EyeEm Stock Library

September 25, 2017 by John Wallace in Australia, Nature, Notifications, Travel Europe and tagged Australia, Barossa Valley, Camera, Digital, England, eyeem, Flinders Ranges, floral, images, italy, landscapes, Photography, scenic landscapes, Singapore, stock library, Sunrise, sunset, Travel, Vineyard | Leave a comment

I’ve been very busy lately working on uploading images to a stock library with a difference. If you’ve ever thought about selling your images online and don’t know where to start then look them up at https://www.eyeem.com/

Creating an account is easy and costs nothing then all accepted images are offered for sale under licence with the better images being further offered for sale when they partner up with the world’s leading photo agencies to get your work seen by even more buyers.

In their own words “The EyeEm app is the ultimate place to discover stunning photography, participate in photo briefs with top brands and sharpen your skills with daily tips, tricks and tutorials. Beyond inspiration, this is where you can sell your photos and earn 50% profit every single time”

OK, it can take a few weeks for your images to be initially reviewed but consistent uploading will soon get your site growing, especially as you can upload from tablet or phone. I’ve now got 840+ images on this site and starting to see the first sales. If you want to see what your site would look like then check mine out at https://www.eyeem.com/u/jwimages

As I see it putting your images to work is much better than leaving them to stagnate on a hard drive somewhere plus you learn new ideas and techniques whilst you are doing it. Its a win/win as it also gives you somewhere to show off your photos on your phone/tablet via the app.

Need any help then drop me a line on jwimages@outlook.com

Mixing it up

August 12, 2015 by John Wallace in Moods, Night Images, Travel Europe and tagged alter, arena, beauty, Camera, Canon, change, Digital, enhance, EOS, History, images, manipulate, manipulation, night, Photography, scenic, sunset, Travel, Verona | Leave a comment

Sometimes I have images that in themselves are pretty straightforward but always look as though something is missing. Looking through my files I came across this image of part of the Roman arena in Verona Italy that I had taken on holiday.

Original

Final Image

The subject was interesting enough however there was nothing distinct about it that would make it stand out (ref the original image). I then stripped all the background from it, darkened the remains to resemble a night scene and changed the structure of the stonework to give a very grainy effect. Behind the image I added the moon with a blue tint and lined up the two, in all I was quite pleased with the final effect, open to comment.

The second image was treated similarly using another part of the same arena stonework, in this case the arches once cut out gave a window effect so I added the sunset taken at Verona that evening behind the arches and gave a hue to the stonework to match.

Archway

These are just examples of what can be achieved with a little effort so never delete shots just because they don’t look interesting, just mix it up a little.

Camera Canon EOS 550D with EFs 18-135 IS lens. More images can be found in this sites galleries as well as high definition versions available through my online shops.

Night Shooting

June 24, 2015 by John Wallace in Moods, Night Images, Travel Europe and tagged Camera, Canon, Digital, EOS, exposure, ghosts, images, Landscape, night, Singapore, Verona | Leave a comment

Night is a fantastic time to take photographs however choosing the correct time is as important as choosing the location. My favourite is the short period of time between the sunset ending and the darkness of night being absolute when there is still some light left in the sky, sometimes the eye cannot see it but the camera will record it when taking long exposures. After this time the sky becomes a black mass and only the subject is lit.

Somewhere in the above I said long exposures, with not much light around and wanting the keep the same depth of field without increasing the ISO with its inherent noise means that you can no longer hand hold exposures, certainly not greater than 1/30 second. The obvious solution is a tripod which once set up can give exposures for as long as you need. But what if you don’t have one with you at the time, well any stable platform will do, a stone wall, a bridge parapet and I’ve even used the top of a rubbish bin (and once in a graveyard the flat stone of a tomb). In short anywhere safe where the camera cannot be moved during its exposure time.

Enjoying the Singapore night life

I’ve attached a couple of images, the Singapore shot was taken from the bridge parapet (with my hand through the camera strap in case of an accident) and the shot in Verona of the arena was actually taken with a monopod (a single pole tripod). For the techies Singapore was ISO 100, F8 for 8 seconds and Verona ISO 100, F9 for 3.2 seconds.

Night at the Arena in Verona

Taking long exposures with a monopod can be done though it needs a little more thought. Set the camera to time delay (to give the camera time to settle once you have pressed the button) and find something to hold the monopod against ( a railing, signpost, anything). Frame and focus the image, press the button and hold the monopod in place, the countdown beeping should start, giving you time to get settled, the results can be reasonable, who said taking photographs wasn’t fun.

More images can be found in this sites galleries as well as high definition versions available through my online shops at the bottom of the page, please visit if only to view and comment.

Rome, the Dream

February 26, 2015 by John Wallace in Travel Europe and tagged Camera, Canon, Coliseum, Digital, History, Landscape, Photography, Rome, scenic, Travel, Vatican | Leave a comment

Rome, I dreamt of going there for a long time, even when I lived in England and it was only a short flight away, every year there always seemed to be somewhere else I had to go. When you have a young family life’s like that. Now I live in Australia, the family’s grown up and all I had to do was go. The dream became reality in 2011, armed with my trusty Canon EOS 550D and a couple of lenses I was determined to record every living moment of it, from the small hotel we booked into to the splendour of the preserved ruins seen from the Palatine hill, Rome truly is a wonderful city.

The Coliseum of Ancient Rome

The views attached are of The Coliseum (a must see although if you are intending to visit the old city ( Palatine) next to it then I suggest that you go there first, the queues are much shorter and the ticket also gives entrance to the Coliseum afterwards so you can bypass the long queues and just enter). The Vatican City, just for the splendour whether you are catholic or not and the Saint Angelo Bridge leading to the castle which is in itself interesting enough but there is also a café on the top where you can sit in a gun embrasure with coffee and enjoy some great views of the city.

Vatican City

Add to this the numerous piazza’s with their beautiful fountains, restaurants, cafes, markets and wonderful buildings like the Pantheon, 2000 years old and still in use today, the very ornate cathedrals and older churches. The list is endless, every road I walked seemed to lead to something new to see and record.

Sitting in a small café one lunchtime enjoying pizza and a local beer (what else) gave time to reflect and enjoy the moment, 8 days was definitely not long enough for me, and will I go back, well I can dream can’t I.

Saint Angelo Bridge Rome

Further pictures of Rome can be found in this sites gallery ‘Images outside Australia’, as well as available through my online shop, please enjoy.