the ...