Stock Photo Odyssey

High Altitude Cloud Computing And Communications Technology

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:46:00 +0000

One mark of a good stock image is its ability to illustrate a variety of concepts. This image can illustrate cloud computing, bandwidth issues, communications technology and even speed and motion.

Cloud Computing And Communications Technology Above The Clouds
Finding images to illustrate cloud computing and communications technology can be a daunting task. This image of brightly colored lights streaking through a high altitude cloudscape makes a great metaphor for everything from bandwidth to online storage and computing to bandwidth issues.

Using Photoshop To Create Cloud Computing And Communications Imagery
To create this cloud computing picture I combine several high altitude cloud photos taken during a trip from Mexico back to the U.S, from the window of a jet airliner, with long-exposure streaks of light. The resulting concept stock photo has visual impact as well as a clear and dynamic message centered around communications technology.

An Elephant Galloping In Freedom And Joy

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:43:00 +0000

Elephants, even funny elephants, are great for illustrating concepts such as, in this case, freedom and joy.

Funny Elephant Running Across A Grassy Plain
It takes a lot to make an elephant gallop across a grassy plain. This funny elephant picture was created from an image of distant hills under a blue sky, a grassy plain (photographed in Mongolia), and four elephant photos all composited together in Photoshop.

Humorous Elephants As Symbol And Metaphor
Elephants make great symbols and metaphors for concepts such as strength, integrity and, of course, intelligence and memory. Despite their great size and strength, they are also viewed as gentle creatures. Throw some humor into the mix and you have a very effective stock image. In this particular elephant stock photo the concepts expressed are agility, speed, fun and freedom.

Cyber Crime, Hacking And Internet Terrorism

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:52:00 +0000

Funny and terrifying, this stock photo of multiple hands clutching out at a businessman is a great metaphor for many of the dangers inherent in the Internet age.

Cyber Crime Is Reaching For You!
I decided to employ humor in this image portraying the dangers of cyber crime, hacking and Internet terrorism. In fact, this stock photo can be used for an even wider variety of concepts ranging from social media demands to spam to the time-suck of facebook. A multitude of hands reach desperately out of a computer display causing a businessman to pull back in fear from the desktop in his cubicle. This image is at once funny and horrifying. It is an apt metaphor for the overwhelming demands put on each of us in this Internet and social networking age.

Tiger In The Jungle

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:17:00 +0000

Tigers make great metaphors and symbols for concepts such as danger, risk, adversity and even strength and power.

A Tiger Snarls In The Jungle
This classic picture of a tiger snarling in the jungle is actually a composite image. I photographed the tiger at the tiger temple a couple of hours drive North of Bangkok. The jungle foliage was photographed while enjoying a zip line near Chang Mai, Thailand. The tiger is fashioned from three different tiger shots. The end result is a tiger picture that is versatile in how it can be cropped, and appropriate for illustrating a wide range of concepts. Tigers make great business metaphors. The big cats can represent power, strength, cunning and ferocity. Tiger images are also great for symbolizing risk, danger and adversity.

Valentine's Day Funny Cat Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:19:00 +0000

In this funny Valentines Day Image a cute cat is cutting red paper hearts for a Valentine Greeting.

Funny Valentine's Day Cat Pictures
The next holiday coming up is Valentine's Day, and to that end I will be showcasing some of our funny pet Valentine's Day photos, beginning with this picture of a cat cutting out paper heart valentines. He has stretched is artwork out like a string of paper dolls. Is this an artistic cat or what?

Funny Cats, Dogs And Even Elephants
In our Animal Antics collection of funny animal photos we have cats, dogs, mice, and even elephants. Whether it is a picture of elephants in love with trunks intertwined, or a Poodle Playing Cupid, we have images for your Valentine's Day!

Funny Elephant Dancing Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:29:00 +0000

This funny elephant is the picture of grace, athletic ability, and the improbable!

Fuuny Dancing Elephant Photo
This funny elephant is the picture of grace, agility and athleticism as she performs her ballet dance on stage and in the spotlight. You can tell from her expression that she is filled with joy as she nimbly moves across the wooden floor of the stage in front of the red velvet curtains.

Elephants For Greeting Cards, Advertising and Editorial Uses
This is one of the many humorous elephant photos in our collection for a wide variety of uses form advertising and editorial to funny greeting cards. This image was composited by Stephanie D. Roeser.
This elephant picture can represent concepts such as agility, strength, success, the improbable and the unlikely.

