The future is promising

September 30, 2009 by pmelcher.

“The eventual goal is to have publishers create hybridized content that draws from audio, video and interactive graphics in books, magazines and newspapers, where paper layouts would be static.”. Gizmodo.

Apparently Apple is working very hard with publishers to digitize their content for their upcoming tablet ( release date : January 2010). But what is extremely interesting here is that, apparently Apple is hard at work redefining what print magazine might soon look like and , by being the first, set a standard.

Already some publishers are playing with Flash or Adobe Air to render a more interactive platform that would mix sounds, music, video and photography, along with text into a full experience media. This portable color tablet, unlike the moribund b & W Amazon Kindle, will offer a reading experience like it has never been seen before. The possibilities are almost limitless and exciting. One will be able to choose for example, based on the time available, how deeply he/she will be involve reading/listening/experiencing a story. Got a few seconds? text only. have a minute? Text , photos, maybe a little sound bite. Have an hour? text, video, interview, video.

Photography will then be redefined by this new medium. Not just as it is taken, but how it is re assembled for the viewers (more multimedia)  as well as how is it licensed.

Microsoft, with its upcoming Courier, is also in the race and quite advanced too.  see video here:

Courier User Interface from Gizmodo on Vimeo.Both solutions will might make it into posterity but will certainly mark the way we will consume photography in the near future. For those who were waiting to know where photogrpahy was going, well, now you have the answer.

Posted in mediastorm, multimedia, license, magazine, technology, Search, newspaper, editorial, slideshow, photojournalism, web 2.0, news | Print | 1 Comment »

A bird’s eye

September 29, 2009 by pmelcher.

So the big buzz these days is all about social media. It started roughly with MySpace , followed by Flickr and now it’s all about  Twitter and Facebook.  A bit like the “Long Tail” theory has been improperly swallowed by a  lot of photography professionals, social media is all but properly understood.

It used to be that, after creating a blog, you had to have a page on Myspace. And then it was you HAD to have a gallery on Flickr. Now, it has shifted to Facebook and Twitter. There is even a scheduled talk at the upcoming Photoplus expo on how to master Twitter for photographers.  I wonder if, at the time, they had a “how to master CB radio for photographers” and how well that worked.

Social media is a critical tool if you are in the B2C market, directly selling your products, or services, to the general public. However, photography is much more ( besides wedding photogrpahers) then a simple B2B product and service. A bit like raw oil. Try and sell raw oil to general public. No one would buy as they wouldn’t know what to do with it.

So, having a business Twitter  account and spending hours a day updating it in the hope of closing a major assignment or licensing deal is like walking your neighborhood doing door to door marketing. A shot in the dark. A completely useless exercise in futility with the added bonus of wasting your time and concentration. No one cares if you just came back from a photo shoot or finished editing 341 images in less than one hour thanks to Aperture. And you could Twipic your “best of” until you are  blue in the face, all they care about is funny cat pictures.

Facebook has, for photography, pretty much the same marketing value as Twitter . Unless you are already friends with a photo editor, no one will search Facebook to find you or hire you. Might as well use your account to post funny videos. That, people will like.

The fascinating part of all this is that there  are now so called self proclaim experts in these “marketing photography via social media ” who claim they can take your business from zero to millions thanks to “secrets” they have found. If that was true, wouldn’t they rather be enjoying there money somewhere on exotic beach instead of trying to sell you their useless approach ?

It is somewhat pathetic to see how so much of the photography community falls, year after years, into these marketing dead ends and forget that the number 1 rule remains always the same : Shoot meaningful images. Or, in other words ” It’s the content, stupid”. Nothing else, nothing more.

Sure, you might even be succesful in getting thousand upon millions of hits on your website thanks to you mastering social media. Still doesn’t mean you will convert any of these into a sale. Actually, all this traffic might even block actual buyers to get to your site.

After hours and hours updating your blog, Facebook account, Myspace page , Flickr account and Tweeting about all this, when does one find time to actually work on photography ? Don’t we spend already too much time online  ? Are does really successful in creating a huge following on social media selling any images ?

Social media for photography is only good for one thing : make your clients talk about you to your next potential clients. For them to rave about your photography and your incredible customer support. Your exquisite sense of professionalism and your impeccable delivery.  And to accomplish that, you need to stop Twitering and start shooting.

Posted in Photoplus, license, technology, commercial stock, No sense, keyword, photojournalism, flickr, web 2.0, news | Print | 2 Comments »

Dying in Africa

September 24, 2009 by pmelcher.

