Another stock media service? Sure, but NYC-based startup Pond5 has a very large collection of free public domain photos and images. Some of this media can be found at the websites of, say, the US National Archives or larger libraries. And of course there’s Wikimedia.
But for this blogger, having a single place for high-quality non-copyright imagery is a great time saver.
Just for kicks, I tested Pond5’s inventory. Child labor photos by Lewis Hines? Yeah, they have a few. Mathew Brady Civil War pics? There’s one of Walt Whitman. John Trenniel’s illustrations for Alice in Wonderland? They’re there, alright, but not in the public domain. Darn! Anyway, I can spend a long afternoon wandering around Pond5’s virtual gallery.
According to their stats, they have over 65,000 photos, as well as 2700 audio clips and 10,000 videos. And by the way, some of those videos are in the public domain as well. For example, check out this great freebie footage below of Brooklyn, circa 1899.
Pond5 is also a marketplace for photographers. At this point, professionals can receive 50% of the sale price of their work. Read the fine print here.