Was I amazed when this email showed up in my inbox! I made my first sale. And shortly after that I sold another shot in a Medium size for $1.50! I wouldn’t consider this a landslide start to a career in microstock but it is encouraging. Here are some details on joining, submitting, and how I sold my first photo at Fotolia:
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The Slaughter County girls had their 4th bout of the season up in Bremerton at the Skateland. There was a great showing. My girlfriend, Coup d’eTatas was skating in her first bout since joining last fall and I ran the penalty box where I snapped some pictures.

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I was hanging around waiting for the start of the Wednesday Worlds at South Seatac so I popped over to the flow lines and dirt jumps to catch some shots of the riders. Shooting freeride shots is pretty fun. I went for some natural light and some of the flashed out popular shots.

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I raced the Seatac Shuffle on Sunday and came in 15th in Sport Men 19-34. Had a great time and there was a good, challenging field. The indie series has definitely matured since I last raced on the west side. I hung around the 1:30 race to get the mud and rain soaked expert on film.
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I went out to race my new bike the other day and toted the photo equipment with me. It’s a real challenge shooting riders is these quickly changing conditions. There are dark woods, bright sunny viewpoints, and plenty of speed. Here are my favorites:

flickr

I’d love to have anybody’s comments on my shots. I’ll be toting the camera along to the rest of my race season but can’t guarantee I’ll be able to shoot a lot of the action. See you out there!

As I’m learning the stock photo business and exploring new angles in photography every day I have been slowly gathering up my “go to” list of sites for quality photo insights. Here’s my latest list:

• Photopreneur
  This is a great blog specifically about building your knowledge as a professional photographer. The articles are well written and concise.
• Derek Powazek
  Derek offers a unique perspective on the trends in the digital creative world and is well hooked in to the popular flow of things happening on the net.
• Microstock Diaries
  A microstock specific blog with great tips. Mandatory reading if you’re getting started.

Of course, when you’re poking around each of the microstock sites (my list) you can always explore their forums, faq’s, and feedback as ways to improve your craft. The most important thing is don’t be afraid of rejection! Photos get turned down all the time.

There’s a great new site out there called Pixish. Of course “Pictures + Publish = Pixish”.  Why didn’t I think of that?

People are growing to understand the dynamics of crowd behavior on the internet.  They’ve coined terms for the behaviors like “crowdsourcing” - helping to determine the true value of a mob of keyboard jockeys.  I would have loved to hear Derek Powazek’s speech on “Crowdsourcing for Creatives” at SXSW.  He seems to have a great grasp on the power of this phenomenon for people like us.

New sites like Pixish are popping up to test the waters of building a community of contributing creatives.  They cultivate assignments, gather submissions, get the community involved, and provide means to get creative people compensated (be it cash or a digital pat on the back).  I’m stoked to see people get involved in things like this.

Have you had any experiences with Pixish yet?  Where do you contribute your creative talents on the internet?  I’m looking forward to growing a reader base at this blog and exploring what it means to be a creative professional in the digital world today.

I’ve been a hobby photographer for a long time. From my (abysmal) high school portfolio to rally car photography to various trips in college I love to snap pictures of my world. A certain blend of talent for technology combined with an eye for composition has gotten me by as a hobbyist for a long time.

Well that’s all changed now.

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I’ve been shooting lots of photos lately. I’ve had a few cameras over the years. I’ve taken photography courses and played around in the darkroom. Frankly, I love to take photos of just about anything. I recently acquired (and quickly destroyed, but that’s for another day) a 35mm Canon EOS Rebel camera. It was a great craigslist find and I started shooting everything I could point the camera at.

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