iStockPhoto Announces Second Punctum Day Awards

The folks at iStockPhoto love to celebrate on August 19. In 1839, that was the day Louis Daguerre introduced the camera. In 2008, it will be the day that iStockPhoto hands out its annual Punctum Day Awards, including a $5,000 prize to the member whose image is voted photo of the year by other iStock members. iStock inspectors will also award $5,000 to the most improved contributor of the year and another $5,000 to the member they deem most deserving of a new camera.

Members can vote for photo of the year from July 2 through 25.

You can read about last year's Punctum Day here.

This Fall, Everybody Loves Stephen Meisel

Expect to see lots of Steven Meisel-shot ads this fall. Vera Wang, Gianfranco Ferré, Pringle of Scotland and Missoni have all enlisted the photographer to shoot their fall ad campaigns, according to Women's Wear Daily.

Of course, each campaign has its own distinct look. The Missoni ads, which rely on a combination of visual patterns and textures, are inspired by Bernardo Bertolucci's film, The Conformist, while the Gianfranco Ferré ads use a multicharacter story set in the 1940s.

Vera Wang says the ads Meisel shot for her "balance the rich texture, color and glamour of the collection with a languid, leisurely mood." And according to creative director Clare Waight Keller, Pringle looked to Meisel for edgy, modern black-and-white images that "reference the work of great British photographers and pay homage to Terence Donovan and David Bailey."

Corbis' Strategy, Uncovered

If you've been wondering exactly what Corbis' strategy is for making profit, an article in the Sydney Morning Herald offers a clue. You may have heard of—even tried—this strategy before. It's called patience.

According to the article:

Shenk admits SnapVillage is a late starter in the amateur image market, but it appears Gates is using Microsoft's approach to competition with Corbis — invest and wait for rivals to fall over.

"There are already a lot of companies which have tried to enter this market and have already fallen over," Shenk says.

"There will be a shake-out in this space in the coming years but we're happy with what we are doing. We think Corbis has the resources and patience to succeed in the long-term. We will beat them with better [commercial] execution."

Or, as Paul Melcher puts it, "Corbis is gambling that eventually, one day, when no one is looking, for no particular reason (probably because there is no one left on Earth), just like that, they will 'succeed' and maybe post a profit along with it.

AP Photojournalists Balilty, Meneghini And Abellan Win APME Honors

Beijing-based photographer Oded Balilty, Mexico City-based photographer Alexandre Meneghini and Bankok-based photojournalist-videographer Raul Gallego Abellan have been recognized by The Associated Press Managing Editors Association (APME) for their outstanding work for the Associated Press. Balilty won the annual APME award in the news photography category for his images documenting the aftermath of the China earthquake, and Meneghini received the feature photography award for his package of bullfighting photographs. Abellan was honored for his nine-part documentary about Army life and the challenges faced by soldiers guarding mountains on the front line of the war.

Also recognized was feature writer's Todd Pitman narrative about war and the death of a Russian photojournalist killed in Iraq.

Dhaka-based photographer Pavel Rahman and Islamabad's B.K. Bangash received honorable mention in the news photography story. Rahman received recognition for coverage of the Bangladesh cyclone, while Bangash as recognized for coverage of Benazir Bhutto's assassination.

In the feature photograph category, honorable mention went to Spain-based shooter Alvaro Barrientos and Guatemala-based photographer Rodrigo Abd. Barrientos was recognized for an image of people enjoying having water thrown at them from a balcony during a fiesta, and Abd was honored for a package about Venezuela gangs.

AP photographers Evan Vucci and Rick Bowmer received honorable mention for a two-part video essay about an American soldier killed in Iraq.

The awards will be handed out in September during the APME's annual conference with the Associated Press Photo Managers.

Your Weekend Weather Forecast: Photoshopped?

Maybe your local meteorologist doesn't always forecast the weather exactly right, but does he or she doctor the images of weather you see? Probably not.

But a post on the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang blog may make you wonder. As blogger Steve Tracton points out, many weather photos get doctored (or are captioned with an inaccurate date or location) and circulated around the Internet to make things appear stormier than they actually are.

How Not To Caption A Photo

Some stock photographers can write brilliant, or at least interesting, captions. Others should definitely pray their photos can just sell themselves. Rachel Hulin counts Photoshelter photographer Martin Korben among this latter group. Some of his captions are too long, and all are far too personalized. But, in Korben's defense, some of the captions are downright funny. Here are some highlights:

• "This I shot during a weekend getaway with my good friend Luciano. A month after this his boyfriend saw the picture and sent me the stupidest e-mail ever."


• "This we shot at a friend's country house with some rented neon lights. The boy's called German and up till the last minute we all thought he was gay. And the girl's name is Caro, she won the Elite Model Look contest here in Argentina."


• "I dated David for less than two months. This was shot during month one."


• "Luciana is a glamour model and she's always glad and willing to take off her clothes for my personal portfolio. I love her because whenever she calls me on my mobile phone the first thing she says is: 'Hola Gay.'"

UK Magazines Contemplate Giving Airbrushing A Trim

If the British Fashion Council has its way, stick-thin Keira Knightley may soon be faced with magazine photos that make her look flatter-chested and ever-so-slightly heavier. The editors of several UK glossies will meet to discuss airbrushing practices that make models look excessively thin, according to the Telegraph. The move is a response to a report calling on editors to stop using photo manipulation technology to give models unrealistic figures and allegedly trigger eating disorders among readers.

Don't expect UK glossies to undergo a transformation, though. Any standards the magazines adopt be voluntary, and at this point, the conversation only includes editors, not advertisers. Not to mention, it can be tough to know when to say 'when' to airbrushing any given image.

AP Under Fire From Newspapers

With the newspaper industry crumbling and newsgathering trends shifting, many journalists and publishers are losing faith in the 162-year-old Associated Press. Many newspaper editors feel like the AP has betrayed them by following the shifting tide and providing more content for Web portals like Google and Yahoo. Although many newspapers support their AP's new media initiatives, the Wall Street Journal reports that papers feel the AP is being insensitive to their financial hardship. Not only does the AP charge most big papers more than a million dollars annually; the newsgathering cooperative makes it difficult to opt out of certain services.

The AP recently announced price cuts that are supposed to reduce fees for about 80 percent of its members. But some editors, frustrated by the AP's fees and a drop in local and regional coverage, have already begun getting their content elsewhere. Eight of the largest Ohio newspapers, for instance, have created a cooperative known as Ohio News Organization, which enables them to circumvent the AP and share their own stories. "Ohio," says the Wall Street Journal's Russell Adams, "is ground zero for the widening rift between the AP and its member newspapers."

Formal Complaint Launched In Chilean Photographer Harassment Case

Press photographer Victor Salas may lose up to two-thirds of his vision in one of his eyes, but he is glad to have found some allies. Earlier this week, Chile's Graphic Reporters and Cameramen's Union launched a formal complaint asking the city of Valparaiso's Military Prosecutor's Office to investigate the May 21 incident that resulted in an officer striking Salas with a baton during a protest, reports the Valparaiso Times. As part of their complaint, Graphic Reporters and Cameramen’s Union president Max Montecinos and attorney Alfredo Morgado have given military prosecutors a CD containing 64 photos taken by other photographers at the protest. According to the union, the images show the officer who struck Salas.

The photographer hopes the complaint will help military officers identify the officer who hit him, as well as other officers who were "violently repressing unarmed demonstrators, primarily women." Salas is considering filing a lawsuit against the Chilean State.

... Meanwhile, in Colorado, a photographer claims police harassed him while he tried to take pictures of a photo shoot on a public street. But the photographer, who posted his complaint to the Colorado Indy Media Web site, insists on using his Flickr username, Ringo Kamens, instead of his real name. As photographer Carlos Miller points out on his blog, "Ringo" will need to use his real name if he hopes to be taken seriously.

Malibu Sheriffs To Monitor Beach For Paparazzi

Malibu sheriffs are hoping things at the beach will be calmer this weekend than they were last weekend. On Saturday, actor Matthew McConaughey went to the beach in Malibu, and naturally, paparazzi followed. At some point, surfers and a 29-year-old photographer got into a fight, which, by most accounts, was started by the surfers. But these accounts are limited, according to investigators, who face a lack of raw footage of the incident. So far only one of about 12 photographers has turned over video to the authorities, according to Malibu Captain Tom Martin.

In recent days, the feud has continued to simmer online, with hundreds of threatening comments appearing on X17online.com and TMZ.com. So the Malibu Sheriff's Department will assign extra officers to patrol the area this weekend, according to the L.A. Times. Malibu mayor Pamela Conley Ulich and L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca are also organizing a task force to address what Ulrich calls "a new breed of paparazzi." The task force will consider forcing paparazzi to get licenses to work in Malibu.

A Simple Wish: Photographer Longs To Shoot Paris Hilton's Wedding

Paris Hilton is not even engaged, but at least one photographer is already vying to shoot her wedding. Eighty-two-year-old photographer Murray Garrett shot Elizabeth Taylor's 1950 wedding to Paris' uncle, Conrad Hilton and says he'd like to shoot a couple more Hilton weddings—those of Paris and her sister Nicky.

Although Garrett hasn't met the girls, he may have a leg up over the competition. Paris owns one of Garrett's famous Marilyn Monroe photographs and, according to Contact Music, "is one of Garrett's number one fans."

Canon Interviews Photog Vincent Laforet

Photographer Vincent Laforet has done it all—won a Pulitzer, been a staff photographer for The New York Times, had his work appear in most major magazines, taught at Columbia University and even made PDN's '30' in 2002. If you've ever wondered how he's done all of this before turning 35, be sure to check out this extensive interview running in the Canon Digital Learning Center.

Got Photo Manipulation Detection Questions? Ask The Expert.

By now, you've probably heard of Hany Farid, the director of Dartmouth College's Image Science Laboratory and an Adobe collaborator who has done extensive research on identifying doctored photos. (We linked to his Scientific American story on digital forensics earlier this month.)

Jeff Tranberry's Photoshop Crawlspace blog notes that after appearing on PBS' NOVA, Farid is taking questions about photo doctoring detection. You can ask yours here, and PBS will post Farid's responses on the NOVA Web site on July 1.

Chinese Farmer Reportedly Detained For Photo Manipulation

You may recall the story of the Chinese farmer who reportedly doctored a photo of a paper tiger last year and said it was a real, live South China Tiger—a creature that hasn't been seen in the wild in more than 20 years. Now it appears that the farmer, Zhou Zhenglong, may be paying a very high price for faking that photo.

According to the Chinese Web site People's Daily Online, Zhou was taken away by local police two weeks ago following a task force's investigation of the photo flap. A villager says investigators questioned him about what Zhou did before and after he "took" the photos on October 3.

Government officials claim to know nothing of an investigation or Zhou's whereabouts. But other people's accounts corroborate that Zhou's recent whereabouts are unknown. A Xinhua reporter visited Zhou's home six times between June 14 and 18 and never saw the man. A neighbor says he hasn't seen Zhou since May 8. And Zhou's wife says her husband disappeared for two weeks and hasn't returned home.

More Bad News For Newspapers

Another day, another few of rounds of buyouts and layoffs:

• The Baltimore Sun will cut 100 jobs by early August. All employees will be offered buyouts, which they'll have two weeks to ponder. Then, on July 18, the paper will send out pink slips to employees, depending on how many people accept the buyout offer.
• The San Jose Mercury is laying off nine staffers, according to FishbowlLA. And get this: The paper asked for volunteers on Wednesday afternoon, and they need a final answer by 5 p.m. on Thursday. The employees who agree to leave will then be laid off on Friday. Talk about a whirlwind affair.
• Update: The Hartford Courant will eliminate nearly 60 newsroom positions, most by the end of July. The paper will also cut its newspaper pages by 25 percent, which will result in some sections being combined when the Courant launches its redesign in September.

'Palm Beach Post' To Cut 130 Newsroom Staffers

There's been talk about the Palm Beach Post cutting its workforce for a while now, but few expected it to be quite this bad. According to The Daily Pulp, publisher Doug Franklin announced today that the paper would cut more than 300 of the company's 1,350 jobs, including 130 newsroom positions. With numbers that high, it seems inevitable that the photo desk will be affected.

The company is initially offering buyouts to employees with at least five years vested in the pension plan. If that strategy doesn't produce enough volunteers, the company will resort to layoffs.

Boca Raton Developer All Shook Up Over Elvis Photo

What do you get when you mix a shredded photo of Elvis in his casket, an anthrax scare and National Enquirer? One weird lawsuit.

A Second Chance For Polaroid Film?

Polaroid lovers may not want to give up hope just yet. Following its February announcement that it would cease film production, Polaroid is speaking with an unnamed third party about continuing production of the 20x24-inch large format professional black-and-white sheet film, according to Amateur Photographer. Polaroid's European European VP Paul Telford has also reportedly told the magazine that there is a "strong possibility" that an unnamed manufacturer will produce the 8x10-inch format sheet film.

Of course, there are no guarantees. Earlier this month, talks between Polaroid and Ilford failed to produce a manufacturing agreement.

Just What The Doctor Ordered: Slate Recants Photo Manipulation Allegations

Tom Cruise has been accused of many things, but being tangentially involved in photo doctoring shouldn't be one of them. Last week, Slate suggested that United Artists publicists for Valkyrie, Cruise's new movie about a German officer's plot to assassinate Hilter, had doctored a photo of Claus von Stauffenberg to make it look more like the actor.

But, says Slate editor David Plotz, the Web magazine didn't do all of its research. As the Associated Press has revealed, the two images that the Slate story used to suggest an image had been doctored came from different sources. One came from the Associated Press photo archive, and the one released by United Artists can be found in Getty Images' Hulton Archive.

Tori Spelling Baby Pictures? OK!

It seems like People has been getting all of the exclusive baby and wedding photos lately. But OK! has finally scored some ... of Tori Spelling's new daughter Stella. It's not hard to imagine why People probably let those photos get away: Not only is Spelling a B-list actress at best, but People's got to save up for those exclusive first pix of the soon-to-be-born Jolie-Pitt twins. (Of course, OK! probably paid Spelling just a few hundred-thousand dollars, a drop in the bucket compared to the $15 million the Jolie-Pitts are rumored to be asking for, but every drop counts.)

Martin Parr Wins PhotoEspana

The AFP is reporting that British photographer Martin Parr has taken home the top prize at this year's PhotoEspana, the largest international photography festival in Spain. Parr received the award for his images showing middle class life in the United States and Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. In these images, Parr used what he calls "the language of marketing and advertising, which is full of colour and strange perspectives."

The festival's director, Claude Bussac, said Parr's winning images "had left a mark and influenced future generations of photographers."

"His eccentric and satirical eye, along with his film and book projects, make him one of the most accomplished photographers of the second half of the twentieth century," Bussac added.

As part of the award, PhotoEspana is buying 12,000 Euros, or about $18,700, worth of Parr's photos.

This year's festival, which runs through July 27, features 70 exhibitions. Among them are retrospectives of highlighting the work of American photographer Eugene Smith and British photographer Bill Brandt.

