My first half of the year in microstock

It seems like ShutterStock is way ahead of all others. Next 3 are StockXpert, 123RF and Dreamstime which can achieve 10% of the leader sales.



My November results show that 123RF is slowing down while Dreamstime is growing.

SS 58.06%
SXP 10.98%
DT 9.39% (BME)
123RF 7.99%
MSP 7.15% (BME)
IS 2.80%
SV 1.03%
FT 0.91%
CS 0.72%
BS 0.57%
FP 0.40%

Google Flu Trends

Google Flu Trends showing the prevalence of flu outbreaks across America. it uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional systems.Flu-related search terms are tracked to estimate when and where the flu happens, with data going back to 2003.



They have found a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms. Of course, not every person who searches for "flu" is actually sick, but a pattern emerges when all the flu-related search queries from each state and region are added together. They compared query counts with data from a surveillance system managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and discovered that some search queries tend to be popular exactly when flu season is happening. By counting how often we see these search queries, we can estimate how much flu is circulating in various regions of the United States.

The data is tracked by state, so you can check and prepare when the flu starts to pick up in your area.

PhotoFunia

If you have yet to master the skills in Photoshop to be able to make convincing fake photos. PhotoFunia gives you the opportunity to make some pretty cool stuff today in just a few simple clicks. If you have a good head shot of anyone, you can make convincing photos.

Which HDR software?

Taking the multiple shots may be easy, because most modern cameras have a "bracketing mode" that will allow you to automatically take a picture repeatedly at different exposures. HDR photography works by combining several photos of the same scene, taken at different exposure settings, into one photo. There are several HDR software packages, and I've had the opportunity to review some of them.

1. Photomatix Pro is a photography software developed by HDRsoft for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, primarily designed to make the process of creating high dynamic range photos easier and more streamlined. By automatically blending multiple exposures of photos, it has the ability to create fully 32-bit images as well as tone mapped images.



2. Qtpfsgui - open source QT based GUI for pfstools, now including an automatic image alignment.



3. FDRTools Basic - FDRTools has bridged the gap between merging and tonemapping; the user has the ability to look at the tone mapped image then in real time edit the merging of source images.



4. Essential HDR Community Edition is a free HDR software that blows the others out of the water when it comes to tone mapping. Their goal is to better Photomatix, which has made itself the bench mark of HDR software. It has an easy interface that allows you to manipulate the image by tone mapping, histogram and color balance.



5. EasyHDR - EasyHDR is an image processing program that produces High Dynamic Range images from normal, 24-bit, true color photos taken with a typical digital camera.



6. Artizen HDR - Artizen's feature list seems to grow by the day, not only is it a HDR editing package but it also offers a wide range of basic image editing functions, including painting tools, an image browser, raw converter and more.

September Earnings Breakdown

SS    61.49%
123RF    13.67%     (BME)
SXP    10.48%
DT    8.51%    (BME)
IS    2.51%    (BME)
BS    1.89%
FT    1.44%
SV    0.57%

Overall 18% less than in August due to poor SS performance. Finally reached payout at SXP and 123RF. 123RF and DT performed quite well in comparison to previous months so maybe it would start a trend.

Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator

What would your name be if Sarah Palin was your mother? Well now you can find out! I would be named:
Beans Harpoon Palin

Canon EOS 5D Mark II has arrived

Specifications:

• New 21.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor with improved EOS Integrated Cleaning System (E.I.C.S.)


• New Full HD 1080 resolution movie recording


• 3.9 frames per second continuous shooting


• High performance DIGIC 4 providing superb image quality


• Maximum 310 large JPEG images in a single burst with a UDMA card


• 3.0” VGA (920k dots) Clear View LCD


• ISO 100-6400 (expansion from 50 up to 25,600)


• 9 AF points + 6 Assist AF points