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 »

I and them

July 15, 2010 by pmelcher.

Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about your clients. Here and there, and almost everywhere you hear, or read, photographers and photo agencies complaining about this or about that. Their complains can be resumed to : ” But what about me”

Always starts with “I “. I used to make more money, I used to shoot this, I , I , I. aie.  Maybe the reason you are not making any money is because you do not think about your clients. They have shifted, evolved, not because they wanted to, but because they had to. Budgets or content, they needed to find other sources of photography. You, as you were continuing to think about “I”, you lost them.

The funny thing about sales, in any business, is that you always know how and why you gain new clients, but you never know why you loose them. They are tons of matrix to analyze  where new clients come from, what they do, how they purchase from you. But if they stop visiting you, you never know why. The reason is obvious : they are gone and you cannot communicate with them.

However, it is one of the most important piece of information that you might ever need; Why do you loose clients. Sure you can speculate. It’s my competitor pricing, it’s because I am too good, etc, etc. Because you do not have any hard data, the assumption is that it’s always someone else fault, not yours.

Well, recession or not, your clients retention should be the most important activity you have. You want them to come back, over and over again, even if you are not the cheapest. Because, unlike your new clients, you know them, their needs, their payments, their tastes. So much emphasis is made these days in new client marketing while nothing is done for current customer retention.

The same you probably managed to grab someones customer, someone else will take yours. Because you obviously do not care. You want new, now. Shouldn’t your growth of your business be measures as much by how many customers you retain than how many new you sign up ? Do you pay attention to their needs instead of looking for new markets ? Sure you can find yourself a niche, but what happens to your faithful customers, will they follow you ? Do they even care if you tweet ?

So turn the chair around. Stop looking at what you could do and focus on what can be done. Stop wasting energy ( and cash) on prospect and start fixing the leaks. Why are you loosing clients, why do they go for cheaper ? Do they feel that your content is not worth that much anymore? Did you even notice they left ?

Start building a sound and safe foundation instead of thinking about the tower . Sure new client marketing is cool and graphically challenging. But your stuff was cool too for those that still purchase from you. Why ignore them? So stop with the”I” complain and start listening to them.

Posted in technology, lens, commercial stock, focus, license, transaction, photojournalism, Midstock, editorial | Print | No Comments »

The Future of Photojournalism (Fixed)

July 13, 2010 by pmelcher.

 ( the issue with the player has been fixed)

A great and insightful interview of VII Manager Stephen Mayes. You want to understand where the photo industry is going, you have to listen to him :

Thank you Gerald Holubowicz

Posted in magazine, technology, lens, multimedia, Search, editorial, photojournalism, news | Print | 3 Comments »

Photo burqa

July 5, 2010 by pmelcher.

There is more than oil spreading in the Gulf of Mexico. There is also a veil of secrecy slowly being pulled upon the effects of the spill. In the pure tradition of “If you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist”, more and more rules and regulations are being implemented in order to block photographers .

“According to a news release from the Unified Command, violation of the “safety zone” rules can result in a civil penalty of up to $40,000, and could be classified as a Class D felony. Because booms are often placed more than 40 feet on the outside of islands or marsh grasses, the 65-foot rule could make it difficult to photograph and document the impacts of oil on land and wildlife, media representatives said. ”

This rule, made by the Coast Guard, not BP, comes on top of an already existing rule that  no media flights could go below 3,000 feet, due to restrictions from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Those restrictions are all to the honor of photography and it’s power. They are instituted out of fear of the impact that photography has on the collective mass. The same way as the Bush administration had banned any images of US soldiers coffin, or the Sri Lanka government had succesfully blocked any images of the war on the Tamils, this administration has no problem putting limits on what and how events can be photographed.

If you thought that the long awaited emergence of citizen photojournalism would come to the rescue, think again. Out of hundreds of images posted on Flickr, all are from GreenPeace or Nasa. None from the common man. As if the problem did not exist.

Photojournalists, more and more, are forced to break the law in order to get the right images. Not only their standard of living has plummeted, making it harder to be motivated, but they are now faced with either jail time or extremely steep fines. There is a war being waged against photojournalism at a time it is already at its weakest. If the forces of photo censorship succeed, our world will become we can forget about democracy. We might not understand it fully, but these are our eyes that they are trying to cover. It is a our ability to make a sound judgment that is threatened forever.