Funny Poodle Cheerleaders

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:29:00 +0000

These aren't just funny dogs, they are talented Poodles as well!

Funny Poodle Cheerleaders!
As we head into the playoff season in professional football I thought it might be appropriate to share this image shot on the sidelines...cheerleaders! Now normally, referring to a team's cheerleaders as "dogs" would be a diss, but in this case, when the cheerleaders are poodles...well, who can argue? I am guessing that this scene must have occurred at a Cal game because of the blue and gold outfits. One think is for sure, there is no doubting the talent of these precious Poodles!

Funny Poodle Pictures
We have a number of funny Poodle pictures in our Animal Antics collection of humorous pet photos created for greeting cards, advertising and editorial uses. If you are interested in personal use, many of our images have personal use licenses available at our Photoshelter archive.

Funny Pets Under The Mistletoe

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 18:23:00 +0000

A kitty cat and a boxer find true love and passion beneath the mistletoe in this funny Christmas pet picture.

A Boxer, A Cat, And A Kiss Under The Mistletoe
This kitty and dog share their passion for each other under the mistletoe in a funny Christmas photo created for a humorous holiday greeting card. Our Animal Antics collection of funny pet photos, created for greeting card use, includes a number of funny Xmas photos.

A Funny Thanksgiving Turkey Greeting Card

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:03:00 +0000

This funny, but understandably nervous, thanksgiving turkey was created for a Marian Heath Holiday greeting card.

Groucho Glasses And A Funny Thanksgiving Turkey
This funny thanksgiving turkey wearing Groucho Glasses was created for Marian Heath Greetings as a humorous holiday greeting card image. You can tell by his wide-eyed look that the disguise is aimed at avoiding the thanksgiving feast...or should we say avoiding being the thanksgiving dinner!

Funny Animal Pictures and Holiday Greeting Cards
Our Animal Antics collection of funny animal pictures were created for humorous greeting cards, but are also available for advertising, promotional and editorial uses. We have over three-hundred anthropomorphic pictures of pets, mice, elephants...and yes, turkeys!

Cloud Computing, Optimism and Ambiguity: A Successful Stock Photo

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:15:00 +0000

A stock photo that is ambiguous, flexible, and user friendly has the potential to become a best seller.

Cloud Computing, Optimism and Ambiguity
This image of two hands framing the sun as it bursts out of storm clouds has all the potential of a best selling stock photo. Of course whether it actually becomes a great performing stock photo is anybody's guess. What this stock image does have going for it is it's user friendliness, and concept versatility (ambiguity) and clarity.

Imagination, Creativity And Positive Outlooks
This image is user friendly in that it can be cropped in so many ways including square, vertical and horizontal. Plus there is plenty of room for headlines, bodycopy and mastheads. The image is ambiguous in a good way because it can be used for a variety concepts from cloud computing, to positive outlooks, to creativity and imagination. Further the image has clarity in it's simplicity. It is a quick read even at thumbnail sizes making it excellent for use on the Internet.

Change for the Better And Unlimited Possibilities
This is an image about change for the better, it is an image about unlimited possibilities (the sky is the limit), and it an image about finding the best in every situation. Positive images outsell negative ones in stock photography and this image can put a positive spin on a vast array of concepts.

Overworked and Facing The Paper Monster!

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 06:34:00 +0000

A paperwork monster represents overwork, deadlines, impossible tasks and business challenges.

Facing The Paper Monster!
Who among us hasn't faced the papermonster? Overworked and underpaid, facing deadlines, downsizing, budget cuts; the reasons are many and persistent. I created this image for advertisers, publishers and others who need visual representations of facing too much work and other business challenges. This is a user friendly image that can be cropped as a horizontal, square or vertical. In the stock photo an African American businessman faces off with a monster made of stacks of documents and paperwork. The setting is an office cubicle. This could be either a small business or a large corporate setting.

Creating Monsters With Photoshop
I used Photoshop to composite this monster of paperwork. The model was photographed in front of a cubicle set up in my studio. I also photographed the piles of paper in my studio. The walls in the background were photographed at a tradeshow. It took me about a day to of Photoshop to complete the compositing work.

A Funny Holiday Hound Dog!

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:07:00 +0000

Creating funny holiday greeting card images, such as this Basset Hound in a snow storm, means working up to a year in advance!

Holiday Basset Hound In A Snow Storm
This funny picture of a Basset Hound in a snow storm was created as a humorous holiday greeting card for Marian Heath greetings. In the greeting card industry the images, or designs, need to be completed about a year before they are distributed so this Christmas card should be out for the 20112 holiday season.

