Home  >  News  >  Newslines  > Archive 2005

The newslines from the ASMP Bulletin and other sources will keep you up to date and informed

Posted May 2005

New York drops its subway camera ban

New York City police and transit officials have dropped their proposal to ban photography and videotaping in subway stations. The ban was initially advocated as a measure to improve transit security, and was opposed by civil-liberties groups, some city officials and photo associations, including ASMP.

However, police spokesman Paul Browne was quoted in Sunday’s Daily News as saying, “Our officers will continue to investigate and intercede if necessary, if the activity — photo-related or not — is suspicious.”

House hikes arts funding

Federal support for the arts seems solid for another year. This week, the U.S. House of Representatives amended the Interior Appropriations bill to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by $10 million and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) by $5 million. During debate, supporters of the amendment noted the economic return generated by the arts, such as arts businesses and employment in the House members’ districts.

The Interior Appropriations bill has not yet passed, and next week members will vote on two amendments to cut NEA funding. The amendments are expected to fail, however. The bill will then go to the Senate, where the funding increase faces an uncertain future.

To track this, and other arts-related causes, visit the Americans for the Arts web site.  

Arkiv launches offsite storage service

Arkiv Inc. has launched a new service, Ar*kiv Offsite, aimed at creative professionals: a secure, environmentally controlled storage facility for CDs, DVDs and hard drives. Photographers simply burn their images to CDs or DVDs and ship them out in the provided mailers. At Arkiv’s site, the contents are verified, converted to low-res web-ready images and uploaded to password-protected member galleries for future reference.

The service costs $10 per month (unlimited storage), plus one-time charges of $10 per optical disk and $60 per hard disk. The founder, Philip Lengden, is a Toronto based commercial photographer who sees a market for archival storage on a per-job basis with fees low enough that they can easily be passed on to the client.

http://www.ar-kiv.com/

Father-daughter exhibit at Hamilton College

The Emerson Gallery at Hamilton College (Clinton, NY) will host an exhibit of the photographs of two ASMP members, George Silk and Georgiana Silk, from June 2 to September 11, 2005.

George Silk (1916 2004) was a prize-winning Life magazine photographer for 30 years, beginning as a war correspondent. He became best known for what he called “outdoors photography” — adventure, exploration and sports photography. He was extremely intuitive and innovative, providing perspectives and distortions that challenge the traditional view of athletes and objects.

His daughter, Georgiana Bulfinch Silk, was in the first graduating class of Kirkland College. (Kirland College was across the street from Hamilton College; the two schools merged in 1978.) She first collaborated with her father in a 1972 photo-essay for Life on Kirkland s first graduation. After a successful career as a magazine assignment photographer, shooting for People, Time, Fortune and others, Georgiana ventured into the corporate world. In addition to her corporate work (and raising a family), Georgiana has concentrated on children s portraiture for the past 14 years.

WpN launches “The Big Idea” competition

WorldPictureNews (a subsidiary of WorldPictureNetwork) has begun a program, called The Big Idea, to distribute up to $3,000 in grant money every month. The inaugural competition is open to all interested photographers, even those not represented by WpN. Thereafter, the program will be open on a monthly basis only to photographers registered with WpN and with a history of at least one accepted story, and on a quarterly basis to the wider community of professionals. The only requirement is that the story produced with those funds must be represented for sale exclusively by World Picture News for at least one year.

Entry forms and rules for may be found at www.worldpicturenews.com. Proposals will be evaluated on originality, creativity, exclusivity, access, the promise of unique images, and sales potential. Of course, stories have different costs, needs and schedules, and The Big Idea is built for support and flexibility. When entering, indicate the amount needed to get your story going. The $3,000 can be distributed in smaller allotments (minimum $500), to support several stories. The truly big idea  can merit the entire monthly award.

Separately, WpN said that it will begin moving into fashion, entertainment, sports and publicity photos for corporate and PR clients. Begun as a news-photo syndication service, it now plans to serve the advertising, graphic design and publishing markets as well.

In addition, WpN has opened a multimedia photo gallery in midtown Manhattan with an exhibition of Iraq war images and video. The photography has simultaneously been developed in digital form as the first-ever multimedia gallery show for Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) devices.