Smithsonian Adds Photos To Flickr

Back in January, the Library of Congress began making use of Flickr to create The Commons, a historical archive of publicly held, rights-free photos. Now, according to the Microsoft Pro Photo Community Blog, the Smithsonian has begun adding some of its own photographs to The Commons. Ultimately, the Smithsonian will add about 2,000 images dating from the 1800s to the present.

Matt Jones To Shoot Cosmogirl Covers

Cosmogirl! has found a new Cosmo guy. Or something like that. Women's Wear Daily is reporting that the teen magazine has hired photographer Matt Jones to shoot its covers, beginning with the October 2008 issue.

Jones has shot for Spin, Vogue, Elle, Interview, iD and Esquire. His contract will prevent him from working for other titles in the teen category.

The Hillary 'Vogue' Shoot That Wasn't

Was it Hillary Clinton's decision to back out of a Vogue shoot that doomed her campaign? Probably not. But now that Hillary is out of the race, Vogue contributing editor Julia Reed has opened up to Women's Wear Daily about the demise of the deal that was supposed to include an interview with Clinton and an Annie Leibovitz photo shoot. (This last detail should have pleased Bill Clinton, who told Reed his favorite photos of Hillary were ones Leibovitz had previously shot for Vogue.)

After pandering to Clinton aides for several months and thinking the shoot and interview were a done deal, Reed learned Hillary wouldn't appear in Vogue. "We already have the women's vote in the bag," Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson told her. "We thought we were going to be in a bigger dogfight. We don't need you anymore."

"This was right before Iowa," recalls Reed. "What an idiot!"

Also, speaking of Vogue, the magazine plans to add some flair to next February's Fashion Week in Milan. The magazine's editor, Anna Wintour, is planning an exhibit highlighting 60 years of Vogue photographs shot by the likes of Leibovitz, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Bert Stern, Bruce Weber, Peter Lindeberg and Mario Testino.

Photographer Jeremy Kost Prepares For Life After Polaroid

New York magazine blogger Kendall Herbst has interviewed photographer Jeremy Kost, whose Polaroid images will soon appear in a show alongside Hedi Slimane's work. While about half of the interview is devoted to fashion trends, there are some insights about Kost's work, his love of Polaroid and preparation for life after Polaroid. You can check out the interview here.

'Boston Herald' To Lay Off Dozens

It looks to be a gloomy summer at the Boston Herald, where president and publisher Patrick J. Purcell has announced plans to lay off between 130 and 160 employees. Purcell plans to spend the next three months negotiating settlements with affected staffers. It is not yet clear how many of the cuts will hit the newsroom.

The paper also announced plans to outsource its printing to two other presses, including one owned by Dow Jones Co.

'Time' Looks To Strengthen Multimedia Presence

Time is serious about this multimedia business. According to our sister title Mediaweek, Time has created a director of multimedia position for Time.com. Emmy award-winning video journalist Craig Duff will fill the role, in which he'll oversee the creation of multimedia content, train journalists to use video and do some video work of his own.

Duff previously worked for CNN, Turner Broadcasting and The New York Times. He most recently taught journalism at Princeton University.

NYT.com And IHT.com Likely To Merge

If New York Times Co. executives have their way, even more people may soon be checking out The New York Times' photo essays, such a Moises Saman's new one documenting life in three Iraqi cities. On Monday, executives at The New York Times and International Herald Tribune revealed plans to merge the papers' Web sites and launch a "co-branded international home page" that would replace iht.com. Although the discussion is merely a proposal at this point, the merger conversation—along with talk about redesigning the IHT's print edition—has been underway for several months.

"[T]he reason [we want to merge the two sites] is that we believe that it will provide us with much more scale and will expose our journalism to a much larger audience," IHT publisher Stephen Dunbar-Johnson told The New York Times' Doreen Carvajal. "In terms of driving revenues from advertising, it will be a much more powerful proposition."

Barack Obama: The New Britney Spears?

Back in the day when Britney Spears was still culturally significant and having a meltdown at every turn, Us Weekly knew it could sell a lot of magazines by putting her on the cover. But according to a Gawker source, the magazine has found a duo who can one-up Brit at the newsstand: Michelle and Barack Obama. The couple are on the magazine's current cover, with an accompanying profile telling of how the Obamas are just like us. (She shops at Target! She loved Sex and the City! They hug each other!)

Photo Illustrations: Embrace 'Em Or Leave 'Em?

It's no secret that most photojournalists aren't big fans of photo illustrations since they allow—even necessitate—significant photo manipulation. But with a growing number of photojournalists being accused of excessive use of Photoshop, Black Star Rising photographer Michael Coyne sees an incentive for newspaper photographers to welcome photo illustrations. "Once we are open and honest about which images are manipulated, and the term 'photo illustration' is common practice," he says, "then there will be less incentive for the photojournalist to be deceptive."

But as other photographers' responses suggest, explicitly labeling images as photo illustrations may not be sufficient. It might even encourage photographers to manipulate their photos, says San Francisco-based photojournalist Mike Fox.

Did 'Guitar World' Put Van Halen In A House Of Photoshop Pain?

If you saw the issue of Guitar World on the left, you might not quite recognize the guy on the cover. Not only has coverboy Eddie Van Halen's hair been darkened, but his naked lower body looks remarkably wrinkle-free, particularly when you compare a seemingly un-retouched image (right) of the rocker with the cover.

So, did Guitar World put Van Halen's head on a younger man's body? On Jezebel, one reader has pointed out that Van Halen is in "awesome shape for his age and history." But doesn't his body still look a little too big for his face? Discuss.

Update: A reader has pointed out that this cover is from last year, a fact I should've known but missed since the cover was just now finding its way onto Photoshop Disasters and Jezebel. Still, as they say, sometimes it's better to be late discussing how badly Van Halen got Photoshopped than never.

'Washington Post' To Launch Fashion Glossy

Maybe newspapers have lost their luster, but the Washington Post's new publisher Katharine Weymouth is betting that fashion magazines—or more precisely, the luxury advertisers they attract—have plenty to spare. This fall, the Post will borrow a page from The Wall Street Journal and New York Times and launch a glossy dubbed Fashion Washington.

"There's a huge market for that and there's a lot of our readers that I think would love it," Weymouth told Ad Age. "It's just never been our forte."

There's no word yet on how often the magazine will be published or who the editors will be.

Photos? Check. Lost Tribe? Not So Much.

Back in May, the Associated Press and other news services circulated several images of an indigenous group in a remote area along the Brazil-Peru border. As the story went, the group had never been seen before.

Only they had. Or at least their existence wasn't unheard of. José Carlos Meirelles, the Brazilian Indian Protection Agency (FUNAI) employee who took the photos seen around the world, has come clean, saying that the tribe's existence has been known for nearly a century and that he'd sought out the isolated tribe.

FOUND: Trove Of Photog Interviews

Rob Haggart has pointed us to a gold mine for photographers: a site called Pix Channel features photographer Randi Lynn Beach's video interviews with photography greats such as Elliott Erwitt, David Hume Kennerly, Mary Ellen Mark, Nick Ut and Ruth Bernard. There are definitely worse ways to procrastinate on a Monday afternoon, no?

Photographer Found Guilty Of Resisting Arrest

Miami-based photographer Carlos Miller has a question for Judge Jose L. Fernandez: "How can one resist an unlawful arrest?" Fernandez recently found Miller guilty of resisting arrest without violence in a case that that sounds a bit like a Kafka novel. Even though the prosecutor sought only three months of probation and court costs, Fernandez sentenced Miller to one year of probation, 100 hours of community service, anger management class and $540.50 in court costs.

For what, you ask? Photographing five police officers at a construction site—which resulted in Miller getting tackled, beaten and arrested in February 2007.

And that was just the start of Miller's problems. In addition to accusing him "of getting arrested on purpose for the sole purpose of launching a blog and becoming a 'hero,' Fernandez ruled that the photographer was guilty of obstructing traffic, which, says Miller, was "the single charge the jury was not allowed to rule on because it is considered a traffic infraction and not a misdemeanor charge."

You can read more about Miller's saga on his Web site.

US Presswire Needs More Photogs ... To Shoot For Peanuts

There's been a lot of talk lately about photographers losing jobs to others who will work for less and photographers who work for free. Part of the problem, says John Harrington, is organizations like US Presswire, which (desperately) seeks photogs to shoot sporting events for almost nothing.

But while these low-balling clients and companies seem to abound, the don't-pay-photographers model doesn't seem to be working. US Presswire, for instance, recently sent out a letter suggesting that it's having trouble getting enough photogs to sign on. Check out the letter here.

Photography Greats, Explained

Want to buff up on your photography history? Here are three stories to help you beef up your knowledge of some photography greats:

• The Telegraph explains Edward Sheriff Curtis' obsessive pursuit of America's lost tribes, with an eye toward Joanna Cohan Scherer's new book, Edward Sheriff Curtis.


• The Independent's Charles Darwent tries to make sense of how Richard Prince produced the most expensive photograph ever.


• The L.A. Times revisits the one-paragraph obituary it gave Edward Weston and reconsiders a story Weston himself wrote for the Times in 1928. (The Times definitely wins the award for most provocative headline for this one. The headline that appeared in my RSS Reader this morning said, 'Edward Weston Dies.' Enough to make you do a double-take on a Monday morning.)

Same-Sex Marriage Coverage Irks 'L.A. Times' Readers

The legalization of same-sex marriage in California is a big deal, but many L.A. Times readers think their hometown paper is making too big of a deal out of the first week of ceremonies. Not only have readers accused the paper of liberal bias and knocked its editors for running too many stories and images on the subject; some have criticized the paper for running photos of same-sex kissing.

Among the photo-related criticisms:

• Bill Greene of Northridge called the paper to say, "I don't think gays getting married is the biggest story in the world. But since you have to do it, I don't think you have to flaunt two lesbians kissing on their wedding day. Leave the two women off the front page. My children look at this paper, and I don't think it's appropriate for them to see this. I think you need to think about the people who are going to look at the paper, not just the adults but the children, so leave the photos off or put them deeper in the paper."
• James Cannon of Sherman Oaks commented online: "I couldn't be happier that gay people are finally permitted to marry. But why The Times chose the particular pictures I am seeing online is curious at best. Necessary to show two couples kissing? This smacks of showing the most outrageous revelers at the Gay Pride Parade -- anything to possibly offend, frighten or incite."

L.A. Times California section editor responded by saying, "As for couples kissing: If you're covering a lot of marriages, that's really what the story's about, isn't it? What other visual image would better capture the gist of the subject?"

The Times' deputy managing editor for visual journalism Colin Crawford added, "We ran one kissing photo out of nine images in the paper. To cover a story about weddings and not run a kissing photo would seem like we were going out of our way not to cover the story."

How Should We Talk About Copy Rights And Wrongs?

After the Guardian ran an article about people who take photographers' photos from Flickr and sell them last week, a reader criticized the paper for using terms like "thieves" and "stolen." As the reader explained:

The photographs in question simply are not being stolen. They're being copied. No thieves in existence there, but copiers. Illegal copiers I'm sure (whether it's a good idea for so many things to be illegal to copy or not is another issue). You're not helping us nor yourselves by perpetuating this kind of BS. The party who initially has possession of the item in one case no longer has the item, and in the other, does. That's a big difference. That's why we have different words with very different meanings to describe the two fundamentally different situations. But you've got them mixed up. And helped other people get them mixed up too.

The Guardian's tech blogger Charles Arthur responded by saying:

Copying. Illegal copying. The law which covers this is called copyright I think. *Copy*right. There really isn't an argument here IMO.

What has been stolen by selling the photos, Arthur suggests today, "is the right of the photo's creator to decide how to use it: commercially, non-commercially, with or without attribution." That clarification seems pretty accurate, but some Guardian readers aren't convinced, citing the definitions of "theft" and "stealing."

What do you think? Is it appropriate to use words like "theft" and "stolen" when referring to copyright infringement?

Print Media: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Let's get the depressing news out of the way first: According to The New York Times, newspapers are facing the worst year yet. Among the folks this news might worry: people over at the Associated Press, which makes much of its dough by selling articles to newspapers. One possible solution, says Wired.com's Betsy Schiffman, would be to have a co-op of Internet companies buy the AP. An intriguing, if unlikely, idea—but one that still might violate Ad Age's Simon Dumenco's moratorium on all of the old media doom-and-gloom.

In honor of Dumenco, here is some more promising news:

• Philanthropist Leonard Tow is hoping j-schools can figure out how the newspaper industry can survive online and train future journalists in new media. So his Tow Foundation is donating $5 million to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and $3 million to the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism according to The New York Times.


• Hachette Filipacchi, which publishes magazines like Woman's Day and Elle, has officially entered the 21st century. According to our sister publication Mediaweek, the company plans to relaunch all of its titles' Web sites by the end of 2008.

Three Seconds To Strip

Apparently, there are no stripteases when the Irish get naked for Spencer Tunick's shoots. The Irish came out in droves to pose for the American photographer's three photo shoots in Dublin last week—and they stripped in less than three seconds. Many of the subjects, who began arriving at 5 a.m., were eager to return to bed.

But, according to the Belfast Telegraph, there were plenty of subjects willing to stick around for the thrill:

After they put their clothes on after the first part, many abandoned the photoshoot and headed for the comfort of their beds. [Forty-one-year-old Fidel] Villagomez said he was also thinking of leaving at that stage. "I felt at that point washed out and tired. But on the other hand being naked with other people gave me a sense of freedom being able to say things and do things you wouldn't normally" ... "Despite all the suffering and cold, it was worth it," said Mr. Villagomez ... "I'd do it again. It would be amazing on a warmer day. It's something I'll remember."

Photog Wins $12 Million Copyright Verdict

In case you need inspiration to register your photos with the U.S. Copyright Office, here's one: architectural and interior design photographer Liz Ordonez-Dawes has been awarded more than $12 million for copyright infringement. Not only had Ordonez-Dawes registered her images with the Copyright Office, but the defendants never filed a response to the Amended Complaint, which alleged that the defendants did not have Ordonez-Dawes' permission or authority when they distributed seven of her images of high-end houses to third-party advertisers. The court awarded Ordonez-Dawes $150,000 for each photograph, which ads up to $12,089,260 for damages and profits.

You can read all of the legal fine print of the case on attorney Carolyn E. Wright's Photo Attorney blog.

Update: Ordonez-Dawes has shared some lessons she learned from her case. You can read them here on Wright's blog .

Documentary Photographer John Ranard Dies

Documentary photographer John Ranard has died of liver cancer at the age of 56. Ranard covered topics including post-Soviet Russia, his own ailments and New York's ethnic communities. He received first place in the 55th annual Pictures of the Year International contest for his work documenting the potential of an HIV/AIDS epidemic in post-Soviet Russia. According to the L.A. Times,

Ranard spoke Russian and was able to ingratiate himself with several groups that were considered dangerous outcasts in Russian society, including drug addicts and prisoners. His searing views of the underside of Russia opened eyes around the world ... His photographs were credited with initiating reforms in AIDS treatment.

