Over the last couple of weeks, USA Today has been under fire for deciding not to send their seasoned veteran photographers to cover the London Olympics. Having just bought US Presswire last September, parent company Gannett have decided instead to use the photographers and contractors at their disposal through them.
Many a photographer would love to have a medium format camera gracing their camera bag, but not everyone can afford to drop anywhere between twenty and forty thousand dollars on a Hasselblad. Fortunately, the price of owning one just dropped by 22.9-percent. In an attempt to make medium formats more affordable and commonplace, Hasselblad is launching a global marketing initiative that will significantly drop the price of many of their cameras, including the entry-level H4D-31 (down by ~$5,000), …
Some strange news from Nikon today: the company published a press release detailing some decisions made at a meeting of the Board of Directors that was held today. The directors were discussing some proposed amendments to the company's Articles of Incorporation that will be discussed at the general shareholders meeting on June 28th. Under the section that spells out Nikon's business activities, they're proposing the following amendment: …
This past Monday, stock photography behemoth Shutterstock filed documents with the SEC to have an IPO and list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The process requires Shutterstock to reveal its financial details, so the document provides an interesting look at how the company ticks and the state of the stock photography industry.
Just over a month after making headlines with their $1 billion Instagram acquisition, Facebook have now made another power move towards their now obvious goal of interstellar domination photo-sharing supremacy. This time their target was the seven-person team behind the popular Android photo sharing app Lightbox. Unlike with Instagram, Facebook isn't acquiring the company; instead they're simply absorbing the Lightbox Team. According to their blog, Lightbox is no longer accepting sign-ups and …
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is planning on becoming more invested in photos and video with the next iterations of iCloud and, subsequently, iOS. The updates, which are expected to be announced officially at the WWDC starting June 11th, will include the addition of video synching similar to the current photo stream alongside some exciting photo-sharing capabilities.
For those of us who remember it, Flickr was once an amazing place. More than just a website or a bucket of features, it was a vibrant community made up by professional photographers and amateur photo junkies alike. Before Facebook would even allow you to upload anything more than a profile picture, Flickr was the place you went to share your life in pictures. And then, at least according to an article on Gizmodo, Yahoo! happened.
In sharp contrast to the Leica way of doing things by hand, Canon has just announced that it is planning on completely eliminating the need for a human production line as early as 2015. So while your future Leica M10 will still be completely hand-made (with a price tag to match), your future 5D Mark IV (or maybe Mark VI by then) will be entirely robot-made.
Want to see how the world's most expensive camera was auctioned this past Saturday? The video above shows the 1923 Leica O-Series going up at the WestLicht Photographica Auction and being sold at the record-breaking price of $2.79 million after auction fees and tax. WestLicht points out that these cameras have been appreciating like crazy in recent years: the first sold in 2007 for $440K and a second sold in 2011 for $1.9M before this most recent auction. Each of the auctions set a new world …
Many words and/or phrases come to mind when you think of Kodak: photography, disposable camera, Kodak moment, and more recently bankruptcy. But we never thought we would be able to associate the phrases "nuclear reactor" and "enriched uranium" with the once-great photography giant -- until recently that is. That's because a few months ago a former Kodak employee let slip to the Democrat and Chronicle the existance of a little known, and never publicized, nuclear reactor hidden in the bowels of …
About a week ago Adobe sent CS5 users on a rampage when they not only announced the existence of eight "critical" vulnerabilities (split between Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash Professional), but also told users that they would have to upgrade to CS6 if they wanted a fix. Users of CS5 and CS5.5 were understandably outraged, but fortunately Adobe were listening this time and just yesterday changed their tune.
Those of you who were hoping that all of the Facebook/Instagram acquisition talk would end may not get a respite as soon as we thought. Although the original acquisition papers from Facebook stated that they would try to close the deal in Q2, a rumored Federal Trade Commission (FTC) competition probe may delay that closure by up to a year.
