JESSICA E. VASCELLARO

By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO

News Hub: Facebook Positioning Itself for IPO?

2:07

Facebook establishes a dual-class stock structure, a move that helps lay the groundwork for an eventual IPO. WSJ’s Jessica Vascellaro discusses the latest on The News Hub.

 

Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook

If Facebook chooses to raise more money it is unclear whether the company would issue Class A or Class B shares or which currency it would use for potential acquisitions.
Write to Jessica E. Vascellaro at jessica.vascellaro@wsj.com

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In Belgium, a man has been diagnosed as having been paralyzed rather than in a coma for over 23 years:

Current brain-scanning techniques failed to detect Houben’s conscious state. Photograph: Getty Images

But then doctors used a state-of-the-art scanning system on the brain of the martial arts enthusiast, which showed it was functioning almost normally.

For 23 years Rom Houben was trapped in his own body, unable to communicate with his doctors or family. They presumed he was in a vegetative state following a near-fatal car crash in 1983.

Is this a rare case of “whoops” that doctors have only done every so often?  Well, no, actually.  This freakishly horrible story happens to more people than we might imagine.  It’s not some science fiction movie:

Belgian doctors used an internationally accepted scale to monitor Houben’s state over the years. Known as the Glasgow Coma Scale, it requires assessment of the eyes, verbal and motor responses. But they failed to assess him correctly and missed signs that his brain was still functioning.

Laureys, who is head of the coma science group and neurology department at Liège University hospital, concluded coma patients are diagnosed falsely “on a disturbingly regular basis”. In around 40% of cases diagnosed as vegetative, more careful examination shows there is still some level of consciousness. He examined 44 patients believed to be in a vegetative state, and found that 18 of them responded to communication.

So, almost half of those people who had been declared to be unable to communicate actually could and just remained trapped?  Great, this is the stuff nightmares are made of.

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Where to begin….the last couple of weeks has been almost overwhelming in the best way possible! First off, be prepared for massive amounts of name-dropping in this blog post. Second of all, I had a full access press pass at the Manny Pacquiao VS Miguel Cotto fight at the MGM grand! It was one of the most amazing things this year, honestly! I was an assistant to Chris Farina from TOP RANK, and I learned a lot for sure! I also had the chance to meet Al Bello from Getty Images and Ed Mullholland from HBO, which along with Chris are some of the biggest names in boxing! (media side at least!) The fight and experience was nothing less than amazing, the work station I had was a row in front of where Mario Lopez was doing a live pod cast, (SLATER!!!) and 2 rows behind where HBO was actually broadcasting the event Live.
heres a terrible blackberry pic of my media creds!

A few days ago I helped out Al Powers shoot an event for HP/Hewlett Packard. Turns out there guest speaker was Olympic 8x medalist Michael Phelps!! Michael seemed exhausted, and worn out. Still a really nice guy!

I had to shoot Tao/Jet night club the other night for Tito Ortiz/Forrest Griffin’s After Parties for UFC 106. Both fighters are really nice in person, Forrest comes off nicer, but I think it might be due to the sheer size of Tito Ortiz that might be a bit intimidating!!

Heres a pic of Forrest outside of Jet. He had a knarly cut/gash on his upper right eye. I didn’t watch the fight, but i was looking at images on Getty Images, and from the looks I thought Tito won, but Forrest won by split decision. There was so much blood!!!

Tito Ortiz was at Tao, but I missed him walking in. This was shot later in the night. Definitely a huge difference on how they present themselves appearance wise. And no I did not put the watermark there intentionally, Tito does not endorse my website or any of that jazz, the watermarks part of a set “action” in PS.

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I figured if i didn’t throw something up it would just be way too late, and old content nobody really cares about in all honesty. Nothing really new besides the fact I really enjoy shooting nightclubs with a flash bracket, I’ll be ordering a Newton folding bracket shortly, and maybe a lens baby composer. (this thing is really cool!) I still find myself wanting a wider zoom lens, maybe next year I’ll look into the 17-35 f/2.8 nikon has to offer and a 2nd body, I thought I’d never say this, but I’m starting to miss the reach a crop body gives me. I miss how a 1.5 crop would make a 70-200 f/2.8 a 300mm @ f/2.8 and with a 1.4x tele a 420 f/4. Thats so much cheaper than buying the telephoto prime’s I’d want. I really miss canon’s HUGE full frame wide angle “L” choices. 17-35, 16-35 ver 1 and 2, and the 17-40. Nikon’s 17-35 used is still over $1000.
There is also a rebate going on for SanDisk Extreme CF cards right now! 24 gigs should be delivered today =P shooting every night gets tiring. I need to get my new windows 7 pc built already and a few terabytes in backup space.

