I was approached by Stewart Mungeam, General Manager for Europe. After sending him my files, I thought afterwards that perhaps I should be asking some tough questions! Here’s a short but tough Q and A:

FG: Gallery Stock is how old now? What is the background of the founder(s)?

SM: Gallery Stock has been around for 5 years, it was originally created by Bill Charles, to house the Bill Charles photographers archives. It changed into the entity you see now over the last 3 years. Bill had the foresight to see there was a real potential for Gallery Stock to house the best artists in the world. He was joined by Howard Berstein some 3 years ago as a 50/50 partner in Gallery Stock.

FG: How do you choose photographers? Your offering of talent appears to be very high end – were these shooters missing out on media licensing because of their focus on other areas?

SM: We approach the photographers on an ad hoc basis. Anyone that’s been involved in recent photography exhibits, auctions, new books published etc. I can’t speak for my photographers, but stock does open up another revenue stream. Gallery Stock is also a tool to help promote photographers on another level.

FG: Will you limit the amount of photographers you represent, or will the collection grow endlessly?

SM: There are only so many great photographers out there so at some point we will stop. We won’t be taking on any amateur photographers. Gallery Stock really is a collection of the most elite photographers you can find and their very best images.

FG: How do you market the site/work?

SM: The site is marketed globally through press, online one sites such as PDN, Creative Review etc. There is also a brochure of work produced once a year that show cases the amazing talent.