Something of a surprise to see my photos with the Russian news agency TASS. I have noticed a few small sales appearing from time to time and not really thought about it.
Stock photography truly is a global business these days – thanks to the internet.
I think most people would be surprised to learn that this picture of Sizewell nuclear power station used on the main BBC website will make me around £00.10.
I’m remembering how hard it actually was to find the right spot to get this picture.
Its a joke isn’t it?
With the grey skies of January I find myself once again exploring inside some of the ancient churches in Suffolk. These historic buildings have been the centre of their respective communities for hundreds of years and are full of stories and treasures. Yet judging by the signatures in the visitor books these wonderful, rich cultural and historic storehouses are largely overlooked.
In Blaxhall church there is a remarkable stained glass window by Margaret Rope created as a family memorial to the Rope family in 1912. I haven’t done the whole window justice in my photos ( will return) but here is a detail of one part of it. Saint Peter holds the key. The other figure is Saint Michael modelled on Michael Rope who subsequently became an engineer with the Air Ministry, and was killed in the R101 airship disaster in 1931.
Margaret Agnes Rope (1882-1953 ) and her cousin Margaret Edith Aldrich Rope ( 1891-1988) are two of the best stained-glass artists of the twentieth century. M. E. A Rope was known as Tor ( for tortoise). Here is her monogram from Barnby church.
Margaret Agnes Rope ( Marga) only ever ‘signed’ one of her works – the family memorial one at Blaxhall.
Both Rope cousins, but particularly Tor, who was born in Leiston, have Suffolk connections so discovering their work has given me an interesting local project for the start of 2019.
Images of their stained glass and other recent photos of several Suffolk churches are in a new gallery on my home page.
I have been past this church countless times and missed out on seeing the wonderful stained glass windows inside. I suppose this image is more appropriate for Easter rather than Christmas but a striking images all the same.
Stained glass window church of Saint John, Saxmundham, Suffolk, England, UK artist Louisa Beresford 1818-91
I am not religious but I do appreciate the history and art that is so abundant in our churches. I’ve added a gallery of images from this church on my homepage. There is also something for any geologist if you care to look.
Education users can ‘right click’ to download a low res file, or purchase a very affordable licence for larger image files ( available for instant download).
A big moment that I have been building towards for years. No doubt unspectacular compared to others but very pleasing for me.
Unfortunately, Alamy have recently announce a commission decrease for contributors from 50% to 40% for direct sales. This is an instant 20% cut in revenue. So, my future uploading to Alamy is unclear. Actually, the future of stock seems very unclear now.
….to be lazing around the house not doing much, then have a casual look at the internet for nothing better to do and….find one of your pictures being used on the home page of the BBC news site!
Not the one of Mrs May and, actually, a sad story. Mine is the one of Temple Meads station in Bristol used to illustrate a story about a woman being killed on the train between Bath and Keynsham – the police think by her leaning out of the window and being hit. The same picture ( above) is used larger size with the story itself,
Obviously, this wasn’t the train and I wasn’t in Bristol yesterday. This is another example of a stock image being used to illustrate a news story and shows what stock photography is about. That same image could be used in lots of other ways related to transport, architecture, history and travel.
Found this Alamy sale reported today and then using Google Image search tracked it down to the Telegraph. The black polar is a native tree but now fairly rare. This one is in Suffolk and has been quite a good seller for me. I had better not say exactly where it is! 
Country: United Kingdom
Usage: Editorial
Media: Newspaper – national
Print run: up to 750,000
Placement: Inside and online
Image Size: 1/4 page
Start: 28 November 2018
End: 29 November 2018
Any placement in paper and online. One use in a single editorial or advertorial article used within print and /or web versions, with re-use of the article in other titles or web versions within the same newspaper group. Digital use includes archive rights for the lifetime of the article.