I do not want to see another photo essay, multimedia or any visual on dying Africans. Never, ever again.  Enough. I understand that it makes for compelling images, that it seems that the photographers cares, but it present such a distorted vision of this beautiful continent. Not every country is at war, not every African is an orphan dying of aids or malnutrition. Not everyone lives in a broken down shaft wearing nothing more than rip jeans.

But from here, from the United States of America, a country which is still very much struggling with its very, very  racist past, it is just not sending the right message. It is actually saying “look, Africa is this continent full of malnourished savages with hatchets dying of aids because they are uneducated”. It is the biggest, longest, most powerful brainwashing operation that photojournalists have gladly contributed to with open arms.

This ongoing belief, supported by photo festivals like Visa and others, that photojournalism is all and only about blood, decay, despair and endless wars has found in Africa an endless feeding ground.

Although most of these images do not lie, it is not the Truth. This is not Africa. It would be like putting a loupe on a beautiful dress and  only continuously showing its one flaw.

The reason is clear. It is mainly because of NGO photojournalism. Rich people give money to NGO’s who then hire photographers to document their work. And since they operate in poor, war and disease stricken area of Africa, that is all we get to see these days. And because of the continued lack of funding of the editorial press, we will probably see even more, not less.

Just imagine your perception of America if all you would see were images of  9/11, Katrina, Detroit, urban ghettos and nothing else. Don’t laugh Europe, we could do the same with you. Would you ever consider going there on vacation ?

Africa, or at least it’s despair, has become the playing ground of the new photojournalists. Like a badge of honor, you’re not a real photojournalist if you have not covered at least one desolate part of the continent. The results is thousand upon thousand of reportages , essays, multimedias, especially online, repeating the same stories to a saturation point. No wonder magazines will not publish them even if some are extremely brilliant. They are, as the readers, fed up.

In  a way, photojournalism is killing itself by over repetition. Ironically, it is also deforming our view of the world by being so stubbornly surgical and mono sighted. It is replacing reality with cliches, destroying what it tries to explain.

So please no more images of half naked dying soldiers full of flies under an imponderable sun, no more death looking eyes on top of an extremely malnourished 3 year old, no more images of Kalashnikov-wearing tweens walking barefoot on dirt pathways amid the empty Savannah. It will end up making everyone look the other way, if it hasn’t already. Make us hope, make us want to get involved. Don’t disgust. You are not better, or more useful, because you took pictures of it and we didn’t. If you keep this up, it’s not Africa that will disappear first, but those who try, so poorly, to make us aware of its plights.

Posted in multimedia, magazine, focus, lens, newspaper, TIME, editorial, slideshow, photojournalism, news | Print | 6 Comments »

Silence of the Lambs

September 23, 2009 by pmelcher.

While the industry is  going through its most radical change of its small and short existence, it seems that everyone is caught standing and staring at the incoming headlights. Many violent issues are affecting the way business is done today, with possible long lasting repercussions, yet it seems that all are taking cover under a “business as usual” blanket.

Google Book: The DOJ has just concluded that the current agreement is not fair. This would be a good time for the photo industry to jump in and make its voice heard. why ? Because scanning books and offering them under a digital format requires a new license for the images and Google is not offering to compensate anyone for those. They are offering to compensate the authors of the books, however. Furthermore, the images thus scanned and available on line might become another source of orphan work and a playing ground for those looking for “free” images. The biggest providers of images to Book publishers ( think Corbis or Getty) have remained very, very quiet on this. Are they making their own deals ? But the real scandal here is the complete silence and lack of action from those associations who claim to represent the industry. PACA, ASPP, ASMP, APA and so on have not taken one step to seriously address the issue and only recently a single lonely voice coming from Europe has dared to express their concern (CEPIC) . It is not going to be enough.

Metadata: At a pivotal time where more images are being used online than on print, there is still no agreement between the photo industry and publishers on how to carry and protect metadata. You would think, since it’s their livelihood, that the photo industry would have spearheaded an effort to make sure information would travel, and stay, in each and every image published online. No. Nothing. Images can and will be published online with absolutely no credit outside or inside the image. Actually, software companies like Adobe, will gladly help strip any information inside an image, even when it’s a clear violation of the DMCA.  There used to be an agreement, sometimes still in practice, in the editorial world that when an  image was  miscredited or not credited at all it would be billed at twice the amount. Out of respect for the creator. Guess that will not going to survive.

