Ah, it’s another Thursday. At the end of a particularly long week. And as you know, our favorite way to celebrate is to kick off our shoes and pour ourselves a frankly much-needed drink (gin and tonic, altogether sugar-free). And just to shake things up, place an international call to one of our friends. This week we call Patrick Lor from image vendor Fotolia—who happens to be in a seaside town called London—to discuss the virtues and pitfalls of microstock photography.

Even though Patrick is represented by a laptop running Skype (propped up on the notoriously damp and tacky dekeLounge bar), we managed to have an interesting conversation from the perspective of the users, perveyors, and producers of microstock photography.

Here’s what we covered with Patrick, despite there being an entire ocean between us:

What was it like for Patrick to be at the forefront of the microstock industry back when iStockphoto ruled the roost? How is pricing determined on microstock sites, and how do you get noticed by designers who are looking for that perfect (but inexpensive) photograph? And why oh why doesn’t everyone make it easy for people like me and Deke to properly credit their great photos by including copyright, author info, and other metadata with their images?

All that and more this week. Don’t forget about the special deal that dekeInsians receive from Fotolia: basically an extra 5% bang for your microstock buck. Find out more at fotolia.com/deke.

Oh, and although Patrick graciously offers to toast to us, that being against the rules and all,  Deke is inspired to substitute a toast to the direct relationship between photographers and designers. Cheers.

Where else do you get to hear two totally sane people speak to a laptop and have it answer back with insights into a burgeoning industry? Nowhere, so pour yourself a drink and have a listen.  Here’s the regular-quality (128kbps) audio file. (Note we’ve decreased the size of the “regular quality.” You can stream, or for best results, right-click and choose Download or Save.

Don’t forget the usual blather: Subscribe via iTunes. Call 1-888-dekepod with your questions. (That’s 1-888-335-3763.)

And then there’s the amazing event itself, Martini Hour Live in Las Vegas, next week! If you have any desire to attend, get your ass in gear. We have just a few seats left, and naturally we want you to be there.