Questa settimana l’Associazione Nazionale Fotografi Professionisti ha aggiornato le loro considerazioni sul microstock (www.fotografi.org/microstock) e tra i link consigliati è stato inserito anche questo blog che ha registrato un incremento di visite, specialmente per quanto riguarda l’articolo dove parlo della possibilità di vendere anche su Getty Images. Considerando che questa settimana sono uscite anche le statistiche di vendita di Getty di ottobre, ho deciso di realizzare un breve report di riepilogo della mia esperienza fino ad oggi (8 mesi). Getty Images può essere una grande opportunità, ma molti fotografi la intravedono come una leggenda. Quindi facciamo parlare i numeri.

Portfolio

Dimensione del mio portfolio: 120 fotografie. Non ci sono limiti di upload, quindi se si ha tempo e materiale si può raggiungere velocemente un portfolio di dimensioni notevoli. Il processo di approvazione è più lento di quello di iStock. Ci vogliono circa quattro settimane per sapere se la fotografia sarà accettata o meno. I requisiti tecnici sono simili a quelli di iStock. Personalmente ho ricevuto alcuni rifuiti solo per fotografie di palazzi per i quali serviva un Property Release che io non possedevo.

Vendita

Il mio mese migliore di tutti è stato Ottobre con 11 fotografie vendute. Ho notato una costante crescita nelle vendite, corrispondente alla crescita del portfolio. Da settembre le vendite sono “impennate” (se così si può dire). Da quando ho iniziato ho sempre venduto almeno 1 fotografia al mese, anche quando il mio portfolio consisteva in sole 20 immagini.

Guadagni

I guadagni per ogni singola vendita sono molto differenti. Si va da 0.84€ (sì, meno di 1 euro a foto venduta – questo a ribadire che il macrostock oramai è alla frutta) fino a 88.75€. E’ molto difficile quindi stabilire una media costante delle vendite, varia in base alle collezioni e all’utilizzo. Nel mio caso la media per download fino ad oggi è 22.72€, ma non la considero molto affidabile, credo ci voglia almeno un anno per avere dei numeri certi. Si tratta comunque di una media di vendita decisamente superiore ad iStock, dove però ho un portfolio di 3.700 fotografie e quindi non è possibile fare paragoni.

In sostanza su Getty Images si vende e la mia impressione è che le potenzialità siano notevoli.

(foto copyright thesuperph / iStockphoto.com)

Taylor Lautner drops by the 'Today Show' to promote New Moon
My favorite scene in the entire series is the tent scene, where the three of us are together. And it’s gonna be really fun. There’s a lot of comedy in ‘Eclipse.’” Celebrity Gossip. Enjoy the pictures of Taylor Lautner out for the Today …

Taylor Lautner – “Twilight: New Moon”- Talking Pictures
Taylor Lautner – “Twilight: New Moon”. Nov 19th, 2009 | by Tony Toscano. Get the Flash Player to see this player. Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black) chats with Tony Toscano about the new film “New Moon”. Tags: New Moon, Taylor Lautner, …

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Taylor, Robert and Kristen On Hot Bodies & Kissing. EW’s New Moon Issue! Scans Look Inside The Taylor Lautner Album! Anna Kendrick Talks Rob and that Licking picture . New Picture, Charlie Bewley Talks no more than Kristen &. …

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Rickey.org Readers Meet Taylor Lautner : American Idol 9 – Rickey.org
Guess what my paparazzi subscription brought me? Victoria and Josh! Omigosh! Victoria and Josh show us how it’s done outside Live with Regis and Kelly waiting for Taylor Lautner. The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens today! More pictures: …

Taylor Lautner spotted leaving BLT, Bistro Laurent Tourondel …
Taylor Lautner spotted leaving BLT, Bistro Laurent Tourondel, restaurant – Taylor Lautner: Big Apple Stud. … Celebrity Gossip. Enjoy the pictures of Taylor Lautner out to eat in NYC (November 18). Article Pictures (Click to enlarge): …

The Twilight Saga New Moon: New Moon: Taylor Lautner Interview …
Big Movie Premiere spends quality time with THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON star Taylor Lautner! Taylor reveals how he gained over thirty pounds of muscle for the movie and his part in the film’s love triangle. | Description.