Pricing: The latest quote I have heard was $5 for editorial usage on a website own by one of the biggest publisher in the world. The funny part was that the photo editor quoting me this price was amused that someone had actually agreed to this. Photo agencies, these days, are their worst enemies. They even get scared of themselves when they see a mirror. Everyone agrees worldwide that the future of editorial, and commercial photography, is online. Most form of print magazine will die in the next five years and be replaced by an online equivalent. Yet, everyone charges pennies for licensing rights . How will that ever replace the print magazine market as a source of income? It baffles me and any four year old with a calculator.

” Why did you go out of business ?”

” Me ? O well , for the price I was licensing my images, I couldn’t pay my bills”

“Mmm…brilliant !! What are you going to do now ?”

” I don’t know, maybe hit my head against a wall real hard. That sounds like fun too”

Getty and Corbis: One is using and abusing its dominance on the market to use and abuse photographers, and the other is playing unfair competition.  Yet, it doesn’t seem to bother anyone. I was recently having lunch with a commercial photographer from the New England area who mostly shoots travel and pharmaceutical images and who has a distribution contract with the oil company legacy company. He was proud to announce that he regularly sees, on his sales report, images licensed  to big companies, at $3. When asked why he accepted those prices, he said ” its better than nothing”. Needless to add that his overall revenue, from the same distributor, has dropped 40 to 60% in the last year. After taxes, those $3 images probably leaves him with a few bucks. I would not get out of bed for two bucks. Not only that, but Getty also pressures, threatens, blackmail and abuse contributing photographers on a permanent basis. Yet, no one seems to voice their concern. If that is not a monopolistic attitude, I wonder what is ? Next to them sits Corbis. Now, how many industries have a company that has not made a profit since their creation , 15 years ago ? How is that fair competition ? If Bill Gates likes loosing money so much, why doesn’t he open a car company ? Or bail out a few banks ? Why does the photo industry have to deal with a company that does not obey to the most simple and basic rules of business ? Sure, they are not a monopoly, although they could, but they are certainly unfair competition.

Trade Associations: Someone has to explain why the photo trade associations are so useless. Not one has any usefulness and all should be referred as clubhouses instead of associations. They do nothing to represent or defend their members. They mostly act as social organizers, as if nothing of importance was happening in our industry. Not one has a lawyer in Washington DC to help promote and defend our trade. Instead, they act as conduits for manufacturers and service companies, while receiving nice juicy kickbacks for their executive members.

It will not be long for us to see more closing, bankruptcy and  maybe a Ponzi scheme or two. It is not a surprise. As long as those who work in this trade think silence and apathy are the best tools to increase business, nothing will change.

“Brave Clarice. You will let me know when those lambs stop screaming, won’t you? ” _ Hannibal Lecter_

Posted in license, Search, newspaper, copyright, magazine, commercial stock, technology, google, web 2.0, editorial, law, corbis, transaction, finance, CEPIC, PACA, getty | Print | No Comments »

This is not an Eulogy

September 18, 2009 by pmelcher.

42 years is a lifetime. When these 42 years are made of excellence, passion, relentlessness commitment, inspiration, painful devotion, genius and unconditional dedication, it becomes a legend.

Grazia Neri was not a business, it was an act of love, a huge warm embrace around the thousands of beloved and cherished photographers worldwide they represented. It was not a business, but a welcoming family for all those who had talent. Not just the photogrpahers, but the amazing staff that has populated their marvelous Milan offices.

Grazia Neri herself  did so much to promote photography, not only in Italy, but worldwide, that her legacy is hard, if not impossible, to fully described. She, along with her company, has mentored, supported, elevate so many great talented photographers that the world would not be the same if both had not been around.

The closing of Grazia Neri is a tragedy for the photography world and the consequences will be felt for many, many years to come. There will never be another Grazia Neri.

But let’s not be fooled. It is not just the economy that has taken a final blow to this passion. It is those Seattle Starbucks Latte induced, black turtle neck wearing  corporcrates that have plunge their lethal knives in its back. By spreading their abominable  subscription-all-you-can-eat-buffet type pricing model all over the world like a black plague, they have made it impossible for the artists, the bohemians, to pursue their passion in peace.

They have entered this profession with the clear and declared intent to suck it dry and clean, regardless of the consequences, and their poisoning ethics are now suffocating anything that tries to live by their side.  The Grazia Neri photo agency has been murdered, with intend.