Creating Snow Storms In The Studio
To create the snowy background for this funny dog photo we used powdered sugar! Two boxes of the fluffy stuff were dumped onto a piece of white paper in my studio. We shaped it into mounds and sifted some more sugar on top to soften the clumps. Hey, I was as surprised as anyone to see how much it looked like snow...and with Photoshop we just stripped the Basset Hound into the "snow" to get our basic image.

Blowing Snowflakes And A Waving Scarf
Stephanie D. Roeser, my partner, did the imaging work. She created the blowing snow flakes in Photoshop. She also made the hat from the scarf which we also photographed in my studio...though it was hanging down rather than blowing out. Puppet Warp in Photoshop provided the contouring for the scarf. I should also note that the scarf was actually just red and white striped...again Photoshop came to the rescue with an adjustment layer (Hue/Saturation) to add in the Christmas green!

Basset Hounds And An Emotional Connection
A good image will inevitably have an emotional connection with the viewer, and Basset Hounds, with their doleful expressions, are great for creating those connections. How can you not smile when looking at this stoic expression so typical of Basset Hounds. I always feel like they are tolerating us!

Business End of A Crocodile

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:44:00 +0000

Crocodiles symbolize danger, risk, adversity and challenge, and with this intimate view of the croc's wide-open mouth there is not doubt as to the veracity of such symbology!

The Business End of a Crocodile
To get this intimate view into the wide-open-mouth of a Crocodile I visited a Crocodile farm in Thailand. After the show the audience members had the opportunity get up close and personal with the reptiles and I took the opportunity to grab this unusual angle. I then used photoshop to drop out the background and replace it with black. I also added some subtle reflections to make it appear that the croc was on a shing surface such as in a studio shoot.

Concepts And Symbols Of Crocodile Stock Photos
I created this crocodile image as a stock photo to illustrate concepts such as risk, danger, adversity and challenge. Crocodiles, with their gnarly prehistoric look, their many irregular and jagged teeth, and their huge jaws, are ideal for symbolizing threats of all kinds. By placing the crocodile on a black background plenty of room is created for text and headlines, and all of one's attention is focused on the crocodile itself. I find it interesting that with all of the crocodile images out there I have never seen this particular view of one before. Go figure.

Funny Pet Christmas Carolers

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:06:00 +0000

This group of pets singing Christmas carols actually is made up of 118 different layers in Photoshop!

Funny Pets Singing Christmas Carols
A Beagle, a Weimaraner and two cats stand on the front porch and sing Christmas carols in this image for humorous greeting cards. Each of these funny animals holds a hymn book and wears Xmas clothes (Santa hat, Holiday Scarves, etc.), as they belt out their songs. There is snow on the porch behind them and the twilight fades silhouetting the evergreen trees behind them.

Using Photoshop To Create Funny Greeting Card Images
This funny animal image is comprised of 118 different layers in Photoshop. Each element was photographed individually, and each animal is made up of a number of different captures. Approximately two days of Photoshop work went into the image which was created for the Marian Heath greeting card company.

Funny Gorilla Friendhsip Photos

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:58:00 +0000

Humor and friendship are the themes of this funny Gorilla picture.
A Funny Gorilla And Friendship
In this funny gorilla photo a menacing Gorilla sits in a waiting room, next to a young girl who is tentatively offering him a bite of her banana. Humor is used to draw in the viewer and diffuse the sense of danger and risk created by the presence of the huge primate. This image was created by Stephanie D. Roeser as a stock photo for advertising, editorial and promotional uses.

Funny Sad-Eyed Basset Hound

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:22:00 +0000

The key ingredient making this a successful stock photo is the connection between the viewer and the Basset Hound.

Sad-Eyed But Funny
Despite the sad eyes, this Basset Hound image is rife with humor...and that humor creates a connection with the viewer. It is that connection that makes the picture a successful stock photo. I created our Basset Hound portrait for stock and greeting cards use. This is one of many humorous dog and pet photos in our "Animal Antics" collection.

Bad Kitty!

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:24:00 +0000

A Kitty Tantrum? A funny cat covers his ears from a barrage of angry words from his owner in this funny cat photo.

Angry Words In A Funny Cat Photo

"Bad Kitty" seems to be the caption for this funny cat photo of a woman's hand pointing accusingly at a cat who is covering his ears against the unwanted words streaming his way. This image is actually a composite of three different. The background, the kitty, and the woman's hand are all separate photos composited together in Photoshop. This image was created for use in advertising, editorial and greeting card use.

