A little while ago some one posted a link for stock photo BBC article and there was a website on there that seemed very good.

Does anyone know what the BBC artcle was? I cant find it now.

Or does anyone have any stock photo sites for me to take a look at?

Does anyone know of a PHP script thatd act like a stock photo site, for my own use?

Im not clear what youre looking for Mr Roll, are you after selling your photos as stock shots, or buying some, or online storage?

I was thinking of selling, but itd be pointless on a stock site as Id have to sell 6000 a month to make any money from it. so not really fussed now. I found some other links.

A while back I pondered giving the stock a go. Applied to both Shutterstock and iStockPhoto. Both rejected my application outright on various grounds, which I guess was fair enough as they need the images to be high-res so that they are as useable in as many situations as possible.

Finalyl got round to biting the bullet and reapplying the other day to shutterstock. 7/10 images passed their reviewing process, validating my account. 2 of the 3 that failed were based on "limited commercial value", being more like textures, such as a macro of a moss bed. The other failed based on noise, though it was in the same series as another image with just as much noise that passed.

As to the moss failing on limited commercial value, Id beg to differ, given how the free stock images Ive put on devart have been used.

I applied to iStockPhoto yesterday I think and got a reply, basically saying the 3 images Id submitted were similar in style, could I wait 3 days and submit 3 different styled images. I take a bit of issue with this as well, as I have basically submitted 3 decent and well labelled macro shots of some insects. Fair enough they probably get a lot of insect macro shots, but at the same time Im guessing not many of them are correctly labelled with the binomial scientific names and common names in their natural habitat. I dont get the need for people applying to show they can do 3 different kinds of stock. Their application system means that someone could be really really good at a certain type of photography, one of the best, but if he/she cant submit two other kinds of image they dont want to know. Theyre basically saying they dont want quality/specialism, they want jack of all trades?!

Im tempted to see if there is any feedback/commenting facility available (not that theyd read it!) and point out that the images are the same style due to me being an ecologist, taking pictures of things in the field, and that I have privilidged access to Sites of Special Scientific Interest etc and as such am in the position to provide stock photos of endangered and extremely rare species in their natural habitats, its their choice to accept them or not, but given the fact that some wildlife trusts already use them, I know they are of value!

Id be interested in finding out about the other links you found Mr Roll, as I get the impression most of these stock sites are focussed more on generic stuff, rather than niche topics. Im pondering whether it is worth setting up a section of my website with my best images being watermarked and listed as available for stock/commercial use?