Hopefully this is not the last. We will soon hear from those who have nurtured this company with unconditional passion. Photography, and the people that work within this field, are extremely resilient. Because it’s an act of love, an addiction, it keeps on resurfacing, under different names, different organizations. Certainly, Grazi Neri, the mother of amazing photojournalism, will give birth to many, many children, more adapted to its vicious environment and continue to live, and thrive in other people eyes and lives. Certainly they will keep the legacy alive and continue to promote, against all costs and odds, unrestrained photojournalism.

Certainly, a business is dying. Certainly, this a tragedy. Certainly, we all have lost our most cherish family member. But as certainly, this not an end.

Today, all the images published in all the magazines in the world should be credited “   /Grazia Neri”. That is how much we owe them.

Posted in license, magazine, technology, photojournalism, transaction, corbis, news, editorial, getty | Print | 1 Comment »

it’s not brain surgery

September 17, 2009 by pmelcher.

It is amusing to see that the photography world, especially those who persist in shooting for commercial stock, have yet to use the tools around them.

Up the now, the only intelligence gathering tool that has been used ad-nauseum, has been the mighty Excel sheet with pages of past sales. Does a past criminal has more change of killing again than someone who has never committed a crime ? If you answered yes, your the excel type, if you said no, read on.

Science, as we all know, has progressed by leaps and bounds. We all learned how we see light and color, something that has taken our scientists a very, very long time to understand. But then, we drop science, pick up our cameras, and rely on our spreadsheets to predict what will sell.

Why not continue to piggy back science ? How do we understand information, what are the colors that make us react, the shapes. Sure, it takes a lot of reading of different aspects of scientific discovery, but aren’t photographers humanist at heart? Well, at least those  with a heart instead of a wallet. Sociology, psychology, brain theory, history, anthropology, all those are fields which should be under heavy surveillance by all  photographers, and photo agencies agency.

For example, recent study in brain theory ( you known, the reason why our brains does what it does) suggest that our brain is entirely geared in trying to predict what will happen next. It uses our senses, plus our memory, obviously, to make an assessment of our current situation and quickly predict what to expect next. In another way, our brain dislikes surprises..

How does that affect photography? Well, here are some suggestions. If the brain constantly tries to predict, than it will quickly pass over banality ( what it considers will not change) and focuses on the unknown and /or the potentially versatile. Thus unpredictability will catch our attention much more than the obvious. Mostly because our brain functions will try to analyze and process the situation in order to figure out what will/could happen next.

Photography  should then be the art of catching the unpredictable (or suggesting it) . Not forcibly in the actual frame that is seen, but sometimes in the next one that is hinted. Thus, putting the viewers brain in a state of forced analysis of the situation it is seeing and provoking a thought. Or many. This will force the viewer to use past experiences, knowledge, memories, emotions to attempt to reconcile the photograph with a possible outcome. It can also be an emotional outcome.

Think about it. Look at the images that have striked you the most and that you like the best, and based on what you have just read above, see if it applies. Are those photographs your favorite because they provoked a sense of unpredictability that you were forced to reconcile with your knowledge of the world at that time ?

This is just an example of how current scientific advances are of tremendous help to our trade. There are many, many others. Those who are interested in perfecting their art should drop the business manuals, their keywording manuals and the SEO handbooks and should rather pick up any books related to human science.

Posted in focus, technology, commercial stock, keyword, photojournalism, finance, filter, editorial | Print | No Comments »

In case…

September 11, 2009 by pmelcher.

LEADING MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT PHOTOGRAPHER,
FRANK MICELOTTA, LAUNCHES PICTUREGROUP AND ANNOUNCES  DISTRIBUTION DEAL WITH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MTV, BET, Comedy Central, FOX, MySpace, Columbia Records, Jive Label Group and EMI Sign On as Charter Clients of Digital Media Production Company

PictureGroup Offers Leading Entertainment Brands Complete
Photo Solutions Including Production, Distribution, Licensing, Archiving, Integrated Content Marketing & Event Management

LOS ANGELES, CA, September 10, 2009 – Leading music and entertainment photographer, Frank Micelotta, announced today the launch of PictureGroup, a unique digital media production company poised to provide top entertainment companies with an integrated solution for producing, distributing, licensing, archiving, marketing and managing their photo needs and assets.  Based on years of experience and in response to his high-profile clients’ input and feedback, Micelotta has developed a unique strategy to reduce costs, ensure a maximum return and exposure for clients’ visual content and manage entertainment brands’ photo and video assets.

