Un-framing

November 9, 2010 by pmelcher.

Watch this video :

Pretty cool, no ? a 2.3 Gigapixel photograph that allows you to zoom in and out with incredible definition. The future of photography, right ? wrong.  This image actually denies the fundamental role of a photographer and photography.

Let me explain:  The fundamental role of a photographer, whether a journalist or a stock shooter, is framing. It is to apply upon a subject a very constraining boundary  in order to force the viewer to see exactly what  he wants to show. Nothing more, nothing less. A photograph points to a very specific and very well defined area. Even wide angle photography is a framed vision. The purpose of a photograph is to extract the meaning of a scene and one of its major tool is the scalpel-like defining frame. Rectangular, square, small, big, it doesn’t matter as long as it brings forth the essence of a scene. Or at least tries to.

The 2.3 Gigapixel photograph above does the exact opposite. It throws back on the viewer the burden of discovering a meaningful value to the image, if any. It annihilates the role of the photographer by capturing everything, thus capturing nothing.

Sure, as a tool for architects, or the military, it is certainly valuable. Also, as a novelty, it can attract some attention for a while. However, it will certainly not be a widely used tool for photographer.

Posted in lens, commercial stock, technology, focus, photojournalism, photoshop | Print | 1 Comment »

What’s that in my frame ?

November 6, 2010 by pmelcher.

Always dreamed to be a Getty contributor but could get yourself accepted? Or did you wish your images screamed “come and purchase, this is dirt cheap ” ? Or you simply thought the Getty Images logo was so beautiful that you had to photograph it over and over ? Well, so did Getty.

Thanks to those genius in marketing,  you can now include a 3D plastic glass self-supporting Getty Images logo in all your images and thus give them your rights without even signing anywhere. In the spirit of ” we own your every images, everywhere”, they built this ugly little logo holding stand that they then decided to place in front of famous landmarks  photo motifs so that anyone could include their logo in their images. How cool is that ?

Instead of your girlfriends, kids, parents, best friends posing in front of a famous building, you can have the Getty Images logo posing.  We couldn’t think of anything more desirable than that. “look honey, I went to Berlin on vacation, visited all these famous places, euh..sorry Photo motifs, and captured them with the Getty logo in the top left of the frame !!!”

We can just imagine how the reaction of your peers will make you feel like a real, honest to G~d photographer.

“Why are you looking at me like that ?” ” Honey ? Honey ? say something..”

We have a tip for Getty Images : Why don’t you buy all famous monuments in the world and encrust your logo on them once and for all ? Not only you get credit every time someone takes a picture of it ( after all, didn’t you guys invented the Pyramids ?)  but you could charge exorbitant property releases . Why not have all your employees tattoo your logo on their foreheads ? If you dispatch them in all the happening places of the world, you can be sure no one can get an image of any event without having your freakin’ name in the frame? Why not beam your logo on the moon  a la Batman ? Is there any limit to your pathetic arrogance ?

Video here :

On a side note, the banks who own Getty images debt ( JPMorgan, GE Capital, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs ) have lowered the interest rates due to strong investor demand. ” Getty Images, a provider of photographs and music ( ..and super cool free standing plastic logos..), plans to use the proceeds from the $1.27 billion term loan, along with a $100 million revolver, to refinance debt and fund a dividend payment to its private equity owners, Hellman & Friedman and Farallon Capital Management.”

So, if you work at Getty and do not get a bonus this year, you should rejoice yourself by knowing that the owners of the company will, however, receive dividend on your hard work. Hey, and who knows, they could even let you pose next to their super cool free standing plastic logo  and become a photo motif yourself…..

Posted in commercial stock, Corpocrates, lens, technology, No sense, copyright, getty | Print | 2 Comments »

Pap in the skies

November 5, 2010 by pmelcher.

What is the relation between celebs and the war in Afghanistan ? No, it’s not yet another fundraiser. Actually, it has to do with advance technology.

Recently slammed with a new law ( in California only, for now) that will seek damages, even jail,  for any photographer caught endangering the lives of others while in the pursuit of a celeb, they are now looking to escape in the skies. Faced with growing anger from both regular citizens and celebrities alike,  who a fed up with their relentless pursuit of anything famous, some paps have decided to apply war technology to their trade.

The Wall Street Journal revealed today that SPLASH news is working on an airborne remote controlled drone that will hover above the celebs . Instead of shooting missiles, it will shoot stills and videos, beaming them back to the new age pap probably quietly sitting in his SUV not far, sipping a beer and talking to his girlfriend on the phone. No need to run with the pack, no need to use elbows and shoulders to secure a spot, no need to bump into ignorant passer buys : the sky is the limit.

Because FAA (the agency in charge of air regulation) regulations are extremely lax regarding leisure drones, it will now be possible for anyone with a remote control to spy from above. And not just in streets, but in gardens, pools, beaches, you name it, as long as it it outside, it is fair game. With licensing prices of Paparazzi images falling down, it is not surprising to see the pap industry  dropping ( figuratively) their helicopters and going for lesser expensive, more efficient solutions.

Soon, the skies over Los Angeles will be filled with the buzzing sounds of quadri-motored, remote-operated Canon 5D’s scouting for any signs of any celebrities. If it becomes anything like the sidewalks, it will be hundreds of these machines competing with each other for prime-position air space and maybe, eventually, shooting missiles at each other. Better take cover.

With just a tad more technology, they could even mount a face recognition software on an solar power unit, allowing for complete automation. They would throw it out the window in the morning and the machine would scout, identify, follow and shoot pictures remotely while the high tech pap could stay at home and just pick the best images to send out to magazine. The ultimate pap machine.

While we are on this subject, one could also build the automated red carpet machine . Installed on the red carpet of a movie premiere or award show and shape a bit like a body scanning gate you see at airport, it would function like this : The celebrity would walk in, the machine would take a full length and  head shot picture, as well as close ups of any accessories, use face recognition to identify the celeb, use object recognition for the dress and accessories, caption the image and send it real time to any interested magazine. No more need for endless lines of screaming photographers with blinding flashes. Boy those movie premieres would be quietly creepy. Besides maybe for the noise of those quadri motor drones above..

If you want to see some cool results of aerial photography/video done with a drone, head over to Perspective Arials.

Posted in technology, magazine, celebrity, editorial | Print | 1 Comment »

The end of Commercial Stock ?

November 2, 2010 by pmelcher.

“His latest eye-tracking survey found that “big feel-good images that are purely decorative” are mostly ignored online, while stock photos or generic people are also intentionally disregarded. In contrast, when users know that a picture of a person is real they will engage with the image for extended periods of time.” from the New York Times

“Mr. Nielsen concludes with some advice to those using the Web to hawk products or content: “Invest in good photo shoots: a great photographer can add a fortune to your Web site’s business value.” After all, he notes, most sites are full of “fluff — of which there’s too much already on the Web.”

Posted in Good Enough, commercial stock, corbis, getty, Microstock | Print | No Comments »