If photojournalists around the world are being blocked from taking pictures it’s because they are annoying.  They are revealing aspects of our lives that others do not want you to see. They  pull the curtains and denounce. If they are more and more being denied access, it’s because their images can do a lot of damages to an otherwise well kept lie.

There should be thousands and millions of images of the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Every American should go and take pictures of the situation. Post them all on Flickr or other places for everyone to see. A giant visual against BP, against blocking photographers and finally against a way of life that is killing us all.

No one should be allowed, ever, to restrict the work of photojournalists. There should be a fine for people preventing photojournalists to do their work and their safety and well being should be guaranteed by law.  They should have the same rights, and protection, as any other civil servant of any well balanced democracy. Instead of being restricted, they should be given extended special privileged access to news events.

They say the tree that falls in the forest where no one hears it makes no noise. Could we say the same about events happening away from cameras? soon?

Posted in web 2.0, magazine, lens, flickr, photojournalism, law, editorial, news | Print | No Comments »

The new and the Old

May 24, 2010 by pmelcher.

When technology meets photography, handled by creative minds, this is what you get :   The Museum of London has just launched an iphone App that mixes the present with the past.

Works only in London, for now : You point your iphone camera to a location and  you can click on the “3D view” button and the app will recognize your location and overlay the historic image over the current view. See examples below. Of course they do not have an images for everywhere you go, so they give you a map where you can play with this historical enhance reality.

It’s free to download so if you are in London, and you have an Iphone, you should really try it.

Posted in technology, lens, multimedia, web 2.0, filter, photojournalism, editorial | Print | No Comments »

The haunting

May 14, 2010 by pmelcher.

It’s black and white, it simple, it is quiet and disturbingly peaceful. It is a series of images of death without a cry, a tear or a drop of blood. It screams loudly about the injustices of war, yet there is no guns, no bullets, no helicopter shadow. Just a series of empty bedrooms. Tightly neat and cleaned bedroom, almost like hospital beds. Except that these are the bedrooms of fallen soldiers that will never, ever occupy them anymore.

These images by Ashley Gilbertson are the most powerful images of war I have ever seen. They are dramatic by what they do not show: The fallen boys. Instead we see the remains of Life brutally interrupted, the trophies, posters, gadgets that once made them happy and proud. Suddenly, their absence within these personal space become unbearable. And death, the death of a US soldier takes a new dimension. It is no longer a soldier from within many, an anonymous face under a helmet, but a person, an individual, a life that is missing.

19 rooms , published by the New York Times magazine is an extraordinary feast of photojournalism. The work involved ( finding the soldiers, convincing the families,..) must have been grueling and extremely painful to pursue. It is a great example of how,  by moving away froman event, you can sometimes better capture it’s essence ( Sorry Robert Capa). This essay tells the tale of war, of any war, better than anything I have ever seen. It will haunt you. trust me.

There is also an interview of Ashley Gilberston here:

Posted in lens, magazine, photojournalism, slideshow, editorial | Print | No Comments »

Dying in Africa, Part II

April 20, 2010 by pmelcher.

In response to the entry : Dying in Africa  , Eliane Laffont wrote :

Photojournalists believe their photos can change the world and history show that, for the most part, they get results.
Lewis Hine photos changed the Child Labor law, Eddie Adams photo of the police chief executing a Vietcong soldier contributed in large part to the end of the war in Vietnam, Eugene Smith photos of mercury pollution made us aware of the environment, Stephanie Sinclair photo essay of child brides gave us a clear idea of the physical social sexual abuse these young girls endure and with these photos, most civilized countries have now defined the age of consent to 18 years, and thanks to the photos taken at Abu Graib, we know now that prison abuse really happened in Iraq and actions were taken to stop it.
The list of remarkable stories told by remarkable photographers is endless and I want to name a few who worked also in Africa. Their mission ‘’to raise global awareness of the problems of this extraordinary place.  Africa, vibrant continent in transition and ongoing wars, encompasses 53 nations, nearly a billion people and more than 800 ethnic groups but also plagued by wars, famine, and genocides.
James Natchway’s poverty in Rwanda, Marcus Bleasdale’s genocide in Darfur, Tom Stoddart’s Aids in Sub Sahara, Ed Kashi’s oil pollution in Niger, Sebastio Salgado’s North African immigrants, Brent Stirton’s killing of gorillas in Congo, JP Laffont’s child soldier in Angola, Pascal Maitre’s children orphaned by wars and Aids in Burundi and the list goes on.
Some of these photos will make you sick and hopefully they will make you angry as those problems matter and you want the world to have a good look at it and take action. To say that Africa has become a ‘’perverse playground ‘’ for photojournalists show a lack of knowledge and a lack of compassion.
Without these photos, no knowledge of the problems and without photojournalists, no action to repair them Photojournalism is a code of conduct and photojournalists are our modern heroes. Over the last 10 years, the landscape of photography has changed considerably and Visa Pour l’Image in Perpignan has become the capital of photojournalism, the last place that save defenseless people from oblivion, force you to have a look at problems that matter and reward the photojournalists who took action, sometimes at the risk of their lives.

