The Photo Feed 07.25.07

Paris, Reuters Has A Problem (Reuters Photographers)
Reuters photogs seem to be having a lot of bad luck these days. Four Reuters photogs went to shoot the Tour de France and were dealt a series of mishaps, ranging from photog Eric Gaillard’s brand new Canon Mark III and lens being stolen to photog Vincent Kessler having to undergo tests for suspected coronary irregularity. And then, Mal Langsdon got an Instant Message from Reuters’ student-assistant (and Mal’s son) Ian Langsdon saying, “S—t, S—t, we’re on fire!” referring to the Renault the team was driving. But, even in the photo world, the race must go on. So many outlets published the Reuters' photogs' pix of their burning car, and the Associated Press, Agence France Presse and l’Equipe shared their production until Reuters could resume coverage.

Vietnamese Photog Wins Nikon International Photo Contest (Nikon Imaging)
Tung Khanh Le’s “Crossing Waves,” a shot of two fisherman battling rough waters to reach a capsized vessel, stood out from more than 47,000 pix to take the top prize in this year’s contest, with the theme “At the heart of the image.” First prize in the free subject category went to Joao Quaresma of Portugal, and first place in the portrait category went to Hanne-Lena Malat of Germany.

Coming This August: Zeiss Lenses For Pentax Mount (The Online Photographer)
Pentax shooters, it’s your lucky day. Carl Zeiss AG has announced that its premium line of manual SLR lenses will be available for the Pentax K-mount this August. Called ZK, the lenses “will based on the KA standard and permit the utilization of shutter priority, aperture priority and programmed auto exposure on all camera models able to use ‘A’ features (these lenses, the same ones that are currently available in M42 thread mount and Nikon F mount, will cover 35mm as well as APS-C digital formats). Initially, the Distagon T* 25mm ƒ/2.8, Distagon T* 35mm ƒ/2, Planar T* 50mm ƒ/1.4, Planar T* 85mm ƒ/1.4, Makro-Planar T* 50mm ƒ/2, and Makro-Planar T* 100mm ƒ/2 will be offered for the K bayonet. More lenses will be made available in K-mount in the future.”

MORE BELOW: Corbis gets en vogue with Condé Nast ... No OK! Britney pix in our future ... The altweeklie landscape changes again ... NFL responds to vest complaints ... Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott go "Into the Woods" ... The end of stills? ... Shemar Moore reflects on naked pix ... Marie Claire promotes photog-smart fashion editor ... Google council says fashion's key to creativity ...

Corbis Gets En Vogue With Condé Nast (About The Image)
Looking to enhance its celeb and entertainment offerings, Corbis has signed a deal to represent fashion and celeb images from Condé Nast’s Women’s Wear Daily. The photo agency, based on what Corbis editors perceive the upcoming entertainment industry trends and topics to be, will also offer so-called Entertainment Story Packs, small collections of pix of a particular celeb, event or story.

No OK! Britney Pix In Our Future (AP / USA Today / Mollygood / Jossip)
Yesterday we told you about the former pop star’s meltdown during an interview and photo shoot for OK!. According to USA Today, “OK! reports the [unnamed] photographer was able to take four test shots of Spears dancing to a Janet Jackson tune before the star snatched her CD and stormed out with no explanation.” After some uncertainty over what to do with the rest of the pix, which OK! said could ruin Britney’s career if they were made public, OK! publicist Brian Strong has announced that the mag won’t publish the pix for “legal reasons.” But Mollygood has gotten its hands on a few low-quality pix from the shoot, and they don’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary, at least not for Brit. Pix or not, Strong promised that this Friday’s issue would offer a “very real account'' of the interview. But Jossip says the interview illuminates nothing new and that the flailing mag is just using Britney’s name for a little shameless self-promotion.

The Altweeklie Landscape Changes Again (Editor & Publisher)
And this time, believe it or not, it doesn’t involve turnover at the Village Voice. Rather, Tampa-based Creative Loafing has announced plans to buy the Chicago Reader and the Washington City Paper. Creative Loafing already has weeklies in Atlanta, Sarasota, Fla., Charlotte, N.C. and Tampa.

NFL Responds To Vest Complaints (Editor & Publisher)
After PDN published a story about Vestgate earlier this week (including some quotes from Michael Signora, the NFL’s director of media relations), our sister site has gotten NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy to speak on the controversial requirement that photogs wear red vests with two advertisers’ logos. Much like Sognora, McCarthy stressed the security purposes served by the vests and alluded to recent examples of photogs wearing vests for other sports, including those donning AT&T-clad vests at David Beckham’s debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy last weekend. Also: The American Society of Newspaper Editors has become the latest organization to send the NFL a letter protesting the vests.

Mert Alas And Marcus Piggott Go “Into The Woods” For W (Style.com)
When you pick up the August issue of W, expect a bizarre meeting of Goldilocks and furries (you know, humans who dress up like animals to get aroused). The Alas-Piggott spread is chock full of stuffed teddy bears, big bows and women being held by wannabe bears.

The End Of Stills? (Press Gazette)
Splash co-founder Gary Morgan thinks it’s just a matter of time before video tech is good enough to displace the need for paparazzi with still cameras altogether.

Shemar Moore Reflects On Naked Pix (Huffington Post)
When asked about the “very revealing” nude pix of him that began making the rounds on the Internet last week, the Criminal Minds star responded, “What I have a problem with is they're making such an issue out of me being gay! I'll say right now, I’m not gay. Not even a little bit. I love women. Women are God's greatest creation. But I have no problems with people that are gay … The article said that I got ‘caught.’ I didn't get ‘caught.’ I willingly went to … Maui with two girlfriends of mine. I'm a single man, I had two girlfriends out there, and we wanted to go skinny dipping. They wouldn't let us do that at the hotel. I said, ‘Okay, there's a nude beach down the street.’ I had never been to it but I said, ‘As far as I know it's a famous unisex place.’ So we go to the beach. It’s interesting that when you see the pictures you don't see the two girls, because that’s not interesting. ‘Let’s make him gay and we can sell some papers!' Will I do it again? Probably.”

Marie Claire Promotes Photog-Smart Fashion Editor (Women’s Wear Daily)
The lucky editor, Zanna Roberts, is responsible for calling up Helena Christensen, who shot the supermodel pix that appeared in the glossy’s August issue as well as last week’s Marie Claire charity event at New York’s Milk Gallery.

You Are What You Wear (Digital Arts Online)
If there’s anyone who knows about creative license in the way one dresses, it’s photogs. So many shooters might appreciate Google global privacy council Peter Fleischer’s insistence that t-shirts are the ticket to getting those creative juices flowing. Ties, Fleischer says in a Financial Times article, constrict “circulation to the brain.” But then he follows that up with a suggestion that the tie "acts as decorative camouflage for the business suit, designed to shield the middle-aged male physique, with its shrinking shoulders and protruding paunch, from feeling sufficiently self-conscious to hit the gym.”