January 8, 2008 by pmelcher.

Beyond the flashy fancy mini sites that Corbis and Getty Images have throwned to press release hungry industry newsletter and blog sites, I did a little search of my own.

If you click on any or all of these icons below, you will probably find some of the most amazing and less seen USA Election coverage. There is an advantage of being a photographer from a non “accredited” agency like Reuters/EPA for Corbis and Getty/AFP for Getty: you have no rules to follow and you get to shoot what you want.

It makes for some pretty amazing images: (click on any logo below and enjoy)

These are only a few. No Press releases. No mini sites. Just hard and pure work. VII, DigitalRailroad, Magnum, Contact Press and others had not yet made anything visible as I was writing this entry. I am sure they will. There has never been an election like this in the USA before and probably will never be again. While Corbis and Getty have gone the wire service way ( 100 photos a day covering everything and nothing), these guys are going both for the historical and the emotional route. Because the next president of the United States of America, whether the rest of the world likes it or not, is going to be the major news for the next 8 years.

Minimum.

I agree with my friend Pino Granata, Photography without passion is not photography, it’s only bored microstock.

Posted in SIPA, TIME, newspaper, alexa, Cnn, magazine, keyword, google, news, corbis, editorial, wire service, photojournalism, getty | Print | No Comments »

January 8, 2008 by pmelcher.

So many things to talk about so little time. First there are patents being pended about photography. Empire type companies Corbis and Google have both leaked, “by accident”, that they had files for patents on processes that have to do with photography. Corbis, for one, who actually has a “director of pricing”, registered a process that would seemingly automate pricing. One aspect of it, besides being closely inspired by Wal Mart structure ( Wal Mart sends more wood to an era who they see will soon be hit by a hurricane or tornado), is that is seems to want to increase the price of an image based on its popularity. The more an image is bought, the more its price goes up.

Now, don’t take me wrong, but my understanding of image pricing was quite the opposite. The less an image has been used, the more one can ask for a higher price. Especially, my dear friends, if the clients wants to guarentee that no one else would use the image. Corbis definitely move in mysterious ways . Like Hell, the path to profitability is paved with good intentions.

Furthermore, this, “the more people want it, the more I will make them pay” pricing schemes (sounds like buying tickets to a rock concert) is already being applied by Dreamstime and maybe other microstocks. Ah well, the patent covers more area, so just maybe, maybe, Microsoft’s little brother will one day proudly walk around daddy Gates house showing that he too can get a patent.

Google, on the other hand, continues its destruction of photography. They have just filed for a patent that can read any text within an image. This will allow them to scout the internet’s billion of photographs and look for any written text that lies within an image instead of the image itself. Thus, if you have a great image of US troops in the streets of Baghdad, for example, that happen to walk in front of a McDonald sign, your image will be classified under McDonald instead of war. It will strip the intent of your image in favor of whatever text might be in it. This will be reducing photography to its mere reality reproducing function. Yes, I know, the intend is to be able to “read” the images that have been taken for Google Maps on the street level and allow for someone to search for a restaurant or store based on its name. However, if unleashed to more than the robotic camera sitting atop a van, it could really, really damage image search.

On the technology level, I am quite amused to see that the CES has more to offer the photography industry than ImagingUSA happening at the same time. ImagingUsa is a professional only trade meeting being held one a year. It is being held in the retired state of Florida and seems to showcase the same products and faces every year, with a few very rare exception. On the other hand CES 2008 ( Consumer Electronic Showcase 2008) is full of innovative, crazy products that will make the photography world change in the next years. Do not forget that the photography market has exploded and is now fully driven by amateurs and gadget driven passionate. Companies have seen in the Flickr users and other Microstock members a very attractive source of income who knows no traditional boundaries. From studios in a box that allow your 5 year old to take object photography like a pro to HD video and still point and shoot cameras, the future is at CES. While pros gather in Tampa to see how they can maybe enhance their current business and work flow, amateurs flock to Las Vegas to grab the newest piece of technology. One will fall behind, the other will reinvent how to take images. This is where the new photographers will come from, not from Tampa.

Pro photographers, it seems, are looking in all the wrong places these days, in a desperate attempt to salvage and protect their business. The barbarians ( read non pros) have already crossed the gates and they are invading with much more than their sheer numbers. They have no expectations, no legacy, no traditions, and nothing to build on. They, however, have free minds and a lot of will.

Posted in keyword, Midstock, technology, lens, web 2.0, prosumer, corbis, law, slideshow, flickr, Microstock | Print | No Comments »