Eliane Laffont fait a NYC le 19 Avril 2010

Posted in license, lens, photojournalism, slideshow, editorial, news | Print | 1 Comment »

Ninja Appeal

March 2, 2010 by pmelcher.

How to iTablet the Ipad ? Microsoft is about to reveal something that could bypass the need to carry yet another big thing just to read magazine, newspapers or surf websites. Called the “Mobile Surface” and only to be shown to employees for now (must be extra beta), it is a small portable box that will project an interactive image on any surface.

Look :

 

 Of course, there is a lot of questions left. Mainly, will it not crash. However, this technology could be integrated in your cellphone ( the smart kind) and, while keeping the size small, allow for higher viewing real estate.  One will have to see how editing an image on a blue table will work out, or keeping your email private in an airplane.

This is however a very interesting development for E-publishing  ( just think of a 3D video or immersive photography) as well as computing in general. More stuff here

Posted in technology, lens, Newsweek, E Reader, magazine, multimedia, slideshow, photojournalism, web 2.0, newspaper, editorial | Print | 1 Comment »

Perception management

February 26, 2010 by pmelcher.

So, the big Kahouna himself, founder and CEO of the photo destroying company Getty, Mr Klein is on a visit to check on his troops in Vancouver, while they snap away at Olympic hopefuls. During his visit in Vancouver, he is snapped away by CNBC investigative team for what they call a “Power Lunch”.

While they sit down and eat nothing, the conversation immediately jumps into some of the toughest question the poor man has had to answer, like how difficult it must be to run a company that has turned private. The Klein manages to escape the potential trap by explaining that it is, O so hard to go from screaming shareholders to a lonely, but rich, sole owner. But then, in a stroke of never seen journalistic boldness, one of the journalist questions the CEO about Getty’s role in the now famous Tiger Wood image released two days before his press conference. Pap’ agencies allegedly “lost” a potential 1 million revenue because of that practically free image. Here’s what Johnathan answered:

“Over a long period of time, Getty Images has established itself as the gold standard in terms of not only the image quality, but the way we behave. As a result of that, we don’t do paparazzi images and as a result of that, we often get a called in either for a non-profit basis like we do all the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie photos entirely non-profit…We were approached and Tiger happened to know the photographer (Sam Greenwood) and has known him for a long time.”

Yes, you read it right : “we don’t do paparazzi images”. Well, let’s take a look at your website and check :

From yesterday:

Right, Getty doesn’t call that Paparazzi, they call it : Candids. Like they are just doing something quite harmless and innocent.  “me officer ? No, I am not a paparazzi, I am a candid photographer”. Do they also eat candies while taking candid pictures ?

During the same response, the Klein also notes on Getty’s such wonderful friendship with the likes of Angelina Jolie and hubby Brad Pitt. Again, let’s check on his site :

O ya. That is PR approved portrait studio in all it’s splendor, isn’t it ? I am sure Jolie is happy with that shot and the many other “candid” images of Jolie on the Getty site.

Getty, no paparazzi ? Right !! Like Corbis is making a profit. We beleive you, Mr Klein.

More of the Pulitzer prize quality interview by two top notch heavy duty CNBC reporters a this link.

While you that, I am going to take my 300 mm and find a nice bush from behind which i can hide and take beautiful Candid photography for my portfolio …

Posted in No sense, celebrity, magazine, lens, wire service, finance, corbis, news, editorial, transaction, getty | Print | 1 Comment »