Funny Animal Pictures For Advertising And Editorial Use
This funny cat photo is one of a large collection of funny animal pictures for use in advertising, promotional and editorial uses by John Lund.

Funny Animal Card: A Boxer Is A Drill Instructer

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:01:00 +0000

Youth, youth, you can't handle youth is the line for this funny animal greeting card featuring a Boxer as a Drill Sargent.

A Funny Animal Birthday Card
This Boxer, posing as a Marine Drill Sargent, was created for a Birthday Greeting Card for Marian Heath Greetings. Inside the greeting says "Youth, youth...you can't handle youth!", a take off on Jack Nicholson's character in the movie "A Few Good Men". Stephanie Roeser composited the photography using Photoshop. The Boxer was created from four different boxer images. We also photographed the dog tags, with my name on them, the sunglasses, the Drill Instructor's Hat, and the chevrons. We used a sky that I pulled from my archives.

A Greeting Card Image
While we created the image for a greeting card, it is now available as a stock photo for a variety of uses from advertising or editorial uses, to photo imprinted products such as coffee mugs, calendars and even T-shirts. This image is just one of collection of humorous animal greeting cards that reveal the "human" side of our animal friends.

Elephant Tea Party

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 04:04:00 +0000

Three elephants have a tea party in a politically inspired stock photo for advertising, editorial and greeting card uses.

Elephant Tea Party
Elephants have long been symbolic of the Republican party, and in this funny picture three of them have taken it to the next level...they are having a tea party! These adorable pachyderms sit around a table together and gossip as they have their afternoon tea in a politically inspired image. My favorite elephant is the one in the center...she is so cute!

Humorous Elephant Photos
This humorous elephant photo was created by Stephanie D. Roeser for use as a stock photo, greeting card image and fine art print. It is one of a collection of funny elephant photos featuring elephants in all kinds of crazy situations. This image can be used for political commentary as well as on a variety of photo-imprinted gifts.

A "Swinging" Elephant

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:49:00 +0000

A funny elephant picture for greeting cards, fine art prints and stock photography.

A "Swinging" Elephant
An elephant is having fun swinging through the jungle on a vine a la Tarzan in this humorous over-the-top picture and most recent addition to our funny elephant picture collection. I use Photoshop to create these humorous images for greeting cards, fine art prints and stock photos. To create this image I used photos I shot of elephants in Thailand, jungle images from a zip line experience near Chang Mai, and an ivy vine on the exterior wall of my studio. Hope you like it!

Vision, Change, And A Giraffe

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:28:00 +0000

A giraffe makes a great metaphor for vision in a stock photo about adversity, change and vision.

A Giraffe, The Challenge of Change, And Vision
In this picture, a Giraffe, the symbol of vision, stands on the edge of a cliff facing the challenge of change. The challenge is symbolized by the Giraffe standing on a cliff. Change is represented by the background of storm clouds...which also indicate turbulent times. The vision of the giraffe is further emphasized by the giraffe's position on high ground enhancing his already high viewpoint and the advantage for his line of sight.

Creating A Giraffe Concept Stock Photo About Vision, Change And Adversity
A giraffe struck me as a perfect symbol for an image about vision. An unusual photo of a giraffe is sure to grab attention, exactly what a stock photo is supposed to accomplish. By placing the giraffe on the edge of a cliff, or abyss, we add more visual impact and strengthen the metaphorical nature of the image. I photographed the giraffe in a zoo, the clouds on Bonaire Island, and the cliff on the coast of San Francisco. I used Photoshop to composite the image together.

Animals On The Brink Of Extinction, Businesses Facing Difficulties
This giraffe facing a storm from atop a cliff can represent animals on the brink of extinction, or companies facing severe difficulties. The image is created to allow for numerous cropping options with plenty of room for Headlines, type and body copy. This image can represent businesses, individuals, or societies facing the challenges of change with vision and vigilance.

Throwing Money At A Problem: Bucket Brigade

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:31:00 +0000

This funny money picture uses an old icon, the bucket brigade, in a new way to illustrate fiscal mismanagement and wasteful use of financial resources.

Buckets of Cash and Throwing Money At A Problem
In this amusing stock photo three executives form a bucket brigade and are throwing the money at some unseen problem. This is a versatile image that can be used for illustrating government bail outs, cash flow problems, and fiscal irresponsibility. The setting of the photo looks to be a corporate lobby for big business. The image can just as easily represent business mismanagement and the problems of poor audit controls and asset allocation.