If you live in the US and are used to selling cameras to overseas customers -- or if you live overseas and like to buy your cameras from US retailers -- your shipping choices just got a bit slimmer. In a statement released earlier, the US Postal Service (USPS) said that they will no longer be shipping any items with li-ion batteries in them internationally starting May 16th, declaring the batteries a "fire hazard". Lithium batteries power many personal electronic devices and have been found to …
Last year Olympus announced that it would be moving away from DSLRs in favor of mirrorless cameras. Today Samsung revealed that it's moving towards mirrorless as well, except from compact cameras instead of DSLRs. The company is converting its main Chinese camera plant to manufacture high-end mirrorless cameras rather than the cheap point-and-shoots it has made in the past.
A fake war photograph by Canadian artist Jeff Wall was sold yesterday at Christie's in NYC for a staggering $3.6 million -- a new record for Canadian photographers and the third highest price ever paid for a picture. The 1992 photo, titled Dead Troops Talk, was captured inside a suburban Vancouver studio using models, borrowed military outfits, and fake blood. It shows a group of dead Soviet soldiers chatting with one another during the Soviet-Afghan war of 1986. The sold image is one of two …
Quite a bit longer than most of the videos we put up, nevertheless, this insightful interview with Newsweek's long-time Senior International Photo Editor, Jamie Wellford, is worth watching/listening to for any and all photojournalism enthusiasts. The topics of conversation cover everything from Wellford's beginnings at Newsweek to why tragic events tend to yield the best photojournalism.
After narrowly missing the opportunity to acquire Instagram, it seems that Twitter was eager to try again; this time with one of the most popular paid camera apps, Camera+. Apparently, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey actually met with tap tap tap -- the makers of Camera+ -- to discuss an acquisition shortly after news of Facebook's Instagram acquisition broke.
A couple of days ago the world was wowed by the up and coming BlackBerry 10's new camera app. The app, demoed by RIM at BlackBerry World 2012, allowed you to select someone's face and scroll through frames captured before and after you hit the shutter button. If you thought the app looked familiar, you were right: it's actually a rebranded version of Scalado Rewind.
Users of both Flickr and Pinterest will be happy to know that the two companies have decided to collaborate. Because of the high volume of Flickr photos that end up pinned (often without any credit), the companies have decided that it would be in the best interest of photographers and users alike to add a "Pin It" button on the Flickr site. In this way photographers who allow their photos to be pinned are properly attributed, while Pinterest users can now share photos with a few easy clicks
This video, done by The Camera Store with help from Roth and Ramberg, is sure to stir up some controversy. One side will say that 35mm couldn't possibly compete with medium format, while the other will point out that the price difference makes the whole debate moot.
This behind the scenes video of Benjamin Von Wong's photo shoot with the band The Agonist is a great example of how creative band photography can really get when you have a band that's willing to get dirty, paired with a phenomenal photographer. The video shows the process involved in taking a cool action shot band picture from idea to finished product, and should serve as great inspiration for anybody into band photography -- or photography in general for that matter. Enjoy! …
They say that when it rains it pours, and nowhere is that more evident than with the troubled, once-great photography company Kodak. After filing for bankruptcy, narrowing its focus to printers, and selling the Kodak Gallery for pennys on the dollar, we sort of hoped the company would start to see some rays of sunshine break through their perpetual cloud cover. Unfortunately, their quarter's earnings report is anything but sunny.
You wouldn't think the world of instant film could learn much from the world of beer -- and on most counts you'd be right -- but in this particular case, a little bit of Coors inspiration may have played a role in The Impossible Projects new line of COOL Polaroid films. The specialty instant film, part of The Impossible Project's Spring 2012 line, are kept in a temperature-sensitive package. In order to maintain its shelf life, the packaging will warn you when you're storing it in too warm an …
Early last month we reported that Shutterfly had agreed to buy Kodak Gallery for a meager $23.8 million. The process, done by way of a "stalking horse bid," meant that another company was allowed to make a competing bid for the gallery by April 20th.
