PhotoResearcher Newsletter

The Way We Were

Fri, 2 May 2008 14:17:21 -0400

The Way We Were

Hurrah for digital!

Advance Notes: The room is small, silent, damp and without light. The interior air is heavy and laden with chemicals, some of which could cause early death. The person inside receives no visitors. It is isolation.

Have I described a 19th century prison cell or a 21st century photographer�s darkroom?

Those of us who have spent many hours in the agonizing yet captivating atmosphere of a photographic darkroom recognize the scene. We are compelled to witness --and direct-- the birth pangs of each of our graphic creations. Yet all of us know it is contrary to human nature to confine oneself to such isolation and environmental danger. Such is the allure of the muse.

This is serious stuff. We wonder how many present-day darkroom photographers are short-cutting their longevity by continuing to engage in this archaic working method. Are we subjecting ourselves to Alice-in-Wonderland dangers similar to those faced by the Mad Hatter? (A reflection of the hat makers of a couple of centuries ago, who used arsenic in the fashioning of their beaver skin hats and frequently were gradually poisoned as a result.)*

But patterns of habit, customs, and institutions fall hard.

To put this in perspective, if digital photography had been discovered first, and then film photography, would any of us have opted for the latter?

Today�s digital photography offers the promise of safe imaging.

Digital photography gives to all of us the luxurious shooting style of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the renowned French photographer of the mid-century. He never stepped into a darkroom. �No, I have never done my own printing,� he told Charlie Rose in an interview. �Why should I spend my time in a darkroom when I could be out shooting?�
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�Have I described a 19th century prison cell
or a 21st century photographer�s darkroom?�

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Most film photographers, because of the high cost of film and the processing delay, were conservative regards the number of pictures they shot. However, as Cartier-Bresson is famous for saying, �I want to capture the precise moment.� Such moments escaped the average photographer who was stingy with film.

Not so with digital photography. One shoots with a freedom to not only capture the �precise� moment, but to also self-educate and experiment. Digital �film� is cheap. We can examine the results immediately, and, if the situation allows, try again.

The world of digital photography is easy to enter. Medium-quality images, ease of processing , enhancing, and transmitting, are now available to the average photographer. Digital results are readily acceptable if your work is web-based, or for buyers who only expect to use the image quarter-page size. The cost for serviceable digital is well within the budget of most.

Yes, there�s a certain reverence we attach to analog pictures. In fact those black-and-white artifacts** are now becoming high-priced commodities at art auctions. So don�t dump those boxes of your grandfather�s pictures in the attic. His labor in the darkroom may result in some surprising monetary compensation.

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Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and publisher of �PhotoRESEARCHER Newsletter,� has provided on-line targeted information for photobuyers, photo researchers and editors for two decades. No other newsletter brings photobuyers such up-to-the minute information on how to find stock photos. For more info: 800 223-3860.

*A good reference book on the hazards in working with darkroom materials is �Artist Beware,� Michael McCann, PhD; Lyons & Burford Publishers; ISBN 1-55821-175-6.

**If you have, or are in touch with retired photographers who have, boxes of original B&W�s from the last century (not the negatives but the actual prints), give us a call and we will help find a collector or organization who may be interested in purchasing them. -RE

T R E E S !

Fri, 2 May 2008 14:10:49 -0400

PLANT A TREE IN YOUR NAME. This spring, we will be planting 3-yr. old Norway Pine tree seedlings along the back road of our farm headquarters here in northwestern Wisconsin. Want us to plant a tree in your name? No charge. No obligation. Just a virtual reminder to us both that the environment is important and anything we can do to bring attention to the need for more tree planting is a plus for us all. Norway Pines usually take fifteen years around here to mature to a good-sized tree. During the month of May each year, we'll feature a photo of the trees' growth (we'll be planting 200) on our weekly Home Page section > http://www.photosource.com < called, "This Week at the Farm." Check your tree's growth each Spring by viewing the panorama of trees on our back road at Pine Lake Farm. To take part in this event, in the subject area of this message write "New Tree" and add your name. We will add it to the roster of "Friends of the Trees at Pine Lake Farm." Each spring we'll send you a reminder to watch for a photo of your tree's growth. �Rohn P.S. Planting day is May 10th 2008.

