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

Posted July 2005

Hundred Photographers return from Tibet

ASMP member Daniel Cox reports that his trip to Tibet was a fine success. He was one of 100 photographers who were invited to come to Tibet by the Chinese Photographers Association — 50 from China itself and 50 from many other countries. The photographers traveled in four groups of 25, taking separate routes to places never before visited by general tourists. High altitude was a problem, though; the photographers spent a fair amount of time above 16,000 feet and 17 of them ended up in hospital with high-altitude sickness.

Among Cox’s sponsors were Hewlett Packard (portable printer), Nikon (a couple of D2X's), Lowe Pro (new camera bags) and Gitzo.

One of the outcomes of this inspirational adventure will be a traveling exhibit of the images from the photographers involved. Meanwhile, you can look at Cox’s Tibet shots on his Natural Exposures web site.

Nerve wants provocative pix

Nerve.com, the “online publication about sex, relationships and culture,” is looking for the next big names in photography. So it’s running a photo contest. It wants photos of naked people, provocative scenarios, fashion, portraits and general sexiness. Or, as the announcement on its site says, the watchwords are “exhibitionism, adventure, stylistic experimentation, playfulness.”

There’s no fee to enter, but if you want to see the images that Nerve already has, you’ll have to pay $7 for a password to Nerve Premium. Five finalists will be showcased on the site. Two of them will be awarded premium galleries on Nerve.com and will receive $500 each. The deadline for submissions is August 15, and winners will be announced on September 1. Contest details are on the Nerve web site.

Black and White Spider Awards opens 2005 competition

September 30 is the deadline for entries in this fall’s Spider Awards competition. Entries are judged in 25 categories, resulting in 101 title awards and one grand award, the Creative Excellence Prize. Winners get published in various calendars and sourcebooks.

Entry fee is $35 for the first submission and $20 for additional pictures. (Second-entry price is halved if submitted before August 31.) A picture can be entered into additional categories for $5. More info — the jurors, the past winners, the categories — is available from the Spider Awards’ web site.

Omma comes to Santa Barbara

The Omma Center of Contemporary Art, based in Chania, Greece, recently opened a second gallery in Santa Barbara, California. It is now seeking artists to participate in its group exhibits and personal shows. The cost of being in a group depends on how much wall space you want: 11 feet (suitable for 3-5 prints) for $650 or 22 feet (6-10 prints) for $1,300. A personal show gets you a whole gallery — 80 feet of wall space, sufficient for 20-25 works — and costs $4,800. In addition to the cash, the artist is required to give one piece of art to the gallery. The gallery also takes a 30% commission on sales.

For the money, Omma handles all the mechanics of publicity, opening reception, return of unsold goods, etc. It can also arrange to rent the artworks out to companies or individuals. Artists can keep unsold works at the gallery for six months past the end of each show. And, says Omma, artists who sell well are invited to join future shows at no charge.

APA appoints its first National Exec Director

Constance Evans was recently named as National Executive Director of the Advertising Photographers of America. The position of National Executive Director is a newly created post within APA. Evans’ job will be to attract new members via national events, educational programs and seminars. She will also seek to strengthen APA’s financial resources through the recruitment of National Sustaining Members and sponsors.

Prior to her appointment with APA, Evans was Executive Director of the Weir Farm Trust, a nonprofit organization working in partnership with the National Park Service at Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut. Besides her administrative and financial duties, Evans developed programs for resident and visiting artists, organized contemporary and historical exhibitions, coordinated educational workshops and lectures with leaders in the field, and guided regional and national advocacy efforts.

New shows at Stepping Stone

Stepping Stone Gallery, located in Huntington NY (on Long Island) has two new shows in progress. “Translucents: Abstractions in Nature” runs from July 22 through August 28. “Beyond the Obvious: The Esoteric Photograph” runs from July 22 through August 14 in Stepping Stone’s sister Impromptu Gallery, which focuses on emerging artists.

Markham Street Media customizes, consults, trains on DAM

Markham Street Media, a consulting firm based in New York, Toronto and Miami, has developed a training program on digital asset management. Called Studio Boost, it is built around Extensis Portfolio and some customization by MSM. The program involves three half-day sessions that cover the processes of identifying assets, cataloging them and using the digital library in your business. The price is $2,500, which includes the training, a one-user license for Portfolio, MSM’s custom additions and one year of software updates.

ASMPNY Image 05 Winners

We offer our congratulations to the winners of the ASMPNY Image 05 Competition. The exhibition of the winners work will take place from Tuesday, July 19 through Saturday, July 24. The opening will be on Tuesday, July 19 from 5:30pm to 8:00pm at Thomas Werner Gallery, 526 West 26th Street, Room 712, New York, NY. 