Ranard is also well-known for his images that accompanied author Joyce Carol Oates' text in the 1987 book On Boxing. Oates attributed the inspiration for that book to Ranard, whose images she called "the highest kind of journalism, where it passes into art. They're very unpretentious." You can see some of these photographs on Ranard's Web site.

Emporio Armani's Battle Of The Bulge

David Beckham may be the new face of Emporio Armani, but it's another body part that has people talking. The UK's Daily Mail has compared an old photo of Becks in a swimsuit with an image from Emporio Armani's new underwear ad campaign and noticed a larger crotch bulge in the advertisement.

A spokesman for Beckham insists the soccer star wasn't wearing padded undies and that the ad was not airbrushed. (Ha!) Enhanced or not, though, the images are working their magic, with Emporio Armani underwear getting a sales boost since launching the campaign.

Arizona Republic Photographer Angela Cara Pancrazio Dies

Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper photographer Angela Cara Pancrazio died Thursday night at home in Phoenix. She was 51 and had been battling brain cancer, according to The Arizona Republic, the newspaper where she worked. Read the obituary here. The paper reports:

"She had exceptional writing and storytelling skills, but she was able to bring her subjects to life through more than just words," said Randy Lovely, Editor and Vice President for News at The Arizona Republic. "Her photography was breathtaking and personal. And she was among our first reporters to embrace video as another way to connect readers to her stories."

Pancrazio joined The Arizona Republic in 1999. In 1989, she was working at Oakland Tribune and helped cover the Bay Area earthquake. She shared the 1990 Pulitzer Prize that was awarded to that paper's photo staff for breaking news photography.

Italian Vogue Devotes July Issue to Black Models

Photographer Steven Meisel has a 100-page spread in the July issue of Italian Vogue featuring only black fashion models. This is significant given the oft-cited lack of diversity in the fashion world, including the fashion press. New York Times critic Cathy Horyn breaks it down here. The story says Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani was inspired partly by the U.S. presidential campaign of Barack Obama (really?!) and that the all-black issue is not a response to the criticisms that her magazine underrepresents or stereotypes black women.

Meisel seems more willing to speak freely: "It's so crazy to live in such a narrow, narrow place. Age, weight, sexuality, race — every kind of prejudice," the article quotes him as saying, apparently griping about the fashion industry in general.

Italian Vogue is available at bigger newsstands here in the U.S. The July issue should be here in a week or two.

Golf Photos You'll Like, Even if You Hate Golf

I was browsing SportsShooter this morning and clicked on this gallery of U.S. Open photos by K.C. Alfred of the San Diego Union Tribune. Nice!

The U-T had several photographers at the U.S. Open this week and posted a large photo gallery online here. If you're into golf, you'll probably appreciate the traditional close-ups of Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate expertly playing their sport. If you're like me and you can't tell the difference between the 9th hole and a hole in the ground, you might prefer Alfred's beautiful wide-angle pictures showing the crowds and all the spectacle around the green. (Where the heck was he when he got this shot?)

UPDATE: More about U.S. Open photos here on the Getty Images Sports Blog.

Polaroid Printer: One Lens Shy of an Instant Camera

You know by now that Polaroid is phasing out its famous instant film cameras. Now comes the company's latest gadget: The PoGo, a battery-powered digital photo printer that uses special thermographic paper coated with dye crystals. You can use this hand-held machine to print directly from certain camera phones. Reviews in the consumer press (like this one in the Wall Street Journal) are fair to mixed. The AP review asks, "why not add a lens to it? Then we'd have a real Polaroid instant camera again."

Final Mary Ellen Mark Prom: Ithica

Fresh from her appearance at the LOOK3 festival, Mary Ellen Mark is heading to upstate New York to continue her series of prom portraits. Next and last stop: Ithica High School. Since Mark is using a specific kind of large-format Polaroid film which no one makes anymore, the project ends when her film runs out. The Post-Standard of Syracuse, N.Y., has the story.

Walking Tour of Weegee's New York

The New York Times has posted a nifty interactive map of a walking tour of locations in the life of Weegee, the photographer who made his name covering crime in the "Naked City." If you want to take the tour yourself, you can even download the audio narration onto your iPod.

Photographer Tracks Lost Polar Bear in Iceland

Climate change has disrupted the habitat of polar bears. Recently two wandering polar bears were spotted in Iceland, outside of their normal range. Authorities killed both of them. One of the key witnesses in the bear sightings was photographer Ragnar Axelsson, who shoots for the the newspaper Morgunbladid in Iceland. Check out his portfolio of Iceland photos here. Rax Axelsson is cited in this AFP story about the polar bears (which ran on the Sydney Morning Herald Web site with a photo of journalists examining the second dead bear).

More to come? A new report now says tourists spotted prints that may belong to a third polar bear.

Forehead Assault Charges Dropped Against Overman

Here's an update to the story of Olympian photographer (and past NPPA president) Tony Overman. You may recall that he was arrested two weeks ago at the scene of a fire after a confrontation with a police detective. The officer wrote in his report that "Overman ... hit me in the nose with his forehead." Overman was sighted for simple assault and obstruction. He said he was innocent.

Now a prosecutor has decided to drop the charges. Read about the decision here in the Olympian.

Energizer Ads Win Top Cannes Lions Award

The Cannes Lions 2008 advertising festival and awards show is underway in France. One of the Grand Prix winners is an Energizer battery print campaign by DDB South Africa. Congratulations to photographer Clive Stewart, who shot the ads.

There are lots more Cannes Lions awards, and some still to be announced. Later this week, we plan to sort through the full list and prepare a story mentioning the advertising photographers who were recognized. Meanwhile, our colleagues at Adweek are in Cannes and you can read their coverage here.

Color Management With New Firefox Browser

We have a couple of color management experts here at PDN, but I don't profess to be one of them. I do, however, spend a lot of time looking a photos in a Web browser, and if there's a way to make Web images look better, please sign me up. Enter Firefox 3 color management. Rob Galbraith's DPI site, as usual, is on the ball. Read his post about Firefox here.

Does Leibovitz Show Belong in the National Portrait Gallery?

The Annie Leibovitz retrospective originally organized by the Brooklyn Museum is making its way to London's esteemed National Portrait Gallery. The British media are giving the exhibition a lot of attention (Guardian, Daily Mail, BBC). Only The Independent dares to ask: "Over exposed: Is Annie Leibovitz worthy of a retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery?" The newspaper offers no answer to this question, but it's a good question anyway.

Des Moines Register's Best Flood Pictures

This is what newspapers do right and why we still need them: The Des Moines Register has posted a gallery of its 139 (so far) best news photos of the floods in Iowa. Check it out here.

Do not miss Harry Baumert's cat picture at photo 70. (Tip: Spotted by blogger Charles Apple.)

NPR Covers LOOK3

NPR has a nice piece about last week's LOOK3 festival. I'm always impressed that NPR, a radio service, devotes so much thoughtful coverage to photography. But do you notice something strange about their web video? Sounds great, looks good, but we never actually see any of the photographers whose voices we hear. Just like radio.

In case you missed it, PDN's LOOK3 coverage is here (follow the links at the end of the story). Also, photographer John Harrington has plenty of LOOK3 video interviews here on his blog.

New Corbis Rights Brand: GreenLight

Corbis, which we know for its stock photography, has also been pushing its rights services division for some time. These are the people you call if you want to license a Kool & The Gang song for a musical greeting card, or use a picture of Steve McQueen in a car ad. Today Corbis announced a new name for the division – GreenLight – complete with a new Web site. It has also added some new services, including talent negotiation. This field is a specialty of Corbis CEO Gary Shenk, who was head of the rights clearances division before he was promoted to CEO in 2007. The division is now headed by Mark Sherman, senior vice president and head of GreenLight.

Can Software Guess Where A Photo Was Taken?

It sounds crazy: Can a computer program accurately guess where an outdoor photograph was taken? Complex image recognition like this is a very difficult task for computer software. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon tried to see how close they could get. Working with a pool of geotagged photos from Flickr, they wrote software that analyzes image characteristics like color, texture and line patterns. It then compares the images to other images that have known locations. Under certain conditions, their software was able to estimate the image's true location at 30 times better than chance. Far from perfect, but it's something. Ars Technica has a good summary of the research. If you want to dig deeper, read the report here (PDF).

Newspapers: More Discouraging News

- The New York Times Company reported at 13.2 percent decline in ad revenue in May compared to last year.  (From Editor & Publisher)

- Gannett reported a 14.1 percent decline in ad revenue in May compared to last year. (From Editor & Publisher)

- Classified advertising suffered especially steep declines at both newspaper companies.

- Earlier this week, Nielsen Monitor-Plus said U.S. local newspaper ad spending fell 5.4 percent and national newspaper spending fell 6.2 percent in the first quarter compared to last year.

- Is there any good news? Online. The NYT Co. says Internet advertising is up 14.2 percent.

Police Arrest Disney Photo Specialist on Child Porn Charge

You know things have gone badly wrong when you see the words "Disney" and "Child Porn" in the same headline. According to news reports from Orlando, Lake County investigators searched the home of Charles Hurrey, 29, and accused him of having three videos on a computer hard drive depicting children engaged in sex with adults. The Orlando Sentinel reports Hurrey "was employed at Disney's Hollywood Studios, where he issued and repaired photography equipment and deployed photographers to locations around the park." Hurrey was charged with three counts of possessing child pornography, posted bond and was released yesterday, according to the newspaper. WFTV has more.

Flickr Founders Quit: The Job "Sucked"

Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake were the parents of Flickr. The husband and wife team built the photo sharing site, made it into an Internet sensation, and sold it to Yahoo! for $35 million in 2005. Now they've decided to leave their jobs at Yahoo!. TechCrunch reports that Kakul Srivastava has taken over as general manager of Flickr.

On a Flickr message board, Butterfield answered speculation about his successor with the following:

"None of Heather, Cal, Eric or George (and definitely not Serguei) would want my job (it sucked!). But Kakul really is awesome, and any of the five abovementioned would back up my claim on the TC post that having Kakul in charge is better than having me."

Georgia Studio Photographer Charles Pharr Dies

Charles Pharr, a longtime photographer and past president of the Georgia Professional Photographer’s Association, died Monday at age 71, AccessNorthGa reports. Pharr ran his own studio in Buford, Ga., and was a partner in Magic Craft studios in Gainesville.

Corbis Museum Continues to Breed Confusion

On StockPhotoTalk, stock photo consultant Pino Granata offers his take on the new Corbis Museum of Art for the Arts:

"It was time, I thought, for our friend and colleague Bill Gates to do something of some cultural value for the community. So very excited I go to see this new marvel. Well, it says that it is a virtual museum which - if I understand it right - means that it exists only in the digital world. Well better than nothing, I thought. So I went on www.mofaa.org, ready to see wonderful exhibitions and more...."

I honestly can't tell if Pino Granata is being wickedly sarcastic or if he's the last person to get the joke. (Earlier post: Confirmed: Corbis Museum a Hoax.)

Top 10 Advertisers (And Where They're Spending)

According to our colleagues at Nielsen Monitor-Plus, U.S. ad spending in the first quarter was flat compared to last year. But ads in Sunday national magazine supplements (like Parade and USA Weekend) were up, as was online spending (no surprise there). Advertising spending fell hardest in local Sunday supplements, newspapers and B2B media. National magazines were down 1.3 percent.

Perhaps a reflection of the bad economy, automotive spending was down 8 percent, while quick-service restaurant spending rose 4 percent.

Here's a chart showing the top ten U.S. advertisers:

Check Out This Multimedia Seminar Site

Here's a good way to while away the lunch hour and learn a few things about the people of Louisville, Kentucky at the same time. The NPPA's Multimedia Immersion Seminar has posted 48 multimedia stories that photographers produced during a recent seminar in Louisville. Check out the work here. Read all about it on the NPPA site and the seminar blog.

Longtime Oakland Tribune Photographer Retiring

Photographer Ron Riesterer is retiring after 50 years (!) at the Oakland Tribune; he's now the director of photography for Bay Area News Group-East Bay chain. He photographed news stories of all sorts, three Super Bowls, five World Series and the 1989 earthquake – for which his paper won a Pulitzer Prize for spot news photography. Read more about Riesterer here from the Oakland Tribune.

Spencer Tunick Goes to Ireland

Spencer Tunick's latest work involved shooting a mass group of naked people at the Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland, earlier today. I'm providing links to two different news stories, depending on your preference:

• Here's a link with no nudity.
• Here's the link you'll probably click on.

Photographer Worked on Cool New Eames Stamps

The Post Office has some new stamps commemorating the designers Charles and Ray Eames. One of the artists who helped create the stamps was photographer Sally Andersen-Bruce, who worked with artist Derry Noyes. Read more about Andersen-Bruce's work in The News-Times of Danbury, Connecticut.

Hooray for Hoorray

A photo sharing site has a new domain name. Zzzz. I'm mentioning it because I got a kick out of this press release headline: Hoorray.com Acquires "Hooray" Domain Name. How sweet that must feel. Who's next? Digg? Del.icio.us? Flickr?

Britney Not Charged In Photog Foot Smoosh

Police have decided not to charge Britney Spears with allegedly running over a photographer's foot last November, reports US Magazine and everybody else. Curiously, none of the reporters assigned to write this story (and we're talking to you, BBC!) have managed to learn the name of the photographer.

Orlando Sentinel Rearranging Deck Chairs

Sam Zell's Tribune Company is trying to reinvigorate its struggling newspapers. Next in the game plan is a redesign of the Orlando Sentinel, which will lead to more redesigns at other papers. (And if the past is any indication, this will also come with staff reductions, cuts in paper size and the number of pages, and other assorted bloodletting.) Prototypes of the dramatic new design have begun appearing online, and the buzz is high. The mighty Newsdesigner.com blog has images in two posts, here and here.

AP Plans to Spell Out Fair Use Rules

The New York Times reports that the Associated Press will issue guidelines for what it considers fair use of copyrighted content online. This could get very interesting.

Until now, the AP (and most everybody else) has been selective and arbitrary about when to blow the whistle on a Web site that was lifting and reposting content. Things came to a head last week when the AP scolded The Drudge Retort, a left-leaning parody of The Drudge Report, for posting 39- to 79-word snippets of AP stories. Bloggers protested, and the AP backed down. Back in March, there was a similar case involving a right-leaning blog that was posting AP photos. So far none of this has gone to court, probably because the stakes are too low in each individual case... One side usually blinks.

If you take away one thing from this story, it should be this: Nobody knows what's considered fair use on blogs. Seriously. We're making this up as we go. Photographers would be well-advised to take part in this conversation, rather than watch from the sidelines while newswire attorneys write the rules.

PhotoShelter Makes Big Stock Push

The professional photo hosting/selling service PhotoShelter is making a big promotional push for its stock photography service. It has declared July 20 "Shoot The Day," with an ambitious goal: "The mission is to revitalize stock photography.  Thousands of photographers worldwide will connect, take pictures, and learn. Together we'll make the stock photo supply fresh again." Has kind of a We-Can-Do-It vibe, doesn't it?