Over the last year or so, as camera phones and "phoneography" have taken off, many have feared and/or expected the death of the digital camera. In many ways this fear has come to fruition -- point-and-shoot cameras are becoming a thing of the past -- but for another segment of the market, the advent of the camera phone has benefitted companies and consumers alike.
Now that online sharing of images and video has become so commonplace, Sony has decided that they too want a piece of the pie. And their new storage service, dubbed PlayMemories Online, is how they intend to claim that piece. Launched only a couple of days ago, the service is now available in the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Canada and offers 5GB of storage for free.
As the cliche goes: "a picture is worth a thousand words," and Once Magazine is replacing many of the words that make up a typical magazine with pictures that speak for themselves. The relatively new publication has attracted a lot of attention since its first issue in September of last year -- not because magazines on the iPad are anything new, but because both their business model and their execution are fantastic.
Bad news if you're a film shooter and Fujifilm is your brand of choice: the company has announced that it will be increasing the worldwide price of its entire line of photographic films starting in May 2012. In the announcement, the company blames demand and economics for the decision: …
A couple of weeks ago, Facebook took everybody by surprise when they acquired Instagram; the massively popular -- though not yet profitable -- photo-sharing application. A few days ago we learned that they may have only just beat Twitter to the punch. Now rumors are flying about that Mark Zuckerberg not only acted on his own -- without the Facebook board's knowledge -- but managed to lower Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom's asking price from $2 billion to the reported $1 billion that Facebook …
"Fake People Suck" -- now that's a tagline. In 2009 David Katzenstein and Sherrie Nickol began a fine arts project that involved asking people off the street to come to their studio and photographing them against a white background. The idea was to capture the striking diversity that's commonplace in New York. But after photographing about 50 people -- and due also to a steady drop in commissions from commercial and corporate projects -- they realized the potential the project had as a …
Facebook may have been the victor in the race to acquire Instagram, but it wasn't the only runner. The New York Times writes that Twitter had been interested in snatching up the service in the months leading up to the $1 billion buyout.
BBC Research has released a new report stating that the digital photography industry has an annual growth rate of 3.8%. Valued at $68.4 billion last year, the global market will reach an estimated value of $82.5 billion by 2016. The study defined the market as a combination of camera equipment, printing equipment, and complementary products. While the photo printing industry is predicted to struggle and lose $300 million between now and 2016, digital cameras and lenses will reportedly do just …
When it was announced that Facebook would be acquiring Instagram back on Monday, the web balked at the $1 billion price tag and started shouting "bubble". Is it really indicative of another tech bubble, or was it a smart move on Zuckerberg's part? Andy Baio -- the founder of Upcoming.org, which was purchased by Yahoo -- has written up an interesting article over at Wired that takes a look at the numbers. For a billion bucks, Facebook snagged a startup with a whopping 35 million users and just …
Digital Trends has published an interesting "inside look at what's behind the little (but growing) lens-maker that could", Lensbaby. You might be surprised at the relatively small size of the operation: …
French photographers organization Union des Photographes Professionnels (UPP) launched a controversial new advertising campaign this week, speaking out against the use of photographs without proper permission and/or payment. The ad reads: "Each day, a photographer's work is used without his consent". A spokesperson for UPP states, …
Kodak is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for permission to pay $13.5 million in bonuses to roughly 300 executives and employees in order to convince them to stay with the company as it struggles to reinvent itself. Though the beleaguered company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, it believes that the money would help to retain employees that have knowledge and skills that would be difficult to replace if they were to leave. The current headcount at the company stands at around 7,600.