Taylor Lautner on Jay Leno Show (VIDEO ) – CelebGlitz
Taylor Lautner was on The Jay Leno show last night to promote ‘New Moon’ where the 17-year-old shared his most bizarre fan encounter. During the “Earn Your – Taylor Lautner on Jay Leno Show (VIDEO )

Photos of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner on …
Kristen Stewart looks adorable linking arms with Robert Pattinson and leaning on a laughing Taylor Lautner in these just-released pictures of the trio’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The New Moon gang filmed the interview during …

What can be a LAST Name for my male lead?
my friend claims shes been hanging out with taylor lautner. but i dont believe it. she sent me these pictures. -shes not tan, pale freckles – she thin, but decently muscular -blonde hair like the pictures tho -shes only 15 – when i clicked to save the pic it wanted to save it as “robert-pattinson-kristen-stewart-mi” ? -as far as i know, she doesnt have photoshop and isnt the best with graphic stuff like editing help me out. here are the photos http://s867.photobucket.com/albums/ab239/crystalxoleigh/?action=view&current=robert-pattinson-kristen-stewart-mi.jpg http://s867.photobucket.com/albums/ab239/crystalxoleigh/?action=view&current=20z1ysh.jpg http://s867.photobucket.com/albums/ab239/crystalxoleigh/?action=view&current=IMG00104-20091112-0805.jpg if you identify any of the photos from somewhere else, could you post the link to it? please and thankyou thankyou everyone can you explain why you think there fake please? that’d be great :]calisue<– bestfriend of the day

Can someone help me analyze these photos? fake, edited etc?
I want to know what colour Kristen’s hair is in the photoshoot so I can dye it that colour. I find that colour very pretty. Please help. http://www.sodahead.com/entertainment/kristen-stewart-taylor-lautner-ew-photoshoot/blog-131213/?link=ibaf Mostly the second picture.

What colour is Kristen Stewart’s hair in the photo shoot with Taylor?
pick either between gel or wax that will more likely to make it look like that?? http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/160614-think_taylor_lautner_replaced_jacob_black_new_moon_becuse_looks_young_nice_play_changed_jacob.jpg

what product will more likely do my hair like this (picture included)?
please put a picture below of whickh you think is the nicest photo of taylor lautner (jacob) its for a school essay x

twilights jacob ……?
We all blocked Hannah Montana on our tv when she had the picture of her bare back in vanity fair, but we have no problem with our tweens and teens going and seeing new moon with taylor lautner running around the whole time with no shirt. I don’t get how that makes sense. I’m not saying miley hasn’t done other bad things, but comparing the two…well, what do you think?

DO WE JUDGE MILEY CYRUS TO HARSHLY?
In yahoo they were making a big deal about Miley taking pictures dressed naked underneath a bedsheet, and people got angry telling Hollywood they had a double standard, because Taylor walks around shirtless, and he’s just two years older. I for one think this is stupid, and just want to hear people’s opinion on it

Miley Cyrus VS. Taylor Lautner – Hollywoods double standard?
I had this picture of taylor lautner up in my locker and some dumbass boy came up behind me and riped it! it was my favorite picture of him and i cant find another one! could someone help me?? Its a close up of taylor (its just his face) and hes smileing,,super white teeth,,,short hair,,pink and orange splat background! who ever finds its and sends me the link first will be chosen as the best answer which will give you more points..thankss soo much!

Can anyone find a certain Taylor launter picture for me?
Okay so i have a poster in my room from the vanity fair twilight shoot. Kristen stewart, Robert Pattinson and Cam Gigandet are all crouching down and Taylor Lautner is lying down. The best part is that Taylor Lautner is sticking out his tongue. My friend is in love with the picture so i wanted to print her out a copy of it. would anyone be able to post a link to this picture? I’v searched everywhere for it.

Twilight Vanity Fair shoot link?
http://www.glogster.com/media/2/3/32/25/3322585.jpg . . everyone says its Taylor Lautner but it doesnt look like him…Thanks. It’s just that i watched that movie (the covenant) a looong time ago and i couldn’t remember what it was called or what it was about. All i remembered was how that guy looked like and that it was a really good movie. Really helpful answers, thanks ……

I’ve this picture. Can anyone tell me who it is?
I think I’ve seen them before. Preferably cheap… http://www.shockya.com/news/wp-content/uploads/taylor_lautner_taylor_swift_kissing.jpg

taylor lautner pictures for myspace, New Moon, Jacob Black, Robert Pattinson, Twilight, The Adventures of, Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, Getty Images, martial artist, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, American actor, Bio, Kristen Stewart, Young Hollywood, Vogue, idol,

Work is still getting its pound of flesh, so I will keep it brief, Lauri Lyons is the first African American female to be represented by Getty Images; with this I have already spoken volumes.

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From this weeks fun and games:

Enjoy!

Zave Smith
www.zavesmith.com

Em março desse ano a rede social de fotografia Flickr inaugurou uma coleção de imagens juntamente com a gigante Getty Images, que comercializa fotografias para diversos meios dcomunicaçãoao em todo o mundo.