Dallas Morning News Photog Visits Son in Iraq

Dallas Morning News photo editor David Woo traveled to Iraq this month on assignment. But it was more than just a journalist trip. While he was there, he arranged to see his son, Army Spc. Jake Woo, who is serving in Iraq. The father writes about the reunion with his son here: Father's Day in Iraq.

How NBA.com Delivers Near-Live Photo Coverage

Want to know how NBA.com manages to serve up enough digital content to satisfy its rabid fans (and paying subscribers)? Read this Los Angeles Daily News story: Through technology, NBA becomes a globe trotter.

Among the interesting details: During the Finals, the NBA has 15 to 18 photographers shooting each game, some of whom are cabled up to feed their pictures instantly into computers. From the story:

"Our aim is to be as live as possible," said Joe Amati, the senior director of photography for the NBA. "A guy can dunk and within three minutes, it'll be up and available to people all over the world.

Historic WWII Photo "120 Percent Propaganda"

Yevgeni Khaldei's 1945 photo of Soviet soldiers hoisting a flag over the Reichstag in Berlin is a piece of photographic history. It's also, as historians tell us, completely misleading. A retrospective at the Gropius-Bau museum in Berlin reveals Khaldei's work as a photographer and a propagandist.
The AP has more about the photo and the exhibit here.

A Note About the Photo Feed

Our tireless blogger Laura Nathan has the week off. I'm filling in by writing the Photo Feed, our daily roundup of headlines from around the Web.

Just for the heck of it, I'm going to try a different format. Instead of one long Photo Feed entry each day, every item will be a different entry. They'll be tagged with the Photo Feed category, so you'll be able to read them all by clicking on the category link to the right or at the end of each post.

We'll give it a few days and see how it works. Your feedback is welcome: dlang@pdnonline.com.

The Photo Feed 06.13.08

LOOK3 Festival Kicks Off Its Second Year (PDN)
When the LOOK3 festival kicked off its second year on Thursday, it proved to be no victim of the sophomore slump. Not only has the festival drawn a large crowd full of many second-time attendees; LOOK3 2008 is being headlined by Mary Ellen Mark, Joel-Peter Witkin and James Nachtwey. PDN’s Daryl Lang will provide festival updates on PDN Online and PDNPulse throughout the weekend.

Photographer William D. Snyder To Teach At Rochester Institute Of Technology (NPPA)
Photography students at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York will soon have the chance to learn from another master. Four-time Pulitzer winning photographer William D. Snyder has accepted a tenured position at the university, where he will teach photojournalism and photography classes. Snyder will also work with the photojournalism program’s chair to expand the curriculum to address the rise of multimedia and digital technology.

Photoshop Disaster? Not So Much. (Jossip / Photoshop Disasters)
Apparently, the blog Photoshop Disasters missed the memo that it's wise to do a little fact-checking before accusing a big-time newspaper of a bad Photoshop job. Photoshop Disasters has accused the Washington Post of manipulating a photo of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to make it look like Woods’ club was hitting Mickelson’s head while Mickelson was elbowing him. But a quick look at the original image on Getty’s site suggest it’s probably just the work of a telephoto lens.

MORE BELOW: New York discovers photographers' "Eminent Domain" ... Oops! New Zealand and Australia use same photo to promote their policies ... Life after the newsroom ...

The Photo Feed 06.12.08

Vogue Design Director Departs (Women’s Wear Daily)
After thirteen years, Charles Churchward is stepping down from his role as Vogue’s design director. Churchward will continue working with Vogue on books, special issues and other projects, but he also plans to work on personal projects, including a biography of photographer Herb Ritts. Vogue editor Anna Wintour praised Churchward’s contribution to photography during his tenure as design director, which will end in July. “[Churchward] very much comes from that school of design and thinking and appreciation of great photography and journalism,” said Wintour. “He understood the importance of journalism, the importance of paparazzi, the importance of bringing in new photographers, but still have our anchor of photographers like Steven Klein or Irving Penn or Mario Testino.” Churchward’s successor hasn’t been named, but Wintour says the magazine isn’t interested “in a major overhaul or redesign.”

Severance Packages Cost Washington Post $80 Million (AP / PDNPulse)
The Washington Post may have trimmed its budget when it bought out the contracts of more than 100 newsroom staffers in May. But for now the Washington Post Co. faces $80 million in severance costs, which will be funded primarily b the company’s pension plans. This isn’t surprising, though, when you consider the “incredible deal” the Post gave former assistant managing editor for photography, Joe Elbert.

Can Visa Pour L’Image Keep Photojournalism Relevant? (A Photo Editor / PDNPulse)
This September, photographers and photo editors will celebrate photojournalism at the 20th annual Visa pour l’Image. Because it is, in many ways, insulated from the rest of the photography world, Rob Haggart isn’t sure whether the festival can impact photojournalism the way people might like it to. But after reading an interview with the festival’s current and founding director Jean-François Leroy, Haggart thinks Leroy might be the right person to “take the reins and lead this industry to the next level,” as he puts it.

MORE BELOW: What's with the photo censorship? ... Annie Leibovitz: Just another paparazzo? ... Newspaper gets caught in the line of fire ... Photographer Damian Veilleux organizes photo charity for low-income elderly ...

The Photo Feed 06.11.08

The Case Of The Missing War Narrative (New York Observer)
Five years after the Iraq War began, journalists embedded in Iraq have a problem on their hands: Now that the war has transformed into an occupation, there’s no narrative to describe events that can’t easily be explained. “For a long time, there was a single thrust of narrative,” says The New York Times Damien Cave, who was in Iraq from July 2006 to December 2007. “Now … You’re trying to figure out: What features speak to the news? And because Iraq has become more fragmented, the narratives are more fragmented. A story in Basra is different from a story in Mosul and that’s definitely different from a story a few years ago.”

Western Kentucky Grad Jeff Giraldo Wins Hearst National Photojournalism Championship (NPPA)
Just last week, Jeff Giraldo was competing against five other student photojournalists to shoot the best spot assignments and picture stories for the William Randolph Hearst National Photojournalism Championship. Now the December 2007 Western Kentucky University graduate has set himself apart as the first place winner. Giraldo will receive a $5,000 prize. Second place went to Michael Paulsen of Nebraska-Lincoln, and San Francisco State University’s Justin Maxon took third. Runners-up include Ikuru Kuwajima of the University of Missouri, Jessica Pons of San Francisco State University and John Tully of the University of Missouri.

New York Memorial Service Planned For Dith Pran (NPPA / PDN)
A memorial service will be held for Cambodian photojournalist Dith Pran in Manhattan on June 24 at 10 a.m. The service will be held in the Times Building, which houses Pran’s former employer, The New York Times. Pran died on March 30 after suffering from pancreatic cancer.

MORE BELOW: High school kills newspaper over flag-burning photo ... Q&A with Pulitzer winner Adrees Leif ... Much ado about Obama bicycle photo ... De La Hoya photos manipulated ...

The Photo Feed 06.10.08

L.A. Times Gives Magazine Control To Business Operations (New York Times / A Photo Editor)
Expect some big changes for the Los Angeles Times Magazine. According to two newspaper executives, the L.A. Times plans to shift control over the magazine from the newsroom to its business operations. And guess what is at the top of the business operations’ to-do list? “Replace the magazine’s entire editorial staff.” Currently, Heidi Volpe is the magazine’s art director. L.A. Times Magazine doesn’t have a photo editor.

Press Photographer’s Year Announces 2008 Winners (The Press Photographer’s Year via Rob Galbraith DPI)
Getty Images photographers did well at the UK’s 2008 Press Photographer’s Year awards. Getty’s Daniel Berehulak won in both the photograph of the year and news folio of the year categories, and the agency’s Peter Macdiarmid took home the prize in the news category. With 7,500 entries, the Canon-sponsored contest saw a 25 percent increase in entries this year. To see a complete list of winners, click here. A slideshow of the winning images can be seen here.

MORE BELOW: Deseret News sells land to foot bill for severance packages ... Washington Post trains nearly 200 staff to shoot video ... Jimmy Choo taps Terry Richardson ...

The Photo Feed 06.09.08

U.S. News Goes Biweekly (Advertising Age)
So much for being called a “newsweekly.” With its ad pages declining by 32.7 percent, U.S. News & World Report is cutting back to a biweekly frequency beginning in 2009. The magazine will still publish the occasional special issue, such as its annual college rankings edition. U.S. News had already cut its frequency to 36 issues in 2008 from 46 issues in 2007.

Stop Complaining, Start Training (Mastering Multimedia)
Even though many newspapers are training their photographers to use video and other media, relying on your paper’s training might not be enough to reinvent yourself in these changing times. Spokesman-Review multimedia editor Colin Mulvany has put together a great list of online resources for training yourself to excel at multimedia.

Photographer Arrested In Cape Town (Cape Times)
Mlandeli Puzi, a photographer for South Africa’s Cape Times newspaper, was arrested on Saturday for photographing a police raid. According to police spokesman Billy Jones, Puzi was arrested for not leaving a crime scene after he’d been ordered to do so. Puzi, however, says no one told him that the tavern where police were shooting rubber bullets was a crime scene. The photographer, who was released from jail on Sunday evening, faces charges for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest.

MORE BELOW: An interview with Don McCullin ... A review of Lane Montgomery's photos of genocide in Darfur ... A New Jersey exhibit's insights ... Sneaking pictures ...

The Photo Feed 06.06.08

Tribune Co. Plans Sharp Staff Cuts (New York Times / Editor & Publisher)
Many L.A. Times and Chicago Tribune staffers will soon be looking for new jobs. Tribune Co. chair and chief executive Samuel Zell and COO Randy Michaels have indicated that they plan to cut costs by printing fewer papers, cutting about 500 pages of news from the Tribune’s 12 papers each week and downsizing Tribune Co. newsrooms. According to The New York Times, the two “have concluded that it could do without a large number of news employees and not lose much content.” Michaels said the changes will happen “very quickly,” a statement that Zell didn’t seem to think was bold enough. “I promise you he’s underestimating the level of aggressiveness with which we are attacking this whole challenge,” Zell said. Meanwhile, Sun-Times Media Group CEO Cyrus Freidheim calls newsroom layoffs bad news for democracy—even though he has ordered dozens of layoffs at the Chicago Tribune’s rival Chicago Sun-Times in the past six months.

Meredith To Cut 20 Magazine Staffers (Folio)
Meredith, the publisher of magazine titles such asLadies Home Journal, More and Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle and Parents, will lay off 60 staffers, including 20 from its magazine business. The company will also leave another 60 positions unfilled. According to a Meredith spokesperson, staffers in editorial and digital imaging will be affected by the “very selective” layoffs.

The End Of Positive Thinking (FishbowlNY)
Staffers for Guideposts’ Positive Thinking magazine probably aren’t thinking such sunny thoughts right now. The magazine has announced that it is folding, making the July/August issue its last. The PT Web site will also cease publishing. Positive Thinking’s editor-in-chief Amy Wong will join Guideposts’ staff, but plans for other staffers are still undecided.

MORE BELOW: Star uses deceptive cover photo ... Bill Henson won't be charged ... Philadelphia Inquirer runs fake ads ... Bill Eppridge recalls becoming an historian ... Photo caption kills of Muhammad Ali ...

The Photo Feed 06.05.08

The End Of Print? (Huffington Post / Washington Post / Mediabistro)
Vanity Fair columnist and Newser founder Micahel Wolff is not optimistic about the future of newsmagazines like Newsweek and Time. During an I Want Media panel discussion on Wednesday, Wolff said he doesn’t expect Newsweek to be around in five years. With big stories typically being broken online these days, Wolff’s fellow panelist and New York Times media columnist David Carr said, “On a daily basis we’re trying to put out a newsmagazine like you guys did 20 years ago.” And news, Carr pointed out, is one of the Web’s primary uses. “Nothing beats it,” he said. “Maybe porn. But not by much.” So what does this mean for other forms of print media? Microsoft CEO chief executive Steve Ballmer predicts that there will be no print newspapers or magazines in ten years. “[T]here will be no media consumption left … that is not delivered over an IP network,” Ballmer told the Washington Post. But L.A. Times editor-in-chief Russ Stanton isn’t so pessimistic about his paper’s fate. “I think that for now, our core base of readers are the baby boomers, and I think that we’ve got at least another 35-year run in print,” Stanton said.

Getty Images Gets En Vogue (Digital Arts)
Getty Images appreciates a little style. On June 17, the stock agency will launch “Collection Vogue Paris,” which features 80 years of photos from the magazine. The collection, which will be available on Getty’s Web site, boasts the work of photographers like Hans Feurer, Jean-Daniel Lorieux, Thierry Le Goues and Henry Clarke and fashion by designers including Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Van Cleef. As Getty’s senior VP of editorial Adrian Murrell explained, “Customer demand and interest in high-end haute couture imagery is continuing to grow and we are thrilled to be able to represent this iconic collection of imagery from the world’s foremost fashion magazine in our archival collection.”

Boston Globe Gets The ‘Big Picture’ (APAD)
The Boston Globe has borrowed a (Web) page from MSNBC.com’s Picture Stories galleries and Brian Storm’s MediaStorm and launched a photo blog. Known as “The Big Picture,” the blog features entries of six to eighteen related photos. “The Big Picture” is compiled by Alan Taylor, who credits the old Life magazine, National Geographic, Mediastorm and MSNBC for his inspiration. As Taylor explains on the Web site, “The Big Picture is intended to highlight high-quality, amazing imagery—with a focus on current events, lesser-known stories and, well, just about anything that comes across the wire that looks really interesting.” You can read more about the project on Taylor’s personal blog, KOKOGIAK.

MORE BELOW: Joe Elbert's irresistable buyout deal ... Mary Ellen Mark: Prom Photographer ... Has The New York Times downsized its ads? ... Photographer arrested for stalking Jamie Lynn Spears ...

The Photo Feed 06.04.08

$22 Million Baby Pix?!? (New York Post / PDNPulse)
Yesterday, we reported that OK! and People are wrestling to see who gets the exclusive first photos of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s soon-to-be-born twins. TMZ said bidding was currently at $15 million, and today the New York Post says the photos could go for as high as $22 million. We still stand by our “yeah, right” from yesterday, and we’re not alone. One of the New York Post’s unnamed sources “close to the situation” says, “Those numbers are not reality.” But then the same source follows that up with, “Could they get there? Who knows?”

How Photogs Became Mistaken For Terrorists (Guardian)
Since 9/11, photographers have been harassed, questioned, even arrested for taking photos in public spaces. And though photographers rarely, if ever, have terrorist ties, it has proven difficult to unravel the photographer-as-threat image. Still, says the Guardian’s Bruce Schneier, the right to photograph in public spaces is worth fighting for. He suggests carrying a wallet card listing photographers’ rights.

Coming Soon: Ban On Tobacco Ads? (Brandweek / PDNPulse)
If the World Health Organization (WHO) has its way, there won’t be any opportunities for shooting tobacco ads in the future. The WHO is encouraging governments to ban all tobacco advertising, sponsorships and promotions. Although the United States seems unlikely to do this immediately, there are a couple of trends pointing in this direction: U.S. ad spending for tobacco declined by 1.8 percent in 2007, and late last year, R.J. Reynolds nixed print ads for 2008.