Funny And Unusual Money Pictures
Funny and unusual money pictures are in constant demand, in particular ones that have a strong clear message...and doesn't hurt to have a degree of timeliness as well. For years I carried around the idea of creating a bucket brigade image, but it wasn't until I associated a bucket brigade with cash that this idea came to me. Now I can see how it can be used for a wide variety of corporate, business and government issues from bail outs to entitlement programs to bureaucratic waste and inefficiencies.

Red Wine Swirling Slow Motion HD Video

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:02:00 +0000

Red Wine Swirling To "Breathe" In A Slow Motion HD Video
Red wine swirls around inside a wine glass in ultra slow motion HD (captured at 1000 frames per second) in this stock video clip. Wine lover or not, it is fascinating to see the shapes and forms the wine takes in its circular journey. Watching this slow motion wine video you can almost smell the wine bouquet, feel the velvity smoothness of the wine in your mouth, and taste the tannins and hints of fruit on your palate.

Wine Videos And Presentations
Any motion presentation about or including wine can be enhanced with this mesmerizing and poetic dance of wine in motion. We get to see the extraordinary in the ordinary when viewing a brief wine swirl shot at high speed and played back in super slow motion. This video can add impact, and make any wine "story" more memorable. In our collection of slow motion videos we have several clips of both red and white wine filmed in super slow motion HD video. All were captured with the Phantom HD camera and the GVS 9000 VTR hardware and software capture and storage solution. We have slow motion red wine pour videos, slow motion wine glasses breaking videos and slow champagne toasting as well.

Team Work. Lending A Hand And Connection

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:28:00 +0000

Standing on opposite cliffs, these two people reaching out to each other, represent concepts from friendship and lending a hand, to team work and connection.

Team Work, Lending A Hand, And Connection In A Stock Photo
The goal here was to create a versatile and flexible stock photo illustrating team work, lending a hand, and connection as well as a host of other important business concepts. In this picture two people, a man and a woman, each wearing business attire, stand on opposite cliffs over a deep divide reaching out to each other. This can be an image about healing as well as helping and about friendship as much as about co-operation. The steep, rocky cliff faces backed by brewing storm clouds, lend a dramatic flair to this international business image.

A Stock Picture of Friends In Need, Healing And Compassion
In this stock photo of friends reaching out to each other in troubled times, the concepts can range from healing and compassion to even love and romance. What determines the concept being illustrated is the headline. The beauty of this picture is that it can fit so many headlines and concepts so well. All of the elements, the cliffs, the storm clouds, and the people, work together to create a dramatic and compelling image that can cross language and cultural barriers in a truly universal concept stock photo.

An Unusual Handshake And The Benefits of Ambiguity

noreply@blogger.com (John Lund) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:01:00 +0000

By shooting this picture of a shaking hands through frosted glass the strength of the handshake message comes through with the added benefit of ambiguity in the parties shaking hands.

An Unusual Handshake Picture Illustrating Agreement and Team Work
As much as we all cringe when seeing certain hackneyed and over-used symbology in stock photography, such as the proverbial handshake photo, certain symbols still work, still work well, and are in need in the marketplace. The trick is to take an old symbol or metaphor and show it in a new, different and relavent way. That is what I have attempted to do with this photo of two men shaking hands behind a translucent glass partition. This is an unusual handshake picture that offers both intrigue and the opportunity of an expanded set of applications.

Handshakes, Frosted Glass, And Opportunity
The handshake photo is a strong and unmistakable symbol for agreement, team work, successful negotiation and a host of other concepts. The message comes through no matter the language or culture. Yet it has been done to death! How can we take that tried and true image and create a stock photo that will serve a needed purpose perhaps better than it has been done before? In this case my opportunity arose when I was shooting in an abandoned office suite. When my model walked behind a backlit frosted glass room partition I was struck by the resulting silhouette. I directed him to shake hands with my assistant behind the glass. The resulting image offers a new take on an old image with some very evident advantages and relevance that can be found in the ambiguity of the photo.

Shaking Hands, Ambiguity And Relevance
The ambiguity of the parties shaking hands in this photo is actually an advantage. Because specifics of the individuals are largely eliminated they can apply to a wider range of people and situations. Further, the murky nature of the image is a natural to illustrate images reflecting on everything from back room deals and political corruption to criminal alliances or, on the positive side, behind the scenes negotiations that get things done. Ambiguity, in this instance, is a strength.