Do início da parceria até agora o negócio não deixa de crescer, afinal de contas todos aqueles que se consideram bons fotógrafos gostariam de ter suas fotos utilizadas pela Getty, e obviamente ganhar por isso.

E para oferecer mais chances de que sua foto seja a escolhida agora é possível enviar um portfólio com até 10 imagens para grupo Getty Images Call for Artists. Segundo o blog do Flickr, os editores da coleção prometem revisar a galeria regularmente a procura de algo que possa ser usado comercialmente, portanto se você se considera bom no que faz e está já está presente no Flickr, não pode perder essa oportunidade e fazer parte de um grupo seleto. Se ainda não faz parte do Flickr, é bom rever.

Tuesday Two.Oh! is not meant as an endorsement, but as an exploration of the tools that are out there. Click at your own risk.

Today on Tuesday Two.Oh! we’ll be looking at a site that’s…well, it’s probably better experienced than it is toured. I’ll go ahead and give you a walk through, but I think that the best way to get to know this site is to click around it yourself. It’s not a very “deep” site layer-wise, but it’s definitely interesting and different. Let’s take a look at Moodstream.

I couldn’t seem to find Moodstream on Twitter, but Getty Images is there.

One of the first things you’ll notice when you click on the site are the pictures and the music. Both of these things are copyrighted, with a pretty hefty terms-of-use policy. That said, I ended up speaking with a representative of the company about featuring the site here, and he was extremely helpful. So, thanks again, Erik.

The basic gist of the site is to give you an option to choose which mood you would like to listen to and watch. The pictures will sort of correspond with the music- which instead of being driven by genre, is driven by “mood” which you can choose by sliding the menu around.

To make it easier on the user, Moodstream has a “Preset” Wheel from which you can choose moods. I thought this was a pretty handy feature, as I wasn’t sure how “happy” might correspond with “calm.” But choosing the presets gives you insight as to how the creators of the site would like to use their own creation.

You can use this menu:

to keep certain channels, or Moodboards, that you create.

The Moodboards will not remain if you navigate away from the site, but will if you sign in with an account. I didn’t sign up for an account in this instance, but it’s easy enough to do.

All in, Moodstream is a really interesting web goodie. I don’t really know the practical use for it, but it’s visually interesting and musically intriguing. It took me a little while to figure out how I might want to use the site- and the one thing I keep going back to is having it on while there’s a dinner party. It would be really cool back ground stuff. I’m not sure how it would work on the job, if only because I need to be looking at other things both on the web and off. So the visual element would render itself pointless.

At any rate, I really do suggest that you check it out. It’s cool and fun, and I really dug it.

Stock photography. Technology is turning the business upside down.

You might know that I had intended on submitting my photos to Getty, that is until they announced their Premium Access License. PAL allows a customer to subscribe to the photo service and download images at a greatly reduced rate from regular stock pricing.

Theoretically, a photo that I drove four hours for, spending money on transportation, food, etc. could be sold to a major publisher for a couple of bucks.  That really was the straw that broke the camels back for me. Luckily I had only a few images there and found out about Getty’s plan before I had committed.

Already there are over 12,000 members in the Getty/Flickr group. To streamline the process of submitting images, there is now a group where members can post to the group. The photos are then reviewed by editors and so it goes.

The group is only two weeks old. When I logged on this morning to see what was being posted, my jaw dropped, well not really but what a surprise!  32,691 images had been submitted in two weeks. Of course the great majority of them will never make it into the system but how do you think your images will look or standout in a group of over 32,000 photos?

Third world labor. That is where stock photography is slowly going. I don’t think it will take too long before long established photographers will stop relying on stock for income and have to be more diverse. In the current edition of Photolife magazine, stock shooter Daryl Benson writes that stock represents close to 50% of his income and it’s dropping rapidly. To quote Daryl, “I also write articles, publish books and calendars, sell prints, give seminars and photography workshops, do book signings every Christmas, and am the general handyman and stock boy at my daughters’ scrapbook store.”

So there it. I know when I decided to follow a path in photography many years ago, I did it because I loved to shoot and I made a good dollar at it. It seems nowadays you need to do these peripheral things to be able to support your shooting, not the other way around. Most everything is in a state of flux, never remaining the same.

Good? Bad? It depends upon what you want in a career of photography. I would still recommend to most everyone starting out, get an enjoyable well paying job and use that to supplement your income. You don’t want to be approaching retirement, it happens quickly and find out that living the life all those years with a camera came at the cost of a not so golden twilight.

THIRTY TWO THOUSAND IMAGES!!!!!! and growing….