ASMP Foundation extends deadline

The ASMP Foundation has extended its spring deadline for grant applications until June 15. If you have a project that fits the Foundation’s guidelines, you are invited to submit a proposal. The guidelines, along with application forms and descriptions of past awards, are posted at www.asmp.org/foundation/index.php.

The ASMP Foundation’s mission is to support the education of ASMP members and the creative community to which they belong. Its goal is to encourage the professional and artistic growth of photographers. Although the Foundation cannot usually offer total funding for any given program, its grants of up to $1,500 can, in conjunction with other funding sources, be instrumental in promoting worthy projects.

The ASMP Foundation Grants Committee evaluates grant applications twice yearly. Applicants will be notified within 60 days if their application has been accepted or rejected. All grant decisions are made on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Agfa starts third Multicontrast B&W photo contest

AgfaPhoto announced its Third International AgfaPhoto Multicontrast Black-and-White Photo Competition. This year’s theme, “Body Language,” is intended to give enthusiastic photographers from all over the world the opportunity of submitting artistic contributions that consider human nature from different points of view.

The three best contributions will be awarded cash prizes of 5,000, 3,000 and 1,500 Euros and will be featured on the Multicontrast paper packages for the coming year. A further 9 winners will receive 500 Euros each. All 12 winning pictures will be published in the AgfaPhoto 2006 Wall Calendar as well as on the Internet. Finally, all contestants will be entered in a drawing for 100 Multicontrast test sets, including films, paper and chemicals.  

Entry deadline is August 12. There is no entry fee. Photographers keep their copyrights, but the winners must grant Agfa the usage rights for the calendar and photopaper boxes.

Gary Gladstone gets IPC’s 2005 Leadership Award

The International Photographic Council (IPC), a non-governmental organization of the United Nations, announced the recipients of its 7th annual Professional Photographer Leadership Awards. The 2005 award recipients are: Gary Gladstone, IPC ASMP Leadership Award; Peter Souza, IPC WHNPA Leadership Award; Marvel Nelson, PPA IPC Leadership Award; Tony Corbell, IPC WPPI Leadership Award; and Jeff Sedlik, IPC APA Leadership Award.

The awards are presented each May, designated as International Professional Photographer’s Month. Winners are selected by each of five professional photography organizations from among their members: the White House News Photographer’s Association (WHNPA); the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP); the Professional Photographers of America (PPA); the Wedding Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), and the Advertising Photographers of America (APA). Each organization decides which of its members receives the award, based on standards used within the organization.

Winners were recognized at the IPC International Professional Photographer’s Month luncheon at the United Nations in New York on May 11. The keynote speaker was Karen A. Smith-Pilkington, chair and president, Greater Asia Region, Eastman Kodak Co.

Seattle ASPP to host two digital sessions

The Seattle chapter of the American Society of Picture Professionals has two events coming up in June that should be interesting and informative for anyone working with digital images.

On Monday, June 6th, ASPP West will present “Editing Digitally — Rat’s Nest or Time Saver?” It’s an adaptation of a panel convened at the PACA conference in May, which was primarily geared to photo agency editors. Now, the scope is broadened to include not only agency people but also photographers and users of images. The panel will share information on software and other tools they use, as well as tips and preferences on workflow from camera to final use.

Moderator will be Roger Ressmeyer, Science Faction. The panelists are: Danita Delimont, Danita Delimont Stock Photography; Carl Gronquist, Corbis; Tom Wear, Getty Images; Stuart Westmorland, Photographer; Melissa Serdy and Adrian Weaver, Photo Editor and Digital Imaging Studio Manager, Microsoft.

On Wednesday, June 15th, ASPP West will present “Tim Grey: Digital Workflow for Photographers and their Editors.” Tim will focus on two aspects of the digital workflow: for photographers, the processing of RAW images (especially a large group from an assignment or shoot) into a form that will be presentable to clients and editors; and for editors/buyers, the ways to asses the quality and potential of submitted digital images. He will include a brief tour of the latest features of PhotoShop CS2, and well as a discussion of other software for processing RAWs.

Grey is the “go to guy” for many professional photographers and companies involved in digital photography and imaging. He writes about the use of digital tools in photography for Digital Photo Pro, Outdoor Photographer and PC Photo magazines. His most recent book is Photoshop CS2 Workflow: The Digital Photographer’s Guide, and he is a co-author of several other books.He is also a popular speaker at various seminars and trade shows.

