That sounds like a really sad closure and a lot of work from a very committed editor.
Also, if they bought stock photos that would have been so expensive. Really hideously expensive.
I'm not sure that this will be useful, but just in case it's a useful signpost, sites
like Unsplash can provide a useful middle ground, although it's really good form to link/attribute- and of course anything under a CC BY or CC SA licence.
Sarah-Jane