StockPhotoTalk | Special Interest Blog

QuickLinks For 2006-11-30, Part II

• Getty Images says received two default notices:
  Getty Images said on Wednesday it received two notices of a purported default from some holders of the company's convertible debentures. The notices represent about 29 percent of the company's $265 million of 0.5 percent convertible subordinated debentures, Getty said in a statement. Getty said the default notices stemmed from the company's failure so far to file its third-quarter report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  Reuters, also the Seattle Times ("Getty Images spokesman Alan Pickerill declined to estimate when the results would be filed"), original statement here (Edgar Online): "While the Company has questioned the claimants’ legal theory ... the Company believes that if an “Event of Default” were to occur and the Debentures were accelerated, it has adequate financial resources to pay any unpaid principal and any interest that would then be due on the Debentures".
  Related:
  •Shuman & Berens LLP Encourages Stockholder Of Getty Images To Consider Their Legal Options (Nov. 15, 2006)
  •Getty Images Announces Delay in Filing Form 10-Q, Forms Special Committee to Investigate Stock Option Grants (Nov. 10, 2006), also here.
  Tag: Getty Images

QuickLinks For 2006-11-30

• Snapshot of the true content generators:
  It is difficult to know these days whether the internet is re-inventing photography or vice versa ... the emergence of truly huge banks of photographs has spawned a new industry.
  Victor Keegan on new start ups like geograph.org.uk, woophy.com, Thomas´ Zooomr.com and fotolibra.com, and the inevitable rest of the gang (iStock, Flickr, Getty, Corbis).
  The Guardian Unlimited Technology today.
  Related:
  •Net profits for amateurs' snaps (Toronto Star today) on Shutterstock, Scoopt, etc.
  Tag: User generated photo content

QuickLinks For 2006-11-29

• medicalpicture runs a feature to the World Aids Day on December 1st 2006, with text and a lot of images: aids.medical-picture.com.
  Tags: medicalpicture World Aids Day

• "Getting into Alamy is like getting into Paris Hilton, it's just not that difficult, though it can be fun and even quite profitable":
  According to this message entitled "To All Contributing Artists - November 28, 2006" (doesn´t seem to be faked), Oregon-based Acclaim Images, owned by Fred Voetsch and in business since June 2002 with currently 222,375 stock photos and illustrations online, is experiencing a "lack of growth in our stock photography business", which requires a "basic restructuring" of Acclaim.
  For reassuming "the gorilla warfare style of online marketing", three employees recently left the company. "I will be freezing image uploads until we are done. This may be several weeks. Please do not ask when it will be back online; it will be back online when we are finished ... If you disagree with me start your own company and compete with me, don't expect me to change mine to suit you".
  Stockphoto.net.
  Tags: Acclaim Images Paris Hilton Alamy

Corbis´ New President Gary Shenk Being Groomed For Future CEO Position, Says "No One Really Knows How Big The Marketplace Is"

The last eight years have seen incredible efforts of research analysts, investment bankers and the so-called industry experts to determine "how big is the stock photo market, how much money can we make in which segment, where should we invest our money?". In the last two years, new questions have emerged about "How big is the micro stock market really? Royalty-free flash music loops, how much money is in that?"

For Greater Productivity, Getty Images Beta Is Optimized For The Latest Generation Of Browsers

This was the result today, accessing Getty´s new website section Getty Images Beta several times over the day from several places, with Firefox 2.0 running under WIN or Mac, with or without first and second firewall, with or without coffee.... .

Switching back to Firefox 1.5.0.7, everything´s fine again:

Picade, The New Photographer-Driven Stock Photo Agency: Forget RF Licensing, Photo Portals and Microstock

I recently mentioned the soon to be launched new stock photo agency Picade. One of the founders, Illinois-based photojournalist and stock photo consultant Brian Seed, Picade´s Chairman of the Board, disclosed yesterday more details:

This agency endeavor of ours represents photographers fighting back against those agencies that pay too little, steadily cut their royalty payments, and in general treat photographers as very disposable entities. Our agency has been created and funded  by a hard working group of its members. Any income generated belongs to its members: we have no outside shareholders.

Pfizer´s Viagra Website And MetLife´s Ad "A Moment Of Silence" Share The Same Image: The Wall Street Journal On Stock Photo Recycling

The Wall Street Journal today runs a long story on "When Marketers See Double; As Digital Libraries Spread The Use of Stock Photography, Some Ad Images Are Recycled", quoting stock photo buying companies why or why not they intentionally decided to use images which other competitors in the same industry are using, as well as citing execs from Onrequest Images, Corbis and Getty Images.

The article points to three image examples (however, all three were provided by Onrequest Images) and additionally to a photo sharing table with "examples of companies that used the same stock photo in marketing materials". The best example quoted so far is clearly the demonstration of using the same image in MetLife´s "Why MetLife" advertising campaign ("A moment of silence") and on Pfizer´s website that "provides answers to frequently asked questions about its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra":

Image Source: Product Researcher

Image Source is the world's leading independent producer and brand for creative and commercial royalty free stock photography. Founded in 1999 by Christina Vaughan, Image Source now supplies images to creative professionals based around the world 24/7 through imagesource.com. Image Source is headquartered in London, UK with sales offices in Cologne, Germany, and New York, USA. The company also supplies imagery through over 250 distribution partners worldwide. This strong international sales network enabled the company to win the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade Category in 2005.

Image Source is currently looking for a

• Product Researcher to join the research team in the London office.

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

QuickLinks For 2006-11-26

• Storm erupted after government paid photographer Richard Bennett $154,100 to produce a photographic book, without previous tender:
  The Government handed over $154,100 to Richard Bennett to produce his latest photographic book "Islands of Tasmania". No tenders were called for the contract and the taxpayer money came from the Premier´s Department.
  The Government defended the funding saying the book would help promote Tasmania ... Fellow photographer Rob Blakers termed the situation "unprecedented" and called for the Government to explain why tenders were not called. The book, which includes pictures by Mr Bennett's daughter Alice, sells for $49.95 ... Mr Bennett said the Government had bought 3000 copies.
  Sunday Tasmanian.
  Tag: Richard Bennett Islands of Tasmania

QuickLinks For 2006-11-25

• Veer on Image recognition-based retrieval or "I know what I Like":
  Image recognition-based retrieval has been the big buzz in search for a couple years now. So far, we’ve had a couple fun and interesting efforts, but nothing, you know, useful. But now Riya has stepped up to the plate with Like.com.
  Here, the potential of visual search is harnessed and applied to the great challenge of our times: online shoe shopping. Seriously, it’s pretty sweet - you can use the color tool to get the shades you like, then highlight the heel shape to eliminate all those icky wedges left over from last summer (And, if you still have time, you can search more than just shoes).
  Veer: The Skinny.
  Related: All blog posts in the category Image Search Technology since April 2004.
  Tags: Image search technology Image recognition based retrieval Riya