The Photo Feed 08.08.07

Tribune Photog Says Police Damaged His Cameras (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Tribune photog Terrence Antonio James was covering a fatal shooting on Monday night when police allegedly interfered with his work. After an officer noticed James shooting pix of the police entering a building near the crime scene, he ordered the photog to leave. Naturally, James said he was a member of the press, but that didn’t satisfy the cop, who knocked one of the photog’s cameras on the ground, breaking it. An officer also took and threw James’ second camera. The police department is investigating the allegations.

Get An iLife (CNET / Digital Arts)
When Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the updated iMac and iLife ‘08 yesterday, there was a lot of emphasis on the i—and a fair amount on photo. The new iPhoto automatically organizes pix by “event,” which is to say it groups together all of the pix taken on a given day. Users can “merge” or “split” events that last several days, or multiple events that happened on the same day. The new iPhoto also uploads your pix to new .Mac hosted Web Galleries. Speaking of .Mac, it may finally be worth the money. In its latest carnation, .Mac allows users to store up to 10 gigs—as opposed to just one—for the usual $99 annual fee. If you shell out the cash for .Mac, you’ll be glad to know that iWeb now makes it easier to organize your albums by pulling them from the .Mac Web Galleries. Visitors can now also preview an album before checking out the whole thing, though, we know, of course, that they’ll want to see every one of your pix. Also: Apple has updated Aperture and Front Row so that it’s easier to use the new iLife ’08. The updates can be downloaded on Apple’s Web site.

Snap! Bonds Makes History (Journal-isms)
The San Francisco Chronicle staff knew last night could be the night that Giants slugger Barry Bonds made history by hitting his 756th home run. But because the run came relatively late in the evening, editors had to scramble to put together the front-page story. News Editor Reid Sams wasn’t thrilled with the color of the chosen front-page pic, but “it was the best photo available.” On Saturday night, when Bonds tied Hank Aaron’s 755 run record, the paper had assigned two photogs and three writers to the Giants’ away game against the Padres. On Monday, when Bonds missed the chance to set the record, the paper sent eight photogs and five writers. No word on how many photogs were deployed to last night’s record-setting game.

MORE BELOW: Photog Chris Schwarz dies ... NPPA sets the NFL straight ... Photog Wolfgang Sievers dies ... Is free Web content photogs' death knell? ... Britney gets superimposed ... DOJ slaps photo mag on the wrist ... Advertisers look toward the Web ... New York Dog's mysterious disappearance ... Photojournalism isn't dead yet ... Union demands Sarkozy apology ... Guinness Book of World Records gives photo and camera the biggest honors ... Morton Bartlett's color pix get displayed ...

Photog Chris Schwarz Dies (New York Times)
Schwarz is best known for shooting the Polish Jewry’s remnants and opening a museum to honor them (his own father’s family included). Among the scenes he shot: Jewish graveyards, dilapidated Hasidic schools and synagogues being used as garages. Schwarz died of cancer at his Krakow, Poland home. He was 59 years old.

NPPA Strikes Back (NPPA)
Another day, another letter being fired off about the NFL’s vest policy. This time, NPPA president Tony Overman wrote to Greg Aiello, the NFL’s VP of public relations. Overman said the NPPA isn’t opposed to wearing the vests for safety and security purposes, but that “the logos in and of themselves create a perception that we are for sale and endorse these products. It is demeaning to our profession and undermines the very objectivity that is the basis of a free and robust press.” In a separate letter to NPPA members, Overman said the NPPA in no way endorsed the wearing of the vests but that it would be unwise to wear them inside out or obscure the logos.

Photog Wolfgang Sievers Dies (NEWS.com.au)
One of Australia’s most noteworthy photogs, Sievers made his name shooting what he called “the man and the machine,” or “recognizing the beauty in industrial forms and documenting the working lives of ordinary men and women.” Among the industries he snapped were a match factory and spinning mills. His pix are archived in the Picture Collection of Australia’s National Library. Sievers was 93 years old.

Good Enough? (Pro Photo Business Blog)
With the proliferation of free online media forcing both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal to rethink paid content, Stanley Rowin thinks we’ve entered an era where consumers are satisfied with half-decent content. This could be bad news for photogs looking to make a buck off their work.