Happy shooting and do it because you love it,

Dan

Still from video shown to the Baha Mousa public Inquiry showing Corporal Donald Payne, formerly of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, shouting and swearing at hooded Iraqi detainees.

The British Army is facing accusations as serious as those leveled against the US military at Abu Ghraib.

Let me offer some context of UK Army abuses in Iraq.

Only one British soldier has ever been sentenced to prison for detainee abuses in Iraq. He is Corporal Donald Payne. Above is a still from this very disturbing video which was released in June of this year into the inquiry of Baha Mousa’s death. A long-running and contradicting narrative followed this case since Mousa’s death in 2003 and the opening of the first inquiry in 2006. BBC has a timeline.

It seems that Corporal Payne and the six other soldiers aquitted during this inquiry may not have been the only British soldiers involved in abuse. I must say that these allegations are still just that – they are unproven, yet to be fully investigated.

Robert Verkaik of the Independent has pursued this story here and here:

One claimants says he as raped by two British soldiers, and others say they were stripped naked, abused and photographed. For the first time, British female soldiers are accused of aiding in the sexual and physical abuse of detainees.

The 33 new cases, which form part of a pre-action protocol letter served on the MoD last week, include allegations of mock executions, dog attacks, rape, exposure to lewd acts and exposure to pornography. The abuses are alleged to have occurred in 2003 – the time as Baha Mousa’s torture and death.

It is suggested it has taken so long for the allegations to come about because the Iraqi’s were fearful of reprisals during the British occupation of Southern Iraq. UK forces pulled out in April, 2009. Three camps are named: Shaat-al-Arab camp (shown below), Shaaibah British camp and Akka in Al-Zubayr.

Shaat-al-Arab camp, Southern Iraq

Details of abuse:

In May 2003, a 16-year-old Iraqi was among a group of Iraqis taken to the Shatt-al-Arab British camp to help fill sandbags. When the Iraqi youth, who wishes to remain anonymous, and his friends had filled the available sandbags, a British soldier indicated that he should enter a room, from where he assumed that he was to retrieve more sand bags, he says.

On entering the room, he claims he saw two British male soldiers engaged in oral sex. As soon as the two men saw him enter, they started to beat and kick him, he alleges. When he fell to the floor, one of the men held a blade to his neck while the other soldier stripped him naked. Although he screamed in protest, the two British soldiers, one after the other, raped him.

More:

They took off our blindfolds and I could see that we were surrounded by seven or eight soldiers. There were five of us. They asked us to pick fights with one another, or fight them. They were laughing at us and taking photos with digital cameras. They made us squeeze in pile-up, as in Abu Ghraib prison photos, while a soldier stood on top of us and started shouting and laughing. I felt so humiliated and treated as a toy they messed up with.

They picked further on a younger man who was good-looking. They made him strip naked and started messing with his penis and taking photos. “On one occasion I refused to pick a fight, then a soldier kicked me hard on my back, which made me fall on the floor. He started hitting me with a baton on my knees. Then he used an electric baton on different parts of my body.”

Source: Independent Saturday, 14 November 2009

Of course one wonders now whether the investigations will publish the photographic evidence or if it will be used only internally.

Personally, I have no desire to see these images. I sympathise with arguments to say that only through release of such images can the world know the full extent of what happened, but I also doubt what we can actually and accurately “know” from photographs that we wouldn’t otherwise learn through full disclosure and description of events.

It is extremely unfortunate that both Google and Daylife image searches for “Shaat-al-Arab camp” result in this image.

British soldiers share a laugh as their comrade walks around dressed as Borat, the Kazakh journalist played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, during Christmas celebrations at the Shatt al-Arab camp in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra on December 25, 2008. The Iraqi parliament has voted to allow the presence of non-US foreign troops after December 31, giving British troops a legal basis to remain beyond the expiry of a UN mandate. © ESSAM AL-SUDANI/AFP/Getty Images

But the madness, brevity, violence, stress, justified escapism, testosterone and “laws” of war are vastly different than in any other milieu.

It just seems to me that the internet has collided stories and images here that could be as valid a critique of 20th century war as any of the great American Vietnam films.

____________________________________________________________

Interestingly, Shaat-al-Arab camp was erased by Google from their maps three years ago for security reasons. This action seems warranted as Shaat-al-Arab camp was a common target for insurgents – as Abu Ghraib was. Details are described half way through this article.

Thanks to Sean for the tip off.

Getty images una de las mayores agencias de fotografía en stock y flickr el sitio más popular para compartir fotografías colaboran desde el mes de agosto en un proyecto de colección de fotografías para Getty images, quien está en busca de nuevos talentos dentro de la base de datos del flickr para ofrecer al usuario de flickr poner en venta su trabajo si llega a interesarle.

