StockPhotoTalk | Special Interest Blog

QuickLinks For 2006-08-31

• Reuters offer royalty free sports images:
  Action Images (now owned by Reuters) has added an exclusive collection of royalty-free sports pictures to its digital archive following an agreement with leading American stock photography provider Jupiterimages.
  Will Carleton/PAN. All details here.
  Tags: Action Images Reuters Jupiterimages

Getty Images´ Rights-Ready Managed Collection Riser Is Here, License Duration Now Limited To 10 Years

When Getty Images announced the new Rights-Ready licensing model and the new Riser collection in early August, Getty said that Riser will be available in late August, starting with 80,000 images.

Ever since myriads of freaks visited the Creative section of Getty´s website to be under the first to discover the exact conditions and licence images tentatively. Yesterday visitors still had no luck. But today it reads: Rights-ready is here.

QuickLinks For 2006-08-25

• MicroStock Watcher, a new nifty widget:
  The tool allows microstock photography contributors to quickly retrieve earning from six microstock agencies: iStockphoto, Dreamstime, Shutterstock, StockXpert, LuckyOliver, and Fotolia, and to check their stats at these sites simultaneously.
  All details here.
  Related: How "ordinary" photographers are making Big Money shooting for small stock agencies in "25 Cent Fortunes" (three pages), Popphoto.
  Tags: MicroStock Watcher microstock photography

American Photo´s "State of the Art" Blog Hits The Street, Getty Images To Acquire Creative Photographers Inc.?

PDN might possibly introduce blogs one day for the "Bezieherkommunikation" (the dateless and immortal expression of VISUELL´s publisher Dieter Brinzer about future developments of his magazine, loosely translated "communication with subscribers") in the not-so-distant future, but American Photo did it already on August 15th.

The immodest name of the new group blog is simply State of the Art. So far thirteen blog posts, but not all entries indicate the name of the appropriate author (contributors are David Schonauer, Jay DeFoore, Russell Hart, Jack Crager and Miki Johnson, the editors of American Photo magazine) properly.

Hispanic/Latin Themed RF Brand Somos: Stock Shooters Needed

SOMOS, the new Hispanic/Latin themed RF brand being distributed by Veer is now searching for additional freelance photographers worldwide.

All details and contact information here at Worldwide Stock Photo Industry Jobs.

Related:
•Veer Introduces Somos Hispanic Images (Aug. 08, 2006)
•Veer Introduces Somos™ Hispanic Images (June 16, 2006)

Reuters On Getty Images, The Doghouse And Value Investors

Reuters/Daisuke Wakabayashi runs today a three-page report on "Value investors eye Getty as growth investors flee":

Getty Images Inc. the best-performing publishing stock over the last five years, has moved from investor penthouse to doghouse this year as increased competition raised concerns over growth prospects.
Stifel Nicolaus research analyst Kit Spring said he now fields more calls from a new type of investor asking about Getty: value investors. "They're looking at the valuation and strong balance sheet of the company," said Spring, who has a "hold" rating on the stock.
"The overall concern is what's the long-term growth of this company," said Aaron Kessler, senior analyst at Piper Jaffray.
"Nothing fundamental has changed," Getty Chief Executive Jonathan Klein said in a telephone interview. "I have yet to find anybody on the planet who thinks there will be fewer pictures used to communicate messages and sell products than in the past."

Well, here´s one: "Consultant Jim Pickerell insists the demand for images is flat or shrinking, even as supply grows astronomically" (Daryl Lang in "What's Next For Stock? Depends Whom You Ask", but he adds: "Absent hard data, it’s basically a guess").

QuickLinks For 2006-08-23

• A Portrait of Alan Bailey, Co-Founder, Rubberball:
  We currently have about 32,000 images on the site. About 13,000 of those are ours. At the moment, we are getting 1,000 finished images out every month.
  A lot of customers tell us that when they find an image they like, they also want to see the other images that didn’t make it past the final edit. So we’re introducing new functionality on the Rubberball website in August that allows customers to see other images from the same shoots that weren’t selected as primary images. They’ll be able to click on a link under the image that says: “View other images from this shoot”. I think this is an inevitable direction the market will take as customer demand for this kind of service grows.
  The low cost of entry will propel the Microstock. Over time, the quality will go up, but not drastically. I tend to look at the industry simplistically. I really believe at the end of the day people are going to need a new image and that image has to be well produced. At the moment, there seems to be an emphasis on numbers of images instead of production value. That will likely shake out over time and the market will reward those who represent creative, well-produced photography.
  As for our involvement in subscription or any of the new models, we have no plans to enter those spaces. We feel our time is best spent producing for the high end of RF.
  MacTribe/Pat Hunt quoted here in a resampled version.
  Tags: Rubberball Alan Bailey Baileys® Irish Whiskey Cream Liqueur

a21 Reports Strong Q2/2006 Revenues, Stock Down Over 50% In The Last 90 Days

A21 (ATWO), the parent company of SuperStock, the Royalty-Free brand Purestock, the subscription brand PurestockX, of Ingram Publishing/Ingram Stock and ArtSelect, has released the Q2/2006 results:

A21 Revenues (in T$)

YEAR	Q4/04	2004	Q1/05	Q2/05	Q3/05	Q4/05	2005	Q1/06	Q2/06
Total	2.100	7.475	2.312	2.327	2.064	2.859	9.563	2.935	4.511

 

Highlights in both directions for the Q2/2006:

More On NewsCom/StockPhotoFinder From Randy Taylor, And The New SPFF Search Process

Some more information about the NewsCom/StockPhotoFinder (SPF) partnership directly from SPF´s president Randy Taylor. I asked him if all of the 15 million photos, graphics and illustrations of NewsCom will be availabe through the SPF, or only a part of this huge imagery. Here´s his response:

• It's not yet clear exactly what portion of the total will be included because each image provider is being asked to confirm that they want this marketing, which is free to them as part of their relationship with Newscom.
• Based on current acceptance, it will be at least 5 million images, which we are now actively adding.
• We expect to have roughly 12 million of the 15 million images at the peak of integration.
• On an ongoing basis, we are also receiving between 4,000 and 12,000 new images daily from Newscom in addition to legacy files.
• All Newscom images will be available for search in our free public site at StockPhotoFinder.com and also available for the customized corporate versions that we supply to publishers and advertising agencies.

QuickLinks For 2006-08-22

• Photojournalism in Crisis:
  The Israeli-Hezbollah war has left many dead bodies, ruined towns, and wobbling politicians in its wake, but the media historian of the future may also count as one more victim the profession of photojournalism. In twenty years of researching and teaching about the art and trade and doing photo-documentary work, I have never witnessed or heard of such a wave of attacks on the people who take news pictures and on the basic premise that nonfiction news photo- and videography is possible. [...]
  Democracy is based on the premise that it is acceptable for people to believe that some politicians or news media are lying to them; democracy collapses when the public believes that everybody in government and the press is lying to them.
  Editor & Publisher/David D. Perlmutter.
  Tag: photojournalism

NewsCom Becomes Single Largest Content Provider For The StockPhotoFinder

Both the StockPhotoFinder and NewsCom had been very active companies in the last twelve months (detailed summary below) and had been eagerly in developing new partnerships. After launching the StockMotionFinder last year in November, Randy Taylor´s StockPhotoFinder recently expanded its business activities to the United Kingdom (StockPhotoFinder.co.uk).

NewsCom, the Washington-based joint venture of Tribune Media Services and Knight Ridder, grants currently access to more than 15 million photos, graphics and illustrations from more than 100 publishers and content creators to over 2,200 publishers around the world.

QuickLinks For 2006-08-21

• The man who saw the world on Elliot Erwitt:
  Elliott Erwitt takes great pictures when he catches people unawares — and he’s been doing it for more than 60 years. Lesley White meets photography’s top dog. Arriving at the London hotel where he is staying, I call up to his room from reception. “Is that Elliott?” I ask. “Hang on, I’ll just check,” he answers, and after a pause: “Yes, it seems to be.” [...]
  He had no particular world view to put across, just a wish to make “nice” pictures.
  Erwitt claims that it is currently impossible to feel warm about America, with its prosecution of a war in which “the great unwashed were lied to”. Would he like to photograph President Bush? “I’m so disgusted by Bush. If I had the opportunity of doing something that made my opinion of him clear I’d be delighted, but who is going to give you that?" [...]
  A couple of days after our meeting, I bumped into him at Magnum’s summer party at a gallery in London. He was wearing a T-shirt declaring “Digital Manipulation Kills Photography”.
  The Times Online in a very long and extensive two-page interview and report.
  Tag: Elliot Erwitt

QuickLinks For 2006-08-18

• How "ordinary" photographers are making Big Money shooting for small stock agencies:
  Jaimie Duplass, the 38-year-old mother of three from Russellville, AR, often uses her son James as a model. At the age of three, he’s already appeared on several magazine covers and the Wal-Mart website. 
  “Stock photography is whole new level of quality, and I really got a slap in the face,” recalls Duplass of her first attempts. “It was miserable—I probably worked 18-hour days with a baby in my arms to make 10 cents a day.” Now, however, she can afford to rent a studio, and buy her kids new clothes. “I plan to be in a new house and a new studio even one year from now. This is living comfortable. A year from now, it’s going to be more like luxury."