PictureGroup also announced a strategic alliance with The Associated Press to license photos through the AP Images platform.  Under the arrangement, PictureGroup will distribute content through the AP Images Web site to more than 57,000 users worldwide.  At the same time, AP Images will offer premium content from PictureGroup to its online clients.  Furthermore, AP Images will be able to offer entertainment assignment services and the option of using PictureGroup photographers.

“I have recognized for some time that media companies have been grappling with the cost and complexity of producing and archiving their marketing visuals in-house and that there was a need for a full-service, very customer focused solution.  PictureGroup offers the perfect combination of cost-reduction and photo asset management, while at the same time creating a new revenue stream for the companies from the photography taken at their premiere industry events,” says Frank Micelotta, CEO and Chief Photographer.  “I am also thrilled to be partnering with the world’s largest and preeminent news organization, the Associated Press, and believe that this alliance allows PictureGroup to provide a unique offering to the entertainment industry.”

“We look forward to working with all of PictureGroup’s photographers to expand AP’s entertainment content, while furthering the evolution of AP Images into a dominant provider of commercial entertainment assignment services,” said Dan Becker, AP’s Director of Entertainment Content.

Numerous well-known companies and properties have already signed on as clients of PictureGroup including MTV, BET, Comedy Central, FOX, MySpace, Columbia Records, Jive Label Group, RCA Records and EMI.

“Frank is everything our business needs from a photographer — affable, flexible, service-oriented and relationship-driven,” said Carole Robinson, EVP, Communications, MTV Networks. “We’ve enjoyed working with Frank over the years, and we look forward to growing that relationship as many of our networks sign on for the enhanced service, capabilities and reach he’s delivering through PictureGroup.”

In addition to the A-list roster of clients, Micelotta also has incredibly strong relationships with the photo editors at all of the leading entertainment publications including People Magazine, US Weekly, Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone, among others.

“Frank isn’t just a talented photographer. He seems to know everybody, seems to be everywhere, and seems to be one of the nicest guys in the industry. I will be watching PictureGroup with great interest,” commented Brittain Stone, US Weekly Photography Director.

Micelotta has been the man behind the lens as the official photographer for America’s preeminent music and entertainment events for more than 20 years, including the MTV Video Music Awards, the Grammy Awards, Live Aid, Nelson Mandela’s “46664:Give One minute of your life to Aids,” and Quincy Jones’ “We are the Future,” and has served as the tour photographer for Madonna, Jay-Z,  and the Rolling Stones, among others.  Micelotta has captured events, including Madonna kissing Britney at the MTV Video Music Awards, which appeared on the cover of US Weekly and became the biggest-selling issue in the magazine’s history.  He also shot behind the scenes with the Rolling Stones as they were getting ready to launch their 2005 tour.  In 1998, Micelotta co-founded ImageDirect with Kevin Fitzgerald, the first all digital entertainment agency, which revolutionized the entertainment photography business by creating a valuable digital archive that could be accessed immediately and globally.  In 2003, ImageDirect was acquired by Getty Images and Micelotta became Getty’s Director of Entertainment.  The result was an explosion of sales and distribution, transforming Getty into a leader in entertainment photography.

Micelotta will run PictureGroup with Paul Melcher, another veteran in the photo media business.  Melcher was most recently CEO of Rex USA and V.P of sales at DigitalRailroad, Inc. Prior to that he was Director of North American Operations and Sales for Hachette Filipacchi Photo Group (www.hachettephotos.com) where he doubled revenues for the U.S. market in less than a year and led integration initiatives for numerous prestigious agencies, such as Gamma, Rapho and TOP.  Melcher and Micelotta were also partners at ImageDirect where Melcher guided the development of the company’s online real-time distribution platform, streamlined workflow to enable better distribution of more images to key buyers, and managed relationships with corporate clients such as ABC, MTV, FOX, NBC, Atlantic Records, USA Today and the NFL.

Elyssia Stratton is also joining as Director of Editing and Workflow.  Elyssia Stratton is the former staff photo editor for NBC, and freelance editor for The Associated Press, USA Today and Getty Images as well as an original staff member of ImageDirect.  Elyssia’s extensive experience over 25 years has generated a high demand for her services as a photographer, photo editor, and retoucher.

PictureGroup will combine Micelotta’s existing photography business and archive with some of the most prolific and talented photographers working in the entertainment field.  Founding photographers will include:

Evan Agostini will be one of PictureGroup’s New York based photographers.  Agostini has been in the editorial photo business for 20 years, 13 as an entertainment event photographer and 7 years doing library and photo editing work at Liaison Agency, part of the Gamma-Liaison photo news network.  Agostini has been published in nearly every major magazine and newspaper around the world.