Winners in the Student Category:

• First Prize: Charlotte Ostervang
  
• Second Prize: Tatiana Grigorenko
  
• Third Prize: Rachel Papo
  

• First Prize: Monika Merva
  
• Second Prize: Raeford Dwyer
  
• Third Prize:Landon Nordeman
  

• Adam Clear - Rochester, NY
  
• Thomas Hayes - Athens, OH
  
• Thomas Holton - Brooklyn, NY
  
• Charlotte Ostervang - Brooklyn, NY
  
• Rachel Papo - Brooklyn, NY
  

• Matthew Hoyle - New York, NY
  
• Allison Kramer - Brooklyn, NY
  
• Matthew Lester - Lancaster, PA
  
• Greg Miles - New Orleans, LA
  
• Regina Pietanza - Pearly River, NY
  

• Matthew Hoyle - New York, NY
  
• Joseph Michael Lopez - New York, NY
  
• Monika Merva - Brooklyn, NY
  
• Rachel Papo - Brooklyn, NY
  
• Nadine Rovner - New York, NY
  

Special thanks to the distinguished panel of judges: Lisa Oropallo - Digitas, New York, Jennifer Gyr - Art Consultant/Art Dealer, Kasia Dietz - Wunderman, Kira Pollack - New York Times Magazine and Jennifer Miller - Jane Magazine.

Also many thanks to Fuji Photo Film USA, Inc. for their sponsorship.

Copyright Office holds discussions on orphan works

The Copyright Office has been working toward a policy on orphan works (that is, copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or even impossible to locate). As the next step, it will hold public roundtable discussions in Washington, D.C., on July 26-27, and in Berkeley, California, on August 2. (ASMP staff expect to attend the Washington session.) The Office has identified several general topic areas for discussion during the roundtables and has organized a preliminary agenda according to these issue areas.

Persons wishing to participate in the roundtables must submit a formal request by July 15, 2005. Information on the topic areas and the preliminary agenda, and on how to submit a request to participate, is available at www.copyright.gov/orphan.

Markus Giolas is keeping it real

ASMP member Markus Giolas has launched Real Talent, a Chicago talent agency that uses “real people” instead of actors and professional models. The venture is a response to today’s advertising trends toward realism and lower budgets. Giolas says he got the idea because more and more of his photography clients were requesting street casting.

Real Talent advertises regular, free open calls at Giolas’ studio, and catalogs all the candidates into an online database that is searchable (for free) by appearance criteria such as age, ethnicity, hair color, etc. Photographers like the ability to search for models at any hour, while clients appreciate the one-tier fee structure that covers all uses.

Giolas notes that Real Talent is an example of how photographers can expand into other areas of the business. “You need to have more than one gig,” he notes. “Multiple income streams are necessary in order to survive in today’s photography industry.”

Mactribe makes magazine debut

A new online magazine, MacTribe, has targeted the design community and photographers. It is so named because its readers are also likely to be Macintosh users — and indeed, the mag’s content includes a healthy dollop of Mac-oriented news and opinion. But most of the articles are of interest to any creative soul, regardless of the computer being used.

As a photographer, you might want insight into Adobe’s plans for Creative Suite Bridge, which gives designers easy access to RF images, as well as to the Adobe Photographers Directory. MacTribe’s article A Bridge to Innovation, or a Bridge Too Far? goes into depth on the matter. If you are wondering how many stock agents should represent you, Multiple Agents may answer the question. Are your geek credentials out of date? A story on podcasting may burnish them.

Subscriptions are free, and (so far) the advertisements are not too obnoxious.

ASMP-SD Fashion Focus a big success

ASMP San Diego reports that its Fashion Focus event was a tremendous success. Approximately 60 people attended, with most taking a turn shooting on each of the three sets. Everyone appeared to have fun, and hopefully learned a little something in the process. The chapter will soon publish some of the best images on www.asmp-sd.org to highlight examples of the program’s talent.

Although the models and stylists generously donated their time and efforts for our benefit, they requested that the photographers select their favorite shots and send them prints. And part of the deal was that the models did not sign releases; to use the shots for stock or marketing, chapter members will have to make arrangements with the models’ agents.

Three tireless Assistants also contributed to the day’s success: Roger Spangler, Taylor Abeel and Todd Akers, who are all ASMP San Diego members. Thanks also to sponsors George’s Camera, which loaned the lighting equipment, and Ray Street Studios, which provided the site.

Extensis updates Portfolio 7

Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc, has a free update to its Portfolio 7 digital asset management product. Both Macintosh and Windows platforms are affected. Portfolio 7.0.6 provides compatibility for Adobe’s Creative Suite 2 and Apple’s Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). It also adds support for 14 more camera-raw formats. (Here’s the full list of camera models that are supported.) Registered owners of Portfolio 7 are eligible to receive the free upgrades immediately through the Extensis website.