Claro que, ésto es un trabajo gigante dada la cantidad de usuarios y fotos que están alojados en el flickr por lo que han querido ponerlo más fácil creando un grupo llamado Get images call for artists en donde puedes subir un portafolio de las 10 imágenes que mejor te parezcan para estar a la venta.

Algunas paginas web de fotografía alaban la idea por que así puedes mostrar tu trabajo al mundo, mientras que otros piensan que el dinero que se ofrece es muy poco tratandose de Getty Images.

Por mi parte como siempre les digo, nadie empieza siendo una estrella de la fotografía si primero no se da a conocer y dado que en el flickr tus fotos solo están allí esperando que a alguien les impacte y se ponga en contácto si llegas a ser escogido estarás comercializando con lo que en un principio fue tan solo por diversión y se va volviendo un trabajo serio, mas puntos para ti y para tus fotografías.

Ieri iStockphoto ha ufficialmente avviato il Partner Program, significa che ora i fotografi di iStock hanno la possibilitá di distribuire le loro fotografie anche attraverso altri partner facenti parte del gruppo Getty Images. Il primo step di questo programma é Photos.com. Facendo una ricerca su tale servizio é possibile trovare migliaia di fotografie disponibili anche su iStock. Con tale servizio si offre ai fotografi la possibilitá di raggiungere nuovi mercati e avere maggiore visibilitá.

Partner Program

Il Partner Program permette hai fotografi di scegliere se rendere le loro foto disponibili anche su siti di terzi, facenti parte del gruppo Getty Images. Il fotografo puó decidere di rendere tutto il portfolio disponibile su Photos.com, oppure di selezionare solo alcune foto manualmente oppure di non aderire a tale programma. Possono essere scelte solamente foto che hanno piú di 18 mesi di vita su iStock. I fotografi esclusivi potranno scegliere solamente foto che hanno più di 18 mesi di vita, mentre gli altri potranno selezionare tutto il portfolio.

Il fotografo in alternativa puó anche decidere di inviare le nuove fotografie che realizza solamente al Partner Program, in tale caso le foto per i primi 18 mesi non saranno visibili su iStock.

I fotografi che aderiscono al programma guadagneranno per ogni singola foto venduta in abbonamento: 0,25$ (fotografi non esclusivi) da 0,30$ a 0,38$ (fotografi esclusivi). Le fotografie vendute singolarmente frutteranno al fotografo il 20%.

Photos.com

Nasce nel 1995 e rappresenta uno dei mercati piú diffusi per quanto riguarda la fotografia stock su abbonamento e fa parte del gruppo Getty Images.

Con questa operazione iStockphoto amplia la sua proposta ed entra in modo deciso nel mercato degli abbonamento fotografici microstock, porzione di mercato che fino ad oggi non era stata presa in considerazione.

foto copyright chromatika/iStockphoto.com

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Hulk Hogan’s Divorce

souce: http://www.timboylesphotography.wordpress.com

June 18, 2009 · 1 Comment

  Hulk Hogan is a worldwide celebrity living through a very public and ugly divorce and it shows.

  He’s got millions of fans around the globe, but he’s also got millions of people who are very critical of his lifestyle, his actions and of his very public family dramas and disasters.

   He’s what is known in the journalism world as an all-purpose public figure.     It’s a term used by the U.S . Supreme Court in defining and protecting the first amendment:  The right to a free press.   In short, it means that if you choose to live your life in the public eye, you also agree to endure public criticism as well.   

  It’s the reason why tabloid newspapers, web sites and magazines can make a fortune over the latest Jon and Kate escapade, Paris Hilton’s alleged sexual promiscuity and whether Florida Governor Charlie Crist is gay or not.    It’s the reason every television station in Tampa Bay, as well as TMZ and at least one freelance videographer can show up, shoot and broadcast every tawdry tidbit said in court or outside it.

  There are limits to what the press can print about all-purpose public figures and there are penalities for writing or broadcasting items that are libelous or harmful to their reputations.  But, to win a civil suit for libel, a public figure must prove “actual malice” or that the news outlet KNEW the item was false or used “reckless disregard” when publishing an item it thought MAY be false. 

     It’s very difficult to prove actual malice, yet a few celebrities have been successful in suing news outlets and many have also been successful in getting retractions and apologies without going to court.

    I’m not here to cast judgement in the case.  I’m merely an observer with an insight.  A man with a camera hired to document the hearing and put the images in the public domain.

  Hulk no longer looks like the wrestling superstar I grew up with.   I understand he was a character there.  He was a man playing a part, a role.  He was making a living.

  The reality of his life lately is much less glamorous and much more traumatic.  Hulk looked like a man who was losing this round.    He often appeared to be praying for relief.

