David_B_Brooks
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 1590
Loc: Santa Barbara County, CA
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A news release (that follows) offers free image to individual users. If images are free is there any value in them upon which a photographer can base a career and make a living?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 29, 2009)—Serban Enache, CEO of Dreamstime, one of the world’s leading digital image stock photography agencies, announced the company’s initiative to up the number of images made available ABSOLUTELY FREE.
In January 2007, Dreamstime made available an assortment of images under its FREE umbrella. The FREE selection—an original and revolutionary sector that has attracted bargain hunters from around the globe—is a successfully proven concept that has secured Dreamstime’s footprint in the industry as one-stop-photo-shop giant.
Dreamstime has nearly doubled the number of images available ABSOLUTELY FREE (increasing its FREE library of images by 10% in the first three hours of the FREE upgrade as effected on October 27, 2009).
While the total number of images in the Dreamstime gallery is fast-approaching 7 million (with the whole gamut of images all being licensed—from the FREE to the economically priced, quality images), the increased offering of the vast and diverse, FREE images (which can be used for any project) elevates the company’s reputation as a principal in the industry.
“We anticipate a significant increase in free images,” Enache said. “…increasing the number of available images from a few thousand upward toward the hundreds of thousands in the near future."
Improving content daily, one single photographer may add up to ten new images. The FREE section will be updated in real time and imagery licensed under the regular royalty free license (the image may be used for its intended purpose up to 10,000 times).
Link: http://www.dreamstime.com/free-photos
To further entice the photo shopper, Dreamstime has also upgraded the site’s search engine making results infinite. Rather than sorting through the vast array of high quality, reasonably priced treasures (as discovered by Dreamfinder), page after page, real-time results appear as the user scrolls down the page. Extinguishing slow page loads, the new “panoramic” option is one more Dreamstime “convenience.”
“We’ve enjoyed feedback from users telling us they are able to find the image they are looking for within the first three pages of suggestions,” Enache added. “This search engine upgrade will negate ‘next page’ loads which can be burdensome to even the most patient shopper.” Link: http://www.dreamstime.com/best-stock-photos-dynamic
Dreamstime.com is currently the second leading agency in customer number with over 10 million unique visitors to the site monthly. The acceleration in numbers overall makes it the fastest growing stock agency in the world. In addition to the FREE images available, Dreamstime’s growing gallery is constantly updated with images from the site’s more than 77,000 contributors.
“Dreamstime has reached its peak in the rate of total downloads; a new file is licensed every 2 to 3 seconds. The FREE image offering and search engine enhancement not only make Dreamstime images priceless, but timeless,” Enache summarized.
For more information on Dreamstime, please visit: www.Dreamstime.com.
DREAMSTIME.COM
A Stock Photography Community
With offices located in Nashville, TN and Bucharest, Romania
Dreamstime.com customer service and information:
Tel. 615.771.5611 • office@dreamstime.com
Press and Media Inquiries can be directed to
Kat Atwood • Dreamstime.com PR • 615.770.2994 • pr@dreamstime.com
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David B. Brooks
Contributor, Shutterbug Magazine
Blog: http://blog.shutterbug.com/davidbrooks/
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LarryBerman
Reged: 03/07/05
Posts: 1239
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Reminds me of the Saturday Night Live skit about the bank manager discussing all the ways that they make change. When asked how they make a profit, his answer was that "they do it in volume."
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Larry Berman
BermanGraphics.com
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Bill Kahn
Reged: 06/02/05
Posts: 907
Loc: Crossville, TN
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It may be good for Dreamstime and for their buyers, but for photographers? Somehow, I doubt it.
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Black & White tells the story. Color makes the story pretty.
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random
Reged: 05/19/08
Posts: 64
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Take a good look at what is being offered? I still believe the best will survive. Which of these would you expect to see in some of the better magazines or on your wall?lol
Although -- if mediocre keeps being accepted; eventually it will become accepted as being standard. Such as much of the happenstance crap of today. A lot of the good past being washed away. The legacy will be some plastic ... .
