Will this make a blind bit of difference I wonder? Well lets see give me a click and add me into your favourites.

Well who would have thought it Nokia has delayed the release of the 5800 Xpressmusic phone. Its set to take a bit of the fight to the iPhone, but at the bottom end of the market segment not the high end that the iPhone currently has all sown up.

But if you were hoping to get it before Christmas in the UK then you are out of luck, get something else I think Nokia will be hoping its one of the premium models like the N96 that just really don’t cut it. I can’t say that I’m not frustrated about the delay because I am. I mean they have already released it in Spain and Russia, lets hope they do some good work beta testing it for us to iron out the bugs before it comes to the UK, its the only solace I can take from it at the moment.

So if you don’t want an iPhone, don’t like Windows Mobile and think the G1 is satans child but do want a touch screen phone then you are going to have to wait until 2009 to get your hands on a Nokia 5800, bar humbug.

Nokias Junior iPhone rival slated for 2009 release

No sooner than I join they want to take extra money from the money I haven’t yet earned. Ok so its taking more from what I hope to earn but still an extra 5% of my future potential earnings. Alamy are however dropping charges for cheques or paying in other currency but I’m sure they will gain and the photographer pro or otherwise will be loosing out.

More info here on the changes. Is there a better way to try and make money from a photography hobbie I wonder?

Alamy ups commission

So its been a few weeks since I was accepted in Alamy but as yet I’ve not sold anything. I can’t say that I’m surprised its not easy to get someone to buy your shots and with a catalogue of over 14million images there is a lot of choice for most subjects.

But I have got some views and what seems to be as important as the image itself is how you tag the images. Put something simple in and a few phrases and you aren’t going to get anywhere. Up to now I’ve only put 50 images up but I’ve already got 26 views but unfortunately no zooms. This is when someone zooms your image after searching to look at it in closer detail.

If I’m going to make any money at all from it I’m going to have to put far more images up and ensure that the quality of the images are excellent. You get ranked in part by how often your images get searched and then zoomed. There is a little more to it than just that but like google if you want your images to appear at the top of the search you need to put some effort in.

So its time to get some more images and expand the as yet small portfolio of images and up the quality and be more distinct with what I upload. Going out and taking more shots sounds great to me and is a part of the reason I joined in the first place to make me thing more about what I’m taking.

So if you join Alamy, quality of image and the tags is very important and if the subject hasn’t been taken before then maybe its your image they will buy if they need it.

I’ve mentioned already that I want, no need a new phone but still haven’t decided which one to get. The iPhone is great but well everyone has one and I want to be different. The HTC Touch HD is a cracking phone but as I’m on the T-mobile network and have a discount I’d like to stay with them so that would mean getting it sim free.

But in the current climate spending £544 at Expansys is a little steep a new contract is an outside option but I really can’t be bothered with the hassle of leaving T-mobile to come back.

So onto the all new Nokia 5800 (not Tube remember), its got pretty much everything that I’m looking for. A decent touch screen, at 640×360 its got that, WiFi, HSDPA and I don’t want it too big. I don’t have huge pockets so I don’t want something that’s as wide as a laptop either and I do want it to feel nice in my hand and be able to hold it easily.

Oh and last but by no means least, good battery life. Why is it that people are happy to have a phone that only lasts a day…. well I’m sorry but thats just not good enough. The 5800 looks like its got a great battery life and some good apps in a great package that will hopefully be pretty cheap. So when is it out in the UK, no idea, December is still a possibility but its looking likely that its not until next year. If you are in Spain you have a week to wait, I hope you enjoy it. I will report back when I get mine and do a full review.

If you fancy reading a bit more he a look over at MobileBurn.com’s 5800 review

First Macro Shots

So into the land of Macro photography I go and what a cracking little lens the 60mm is. Its certainly not big and heavy like just about every other lens I’ve got other than the 50mm plastic fantastic I grant you but I was pleasantly surprised none the less.

In use its quick to focus but it does hunt about a fair bit if you are  just that little bit to close, zooming all the way out and back in again before stopping. But for macro photography  its better to go manual anyway. I’ve not got any fancy flashes or anything else yet but you don’t need anything.  All of the pictures in this post have light assisted by…… an LED touch, yes its really that sophisticated but it works and with a bit, ok a lot  more practice could get great results.

The 60mm is also very sharp, I’ve none a few shots and found things when post processing that I just couldn’t see by the naked eye.

I decided not to go for the 100mm EF lens and went for the 60mm ef-s for several reasons, weight being a big factor. I can only carry so much and really don’t think I’m going to want to take to many shots of bugs and they are are each as sharp as each other. Plus its cheaper and we are in a credit crunch after all.

Macro lens plus torch

I will post some more shots soon, but above is a classic little flower shot with a little back LED torch driven back lighting.

So to get into Alamy you first have to submit 4 pictures of different types for them to review for quality, errors issues with Chromatic aberrations and more besides. Its taken almost a week for them to get round to reviewing them and accepting me so its not a quick process but not that slow really.

Will I be able to sit back and earn my millions, in a word no. I’ve been doing a bit of research recently and it seems that the hit rate of actually selling an image is extremely low even for the Pro’s. As I’m just a rank amature I doubt I will be doing anything just yet. But if it gets me out taking more shots and I get lucky then its all good.

I will write more on how you need to modify your images before you upload them and do a guide relating to Lightroom that I’m using to manage my workflow at the moment. I might even post a few shots, which reminds me I think I need to add a gallery for the site.

We all have this dilemma every 12 to 18 months when our contract is up and you fancy something new. My trusty Sony Ericsson has had its time and I fancy getting one of the new crop of full screen phones. But which one?

The ever popular iPhone is in the running but I just don’t think I can cope with the often sub 24hr battery life that most people seem to suffer from, yes it looks great and everything and it has loads of apps but its just not doing it for me. The new Blackberry Storm looks interesting but it lacks a few key features that I’m looking for.

So that leaves me with either the new HTC Touch HD or the Tube opps sorry Nokia 5800. Now one is very expensive even as an upgrade thats if your network has it and T-Mobile doesn’t (No the G1 isn’t an option) and the other should be cheaper but it might not be out until next year.

Choices choices I will report back when things get closer.

Well thats the question but whats the answer. Well I guess we will see as I’m going to try and find out. I’ve had a good look round and have decided to join Alamy.

Its primarily used by professionals and agencies to sell images. Now some (Pro’s) aren’t too happy that people like myself might be trying to make a few pennies on a hobbie that they love and whilst I can see their point lets see if anything that I take will actually be bought.

I’ve filled out the inital application and have uploaded my first images which thankfully have been accepted. You aren’t meant to play about with sharpening or much like this and the upload and resizing process is a little strange but I will explain more about that another time.

Now I just need to wait for the money to role in, but I’m not holding my breath.

OK so this is Gumpdump a new website for the amateur photographer. It should provide some hints and tips to help you through the jungle that can be the hobbie of photography. Prepare to have deep pockets and a yearning for pieces of glass that you never even knew existed.

Welcome to the world of Photography.