      Hulk’s estranged wife, Linda, currently gets $40,000 a month to maintain her lifestyle.   Her attorney said she had over $740,000 in her own bank account when she was given the monthly alimony.  This hearing was held because Hulk is trying to have that 40K figure reduced, claiming she spends it on drugs and her 19-year-old boyfriend.

  Linda denies using drugs and has produced a drug screening that says she’s clean.  Hulk brought two witnesses to court to say differently.

Hairdresser Tracy Morgan testifies

  Tracy Morgan used to style Linda’s hair.  She’s also done work for both Hulk and his current girlfriend Jennifer McDaniel.  Apparently, Morgan doesn’t style Linda’s hair anymore.  She testified that Linda used to ask her to cash checks for her, then have Linda’s drug dealer deliver drugs to Morgan’s business in an attempt to hide the purchases from Hulk’s attorneys.  Linda’s attorney called the testimony a “complete fabrication” and repeatedly asked Morgan why she kept looking into the jury box where the press was seated.    It was a dynamic battle during the cross examination.  Linda’s attorney was very aggressive during his questioning of Morgan.  Morgan was equally aggressive from the witness stand and was reprimanded several times by Judge George Greer to answer the question that was asked.  Ironically, Judge Greer at one time also was known world-wide.  He was the Judge that presided in the Terri Schiavo case and ruled that her feeding tube should be removed.  She died in 2004 as a result of his rulings.

Judge George Greer admonishes the witness

   Divorce cases are notoriously ugly, more so when celebrity and large sums of money are at stake. 

Linda reacts to a witness’s testimony

  The hearing ended without any decisions.  Apparently, Hulk has more witnesses to testify regarding Linda’s spending habits.  The hearing will resume in July.  The divorce case itself has yet to begin.  Both Hulk and Linda are also facing a civil suit from John Graziano’s family regarding Nick’s careless driving and the devestating injuries that cost John a normal life.  Some people even say that this divorce is an effort to hide and divide the family’s wealth in preparation for the large amount of money that could be awarded to Graziano’s family.

  I don’t know.

  Both Linda and Hulk brought their current paramours to court for some reason.  It may be spite.  It may be companionship and support.  It may be for public relations.  It may be because the press was there.  I cannot speculate. 

Linda Bollea (Hogan) and Charlie Hill

Hulk Hogan and Jennifer McDaniel leave the hearing

  Am I a paparazzi?  Nope!  Getty Images does not endorse paparazzi behavior.  I do not hide in trees, stake out restaurants nor chase people down the street.  This was/is a legitimate news story.  Many people don’t care about it, nor wish to hear about it.  Many people do.   

  Do I like covering the case?  I must admit I do to an extent.  It’s a slice of life.  I’ve spent many days in courtrooms over the years and there are powerful emotions and decisions exhibited there.  This hearing was especially dramatic with accusations of drug use, fame-seeking witnesses, lying, cheating and alimony-money-hiding. 

  I like shooting stories with drama and emotion.  I like capturing them.  I like the challenges of shooting in a low-light courtroom with no flash.  I like bantering with the baliffs and court security people and other press that are there.    I like being an observer. 

  An intern from FOX 13 was sitting beside me during the hearing.  I asked her afterwards if this was her first time in a courtroom and she said it was.  I told her to savor it.   Few court hearings have this much drama in such a short period of time.

  For me, it’s also a dramatic change of pace from shooting weddings and models and actors and families and children and everything else I do.  I actually believe that it’s good to shoot a wide variety of  things.  It challenges me, it makes me step outside comfort zones. 

  I think it makes me a better photographer.

  And, it makes me happy that I’m on the viewfinder side of the camera and not the opposite one.

Your link today is another depressing but incredible one–a photo story on the aftermath of nuclear weapons testing in Kazakhstan (when it was part of the USSR) by Getty photographer Ed Ou. Check out his use of light and reflections to tell the story of the effects of radiation poisoning.

–Lisa

Si é concluso il primo evento editoriale della storia di iStockphoto, in collaborazione con Getty Images. Ad Istanbul 30 fotografi provenienti da tutto il mondo e scelti dallo staff di Getty Images si sono incontrati ed hanno seguito varie storie editoriali. É stato un grande successo, sia dal punto di vista della produzione di fotografie sia dal punto di vista dei contatti personali.