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The Photo Feed 06.03.08

Weegee Photos Discovered At Garage Sale (New York Times)
You really never know what sort of treasures you might find at a garage sale. When two Indiana women purchased a trunk at a Kentucky garage sale recently, they uncovered a trove of letters and photos shot by the Diane Arbus-inspiring photographer Weegee. Thinking they were just old family snapshots and letters, one of the women considered throwing the letters and photos away. But she ended up taking them to an Indianapolis rare documents dealer, who determined that the trunk likely belonged to Weegee’s companion, Wilma Wilcox. (No one’s sure how the trunk made it to Kentucky.) The find is good news for the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which has acquired the letters and images, partly as a gift, partly as a purchase from the dealer. See some of the photos here.

The World’s Most Beautiful Expensive Baby Photos? (TMZ / PDNPulse / Jossip / Huffington Post)
Jennifer Lopez’s twins have nothing on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s soon-to-be-born twins. According to TMZ, People and OK! are the last two magazines standing in a bidding war for exclusive first pix of the next little Jolie-Pitts—and the bidding has reportedly reached $15 million. (All It seems unlikely that the price is actually that high, even for the world’s most beautiful offspring. To put that $15 million in perspective, it’s about $9 million more than People is rumored to have paid for first pix of J.Lo and Marc Anthony’s offspring and nearly $11 million more than the magazine paid for the first pix of big sister Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. Just as they did with the money made off of Shiloh’s first photos, Brad and Angie are planning to donate the dough from their twins’ pix to charity. Also: Angelina says she feels sexy during pregnancy, but does she really look as sexy as she does on the cover of this month’s Vogue? Writer Leslie Goldman doesn’t think so, saying the mom-to-be looks far too airbrushed. “It is not typical of a nine-months-pregnant body [to look that good],” Goldman says. “They are no more real than Heidi Montag's wedding veil on the cover of this week’s Us Weekly.”

Kenyan Police Look For Leads In Photographer’s Murder (NPPA / PDN)
Nearly a week after Irish photojournalist Trent Keegan was found dead in Kenya, police are retracing his steps. So far, they have questioned Keegan’s friends and roommate but have no suspects. According to one of Keegan’s friends, the photographer had left a bar carrying his camera and laptop and was overheard negotiating with a taxi driver over a fare. When the taxi driver wouldn’t budge, Keegan decided to walk. Police found Keegan’s wallet and money on his body, but his equipment was missing.

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The Photo Feed 06.02.08

Washington Times Cancels Saturday Print Edition (AP via Editor & Publisher)
Saturdays won’t be the same for readers of the Washington Times print edition. This past weekend, the paper published its last Saturday edition, citing low circulation. Readers will have to get their news from the Times Web site as the paper shifts its attention to delivering multimedia news.

Philadelphia Paper Doctors Photo, Sparks Controversy (WCAU)
After California courts ordered Jocelyn Kirsch to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, the Philadelphia Daily News needed an image to illustrate its story about Kirsch and her Philly-based “Bonnie and Clyde” identity theft ring. So they added an ankle bracelet to an image of “Bonnie” sunbathing. In the right-hand corner, the image said, “Photo illustration.” Needless to say, Kirsch’s attorney Ron Greenblatt wasn’t pleased. “The use of a doctored photo on the cover of the second largest paper in the city of Philadelphia to give a deliberately false impression is disgraceful,” he said in a statement. “I understand their job is to sell papers, but they should at least be held to minimal journalistic ethical standards.” The paper’s editor, Michael Days, says the paper didn’t violate any journalistic ethics. “It's just that kind of a story,” Days said.

Albuquerque News Photographer Harassed By Police (KOB.com)
A news photographer for the Albuquerque’s Eyewitness News 4 station was pushed around, handcuffed and detained on Thursday after covering an incident where police and a driver fired shots at one another. Police told the unnamed photographer that he had to move to the media staging area, but he reportedly just moved back, saying the officer wouldn’t tell him where the staging area was. The APD is reviewing a tape of the incident and will act on recommendations made by an independent review officer. For now, however, the APD will proceed with its citation against the photographer. You can see a video of the scuffle here.

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The Photo Feed 05.30.08

Media Groups Seeking “Practical And Fair” Park Photography Permits (NPPA / PDN)
Remember those regulations on photographers shooting on federal parklands that the House Natural Resources Committee was considering late last year? They still haven’t been finalized, but several media organizations, including the National Press Photographers Association and the American Society of Media Photographers, have been working with the National Park Service and other agencies to draft regulations that are reasonable and uniformly applied.

Earthquake Gives Foreign Media Rare Freedom In China (AP via USA Today / PDN)
Last week, documentary photographer Ryan Pyle told PDN that the Chinese government was giving the foreign press an unusual amount of freedom to cover the aftermath of the country’s May 12 earthquake. An AP article corroborates Pyle’s report, saying, “Chinese leaders haven't fully explained the new openness, and periods of thaw can be brief here.” But this doesn’t mean photographers have been able to shoot in China without incident. Although journalists were permitted to walk down the body bag-lined streets of the city of Beichuan, soldiers prohibited them from taking photos out of respect for the dead. And in Luoshui, an AP reporter and photographer were detained in the courtyard of a government building three days after the earthquake. The men who held the journalists refused to identify themselves or explain why they detained the men, though one said, “I’m a Chinese citizen and it’s the right of all Chinese citizens to monitor the foreign media.” After three hours a representative from a nearby town’s foreign affairs office released the journalists, saying only, “There has been a little misunderstanding. You're free to leave now.”

This Old House Shows Off Reader-Generated Content (AdAge)
This Old House didn’t hire any photographers to shoot its June issue. That’s because all of the content was submitted by readers. “The editors sure learned a lot about you while sifting through the thousands of emails and photos submitted to the YourTOH pages on our web site,” said editor Scott Omelianuk in his editor’s letter. Editors haven’t indicated any plans to repeat the experiment.

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The Photo Feed 05.29.08

Music Photographer David Gahr Dies (New York Times)
Photographer David Gahr, who made a career out of shooting American rock, blues, jazz and folk musicians, has died. Gahr began his career in the 1960s and shot everyone from Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin to Miles Davis and Bruce Springsteen to Pete Seeger and Judy Collins. His images appeared on the cover of the 1970 album “A Tribute to Jack Johnson” and Springsteen’s 1973 album “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle,” and his then-20-year-old portrait of Janis Joplin was the cover image for Time’s 20-year retrospective on 1968. Gahr was 85 at the time of his death.

Sony's New Strategy: Profit Off Old Pix (New York Times)
When Sony acquired Columbia Records in 1988, the company didn’t just acquire a seemingly endless supply of music. It also acquired decades of photos of musicians like Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen. Two decades later, Sony is looking to profit off of its image collection. Last year, Sony launched Icon Collectibles, an online operation that sells art-quality reproductions of the images for $300 to $1,700. Today Sony is expected to announce plans to sell its images through the Morrison Hotel Gallery, which specializes in rock photos. The gallery will host two exhibits of Columbia’s images later this year.

St. Petersburg Times Offers Buyouts (Editor & Publish)
Florida’s St. Petersburg Times joins the long list of newspapers that have resorted to buyouts in recent months. On Wednesday, the paper reported that it was offering an “enhanced retirement option” to its staff to cut its payroll. The paper may also lay off some staffers if not enough people accept the buyouts. As for employees who manage to stick around, well, their wages will be frozen for one year.

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The Photo Feed 05.28.08

Photog Carolyn Drake And Writer Ilan Greenberg Win Lange-Taylor Prize (PDN)
The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University has named photographer Carolyn Drake and writer Ilan Greenberg the recipients of the 2008 Dorthea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize, which is awarded annually to a photographer-writer team. Drake and Greenberg will use the $20,000 award for their project “Becoming Chinese: Uighurs in Cultural Transition,” which will show how the pressures faced by the Muslim ethnic group to assimilate into China’s Han culture.

A Tribute To Cornell Capa (Huffington Post / PDN / State of the Art)
With Friday’s death of photographer and International Center of Photography founder Cornell Capa, the photography world lost one of its greatest advocates. But we also lost someone who showed what Terence Smith calls “true courage.” When Capa traveled with Smith—then The New York Times’ Israel bureau chief—to photograph the 1973 Yom Kippur War in 1973, Capa found his true calling. “I can’t do this anymore,” Capa told Smith after transmitting his photographs one night. “I am the last surviving male in my family. I can’t put them through anymore of this.” The next year Capa established the ICP. Also: American Photo’s David Schonauer recalls Capa’s zest—and his frustration with the way he was known as Robert Capa’s brother and the ICP founder, not as a photographer in his own right.

Photographer Trent Keegan Killed In Kenya (AFP via The Times)
Kenyan police have opened an inquest after discovering the body of photographer Trent Keegan “in a drainage trench” in Nairobi. The New Zealand-born photographer, who was identified with the help of a photograph on his Web site, had visible injuries on his head. Keegan is believed to be an Irish national and, according to his Web site, had been shooting for several Irish newspapers and magazines.

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The Photo Feed 05.27.08

An Insider’s Look At Washington Post Buyouts (Washington Post / PDNPulse / Fishbowl LA / Paper Cuts)
As we reported last week, the Washington Post has lost more than 100 newsroom staffers buyouts. Among them, we now know, are assistant managing editor in charge of photography Joe Elbert, deputy picture editor Vanessa Hillian, multimedia director Keith Jenkins and staff photographers Jim Thresher and Susan Biddle. The paper hasn’t just lost these staffers, though, says Post writer Howard Kurtz. The Post has also lost “part of the heart and soul of a living, breathing organism.” Also: St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalist Erica Smith has started a aptly titled blog called Paper Cuts, which features a Google Map identifying where the latest newspaper layoffs have occurred. In an interview with Mediabistro’s FishbowlLA, Smith says she continues to update the map because she feels “an obligation to recognize the people who are affected.”

Leibovitz Gives Corcoran Grads Parting Advice (Washington Post)
As this year’s Corcoran College of Art and Design graduates embark on their careers, they know they won’t have an easy time of it. But thanks to a speech given by Annie Leibovitz at their commencement ceremony, they may have a little more direction. “The artistic process is still about seeing,” Leibovitz told the class of 2008. “Things don't stop unfolding in front of you. As you go out in the world, keep in mind the possibilities.”

Charges Likely For Bill Henson Exhibit (Washington Post / PDNPulse)
On Friday, we reported that the opening for an Australian exhibit of photographer Bill Henson’s work had been cancelled so that police could investigate images of nude teenage girls. Now police say they will likely file charges over about 20 photos of naked 12- and 13-year-old girls, which they have seized from the gallery. The Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and Henson plan to reopen the exhibit without the controversial images.

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The Photo Feed 05.23.08

Protest This: Photog May Lose Eye After Being Struck By Police (Reporters Without Borders)
Chilean photographer Victor Salas may soon have to learn to work with just one eye. While covering a protest near Santiago, Chile, on Wednesday, Salas was struck by a policeman several times with a metal riding crop. Doctors have diagnosed Salas, who is an employee of the Spanish news agency EFE, with “severe bruising to the right eye, with risk of functional and organic loss, and uncertain prognosis.”

Bilal Hussein Receives Spanish Foundation Prize (NPPA / PDN)
Just a few weeks after his release from U.S. custody in Iraq, Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein has been recognized for his photographs and the work done by other Iraqi journalists. On Thursday, Hussein was been awarded a prize by the Barcelona-based Miguel Gil Moreno Foundation, which is named for Spanish cameraman Miguel Gil Moreno, who was killed while covering the Sierra Leone conflict for AP Television News. Hussein couldn’t attend the ceremony, but he sent a video messaging expressing his thanks to Moreno’s family, the jury and the AP colleagues. “I would like to go back to work when it is convenient, after a period of vacation,” Hussein said. “It is an honor to work for the agency, which has given me everything.”

Photog Vows To Keep Taking Pictures Despite Earthquake (AP)
Photographer Wang Qiang was waiting for a bride and groom to change clothes when China’s massive earthquake began. But Wang didn’t stop shooting, capturing brides and grooms enveloped by dust and ruins as the ground shook. The resulting images aren’t just mementos of a one-of-a-kind wedding day; they are also some of the few images documenting the earthquake as it was happening.

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The Photo Feed 05.22.08

New York Times Brings Back The 80s—The 1880s, That Is (FishbowlNY / New York Times)
If you want to check out all the photos that were fit to print, say, the day the Titanic sunk or the day Abe Lincoln was shot, you’re in luck. The New York Times has launched a digital archive known as the—wait for it—Times Machine. The archives date from September 18, 1851 through December 30, 1922. The only un-green catch: you’ve got to subscribe to the magazine’s print edition to access the digital archives.

Former Policeman Sentenced For Venezualan Photog’s Murder (Reporters Without Borders)
A Venezualan court has sentenced ex-policeman Boris Blanco Arcia to fifteen years in jail for the 2006 murder of an El Mundo newspaper photographer. Jorge Aguirre was shot to death while photographing a protest over the murder of three teenagers. Arcia had been fired from his job as a police officer in October 2005, but he’d posed as a police officer during the demonstration, ordering Aguirre to stop taking pictures and shooting him three times in close range when he didn’t comply.

Obama Ad Loses Its Humor (AdAge / 23/6)
The folks at the humor Web site 23/6 thought they were mocking Hillary Clinton’s campaign when they concocted an ad featuring Barack Obama in a traditional guayabera with the headline “Do you want a president who looks Dominican? Hillary ’08.” But apparently Puerto Ricans, who will be voting in the Democratic primary on June 1, have taken the ad seriously and are circulating it through blogs, viral campaigns and email messages to warn against voting for Obama.

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The Photo Feed 05.21.08

Kansas City Star Photogs Launch Print Sale To Support Co-Worker (NPPA)
Kansas City Star photographer Tim Janicke has some big-hearted colleagues. With Janicke undergoing treatment for brain cancer and going onto long-term disability, he’s lost his company insurance. So Kansas City Star features photography editor Mary Schulte and other photographers from the paper are organizing a print sale to raise money to offset the Janickes’ overwhelming health care costs. Donated images will be sold through a soon-to-be-launched Web site administered by the Star’s online store. If you’re interested in donating a print for the sale, click here to learn more.

Photographer Alan Pappé Dies (Austin-American Statesman)
Alan Pappé, who shot movie stills and musicians, has died. Pappé photographed Liza Minelli for the covers of Time and Newsweek and shot movie posters and stills for more than 30 movies, including Grease. He also shot numerous musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, Ted Nugent, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane. Pappé died in an Austin hospice on April 30. His family would not disclose his age or cause of death.

Calling It Quits? (Black Star Rising)
As the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) considers changing its name to The Society of Visual Journalists, Inc. (SVJ), photographer Heather S. Hughes is considering leaving the organization. The NPPA would arguably better represent video and other multimedia professionals. But Hughes, who just wants to be a photojournalist, feels left out by the possible change—and she’s not sure there’s another organization that represents still photojournalism loyalists like her.