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David_B_Brooks
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 1590
Loc: Santa Barbara County, CA
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Sorry, I am an old-timer and remember Life and Look magazines, as well as many others, when the photography was a key element provided by great talents like W. Eugene Smith. Today the reproduction technology is better than ever, but the photography I see today does not impress as it did. In part it is economic, still photographers are not a part of the leading and most important media anymore, and they are not likely to be replaced because it is now a very different world we live in. All I am saying is corporate schemes to promote a business with no thought to the associated consequences, just makes it worse and further lessens the opportunities of young new talent who like still photography. Do we want them all now to be creating video games, or whatever new fad that comes along?
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David B. Brooks
Contributor, Shutterbug Magazine
Blog: http://blog.shutterbug.com/davidbrooks/
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random
Reged: 05/19/08
Posts: 64
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I am glad that I am an old timer; can not say any sorrows, except for others in the coming generations; should things continue as they appear to be doing.
In the company I happened to be part of (notice not worked for) one of the questions in our economic analysis was formost: "How will this decision affect our fellow man".
We featured Gaifull and Living wage employment, were assets (Not A _ _ _ S) to the communtities where we were, did not tax-dodge, and were appreciated and admired. We had a charter that was alomost unchangeable -- Not as mission statements that are changed at will to bend the way things are going and never seem to do anything but promixe.
Hope the spiral downward without ideology, commitment, ethics, simple morals, drag us down as some predicted that we would eat ourselves from within with the coming greed of the upper crust; that we woulde hang ourselves -- given enough rope. Too ... . Fill it in.
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David_B_Brooks
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 1590
Loc: Santa Barbara County, CA
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Within this context, the whole of the nation's culture does have an effect on photography, and we are now trying to recover from what Alan Greenspan referred to as a period of blind economic insanity, in his more elusive language. Some want to get back to where we were riding on a bubble, but that bubble will not be re-inflated. However, in time the fantasies will be replaced with how to get things done realistically. Where that is taken is a future or a denial of reality that will be a sad devolution everyone will suffer.
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David B. Brooks
Contributor, Shutterbug Magazine
Blog: http://blog.shutterbug.com/davidbrooks/
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50's Guy
Reged: 04/03/09
Posts: 13
Loc: Ontario Canadqa
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The old adage " nothing in life is free" . A professional is worth the value of his work. Occasionally truly great photographers have for charity or prosperity provided free services for the benefit of the public But as a regular thing, well keep it up and the great work we view each month will disappear for good.
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Bill Kahn
Reged: 06/02/05
Posts: 907
Loc: Crossville, TN
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If it's all about the money, then photogaphy as an art is in deep doo-doo. But I don't think it works that way. People will always create good art, occasionally great art, because they are driven to do just that. Satisfaction is primary, compensation is secondary. Of course, lacking compensation means photography probably won't be your day job. Where are all the wealthy patrons who kept the Renaissance painters working?
In any case, a really good photographer's work will, someday, get the recognition and money it deserves. Who was it that said an artist is never appreciated until after his death?
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Black & White tells the story. Color makes the story pretty.
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David_B_Brooks
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 1590
Loc: Santa Barbara County, CA
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I posted that news-piece about free images by a company that is a part of the UPS organization apparently, because it serves the image world and young people interested in a career in photography negatively.
But I would also agree with your perspective too. And a story that was on local TV news in California however make the bias of the contemporary culture apparent. A man acquired an old box of glass plate negative of very well photographed California scenes back in the 1920-30's. There was some speculation that maybe it was early Ansel Adams photographs, so that would make the discoverer's find valuable, and that' all that was talked about. The images were good what I saw of them, and maybe are valuable in themselves even if they aren't Ansel Adam's work, but the current culture only thinks about something of value if it has a dollar value.
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David B. Brooks
Contributor, Shutterbug Magazine
Blog: http://blog.shutterbug.com/davidbrooks/
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