Finding the Specific Photo

Fri, 2 May 2008 14:02:30 -0400

Finding The Specific Photo.
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Last-century marketing techniques are being phased out as photoresearchers are learning to use the new electronic tools available to them, leading to new directions in photo acquisition and delivery.
The needs of photobuyers are influenced by their awareness that they now have the technology to locate highly specific pictures. In the last century, photo researchers were excused for not locating a photo that fit all the ideal specifics. Everything was done by hand, with paper, film, and file folders. Photo search was cumbersome and slow. Everyone was under the same constraints. There wasn't enough time or they couldn't locate further resources. When they couldn't locate a specific image they figured they had "done their best," and the "second-best" or even "fifth-best" photo alternative was accepted.
Photography used in publications of the past reflect these inadequacies. Photo illustrations frequently resorted to generic images, in content and style. Today, in contrast, the advantages of our technological revolution make it possible to easily locate very specific and even obscure photos. We notice the increasing use of content-specific images in documentary films, coffee table photo books, biographies, textbooks, encyclopedias, you name it. The task of the stock business is to respond to what's happening in the field, in the new century. --RE

ITEMS FOR YOU

Fri, 2 May 2008 13:54:06 -0400

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Want to see back issues of PhotoResearcher Newsletter?
You�ll find them here: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/list.html
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White Mailers
Sending a disk or slides? Look like a pro. Stiff white cardboard mailers are available at: MAILERS, 575 Bennett Rd, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, Attn: Pat Pulver; http://www.mailersco.com/ . Phone: 1 800 872-6670. Fax: 1 847 731-2603.

Travelwriter Marketletter� for writers and photojournalists.
Travelwriter Marketletter is a monthly publication available online
( http://www.travelwriterml.com ) and in hard copy format. Travelwriter Marketletter is in its 28th year.
If you�re a travel writer or photographer, TWM tells you about new markets, payscales, editors, specs and trips.
If you�re in travel PR, TWM tells you which publications are likely targets.
If you�re a travel editor, TWM tells you about trips, and about your competitors.
If you�re a photo researcher TWM will direct you to travel photographers.
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If you�d rather not receive this kind of e-mail, reply with a and provide us with the original address at which you received the e-mail, so we can ensure your request is handled correctly. Thank you!

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Looking for �Non-Generic� photos for your next project?
You�ll find real-life photos at �PhotoSourceGROUP�.
Click here for more details.
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Better Information
Send me information about how I can list a photo need. http://www.photosource.com/photoneed-1 800 223 3860
Yes, I want to subscribe to the (free) PhotoResearchers Newsletter https://www.photosource.com/
photobuyer/register.php 1 800 223 3860
Tell me about the PhotoSourceGROUP gallery of stock photos and how I can get on-time delivery of images http://www.photosourcegroup.com/
QAphotobuyers.htm 1 877 404 7790

GOT A PHOTO NEED? Send it to eds@photosource.com (Just write up your photo listing in any way you feel clearly gets across what you need) or use our standard form at < http://www.photosource.com/
photobuyer/request.php >. It�s free. No charge.
Once you use our photo listing service, details of contact info, budget rouge, w/color, any specifics like �requests no phone calls,� etc., will be saved on your personal computer so you don�t have to re-type them when you make a photo need listing the next time.

Better Information

Thu, 1 May 2008 14:56:47 -0400

Send me information about how I can list a photo need. Click Here Or call 1 800 223 3860

Yes, I want to subscribe to the PhotoResearchers Newsletter Click Here. Or call
1 800 223 3860

Tell me about the PhotoSourceGROUP gallery of stock photos and how I can get on-time delivery of images Click Here. Or call 1 877 404 7790

GOT A PHOTO NEED?

Thu, 1 May 2008 14:51:33 -0400

Send it to eds@photosource.com (Just write up your photo listing in any way you feel clearly gets across what you need) or use our standard form. Click Here It�s free. No charge.

Once you use our photo listing service, details of contact info, budget rouge, w/color, any specifics like �requests no phone calls,� etc., will be saved on your personal computer so you don�t have to re-type them when you make a photo need listing the next time.