Both events begin with light refreshments and networking at 6:30 pm and wind up at 9:00 pm. The venue is the Amsterdam conference room, Waterside Building, 601 North 34th Street, Seattle WA 98103 (entrance is on Canal Drive). Admission is free to ASPP members; ASMP members pay $5; others pay $10. A large turnout is expected, so please RSVP to asppwest@msn.com.

Maryanne Russell exhibit supports five charities

“Cambodia: Light After Darkness”, a New York exhibition by Maryanne Russell, will include 50 photographic images and portfolios presenting five humanitarian causes in need of support. Attendee donations for the May 16 opening will be divided equally among these groups: The Wildlife Conservation Society, Outreach Emergency Services Program, The Children Of Asia-Aspeca (Village D enfants De Sihanoukville), M lop Tapang, and The New Cambodian Children’s Live Association (Nclac).

The requested donation for the May 16 bash is $40 in advance or $60 at the door. However, you can make a $40 pledge via email (info at www.maryannerussell.com) and pay it at the door. The party will take place from 6-9 pm at 16 West 21st St, New York.

May 17 and 18 are “by invitation only” days, but the venue will be open to the public on May 19, 3-9 pm.

This will be Russell’s second solo exhibit. Always seeking to capture the most compelling images, her journey to Cambodia began with the desire to photograph people making a difference in that gorgeous, yet culturally-ravaged country. Her first solo exhibition, “Road to Nafplio: Images of Greece,” was held in 2004 at the Grant Gallery in Soho.

Color Awards issues call for entries

The International Color Awards is now accepting entries for the 2005 competition. In addition to the cash awards ($10,000 top prize and $1,000 for category winners), the winners get a one-year non-exclusive contract with International Color Awards to promote their winning work.

Entering the event also puts your photographs in front of the world’s leading creatives. For this year’s contest, Getty Images creatives from New York and Los Angeles have joined the judging panel. The other judges represent global advertising agencies: Wieden & Kennedy (Shanghai); Crispin Porter + Bogusky (Miami); and Grey Worldwide (New York).

You can enter (and upload files) online at the Color Awards web site. Entry fees for professionals are $35 for the first image and $20 for additional images. There are also “packages” for entering collections of five or ten images. The deadline for spring entries is May 31; fall entries are due before October 31. The advantage of entering early is that the judges nominate finalist candidates that are then exhibited for sale at the International Color Awards Gallery for the rest of the year. Winners of the competition will be announced in January 2006.

Getty Images offers grants for editorial photography

This summer, Getty will make three $20,000 grants to enable photographers to bring projects of personal and journalistic importance to reality and to the marketplace. This will be the second grant round for 2005; in February, two grants were awarded through this program.

Getty’s stated goal is to “provide photographers with the creative freedom and collaborative editorial support necessary to produce documentary features that raise the bar of visual excellence. Through story development, field logistics and editorial dialogue, Getty Images features’ photo editors will work closely with grant recipients throughout project execution.”

The resulting documentary features will be distributed to the global marketplace at www.gettyimages.com, providing grant recipients with additional exposure and revenue opportunities, while retaining their image copyrights.

Grant applications are due by June 15. Application guidelines and forms are available from the Getty site; the submission includes a 500-word project proposal and a portfolio of 30-60 images. There is no fee, but applicants pay all the expenses of preparing the submission. Winners will be announced in September.

Eric Horan takes bronze in calendar competition

ASMP member Eric Horan took this year’s bronze award in the Calendar Marketing Association’s national calendar competition. His Lowcountry 2005 calendar won in the ‘Best Scenic/Other Photography’ division and was selected from more than 350 entries in the retail sales category.

Eric first published his Lowcountry calendar in 2001 as a promotional piece with advertising opportunities for local businesses. By 2003, he began marketing the calendar as a product in its own right. At the same time, he set up Southern Light Photographic as a retail product division of Eric Horan Photography. In 2004, his calendar was picked up by a national calendar company and distributed throughout the southeast to Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million & Walden bookstores. This year, he launched a second calendar, Hilton Head 2005, featuring the natural beauty of Hilton Head Island on the cover. Now, he’s starting a third calendar, The Sea Islands of Georgia 2006, featuring Georgia’s pristine coastline.