QuickLinks For 2006-08-17

• Amateurs Get in on the Paparazzi Beat in the BILD newspaper:
  A growing number of European publications are taking advantage of cellphone cameras to reach new levels of reader interactivity and, some say, invasion of privacy. “The important events of the future will be documented by amateur photographers,” said Nicolaus Fest, a member of the Bild editorial board. “We knew that early on, but didn’t have the technical possibilities to do it.” [...]
  Mr. Fest says it will not be long before a reader-generated picture of a newsworthy event will run on the front page.

Content Mine: Job Offering For A Managing Board Member

Cologne-based photo agency Content Mine International, home of the kpa photo archive and the central order footage archive, announces expansion plans and is looking for a new Managing Board member.

Candidates must have extensive business experience in the stock photo industry.

Minimum required: fluent in German and English, excellent written and oral communication skills.

Candidates must be willing to work in Cologne. The position starts in autumn 2007.

Qualified candidates should directly contact Contentmine´s CEO Frank Golomb to submit a resumé: frank[DOT]golomb[AT]contentmine[DOT]de

QuickLinks For 2006-08-16

• Google Buys Photo Recognition Firm:
  Google on Tuesday announced it had acquired Neven Vision, a company that develops photo recognition software which is currently used in mobile phones, along with biometric applications by the U.S. government and law enforcement.
  Neven Vision holds 15 patents related to image analysis and facial recognition. Google plans to use the technology to improve Picasa, its free photo organization application. The program will eventually be able to automatically identify individuals and places in pictures, which will make searching far easier.
  BetaNews.
  •Related: Xcavator from CogniSign is one the latest additions to the visual search space (Leila Boujnane)
  Tags: photo recognition software Neven Vision Google Picasa

View: Turning A Photo Sharing Community Into An Editorial And Stock Image Outlet, Comments From Fotolia

As written earlier and quickly adopted a day later by VISUELL, Gruner + Jahr´s magazine STERN is in the process of developing a new way to sell images from the company-owned photo sharing website View Fotocommunity through a new "portal" called augenzeuge.de. Additionally selected images will be sold through the photo agency Picture Press using the APIS Network. Photographers receive 50% of the revenues, and these amateur photos will be sold under the same pricing projections as if a professional photographer would sell his images.

I jumped at the chance and talked with Andreas Trampe, Head of the editorial department of the STERN picturedesk, and the responsible STERN project manager Alireza Jerani about the new venture. Both explained:

Parallel Universes? Corbis Sues TemplateMonster, Fotolia Inks Deal With Them

For whatever reasons, Fotolia obviously did not need the help of a private investigator.

On July 27, 2006, Daryl Lang of PDN wrote a long article on "Corbis Wins Injunction Against TemplateMonster Web Sites":

• TemplateMonster has been widely known to stock agency lawyers for some time, but no one so far had been able to track down any party who would take responsibility for it, says attorney Nancy Wolff, who does work for the Picture Archive Council of America.
• Tracking down the people responsible for TemplateMonster ... required the services of a private investigator, says Corbis senior corporate counsel David Weiskopf. The web site domains were registered to phony addresses, according to the lawsuit.

Picture Press Starts To Convert Images Of Photo Sharing Community Into Cash, Flickr Probably Follows

This blog speculated a lot in the past about the possible impact on the stock photo industry, especially  the micropayment business, if Flickr one day will give Flickr users the possibility to commercialize their images (Flickr has 4 million registered photographers of all levels and around 200 million photos, numbers as of July 24), even if only a low percentage of these image might currently qualify for selling.

Yesterday Internetnews.com ran an article ("Making Money For The Flickr Flock?") with some statements of Flickr´s founders Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield on this topic.

But, once in a blue moon, my fellow Germans are obviously faster.

News From The Jupitermedia Conference Call, Stock Currently Down To $6.78

Jupitermedia, the parent company of Jupiterimages, released yesterday the figures for the Q2/2006. Here are some additional highlights from Jupitermedia´s conference call today, when Meckler responded to questions of analysts together with COO Christopher S. Cardell and CFO Christopher J. Baudouin.

• Meckler said that the recent improvements in the search engine and the keyword consistency are of utmost importance to Jupiter, because more satisfied image buyers finally will lead to "more positive sales results" and more revenues. Jupiter had problems in the past with the inconsistency in the search procedure, the keyword inconsistency of acquired image businesses and spend about half a million dollars in Q2/2006 to improve the keywording consistency.
  As a result of the search engine improvements, Meckler said that July had been a much stronger month than the previous months.
• Distributing Stockbyte´s image collection not any longer caused a loss of about $300.000 to Jupiter.