An Unbelievable Britney Photo (Page Six)
What happens when you walk out of a photo shoot for your new Elizabeth Arden fragrance three times? If you’re Britney Spears, the art director will just superimpose your head onto someone else’s body. That’s what happened when a photog got great shots of Brit’s head but not-so-hot pix of her body for her Believe fragrance ad campaign. After the pop star bolted for good, the art director asked the stylist Kylie Cavaco to pose in Brit’s clothes. As one source put it, “Kylie has the body Brit used to have, not the one she has now.”

Department of Justice Slaps Photo Mag On The Wrist (State of the Art)
You can’t help but find this funny: When a federal inmate received the July/August issue of Popular Photography in the mail (we hope he or she has a subscription to PDN as well), corrections officers didn’t like what they saw. The magazine included some rock concert pix, including one of a Hole concert shot by Melissa Auf Der Maur that showed a fan who’d taken off her top, jumped onstage and played the guitar. The DOJ sent the magazine a letter saying, “The enclosed publication contains sexually explicit information, features nudity or … materials that could pose a threat to the security, good order, or discipline of the institution, or facilitates criminal activity.” Seriously? A topless woman playing the guitar? It’s always refreshing to see the Justice Department putting its resources to good use …

Where The Money’s At (CNET)
Here’s the least surprising story of the year: A new study finds that Americans spend more time surfing the ‘net than reading newspapers. Advertisers are all over this shocking development and are looking to put their money where the digital market’s at.

New York Dog Has Dug A Big Hole (Dig & Scratch)
A hole so big the magazine’s editors can’t be found. The publishers apparently allowed the mag’s Web site to expire and be claimed by another company almost two months ago. Subscribers haven’t received the glossy lately and staff aren’t returning phone calls or e-mails.

Photojournalism Isn’t Dead Yet (Amateur Photographer)
At least that’s the word from Hugh Pinney, Getty’s managing editor of news. Don’t stress about the decline of the newspaper industry, he says in a Getty brochure celebrating Picture Post. New media gives photojournalists more options for publishing their work. “In many respects,” Pinney says, “great photojournalism is the perfect foil for the YouTube era— visually compelling but providing insight and depth, rather than the more instant gratification constantly on offer elsewhere.”

Union Demands Sarkozy Apology (EarthTimes / New York Sun)
The French journos’ union has called on French prez Nicolas Sarkozy to say he’s sorry for last weekend’s headline-grabbing outburst at AP photog Jim Cole and freelancer Vince DeWitt. In particular, the union is displeased with the president’s use of “force” against journos. The two photogs were snapping pix of Sarkozy and friends from Cole’s boat when the politician pulled his boat up alongside theirs and, like a good little pirate, hopped onboard and gave them a piece of his mind. He allegedly grabbed one photog’s camera, though he gave it back when he felt he’d made his point. The French, as their reaction to the incident reveals, just aren’t sure what to make of their new prez, but we’re guessing his shirtless scene will be long forgotten when the next election rolls around.

Size Matters (PR Newswire)
The Guinness Book of World Records has certified records for the largest photo and the largest camera. Known as “The Great Photo,” the B&W shot is 31’7” x 111’ and is currently on display at California’s Art Center College of Design. Showing an abandoned California airfield, “The Great Photo” is the work of six different photogs. The group used a pinhole camera—the world’s biggest camera—made from an abandoned aircraft hanger and measuring a meager 45’ x 160’ x 80’. The photo’s size necessitated its development in an Olympic-size swimming pool full of nearly 2,000 gallons of chemicals. Fire hoses were used to wash the developed photo.

Snapping Mr. Bartlett’s Sweethearts (New York Times)
Morton Bartlett has always been something of a mystery to art and photo fans. Following the artist’s 1992 death, Connecticut antiques dealer Marion Harris discovered Bartlett’s lifelike plaster sculptures of children and adolescents—and the even more exquisite black-and-white pix the artist shot of his masterpieces. The discovery raised questions: Was he a once-living Humbert Humbert? Was he a groundbreaker in set-up photography? Now, following the discovery of color shots of Bartlett’s dolls, a Manhattan exhibit of his pix invites us to consider Bartlett as a photog first and foremost. “Mr. Barlett’s Sweethearts,” which centers around ten large previously unexhibited color pix, is on display until August 17 at Julie Saul Gallery in Chelsea.