Cool Stuff on display in Hilton Head

ASMP member Greg Smith is showing 47 photos at the Crossroads Center, Palmetto Bay Road, Hilton Head Island, from May 6-30. The show is called “Cool Stuff: Visual Discoveries from Near and Far,” and the catalog is online at Greg’s web site.

Stepping Stone seeks elusive images

Bob Mitchell, the Director of Stepping Stone Gallery, is looking for images for his upcoming exhibition, “Elusive Photography.” If interested, you may send 72-dpi, 5x7 JPEGs to bob@steppingstonegallery.com for consideration. There is no fee for submission, but a $45.00 per image hanging fee applies to accepted images. Deadline for submissions is May 29th.

Accepted artists will be notified on May 31, and will have until June 5 to send final images. The “Elusive Photography” exhibit will run June 10  July 17, concurrently with Stepping Stone’s Fifth National Juried Photography Exhibition.

Mitchell is looking for a certain kind of image. “From altered sensibilities and shifted perspectives, Elusive Photography is not just about capturing precise moments in time. Its intent is not readily accessible to the viewer — it goes one step further. Its meaning is elusive, almost slippery; not easily grasped by the mind, yet extremely inviting.”

Powerstock becomes SuperStock UK

SuperStock, a subsidiary of a21, Inc., announced that Powerstock, its subsidiary in the United Kingdom, will formally change its name to SuperStock UK effective immediately. SuperStock acquired Powerstock in March 2002 and retained the Powerstock name.

Photoshop conference in Michigan

Great Lakes Digital will host a Photoshop Soup2Nuts 2.0 photography conference June 24-25 at Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The instructors include Dan Burkholder, Bob Foran, author Bruce Fraser, software developer Thomas Knoll and half a dozen other luminaries. Cost is $250. All photo skill levels welcome.

Tucson member up for Arizona Arts Award

Edward McCain, a member of the Arizona Tucson chapter, is one of five nominees for the 2005 Arizona Arts Award. This Award is the largest unrestricted fellowship in Arizona, a kind of MacArthur grant to allow artists who have demonstrated excellence in their field to further their work in the arts.

The award will be announced during the annual Celebration of the Arts next Thursday, May 5 at 5:00 p.m. at the Tucson Museum of Art, downtown Tucson, Arizona.

The Arizona Arts Award was established at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in 1986 by Mary Bartol and her husband, the late George Bartol, both of whom wished to encourage and promote highly talented individuals in the visual, literary and performing arts.

Skrebneski Then and Now at Maya Polski gallery

Life member Victor Skrebneski will open a new exhibition this week in Chicago’s Maya Polski Gallery at 215 W. Superior Street. The exhibit will run from May 6 through June 4, 2005. For more details, please call the gallery at (312) 440-0055.

Update on Copyright Office update

Online copyright registration, which is on everybody’s wish list, is in development. The Copyright Office has been designing its new system since 2002, and it expects to switch over early in 2007. Here’s the full story.

100 Cameras group hits the road

A Seattle creative group, 100 Cameras, is soon to begin the first of three 90-day journeys across America. The core crew of photographers, writers, publicists, videographers, sound engineers and canines — supplemented by professional guest photographers — will visit cities and towns across the land recording sights and sounds.

With them will travel the collection of cameras, which the group hopes will someday number 100, each with its own history and position in American culture. The list, divided into those in hand and those still to be acquired, is on the 100 Cameras web site.

So far, the group has recruited 15 of a planned 75 guest photographers who will travel one one of the three journeys and will take pictures using the camera collection. Among them are Fred Licht, Donna Day, Jimmy Clarke and Forest McMullin. The group is now soliciting applications for the remaining slots.

Jerry Dantzic to show classic images

From May 3 through June 4, longtime ASMP member Jerry Dantzic will display a retrospective collection of gelatin silver prints and color panorama images at Soho Photo in New York City. The show, titled “Hymns to the Ordinary,” includes images he made during the 1970s and ’80s with a Circut camera and specially cut Kodak film, printed at 10x72 inches.

Soho Photo is located at 15 White St., NY 10013; phone (212) 226-8571 for gallery hours or appointments.