ASPP sets 2006 education conference

The American Society of Picture Professionals will hold its fourth annual education conference March 23-26, 2006, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Francisco’s tony Union Square neighborhood. (The hotel offers a group rate of $145 per night plus taxes; the 3-digit group code is PIC.) Conference registration fee is $400 for ASPP members, $525 for members of sister organizations (ASMP, PACA, NANPA, VRA, SAA, EP and APA) and $575 for everyone else.

For information on sponsorship opportunities and member display tables, or to get on the list for a portfolio review (a new feature of this year’s event), email Cathy D-P Sachs, cathy@aspp.com.

GaleriaZero invites artist applicants

If you’ve ever wanted your pictures to hang in a Barcelona art gallery, why not send an inquiry to GaleriaZero. It is seeking submissions from abstract painters, sculptors and photographers. (The cost, acceptance criteria and other details are not on the gallery’s web site; you have to request it by filling out the online form.) In addition to upcoming exhibits in Spain, GaleriaZero organizes art fairs in other countries; it recently finished one in Xiamen, China.

Eastman House showcases Sellers film fest, young photographers

This summer at George Eastman House, the museum will exhibit Vital Signs, a selection of young and emerging photographers from around the world. Curator of Photographs Alison Nordstrom says the artists share “a passionate concern for our current circumstances that belies the stereotypes of cool and distant youth.” During the exhibition (July 2 - Oct 9), museum visitors will have the opportunity to identify the photographs in the exhibition they most wish to see added to the Museum's permanent collection

In the Dryden Theater each Sunday evening in July, there will be screenings of classic Peter Sellers films, including The Mouse That Roared, What’s New, Pussycat? and The Smallest Show on Earth. For details on these and other events, check the Eastman House calendar from time to time.

Amanda Koster nabs awards

ASMP member Amand Koster has garnered acclaim for two of her projects. This Is Beautiful took first place in the National Organization for Women “Love Your Body” poster campaign and honorable mention in the International Women in Photography Competition. Aids Is Knocking, (the documentary project from her time in Kenya last year) was awarded honorable mention in the color category at the International Santa Fe Center For Photography competition and Best Photo Essay by the regional Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). And she is currently the featured artist on the Alt*Pick web site.

New dangers in photographing children

The British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies (BAPLA) calls our attention to yet another attack on photographers’ rights. It seems that Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, believes that photographing children in London’s public places is a threat to their welfare, and last month he proposed to erect warning signs to that effect in the city parks.

In reaction, a Member of Parliament filed a motion declaring that the Mayor’s plan “is calculated only to create fear of photographers and generate an unnecessary panic about any photography at all in public places, as if users of digital and camera phones are all potential paedophiles.” BAPLA published a letter of support for the MP’s motion.

Stock Asylum seeks micro-distributors of RM imagery

The Stock Asylum announced a new service, the Internet Stock Directory, that helps stock buyers locate rights-managed imagery on the web sites of small distributors and individual photographers. At launch, the Directory held 648 entries representing tens of thousands of images, and Stock Asylum expects to add many more pages over the coming months. It prefers to point directly to web pages containing stock images rather than to entry pages requiring keyword searches.

Photographers and stock distributors are welcome to submit pages for review. The Stock Asylum will check submitted pages to make sure all the images are suitable and contain quality, salable images. Ideally, each page you submit:

1. represents a particular subject (business meetings, New York City, sports cars, …)
2. shows contact and licensing info, or an obvious link to a page with this information
3. displays 6-100 images with good variety and few similars
4. offers only model-released, rights-managed images available directly from you

For details, contact the Asylum’s Ron Rovtar.

Voted best on the Island

Hilton Head Island-based commercial photographer (and ASMP member) Rob Kaufman was named Best Photographer in the Island Packet newspaper's 2005 Readers Choice Awards. The survey polled readers as to their favorite businesses and businesspeople working on Hilton Head and in southern Beaufort County, South Carolina.

IPA exhibit begins July 7

The International Photography Awards will present the 2004 “Best of Show” exhibition opening and artists’ reception on July 7, 2005 at the Farmani Gallery in Los Angeles. The exhibit, curated by award-winning New York art director Jeff Griffith, will feature 45 images from the professional and non-professional categories in the 2004 Photographer of the Year Competition. The exhibition will run until July 31.

Founded in 2003 by Hossein Farmani, the IPA hosts an annual international competition, the winners of which are announced at the annual Lucie Awards ceremony. Prizes include $10,000 for the International Photographer of the Year Award provided by atEDGE, and a $2000 prize to the New Discovery of the Year Award lauding best up-and-coming artist. Award winning entries are published in the IPA Annual book distributed throughout the international professional photographic community.

IRS clarifies rule for gifts of intellectual property

The bad news is that there’s no change in the rule for donating your own photos to a charity: You can tax-deduct only the cost of raw materials. The good news is that charities now have well-defined procedures for accepting intellectual property (such as patents) whose value might increase after it was given. The details are in IRS Notice 2005-41.