QuickLinks For 2006-08-09

• The Associated Press recently ran a long story about Magnum Photos, quoted here. The article said:
  Lubell, director of Magnum's New York office, along with his Internet team, created Magnum in Motion, an interactive photo essay, late last year to lure people to the site, and he inked a deal with the online magazine Slate in December 2005 to feature Magnum's photos and the essays. The section, called "Today's Picture," logs 9 million to 10 million unique visitors a month, Lubell said.
  

  In a recent comment, Jay DeFoore, formerly with PDN, afterwards working as Newswire Director of Hachette Filipacchi Media´s American PHOTO and shortly the new editor of PopPhoto.com, takes a different view on it:

Jupitermedia Q2/2006 Results Slightly Beyond Expectations

Jupitermedia, the parent company of Jupiterimages, today released the results for the Q2/2006.

Jupitermedia´s overall Q2/2006 revenues were $35,0 MM, compared to revenues of $29.1 MM for the same period last year, an increase of 20%. However, Jupiter announced on May 09, 2006, to expect future revenues for the Q2/2006 to be in the range of $37.0 MM - $38.0 MM and Wall Street expected revenues of $37.3 MM for the Q2/2006.

The company says it is expecting the Q3/2006 revenues to be in the range of $35.8 MM - $36.8 MM and for the next twelve months (Q3/2006 until Q2/2007) revenues to be in the range of $151.0 MM - $156.0 MM (last quarter the prediction for the next twelve month period had been slightly higher: $156.0 MM - $161.0 MM, from a previous range of $166 MM to $170 MM).

The Jupiterimages division generated revenues of $26,807 MM in Q2/2006 (plus 0.9%), compared to $26.565 MM in Q1/2006 and to $19.731 MM in Q2/2005:

JupiterImages Revenues

YEAR	Q4/04	2004	Q1/05	Q2/05	Q3/05	Q4/05	2005	Q1/06	Q2/06
JUPI	7.526	22.571	12.163	19.731	24.011	24.753	80.658	26.565	26.807

In comparison, Getty Images recently reported Q2/2006 revenues of $204.8 MM and lowered the revenue guidance for 2006 from initially $830 MM to $850 MM down to $820 MM to $830 MM. Corbis´ 2005 revenue rose 34 percent to $228 MM; Bill Gates told in March in an interview with Reuters Television that he sees revenue growth at Corbis in the double-digit range this year.

QuickLinks For 2006-08-08

• Reuters withdraws all photos by freelancer:
  Reuters withdrew all 920 photographs by a freelance Lebanese photographer from its database on Monday after an urgent review of his work showed he had altered two images from the conflict between Israel and the armed group Hizbollah.
  Global Picture Editor Tom Szlukovenyi called the measure precautionary but said the fact that two of the images by photographer Adnan Hajj had been manipulated undermined trust in his entire body of work.
  Reuters.
  Tags: Reuters Israel Hezbollah

QuickLinks For 2006-08-07

• Reuters admits altering Beirut photo:
  Reuters withdraws photograph of Beirut after Air Force attack after US blogs, photographers point out 'blatant evidence of manipulation.' Reuters' head of PR says in response, 'Reuters has suspended photographer until investigations are completed into changes made to photograph.' Photographer who sent altered image is same Reuters photographer behind many of images from Qana, which have also been subject of suspicions for being staged. [...]
  Speaking to Ynetnews, Johnson [the blogger which has exposed a previous attempt at fraud by a major American news corporation] said: "This has to cast doubt not only on the photographer who did the alterations, but on Reuters' entire review process. If they could let such an obvious fake get through to publication, how many more faked or 'enhanced' photos have not been caught?"
  Ynet News (Israel).
  Tags: Reuters Israel Hezbollah A long and stupid war

QuickLinks For 2006-08-06

• Storied photo agency embraces Internet, finds focus:
  "I think it's fair to say that Magnum was still functioning on a dying business model," said Mark Lubell, director of Magnum's New York office. "There were fractious debates inside of Magnum about where the agency should be going." But Lubell believes Magnum Photos Inc. is finally starting to find its focus. Lubell has embarked on an ambitious turnaround since taking over in 2004, despite having a limited photography resume.
  "Mark has probably saved Magnum in a way and Magnum has enabled Mark to reach his full potential as a person," said Burt Glinn, 81, Magnum's second-oldest living member.
  The Associated Press in a long article on Magnum Photos.
  Tag: Magnum Photos