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The Photo Feed 05.20.08

Men’s Mags Face Same Problem As Women’s (Women’s Wear Daily, 1st item / PDNPulse)
In yesterday’s Photo Feed, we shared the news that women’s magazines—with the exception of luxury titles like Elle and Harper’s Bazaar—are facing sharp declines in ad pages. The same, it turns out, is true of men’s magazines. The biggest winners in the men’s market are again the luxury titles: Best Life saw a 17 percent increase in ad pages in the first half of 2008; Men’s Vogue increased its ad pages by 11 percent and Men’s Journal gained about 12 percent more ad pages.

John Harrington Dissects The AP’s New Contract (Photo Business News & Forum / PDN)
Last week the Associated Press announced that it would update its freelance photographer agreement for the first time in ten years to give freelancers a 25 percent cut of fees collected for licensing imagines. NowJohn Harrington has gotten his hands on the agreement and dissected every inch of it, from the opening recitations to the rates.

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The Photo Feed 05.19.08

Photogs Mona Reeder And Mary F. Calvert Win RFK Awards (Editor & Publisher / Robert F. Kennedy Memorial / Dallas Morning News / Washington Times)
Dallas Morning News photographer Mona Reeder and Washington Times photographer Mary F. Calvert have won the photography categories in the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards. Reeder took the prize in the domestic photography category for her “Bottom Line” project, which documents what the Dallas Morning News calls “the frayed social safety net in Texas.” Calvert won the international photography category for her “Lost Daughters” project, a series of photos taken in India which expose the practice of selectively aborting female fetuses. Both photographers will receive their awards on May 27 at a ceremony held at the Newseum. You can see a complete list of winners here.

Thompson Reuters To Cut 140 Newsroom Positions (Guardian)
The newly merged Thompson Reuters is planning to cut 140 journalist jobs by the end of 2008. The cuts, which seek to eliminate overlap and duplicate coverage, will hit European staffers the hardest. Things aren’t all bad at Thompson Reuters, though, certainly not for the multimedia-minded. The company plans to add about 50 new jobs that, according to Reuters News editor-in-chief David Schlesinger, will be “in key areas”—including web video—“that are central to my strategy of making us the best news service for the 21st century.”

More Than 100 Accept Washington Post Buyouts (Editor & Publisher)
The Washington Post’s newsroom will soon look much emptier. More than 100 newsroom staffers have accepted buyouts, which were offered to employees who are at least 50 years old and have at least five years of service. There’s no word on whether anyone from the paper’s photo desk has accepted the offer.

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The Photo Feed 05.16.08

Photographer Graeme Phelps “Flip” Schulke Dies (NPPA)
Civil rights photojournalist Graeme Phelps “Flip” Schulke has died of congestive heart failure. Schulke covered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. extensively, producing three books of his images of the fallen civil rights leader. He also photographed hundreds of politicians and celebrities, including President John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Muhammad Ali and Jacques Cousteau. Schulke was 77 years old at the time of his death.

Ashlee Simpson: People’s Next Cover Bride? (Jossip)
Rumor has it that Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are tying the knot this weekend, which means the tabloids are desperate to nab photos of the event. According to one of Jossip’s souces, People has won yet another bidding war, landing the exclusive pix for a paltry $1.3 million, paid to Ashlee’s manager-father, Joe Simpson. The photos will reportedly appear in next week’s issue of People.

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The Photo Feed 05.15.08

How The Media Helped The Pentagon (Editor & Publisher)
Just how successful has the Pentagon’s embedded journalist program in Iraq been? It depends on whom you ask and which journalists you’re talking about. Still, the biggest victor might be the Pentagon. According to sociologist Andrew M. Lindner, “The embedded program proved to be a Pentagon victory because it kept reporters focused on the horrors facing the troops, not the horrors of the civilian war experience.” He added, “The end result: a communications victory for an administration that hoped to build support for the war by depicting it as a successful mission with limited cost.”

Galveston Photog Cleared Of Interfering With Police (AP via Houston Chronicle)
A year-and-a-half after being arrested for refusing to stop photographing an arrest, Nick Adams has been acquitted. The prosecution argued that Adams, who was an intern at the Galveston County Daily News when he was arrested at Galveston’s 2007 Mardi Gras festival, had entered the safety perimeter that officers had established while arresting a man. But Adams’ attorney, Anthony Griffin, argued that police deleted some of Adams’ picture while he was in custody, and that these images would have shown that Adams was actually outside the perimeter. Adams has since moved on to The Appeal-Democrat in Northern California, but he praised the verdict for upholding the First Amendment.

A Reminder From China (Reuters Photographers)
It’s hard to find any good in the aftermath of China’s recent earthquake. But as Reuters photographer David Viggers points out, the photographs of the aftermath remind us of “the ease and speed with which still pictures can impart so much readily understood information to so many people.”

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The Photo Feed 05.14.08

With New API, Reuters Says, “Let My Content Go” (Mashable via StockPhotoTalk)
Welcome to the 21st century: Using a non-commercial API offering, Reuters is giving web developers free access to its news content. This will enable developers to create applications around Reuters news (and pix) and better integrate Reuters content into existing applications and Web sites.

Shutterstock Gives Pay Raises (Microstock Photography / PDNPulse)
When Shutterstock announced that pay raises were coming in early May, they wouldn’t say just how much pay would increase. Now they’ve unveiled their new tiered pay scale, where pay per download is determined by a contributor’s total lifetime earnings. Those earning less than $500 ever get $0.25 per download. Those who have made $500 to $3,000 get $0.33. Contributors get $0.36 per download if they’ve eared $3,000 to $10,000 and $0.38 if they’ve made over $10,000.

The New Republic Borrows A Page From Time (Portfolio / PDNPulse)
Recently, The New Republic complained because Time’s NBA-inspired concept cover was similar to its own. Now it appears that The New Republic has imitated a 2004 Time cover featuring Howard Dean. Like the Dean cover, The New Republic cover shows an unfinished watercolor rendering, albeit of Barack Obama instead of Dean. TNR editor Franklin Foer calls the similarity unintentional: “Nobody here has any recollection of seeing that cover,” he told Portfolio. “Maybe we should get a subscription to Time."

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The Photo Feed 05.13.08

Did The Dove Ads Get A Facelift? (Slate / PDNPulse)
On Friday, we told you about the were-they-or-weren’t-they-airbrushed controversy over some ads from Dove’s “Real Women” campaign: A New Yorker profile of photo retoucher extraordinaire Pascal Dangin suggested they were; Annie Leibovitz, Dangin and Dove manufacturer Unilever insisted they weren’t. With both sides standing by their stories, we may not ever know the truth and, unfortunately, says Slate’s Jacob Leibenluft, looking at the images themselves won’t give us many clues.

Seattle Times Cuts 19 Newsroom Jobs (Seattle Times)
Last week was a dreary one in Seattle, where The Seattle Times Company cut 125 employees, including 19 in the newsroom. All of the newsroom cuts came in the form of buyouts. (73 of the non-newsroom staff were laid off, another 51 accepted buyouts; one left voluntarily.) It’s unclear if any photographers were affected.

Seriously, People: Mariah Carey Cashes In On Wedding Pix (Gawker)
People has beaten OK! to yet another set of exclusive photos. This time OK! lost out on pix of Mariah Carey’s surprise wedding to Nick Cannon. According to Gawker, the magazine paid “around $2 million (if not more)” for the photos. This seems pretty high, though. This is Mariah Carey, not Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, so it’s tough to imagine that consumers are itching to pick up a copy and see those exclusive Mariah wedding pix.

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The Photo Feed 05.12.08

Photojournalist Killed In The Line Of Fire In India (IBN Live)
Photojournalist Ashok Sodhi was lifting his camera to take a photo when he was killed by an oncoming bullet on Sunday. Sodhi had been trying to photograph a house at which alleged terrorists were shooting at security forces. Police had warned against running ahead, but 45-year-old Sodhi insisted on getting pictures for the Daily Excelsior. “I want to shoot my pictures on my own,” the photographer had said shortly before dying, according to one of his colleagues.

Lancome’s Ugly Situation (Women’s Wear Daily, 1st item)
Now that her stalker has been convicted, Uma Thurman has moved on to other legal matters. On Friday, the actress filed a $15 million federal lawsuit against Lancôme for using her image in advertisements after her contract with the company ended in 2004. Lancôme, meanwhile, has filed its own lawsuit, saying it didn’t violate its contract with Thurman and doesn’t owe her money. “The use of Ms. Thurman’s image after her contract expired, however minor, was neither deliberate nor intentional,” said a spokeswoman for L'Oréal.

Isaiah Washington Claims Grey’s Anatomy Misused His Photo (Hollywood Reporter)
Grey’s Anatomy alum Isaiah Washington believes his former show used his photograph without permission. The actor has filed a complaint with the Screen Actors Guild and ABC, claiming that he never consented to the use of his photograph in a fictional newspaper article about his former character in the show’s May 9 episode. Washington’s attorney, Peter Nelson, says, “They have the rights of the character to advance the story, but not the image.”

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The Photo Feed 05.09.08

Just How “Real” Was Dove’s “Real Beauty” Campaign? (AdAge / PDNPulse / New Yorker / Portfolio)
Annie Leibovitz just can’t get a break from controversy. Coming on the heels of last week’s Miley Cyrus gaffe, a New Yorker profile quoted Pascal Dangin as saying that he extensively retouched photos that Leibovitz shot for Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, which celebrated women of all shapes and sizes. “Do you know how much retouching was on that?” the renowned photo retoucher asked writer Lauren Collins. “[I]t was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.” Dove manufacturer Unilever, Leibovitz and even Dangin are now saying the quote is misleading. In a joint statement released today, Dangin explained that the New Yorker profile “incorrectly implies that I retouched the images in connection with the [2005] Dove 'real women' ad. I only worked on the [2007 Dove Pro-Age] campaign taken by Annie Leibovitz and was directed only to remove dust and do color correction—both the integrity of the photographs and the women's natural beauty were maintained." You can read the full statement here.

For One Photo Spread, Less Retouching Is More (Women’s Wear Daily)
More isn’t staying mum about the facelift it will get with its October redesign, and it’s not staying silent on the prevalence of real life plastic surgery either. The magazine’s June issue illustrates a story on women’s tendency not to fess up to having plastic surgery with an unretouched photo—and a provocative caption. “Highlights to cover gray by Rita Hazan ... strong arms from working out every morning, Botox (yes!) and collagen by Dr. Pat Wexler,” the caption reads.

Ken Starr: Paparazzi Prosecutor? (L.A. Times)
Ken Starr may be best known for investigating President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, but he may soon have a different reputation around southern California. Officials in Malibu are looking to Starr to find a way for the city to crack down on the swarms of paparazzi. The city’s mayor, Pamela Conley Ulich, has called on Starr, who is currently the dean of Pepperdine Law School, to gather media and legal experts to draft an ordinance prohibiting paparazzi from convening outside of schools and other areas. The ordinance may also tax the paparazzi.

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The Photo Feed 05.08.08

Reuters Photog Detained In Zimbabwe (Washington Post)
For the last three days, Reuters photog Howard Burditt has been detained in his native Zimbabwe for allegedly using a satellite phone to transmit photographs. Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger has called on Zimbabwean authorities to release Burditt immediately, but officials say it is illegal to use unregistered satellite phones. Burditt was arrested while covering the tense aftermath of the country’s elections.

New York Times Cuts Several Newsroom Jobs (New York Post)
In April, The New York Times warned that it would lay off some of its journalists if too few accepted buyouts, and now the deed is done. The paper would not specify the number of layoffs or which staffers lost their jobs. (The New York Post reports that 15 people lost their jobs, but their subsequent quote about “relatively small numbers” getting laid off from Executive Editor Bill Keller makes this number questionable.) According to insiders, staffers at the business and national desks were spared while the metro desk took a hard hit.

NPPA Voices Opposition To Orphan Works (NPPA / PDNPulse)
The National Press Photographers Association has joined the Advertising Photographers of America and the Stock Artists Alliance in opposing the latest Orphan Works legislation. On Wednesday, the NPPA sent a letter opposing the bill to Congressman Howard L. Berman, who chairs the House Committee on the Judiciary. As NPPA president Tony Overman explained in the letter, “We recognize well the difficulties of managing rights for historical images. We believe a carefully and narrowly tailored expansion of the fair use exception to the Copyright Act would address the legitimate concerns of librarians, historians and educators.” He added, “There is no reasonable argument to authorize infringements for commercial use or of previously unpublished works; and certainly no reason at all to extend that authorization to newly created works.”

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The Photo Feed 05.07.08

National Geographic Nabs Some Webbies (Folio / PDN / A Photo Editor)
National Geographic has been having a very good May. After winning three Ellies last week—including one for photojournalism and another for General Excellence—National Geographic has picked up four Webby Awards for its Web site. In addition to taking home the Webby for best magazine site of the year, the site was recognized for best use of photography for its Your Shot feature. Also: Rob Haggart is glad that magazine awards are finally being handed out for photography, but he’d still like some recognition for photo editors.

A Flickr Of Promise? (USA Today)
With stocks plunging after Microsoft pulled the plug on negotiations to purchase their company, Yahoo executives have had little reason to be optimistic lately. But here’s one: Flickr has grown by 56 percent in the last year, making it the most popular photo-sharing site. Photobucket may still dominate photo-sharing sites when it comes to market shares, but Flickr is bringing in the most visitors—44.4 million in March 2008, compared to 28.4 million in March 2007.

Put On A Happy Face (L.A. Times)
If you want to know what the Clintons are really thinking following Hillary’s narrow victory in Indiana, just look at the pictures. But don’t bother looking at Hillary Clinton’s attempted smile. Instead, says L.A. Times blogger Andrew Malcolm, look at the faces of Bill and Chelsea, which Hillary’s communications team would have been wise to keep out of the photos.

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The Photo Feed 05.06.08

Getty Images Shuffles Its Executives (PDN)
Getty Images is undergoing an executive shakeup as the company prepares to go private in its sale to Hellman & Friedman. The company’s senior vice president of sales, Bo Olofsson, will resign once the merger is completed, and his job will be split into three regional positions, to be held by Jeff Beyle, Michael Teaster and Lee Martin. Nicholas Evans-Lombe, the Executive Vice President of imagery, products and services, will be promoted to executive VP and COO. CEO Jonathan Klein will stay put in New York for another year after relocating from Seattle last September.

Will The Web Set Newspapers Free? (Reuters via Yahoo!)
Newspaper editors aren’t ready to give up on their industry just yet. According to a survey of editors conducted by Zogby International, most editors believe the newspaper industry can sustain itself—if it embraces the digital era. For about 56 percent of respondents, the industry’s future will include making the majority of news—print or Web-based—free. That’s compared to 48 percent who believed free content was the wave of the future when surveyed a year ago.