Scott Gries will be one of PictureGroup’s New York based photographers.  He specializes in advertising for publicity for television and film.  His clients have included MTV, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Pfizer, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sony, Pepsi, AOL, Virgin Records and Rolling Stone.

Los Angeles based Tammie Arroyo will be PictureGroup’s key West coast event photographer.  She has worked for Michaelson Photo Agency, Retna Ltd., Sygmy, IPOL, Ron Galella and Celebrity Photo Agency.  In 1994, she went out on her own, first as Tammie Arroyo Photography, and then in 2002 under the name American Foto Features.

One of the premiere and most experienced red carpet photographers in the world, Gregg DeGuire will be a PictureGroup photographer based in Los Angeles.  DeGuire is a 27 year veteran photographer who has shot all of the major celebrity “Hollywood” events including movie premieres, award shows and Hollywood parties.

One of New York’s best-known celebrity photographers, Marion Curtis has been in the industry for fourteen years.  He is the co-founder of StarPix Celebrity Images, whose clients include Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, HBO, and Sony.  His work can be seen daily in the NY Post, Condé Nast and Hearst magazines, People, Us, InStyle and OK, to name a few.

Based in London, MJ Kim’s professional life of photography began 1999 when he joined The Daily Telegraph to cover nation’s news stories. In 2001, he had joined news agency ‘Press Association’ and in 2004, he became a senior photographer at the world largest image group Getty Images. After three years at Getty, he started his own photography company Image Factory.  Over the last 10 years, MJ KIM has been the tour photographer for the Spice Girls and Paul McCartney, personal photographer for Victoria Beckham, and has traveled with TRH Charles and Camilla for their state visit to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India.  MJ also captured the very last official photo of Michael Jackson.

Other Contributing Photographers will include Brad Barket (New York), Todd Plitt (New York), Fernando Leon (New York), Ben Rose (Atlanta), Mark Davis (Los Angeles), Vince Bucci (Los Angeles), Amanda Edwards (Los Angeles) and Marc Deley (Boston).  Additional photographers and clients will be announced soon.

# # #

MEDIA CONTACT FOR PICTUREGROUP:

Marnie Black
MB Public Relations
(917) 828-7308
marnieblack@yahoo.com

also a great interview of Frank Micelotta by John Harrington on his blog

Posted in celebrity, magazine, technology, wire service, transaction, news, editorial, getty | Print | No Comments »

Sounds, photos and fury

September 7, 2009 by pmelcher.

3 days of sounds and fury, signifying nothing. To paraphrase Shakespeare, this represent Perpignan Visa pour L’image this year. Only a quarter of the crowd of the previous year, less then half the booth of agencies, a paparazzi agency replacing Grazia Neri’s legendary location and a couple of citizen journalist agency present. As nightly projection continue to display images of dismembered human beings with more violence and gore than a Tarantino movie, the real sign of a massacre was around the agencies booths. And like those settlers being attacked by nasty Indians in those old westerns, a lot of photo agencies seem to regroup to better protect and defend themselves.

While one side the  continued to cry about the forever death of photojournalism kept on wailing, the other was counting its recent wounds : 30% drop in prices, subscriptions model by Getty pushing every country into a pathetic price war, the economy, always the economy, all were recurrent themes of conversation. But, interestingly enough, the mood was happy, jovial, optimistic . Even as the “depot de Bilan” of Gamma/Eyedea was the talk of the town and scores of major photo agencies, like Reuters, did not make it in the Palais, no one seemed quite down. Quite the opposite. Many countries are seeing photo agencies, once major competitors to each other, regrouping in co-ops, holdings, associations in order to better defeat the ravaging beast and its  Attila the Hun  inspired pricing model :  Getty images.

At the same time, many photogrpahers have seemingly dropped their photo agency and have gone solo, with quite a success.

And after deals were done, while the Palais du festival was closing under a clement sun and promises of successes to come, the photo exhibit were invaded by non professionals waiting in line to see the recent crop of images. Callie ’s images of Obama were probably the most popular, not only because they are spectacular, but certainly also because Obama himself is an object of fascination to the French population.

Consolidation, mergers, groups, holdings were certainly  the key words this year in the hallways of the Palais while optimism and creativity was the buzz word at the Cafe de La Poste, the fame location of the evening’s traditional bacchanal. Seems this Perpignan was the most lively and encouraging in many, many years.

Posted in photojournalism, license, magazine, slideshow, finance, news, france, editorial, getty | Print | No Comments »