Turns out retro photo filters and mobile photo sharing are big business. Just how big? Get this: Facebook has agreed to acquire 17-month-old Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock. Instagram amassed 27 million users through iOS alone, but Facebook was likely motivated by the photo sharing app's recent Android launch, which signed up 1 million new members in the first 24 hours alone. Just last week it was reported that Instagram had raised $50 million based on a $500 million valuation. Those …
So, from time to time, I receive requests to use my images for various purposes — like on a blog or a pamphlet or a calendar or the side of a zeppelin or for a urinal cake. Typically, if they are nice and they’re not going to be making a load of cash off where they’d like to use my image then I’ll let them use it as long as they give me credit. I’m especially generous with environmental interests and non-profits and ice cream manufacturers offering vouchers for all-you-can-eat tours.
Instagram is set to raise a massive Series B round of venture financing and, according to AllThingsD, the round will be led by preeminent VC firm Sequoia Capital -- the same firm that funded the likes of Apple, Google, YouTube, PayPal, Oracle, and Yahoo!. The company will reportedly be raising $50 million on a $500 million valuation, which is a hefty price point for a 17-month-old company with a headcount of 13. The service boasted 30 million iPhone users prior to its Android launch earlier …
Glance through the winners list of this year's prestigious Photography of the Year International awards, and one newspaper may jump out at you: the Dubois County Herald.
Here's a great 6-minute video in which PBS Off Book examines the impact three Internet phenomena -- Kickstarter, Creative Commons, and The Creators Project -- are impacting the world of art.
One of the biggest stories in the news over the past month has been the controversy surrounding the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Poynter has published an article that examines how the media has used photography to portray Trayvon Martin, the victim, and George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who shot and killed him.
A month after announcing massive losses of $2.9 billion, Sony is taking evasive action to rediscover itself and right its ship. The company announced a new corporate strategy today, devised by its new CEO Kazuo Hirai. Called "One Sony", the initiative identifies digital imaging as one of the three core pillars of the company going forward: …
While a number of countries are taking steps to ban the unrealistic Photoshopping of models, Israel has gone a step further: the country has banned the use of underweight models themselves. Additionally, ads that are Photoshopped to make models look skinnier must also now carry a disclaimer. With the new law in place, all models appearing at photo shoots for ads geared toward the Israeli market must provide an up-to-date medical report proving that they aren't malnourished by the World Health …
36 of American photographer William Eggleston's digital pigment prints were auctioned off at Christie's on Monday, fetching a whopping $5.9 million -- far more than the $2.7M they were expected to sell for. Eggleston is credited with helping making color photography a legitimate artistic medium for galleries, which had previously favored B&W prints. A print of Eggleston's "Memphis (Tricycle)" (shown above) was the top seller after being snatched up for $578,500.
Kodak's film business just can't seem to catch a break. One week the company announced the death of its entire slide film lineup, Kodak announced today that it is increasing the price of all the surviving films by 15%, stating, …
Instagram is reportedly in the process of securing new round of funding that values the 16-month-old company at a staggering $500 million -- 20 times what the company was valued at a year ago. Although the $40 million round has drawn a lot of interest from investors, many of the top VC firms have decided to stay away due to the high valuation and the fact that Instagram still needs to prove that it can turn popularity into profit. The 9-man company currently has over 15 million users and is …
Shaofeng Xu’s photo of a protestor climbing a high-voltage electricity tower won Honorable Mention in the Contemporary Issues category of the World Press Photo 2012 contest.
Nikon caused a stir this past weekend after it was revealed that a promo video shown during the D800's launch in Bangkok actually contained footage that was both used without permission and that wasn't even captured with a Nikon D800. After a recording of the promo was uploaded to YouTube in mid-February, people began coming forward with reports that Nikon had used their videos without permission.
Back in November of last year, we reported that Kodak had put its Kodak Gallery service up for sale and was hoping to offload it for "hundreds of millions of dollars". A couple months later Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and now the company has finally found a buyer for the photo sharing and printing service: Shutterfly. The sale price? Only $23.8 million. If the sale gets approved by the US Bankruptcy Court in March, Kodak Gallery's 75 million users will be transferred over to …