Adobe Offers Free Newspaper Video E-Seminar (Genesis Project)
If you’re a photojournalist who has been slow to get on the video bandwagon, you may want to clear your calendar for tomorrow, Wednesday, May 7. From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pacific (2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern), Adobe’s Dennis Radeke will be offering an introductory seminar on creating and distributing video for newspapers. The free seminar will take place online. You can sign up here.

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The Photo Feed 05.05.08

Million Dollar Babies (New York Times / PDNPulse)
Maybe you wouldn’t pay a few million for those exclusive first pix of J.Lo’s twins. But magazine execs say they’re willing to shell out some serious dough for celebrity baby photos so that their titles are “known as the place to go for those pictures” and to keep competitors from nabbing them. “The consumer’s expectation is if the photos are going to be available, I’m going to see them in People,” Paul Caine, People’s publisher, told The New York Times. “If we don’t get them, we miss that brand promise, we lose the halo that goes with that.” Still, says OK! editor Sarah Ivens, shelling out thousands—or millions—for celebrity photos can be a gamble, so magazine executives must trust their guts.

J-Schools’ Flashes From The Past (ClickZ / Digital Journalist / min / Contra Costa Times via Romenesko)
In newsrooms, “do or die” is the mantra when it comes to multimedia. But as Vin Crosbie has discovered while teaching multimedia at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, most journalism professors continue to cling to the past when teaching students the tricks of the trade. Even if they did focus more on multimedia, though, there’d be no guarantees for students entering the newspaper industry today. The Colorado Springs Gazette invested a lot of money to train photojournalist David Bitton to shoot video, and yet, for all of his training and enthusiasm, Bitton was laid off, along with 25 percent of the Gazette’s newsroom staff. “Layoffs can hit anyone in this industry and at any time,” Bitton writes in the latest issue of the Digital Journalist. Also: At least one journalist is hoping that MTV’s reality show The Paper will make newspapers hip again. Also: Even if newspapers are struggling, George Janson, the managing partner and director of print for mediaedge:cia, isn’t buying doomsday predictions about magazines.

Do Photo Retouchers Know When To Say ‘When’? (Newsweek / Huffington Post)
Here’s the least surprising news of the week: from brides to men’s and women’s magazines, everyone is retouching photos. And while this may be the norm, Newsweek’s Jessica Bennett thinks it’s a dangerous one for young women who aspire to imitate the models they see in magazines. Also: While Bennett argues that retouching has predates the digital era, artist Kimberly Brooks thinks that photography has undergone a sex change during the last decade, thanks to Photoshop. Whereas “The rather masculine act of capturing or ‘shooting’ a moment (‘the hunt’) with a sound subject and composition has evolved into one where the real art comes in the editing, not the capturing,” she writes. “The photographer, like a woman putting on make up at her vanity before going out for the evening, edits reality: the best features and colors are enhanced and sharpened, and a new, hyper-realistic art form, with a nod to surrealism of last century, is born. Not that Brooks thinks all photo manipulation is bad. She recently interviewed photog Tom Chambers about his “Prom Dress” series, in which he “practices his craft in Photoshop to a haunting hyper-realistic extreme that warrants close attention,” says Brooks.

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The Photo Feed 05.02.08

National Magazine Awards Announced (New York Times / PDN / Huffington Post)
National Geographic went home a big winner on Thursday night. The magazine took home three National Magazine Awards, including one for general excellence and another for photojournalism. Other winners in the photo categories include Gourmet, which won the photography category, and Vanity Fair, which prevailed in the photo portfolio category. WIRED, whose creative team PDN interviewed for our May issue, took home the prize in the design category. You can see a complete list of winners here.

Fact And Fiction: Hillary’s Gas Station Photo Op (L.A. Times)
On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton rolled into a South Bend, Indiana gas station to sell a summer gas tax holiday—and secure a few votes. She even spoke with a nice commuter, Jason Wilfing, as he filled his gas tank so he could go to work at a sheet metal factory. But none of this was as ad hoc as it may have appeared. Not only did the Clinton campaign recruit Wilfing; Hillary rode into the gas station with him in a truck that may or may not have belonged to Wilfing.

Cindy Sherman’s Ex Documents Life With The Photog (Salon)
Cindy Sherman is not happy. Her ex-boyfriend Paul Hasegawa-Overacker has made a documentary about Sherman, using their relationship as the premise. Sherman has apologized to her friends who are interviewed in Guest of Cindy Sherman and says she is sorry for involving them. The documentary is currently screening at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival and will eventually run on the Sundance Channel.

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The Photo Feed 05.01.08

Teen Arrested For Attacking Baltimore Examiner Photog (Baltimore Examiner / PDNPulse)
A week after Baltimore Examiner photographer Arianne Starnes was attacked while on assignment at a local high school, the alleged perpetrator has been arrested. On Wednesday, Baltimore police arrested an unnamed 18-year-old male, whom Starnes identified as the student who took her camera and pushed her to the ground while she was shooting pictures. Examiner publisher Michael Beatty says the paper is not letting the case distract from its work. “Right now we’re going to let the criminal justice system work and continue to do a fair and objective job of reporting this story just as we would any other story,” said Beatty in a statement. “Our reporters and photographers are committed to getting the job done for our readers no matter what.”

Allure Sends Nudes To The Auction Block (Page Six)
Is this where Miley Cyrus’ future lies? Next Wednesday, Allure will host its second Most Alluring Bodies benefit, which features the auction of 60 photographs of nude and scantily clad models and celebrities. The collection, curated by photo dealer James Danziger, includes an Annie Leibovitz shot of Scarlett Johansson, a Matthew Rolston photograph of Angelina Jolie, as well as images of Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Gisele Bundchen.

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The Photo Feed 04.30.08

PDN Editor Weighs In On Miley Cyrus Pix (Baltimore Sun / Huffington Post / New York Times / Women’s Wear Daily, 1st item / L.A. Times / Slate / PDNPulse)
There’s been lots of finger-pointing since Annie Leibovitz’s back-baring photos of Miley Cyrus began making headlines earlier this week. Star editor Bonnie Fuller blames the pix on Miley’s parents. Dad Billy Ray Cyrus says he never would have approved had he stayed for the entire shoot. Disney blames Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair fashion and style director Michael Roberts blames the uproar on what he calls “the whole kiddie porn prurient angle” … and the list goes on. But as PDN’s editor Holly Stuart Hughes explained to the Baltimore Sun’s Glenn McNatt, blame can’t be lodged at a single individual or party. After all, says Hughes, in big celebrity portrait shoots like this one, “[T]he celebrity is a complete participant in the production, and the publicist is there every step of the way.” Also: The Los Angeles Times takes a look back of some of Leibovitz’s other controversial magazine covers. Also: Disney gives Daniel Brook an unreassuring response when he questions the company about a racy child advertisement that appeared in China.

Vanity Fair To Get A Web Makeover (Women’s Wear Daily, 2nd item / Digital Spy / PDNPulse)
Vanity Fair is planning to revamp its Web site to make it what editor Graydon Carter calls “a fun, funny, spunkier version of the magazine.” Among other things, the new and improved VanityFair.com will feature more photos of socialites clad in fancy clothes. The magazine might want to consider getting some extra bandwidth, too. The current site apparently crashed earlier this week when hundreds of people tried to check out Annie Leibovitz’s photos of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus.

Orange County Register Lays Off Dozens (FishbowlLA)
Things aren’t so sunny at the Orange County Register right now. The paper has laid off between 80 and 90 staffers. Although managers tried to protect “basic reporting and editing staff and targeted high salary employees,” according to editor Ken Brusic, at least four newsroom staffers were laid off, including photographer Daniel Anderson.

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The Photo Feed 04.29.08

Rob Haggart Weighs In On Leibovitz’s Miley Cyrus Pix (Fishbowl NY / PDNPulse / Gawker / New York Observer)
Everybody and their mother is weighing in on the too-racy photos of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus that Annie Leibovitz shot for Vanity Fair. Perhaps the best commentary we’ve seen comes from A Photo Editor’s Rob Haggart, who told MediaBistro’s FishbowlNY, “[S]ubjects let [the photographers] do whatever they want ... and it’s a mistake. Nobody say no [to the photographers] and they aren’t making good pictures.” He added: “[Cyrus was] going into the shoot thinking, ‘I have to do what [Leibovitz] says or else I’m not going to be in Vanity Fair.” When asked about Leibovitz’s tendency to create controversy, Haggart said, “I think [Leibovitz’s] unaware of what she’s doing with [her subjects]. She doesn’t know who this person is or their place in popular culture,” he added. “She’s too busy to spend the kind of time that she would have spent in the past ... putting the person into the picture.” But Gawker surmises that Leibovitz should “know better.” Also: The New York Observer places Cyrus in a long lineage of celebrities who believe Vanity Fair has wronged them.

Kodak Race Discrimination Lawsuits Dismissed (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
Four years after former Kodak Park employees Gary Thompson and Kenneth Wright sued Kodak for race-based discrimination, U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer has dismissed the cases. Both men claimed that Kodak had discriminated against them when it came to compensation and promotions and that the company had provided a hostile work environment. Wright also argued that Kodak discharged him in 2002 in response to discrimination complaints he filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Larimer ruled that neither man had proven compensation- or promotions-based discrimination. He also deemed Thompson and Wright’s claims about a hostile work environment isolated incidents.

Tumor Photo Gives Miami Herald Big Headache (Miami Herald)
When 15-year-old Lai Thi Dao visited Jackson Memorial Hospital for an operation on a 17-pound facial tumor, the hospital and the International Kids Fund were eager to get her some media attention. But while Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald editors were sympathetic to the Vietnamese girl and the need for donations to fund her operation, editors went back and forth over whether to use photos that protected the girl or ones that graphically informed the public.

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The Photo Feed 04.28.08

Too Much Vanity For Disney? (New York Times / L.A. Times / People)
Vanity Fair’s editors were, no doubt, looking to be provocative when they enlisted Annie Leibovitz to shoot topless pix of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus wrapped in a silk sheet. Still, this isn’t sitting well with Disney, which owns Cyrus’ “Hannah Montana” series. Disney spokeswoman Patti McTeague has accused Vanity Fair of manipulating Cyrus to sell magazines. (Disney avoided blaming Leibovitz, who just shot Julianne Moore and Michael Phelps for a “Little Mermaid” ad for Disney theme parks.) Vanity Fair and Leibovitz spokeswoman Beth Kseniak insists there’s nothing wrong with the images. “Miley’s parents and/or minders were on the set all day,” she said. “Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley.” Also: Cyrus has issued an apology to her fans. “I was so honored and thrilled to work with Annie [Leibovitz],” she said, adding, “I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed.”

Flickr: No Cartier-Bressons Here (New York Times)
Photo-sharing sites like Flickr are bringing photography to the masses. But the photography they are encouraging isn’t the stuff of legendary photographers like Diane Arbus or Henry Cartier-Bressons. Instead, it’s the stuff of heavy postproduction processing.

For Vogue Italia, Black Is The New White (Independent)
It’s no secret that fashion glossies feature few black models. But for at least one issue, Vogue Italia will provide the exception to that rule. This July, the magazine’s pages will be filled almost exclusively with black models shot by Steven Meisel.

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The Photo Feed 04.25.08

John Moore Wins Robert Capa Gold Medal (NPPA / PDN / Getty Images)
Getty Images’ John Moore has won a lot of awards this year, but none, he says, is sweeter than his newest prize: the Robert Capa Gold Medal, which the Overseas Press Club of America awarded to Moore on Thursday evening. Moore received the award, which recognizes “the best published photographic reporting from abroad, requiring exceptional courage and enterprise," for his images of Iraq, Afghanistan and Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. “When you look at the list of photojournalists who have received the Capa award in the past, I feel humbled and truly honored to be part of that group,” he said. “I have spent much of the last six years covering the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, which makes this award even more meaningful.” PDN's got a complete list of this year's Overseas Press club winners here. Also: Getty Images CEO Jonathan Klein recently interviewed John Moore about his work. Listen to the podcast here.

Vanessa Winship Named Sony World Photographer Of The Year (Earth Times)
UK photographer Vanessa Winship’s portrait of two young girls from Eastern Turkey has won her a new title: Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year honor. Honorary Board member Elliott Erwitt presented Winship with the $25,000 cash prize during Thursday night’s VIP Gala Awards ceremony in Cannes. Nan Goldin, Bruce Davidson, Tom Stoddart and Martine Franck were among the other judges. Winners in the contest’s other professional categories include: Anita Cruz-Eberhard (abstract), Fabrizio Cestari (advertising), Livia Corona (architectural), Valeska Achenbach and Isabela Pacini (fashion), Eduard Meltzer (music/performance), Giacomo Brunelli (nature), Natalie Bothur (nude), Moises Saman (photojournalism/documentary), Thomas Deernick (science) and Robin Utrecht (sport). Phil Stern received the Legacy award for his contribution to the photography industry. See the winners’ images here.

ASMP To Award 2008 Arnold Newman Prize To Photographer Jonathan Torgovnik (Photo Archive News / PDN)
On May 13, the American Society of Media Photographers will present Jonathan Torgovnik with the second annual Arnold Newman Prize, which is supported by Getty Images, Canon and PDN. Torgovnik will receive the award—a $2,500 grant and a Canon EOS 30D—for his series “Intended Consequences: Genocide Mothers, Children of Rape,” which he began as part of a Newsweek assignment. The series has already won the UK National Portrait Gallery’s 2007 Photographic Portrait Prize, the Getty Images Grant for Editorial Photography and a Documentary Photography Project Fellowship from the Open Society Institute.

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The Photo Feed 04.24.08

Getty And News Agencies Blackout Cricket More Coverage (The Australian / PDN)
Fans of the Indian Premier League’s cricket tournament will have to do without pictures and written coverage of the event for now. When the 44-day tournament began on Friday, Agence France-Presse, Getty Images, Reuters, and the Associated Press announced that they would not be covering the events until the IPL caved on a ban preventing agencies from providing images to non-newspaper Web sites. Prior to that announcement, the Indian Premier League (IPL) had done away with its insistence on holding all photo copyrights and prohibiting newspapers from using photos on their Web sites. If history is any indication, the media will resume coverage soon. The news wires and Getty blacked out coverage of Cricket Australia’s tournament in late 2007, but that dispute was resolved and coverage resumed well before the tournament ended.

Corbis Names Barry Allen CFO (Photo Archive News)
Former Housevalues CFO Barry Allen has a new job: he’s been tapped to serve as Corbis’ Chief Financial officer. Allen has held senior executive leadership roles in the real estate, Internet and enterprise technology sectors for more than 25 years.

The Little Blog That Could (USA Today)
Baltimore Sun photographer David Hobby never expected blogging on Strobist to become his full-time job. But after eight months, he’s earning more as a self-made blogger than he did at the Baltimore Sun, which gave him a one-year leave to focus on his blog. The secret of his 1.6 million page views a month is simple: Hobby dishes up lighting techniques that are doable even for amateurs.

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The Photo Feed 04.23.08

Nikon Remains Mum On D3X (Amateur Photographer / PDNPulse)
Nikon has been getting a lot of questions after some photogs noticed mention of the D3X in a D3 firmware update. But so far, Nikon has only responded by saying it can neither confirm nor deny plans to launch a DSLR known as the D3X.