Capitalize on some of YOUR GOVERNMENT BENEFITS

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:53:41 -0400

Advance Notes: You�ll want to take full advantage of all the benefits offered to you by, yes, your benevolent government. Here are some:

PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTOS. These photos from government agencies (NASA, Dept. Of Agriculture, FSA, etc.) are free. You or your parents paid for them with your tax dollars. They can be used for many purposes: in books, articles, when giving lectures, and researching.
Most federal and state government offices hold a treasury of public domain photos that are free to be used by the citizenry. For example, the Library of Congress (LOC) holds millions of photos acquired over the last century. �But not all of them are in public domain,� says Craig D�Ooge of the LOC public affairs office. �Patrons need to be aware of the several kinds of rights which might apply: copyright, donor restrictions, privacy rights, publicity rights, licensing and trademarks.
�Some photos might have been acquired through a contract photographer, in which case if no �work for hire� agreement was signed, the photo is not in public domain. However, most of the Library of Congress photos on the Internet are public domain,� says D�Ooge.
For guidance on what may be in public domain and what may not be, read pamphlet number 195 at the Library of Congress. I searched through some of the popular government sites to find their copyright restriction statements.

MODEL RELEASES. For the photos you are researching, have you shackled yourself with the belief that you have to have a �model release� for recognizable people or buildings in public? Not so, -it�s your First Amendment right not to have to get a model release if the picture is used for informing and educating the public. We live in a free society and our constitution recognizes that the free exchange of information is a right we should all enjoy. However, if you are researching for a photo to be used for advertising, promotion, endorsement, etc., or other commercial and trade purposes, then yes, you will need a model release.
The only exception for editorial use, is where the picture might be used in a sensitive area such as mental health, sex, or in a compromising, unfair situation which could embarrass someone. In these cases a magazine editor, publisher, or web designer will advise you if these exceptions come into play when the picture is considered for publication.

POSTAL SERVICE. Since correspondence lost or mislaid by a fallible postal worker has a way of being remembered and talked about, let�s admit that errors can happen in any industry, and then ask, �What�s good about the Post Office?� There are billions of pieces of mail handled yearly, flawlessly. Our postage system is cheaper than in most other comparable industrialized nations.

TAX-FREE E-MAIL.* E-mail purchases in most states are tax-free. Your federal government has not (yet) interfered. Let�s face it, in some countries, e-mail is not only taxed, but it is also censored.
* New York State has announced it plans to tax internet commerce.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and publisher of �PhotoRESEARCHER Newsletter,� has provided on-line targeted information for photobuyers, photo researchers and editors for two decades. No other newsletter brings photobuyers such up-to-the minute, practical information from an experienced picture professional intimately familiar with both sides of the stock photo desk. For more info: http://www.photosource.com/photobuyer/.
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WHAT ARE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS? Here�s a report that will answer your questions about how to survive the legal (and avoid the illegal) pitfalls of operating an Internet business.

A Photographer Vents His Frustration with Micro Payments.

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:39:58 -0400

Microstock – Can It Solve Your Layout Problem?

Advance Notes : “Microstock”, from a photographer’s point of view, is the selling of images for a very, very low price. This article illustrates the professional photographer’s dilemma when the introduction of micostock came along.

“You pays for what you gits…” But very often micro pictures will do the job very well, if you need a generic picture for a low-budget project. But often you ask yourself, “Who else will be using this picture? Does it damage my publication’s reputation to use a non-exclusive illustration?”

By Dale O’Dell

“I’m a professional photographer and I’d like to express one photographer’s view about ‘microstock.’”

Just when you thought royalty-free was just about the dumbest way to earn as little as possible from your stock photography, -- along comes microstock. In the past seven years. microstock websites have sprung up like weeds in the already wild backyard that is the internet. For only a few dollars you can download a royalty-free image for commercial use. This is great for no-budget and low-budget clients as they can obtain “content” nearly for free. Needless to say microstock is not an effective marketing tool for photographers. The microstock model is profoundly bad for photographers, and thus, I predict, it will flourish.

Photographers long ago gave away any control of the stock industry and have instead acquiesced to bad idea (RF) after bad idea (microstock) while rationalizing and hoping that working harder and getting paid less will somehow benefit them in the long run.

Let’s do the micro-math:

According to my research, the average price paid per download of microstock imagery is $1.63 per image. Assuming a fifty percent split with the microstock “agency,” a photographer earns $.82 per image sold. Let’s also assume the micro-photographer has monthly overhead/expenses of $3000. (This figure does not include overhead for a studio, as many microstock contributing photographers are amateurs and hobbyists.) At $.82 per image it would take 3659 microstock sales per month to cover expenses with no profit. Now for some even easier math: A 1 gigabyte compact flash card costs about $15. With sales of $.82 per image it would take 19 microstock sales to buy a single card.

One could probably earn more money collecting bottles for recycling!

Want to read more of this article? Go To http://www.photosource.com/researcher/gen786d.html