OnRequest To Expand To Europe (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
OnRequest Images has set its sights on Europe. With an $8 million investment boost from the European Founders Fund, the custom photography company plans to expand its business to Europe. Current OnRequest customers include The New York Times Company’s About.com, Comcast, Starbucks and even Corbis’ sibling Microsoft.

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The Photo Feed 04.22.08

Photobucket Takes The API Plunge (Underexposed)
Photobucket is looking to get a bigger piece of the photo-sharing pie. The site has borrowed a page from Facebook and released an application programming interface (API), which will allow “ordinary” web developers to write Photobucket-centered applications and services. Developers can sign up for free online and will have the chance to profit from their work.

Despite Imperfections, Airbrushing Won’t Disappear (Ad Age / IBN Live)
In recent weeks, magazine editors in the United States and United Kingdom have proposed meetings and guidelines to regulate airbrushing. But don’t expect glossy images to be Photoshop-free. Advertisers, after all, will continue retouching their images, putting pressure on editors to do the same. Also: At least one celebrity wouldn’t mind a little Photoshop vigilance. Elizabeth Hurley says that if bikini photo shoots weren’t bad enough, she dreads seeing how designers will retouch her face.

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The Photo Feed 04.21.08

U.S. News Fraught By Rate Base And Frequency Cuts (Mediaweek)
U.S. News & World Report isn’t immune from the struggles faced by its newsweekly brethren. According to media buyers, the magazine has cut its rate base from 2 million to 1.5 million and trimmed its frequency from 46 issues a year to 36. At least some of the blame for these cuts can be traced to advertising declines. From January 1 through April 14, U.S. News saw a 38.4 percent drop in ad pages

Who Owns Your Sports Pix? (New York Times)
This should come as no surprise, but the age of new media has thrown ownership of photographs and other sports coverage into question. After more than a decade, though, the media is beginning to organize to protect its intellectual property. “As the leagues have become more assertive and more aggressive, the sense on the media side is that we need to get more organized,” said Associated Press associate general counsel Dave Tomlin.

New York Times Magazine Discovers It's Not Easy Being Green (Folio)
On Sunday, New York Times Magazine did something it's never done before: it published a "green" issue chock full of ideas for readers to reduce their carbon footprints. But the magazine is likely to draw criticism for not reducing its own carbon footprint. Like Vanity Fair and other magazines, the New York Times Magazine didn't publish its "green" issue on recycled paper.

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The Photo Feed 04.18.08

AP’s Kathleen Carroll Talks About Bilal Hussein’s Future (Editor & Publisher / PDN)
If you’re hoping to see the Associated Press run more of Bilal Hussein’s photos in the future, you will. In an interview on Thursday, AP executive editor Kathleen Carroll said that Hussein remains an AP photographer following his release by the U.S. military. For now, though, “Bilal is going to rest up and have some time with his family and go from there,” Carroll said. “Absolutely, he is an AP photographer, he still is.” She wouldn’t say specifically when she expected him to return to work. “Down the road, he has just gotten out of two-years' detention,” she added. “We will talk about specifics in the future when the time is right.”

Three More Papers Announce Layoffs And Buyouts (Editor & Publisher / NPPA / PDNPulse)
You know that old saying that bad things happen in threes? That adage rang awfully true on Thursday, when three more papers announced buyouts and layoffs. The Toronto Star’s publisher announced it would use layoffs and voluntary buyouts to cut about 160 jobs from its newspaper division, which includes the Star and several smaller Canadian dailies. While you’d normally expect this to be a sign that the paper needed to look toward the Internet, the company cut the Star’s entire Internet production staff. Meanwhile in Texas, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram announced it was axing 15 jobs through restructuring. Eight of those cuts will come in the newsroom. And in the Chicago suburbs, the Daily Herald laid off an unspecified number of staffers throughout the company.

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The Photo Feed 04.17.08

“The Leaf” Remains A Mystery (New York Times)
Since Sotheby’s cancelled an auction for a possibly pre-1850s image known as “The Leaf” earlier this month, photo historians have been trying to connect the dots to figure out who made the print—and when. As the owners of similar photogenic drawings, both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum may provide some clues and help rewrite photography history.

Shutterstock Unveils Video Subscriptions (Microstock Photography)
Yesterday, Shutterstock announced that it would offer subscriptions to its stock footage library. Previously, customers could only purchase videos on a per-clip basis. The 30-day subscriptions, which are available immediately, start at $269 without high-definition and $449 with HD.

Looking To Long-Lost Robert Capa Negatives For Answers (Amateur Photographer / PDNPulse)
Many people are hoping that the recent discovery of Robert Capa’s trove of negatives will put to rest the controversy over whether the photographer’s “The Falling Soldier” image was staged. While the International Center of Photography is just beginning to scan the film in the collection—which includes the never-before-seen “Falling Soldier” negative—ICP assistant curator Cynthia Young says the ICP stands by Capa biographer Richard Whelan’s account that it was not staged. Nevertheless, she added, “'The film in the Mexican suitcase may help in our research on this photograph.”

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The Photo Feed 04.16.08

Buyouts And Layoffs, From Coast-To-Coast (Editor & Publisher / New York Observer / Content Bridges)
Tax Day left a lot of journalists feeling down—and not just because they owed money to Uncle Sam. On Tuesday, the Modesto Bee offered buyouts to more than 100 of its 455 employees. The voluntary package includes medical coverage and as much as 26 weeks of pay, depending on the number of years of service. The announcement came on the same day that The New York Times’s assistant managing editor Bill Schmidt revealed that his paper’s low buyout acceptance numbers will almost certainly force the Times to lay off some of its newsroom staff. New media observer Ken Doctor speculates that the industry’s upheaval could be a good chance to get some young blood in newspaper boardrooms. While you might expect such a suggestion to upset industry vets, Editor & Publisher’s Joe Strupp reports that an increasing number of newspaper editors claim to want out of the newsroom.

Lucky Oliver Shutting Down (Lucky Oliver
The microstock site Lucky Oliver is going out of business, effective May 15. While the user agreement will remain in effect, users who have reached the minimum payout must request payment by May 15. Those who haven't reached payout can convert their earnings to tokens, which must be used by May 15. According to Lucky Oliver founder Bryan Zmijewski, the company lacked the capital necessary to stay in business.

UK Charity Names Sudipto Das 2007 Environmental Photographer Of The Year (Telegraph)
When photographer Sudipto Das noticed a boy and a dog sleeping on a Calcutta doorstep, he took a taxi home to grab his camera. To his surprise—and luck—both were still sleeping upon his return. That image of poverty won Das the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management’s 2007 Environmental Photographer of the Year contest—and a £500 (about $1,000) prize. More than 600 people entered the UK charity’s contest.

Hearst Discovers Facebook, Learns To IM (Folio)
Hearst just might be on to something. The magazine publisher has discovered that teenagers are big on social networking, instant messaging and—OMG—text messaging. The publisher has announced plans to partner up with Spleak Media Network, a publishing platform that distributes user-generated and professionally generated content to Facebook, MySpace, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger and via text messaging. Through Spleak’s celebrity-focused CelebSpleak, Hearst will offer original content from Teen, CosmoGirl, Seventeen and eSpin.

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The Photo Feed 04.15.08

Tampa Tribune Offers Buyouts To Half Its Staff (Editor & Publisher / NPPA / editorsweblog via APAD)
Monday was a gloomy day at the Tampa Tribune. That’s when staffers learned that their parent company, the Florida Communications Group, is offering voluntary buyouts to half of its staff of 1,326 at the paper, WFLA-TV, and a few smaller papers. If too few staffers accept the buyout, which includes up to 39 weeks of severance pay for some employees, the company may resort to layoffs. Also: San Jose Mercury News designer Martin Gee has capture what Tampa Tribune survivors have to look forward to in a photo essay highlighting the empty space that fills his paper’s newsroom after several rounds of layoffs and buyouts. Also: An ASNE puts all of these buyouts in context. In the past year, newsroom staff have declined by 4.4 percent—the largest drop in 30 years.

Eat, Magazines (Women’s Wear Daily, 2nd item)
If you’re a starving commercial photographer, here’s something to feast on: Food costs may be rising, but magazines remain well-fed by food advertisers. While economic downturn has spelled ad decline for print magazines, advertisements highlighting food and food products have seen a 29.1 percent increase in revenue and a 19.4 percent gain in ad pages.

Getty Images Nabs Ivana Trump’s Wedding Pix (Jossip)
Ivana Trump must’ve learned a thing or two about making money during her marriage to Donald Trump. The former Mrs. Trump sold the photos from her recent wedding to singer Rossano Rubicondi to Getty for $600,000, a seemingly high price for someone most of the world isn’t particularly interested in. Of course, Ivana may have had help in milking Getty. According to Jossip, Donald Trump himself reportedly negotiated the sale.

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The Photo Feed 04.14.08

Iraqi Panel Fully Clears Bilal (PDN)
Two years and one day after the U.S. military took AP photographer Bilal Hussein into custody, an Iraqi judicial panel dismissed the last charges against him and granted him amnesty. The three-judge panel also ordered the photographer’s release, but for now he remains in U.S. custody. "We are grateful for the decision of the Amnesty Council and the Iraqi judges," said AP President Tom Curley after the panel’s ruling on Sunday. "We look forward to Bilal's safe return to his family and to AP."

ASME To Consider Photo Manipulation (Folio / PDNPulse)
The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) seems to have borrowed a page from the U.K.’s Periodical Publishers Association, which recently announced that it was organizing a working group on airbrushing in fashion photography. The ASME is talking about organizing a panel discussion on photo manipulation practices. The organization won’t ban photo retouching, but ASME president and Glamour editor Cindi Leive says, “Readers should never be misled about what they’re looking at.”

Andy Warhol Photo Trove Reveals The Gubernator As A Young Man (L.A. Times
University of California-Davis’ Nelson Gallery was among 183 academic art museums to receive a gift from Andy Warhol’s estate. Among the 150 photographs acquired by the Nelson Gallery are images of Arnold Schwarzenegger back in his body-building days, as well as photos from the governor’s wedding to Maria Shriver. Check out some of the pix here.

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The Photo Feed 04.11.08

The $91,000 Nude (BBC / PDNPulse / Amateur Photographer)
To at least one anonymous bidder out there, Michel Comte’s 1993 nude portrait of French First Lady Carla Bruni is worth a lot more than anyone had expected. The image, which was auctioned off at Christie’s on Thursday, was expected to go for between $3,000 and $4,000. But thanks to Bruni’s newfound First Lady status—not to mention media interest in the photograph—the 13-by-10 portrait sold for $91,000. The proceeds from the sale will go to a Swiss charity that provides clean drinking water to developing countries. The Bruni image wasn’t the biggest ticket nude up for auction yesterday, though. Irving Penn’s 1996 image of Kate Moss went for $97,000, while Richard Avendon’s photo of Brigitte Bardot sold for $181,000.

American Journalist Detained In Egypt For Taking Photographs (AP via L.A. Times)
American freelance journalist, photog and designer James Buck and an Egyptian translator are being detained after taking photos of northern Egyptian families on a hunger strike on Thursday. According to a brief cell phone conversation he had with the Associated Press from inside a police station, police chased the duo then interrogated Buck for about 45 minutes. The AP isn’t sure whether police knew Buck had a cell phone, but the call was cut off after a few minutes. A spokesperson for the U.S Embassy in Egypt says Buck’s detention is being investigated.

Why Old Glory Still Matters (Slate)
It's been 31 years since Boston Herald-American photog Stanley K. Forman won the Pulitzer Prize for his image of a white teenager using the American flag as a weapon during a 1976 anti-busing rally. But American Studies professor Louis P. Masur believes that the photo, entitled The Soiling of Old Glory still haunts Boston and the rest of the country.

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The Photo Feed 04.10.08

Arbus Auction Cancelled (New York Times)
People hoping to bid on some rare Diane Arbus prints at the Phillips de Pury auction house on Tuesday got some bad news at the last minute: the auction had been cancelled. According to Peter R. Stern, the attorney for the images’ owner Bob Langmuir, the decision to cancel was spurred by a lawsuit by a collector who’d been told a private sale was still a possibility. Bayo Ogunsanya sued Langmuir in federal court, claiming he was unaware of the value of Arbus’ images of performers at Hubert’s Dime Museum and Flea Circus when he sold them to Langmuir for $3,500 in 2003.

Photogs: Fashion’s Real Storytellers (New York Times)
“If fashion shows are a way for a designer to think out loud,” says The New York Times’ Cathy Horyn, “collaborations with a photographer can help spin those disparate ideas into a story.” Topping the list of fashion storytelling greats are Bruce Weber, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and, most recently, Juergen Teller, who has been collaborating with fashion provocateur Marc Jacobs for more than a decade. Together, Teller and Jacobs have documented the “distractions and tastes of the moment” with images of celebrities like Sofia Coppola and Winona Ryder “generally doing nothing in the Seinfeldian sense.”

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The Photo Feed 04.09.08

NPPA Announces 2008 BOP Picture Editing Winners (NPPA / PDN)
The 2008 Best of Photojournalism contest has finally wrapped up with the judging of the picture editing categories. The Dallas Morning News was the big winner in both of the Newspaper Picture Editor categories, with Brad Loper picking up the individual prize and the paper nabbing the award in the team category. In the magazine categories, Sports Illustrated’s Jim Colron was named Magazine Picture Editor of the Year, while Saveur took home the prize for the Best Use of Pictures by Magazines. The Los Angeles Times was awarded the prize for the Best Use of Pictures for papers with circulation of more than 75,000, while The Concord Monitor won the Best Use of Pictures category for papers with circulation below 75,000. See the winners in other categories here.

Judge Sentences Four For Photojournalist’s Death (NPPA)
Three-and-a-half years after photographer Gregorio Rodríguez Hernández was shot to death while eating with his family in Escuinapa, Mexico, Judge Daniel Armenta Rentería has convicted Pedro Salas Franco, Francisco Pineda Sarmiento, and Elías Alvarez González for carrying out the murder. Rentería also convicted Escuinapa former Escuinapa police chief Abel Enríquez Zavala, charging that he served as an intermediary between the perpetrators and the unnamed person who masterminded the murder. While the trial didn’t establish a motive for the murder, one of Hernández’s colleagues suggested the murderers were retaliating for the photographer’s images of local officials with alleged drug traffickers.

A Settlement For IPA And IHSA (NPPA)
The Illinois Press Association (IPA) and the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) have settled a lawsuit charging that the IHSA was unjustly keeping photogs from selling pix shot at state championships. The settlement, which was announced on Tuesday, will allow photogs to cover high school tournaments and allow the sale of photos and videos from those events without intervention by the IHSA. In exchange, the IPA is expected to withdraw state legislation that would prohibit the IHSA from giving a private company the exclusive right to sell pix of state championship events. IPA executive director Dave Bennett calls the settlement “a victory for press freedom and the independent rights of newspapers to cover public events without restriction from government officials.”

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