I fatti

A rappresentare Getty Images erano presenti Aidan Sullivan (VP assignment, www.reportage-bygettyimages.com), Tom Stoddard (photographer, www.tomstoddard.com) e Andreas Gebhard (Manager Global Picture Desk New York, Getty Images Editorial). Per 4 giorni tutte le mattine gli esperti di Getty Images hanno tenuto delle conferenze dove spiegavano cosa ci si aspetta da un fotografo editoriale, non solo dal punto di vista fotografico, ma anche dal punto di vista della preparazione tecnica. Nel corso dell’evento sono state presentate e commentate oltre 500 immagini provenienti da tutto il mondo, dai pirati della Somalia alla povertá negli Stati Uniti, dalla guerra in Iraq alle zone degli esperimenti nucleari in Russia. Immagini forti ed impressionanti, ma commentate con passione e grande personalitá.

I fotografi di iStock sono stati invitati a seguire delle storie nel corso dei 4 giorni spesi ad Istanbul. Ovviamente in 4 giorni non é facile trovare un argomento svilupparlo e portare un progetto a compimento, ma l’obiettivo era quello di stimolare a guardare il mondo con un occhio nuovo, con spirito editoriale e non con spirito stock.

La frase

“Non abbiate paura di sporcarvi le ginocchia” di Tom Stoddard é forse la frase che riassume meglio quello che é stato cercato di trasmettere. Passione.

I risultati

I risultati sono stati sorprendenti. La passione che ha spinto i 30 fotografi a mettersi in evidenza ha portato alla realizzazione di immagini e storie dall’impatto unico ed incredibile. Dai campi profughi dei rifugiati Ceceni ai quartieri dei nomadi, dalle storie sulla cucina tradizionale alle fotografie nelle scuole di cucina, dai pescatori agli scultori. Nel corso di domenica sera sono stati presentati i lavori finiti e la qualitá delle storie ha semplicemente sorpreso lo staff di Getty Images.

Il futuro

Il futuro della fotografia editoriale passa anche per iStock. Tutti i partecipanti dell’evento sono stati invitati a contribuire all’interno della area Editorial Features di Getty Images, siglando un contratto editoriale. Alcuni dei 30 fotografi a questo punto saranno invitati per continuare la loro esperienza editoriale e potranno proporre progetti e contenuti sempre nuovi, direttamente a Getty Images.

Qualche esempio?

Se volete qualche esempio di quello che é stato fatto consiglio la visione delle fotografie realizzate da Paul Kline dove illustra la tradizione turca del the, il primo fotografo di iStock a pubblicare una storia editoriale su Getty Images.

Oppure le immagini di Kelvin Jay realizzate nel campo dei rifugiati ceceni di Fenerbahce.

c’é da scommettere che le novitá non finiranno qui…

Even though I will not be submitting anymore images to Getty because of their Premium Access Licensing, I still lurk the forums to see how things are going, who’s complaining and what is selling.

Remember that this is the largest and most successful agency in the world. It’s not always the best for an artist to be with the largest. It is too easy to get lost in the crowd.

Getty started another private forum where members can submit images by posting them to the group for approval. In less than a week there are over 12,000 images. Each member is allowed to contribute 5o images a week. Browsing the group is an exercise in what is being offered an also what it takes to stand apart from the crowd. Ninety percent of the photos easily are ho hum and don’t merit a second glance. People really need to learn how to edit their work. It wastes an editors time to go through fifty photos to see half of them are similar versions of the same subject.

Getty is also posting a Twitter feed where they daily or hourly post their requests or demands for photos. It’s informative to say the least. Check it out if you want to see what  is needed or selling?

Happy shooting,

Dan

Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.

~ Andrew Johnson

Image by Allison Michael Orenstein for Riser, in Getty Images

I was pretty surprised when I saw this ad the other day. It’s like we’re back to the Jesse Helms days where we have advertising that’s baiting censorship for sensationalism.Below, find the other controvercial Ad portraying a threesome which ran in NYC because NYC is the largest city in the US, and it was guaranteed to be noticed by hundreds of people.But let’s face it, sex has been used as an advertising tool for a really long time and its works well…case in point everyone in the city is goshing about .

A sexy new Calvin Klein billboard in the heart of SoHo is drawing the ire of some spectators – and lifting the spirits of others.The underwear ad shows a sweaty, glistening Eva Mendes in sheer lingerie, tugging at the boxer briefs of a studly man.The sultry billboard on Houston and Lafayette Sts. is one of a series of Calvin Klein ads that has raised eyebrows in the neighborhood.

“Some of us don’t want to expose our kids to something like this – it’s borderline pornography,” said Carl Wilson, 55, an MTA worker from Queens.

“I think it’s sexy as hell,” said Carlos Gamez, 24, who works at the nearby Adidas store. “It makes me want to go out and buy some drawers like that. This one was way sexier than any before.”

Calvin Klein pulled an orgy-themed ad in June after taking heat from neighbors and a Christian advocacy group. That billboard showed a teenage girl in a threesome with two young men – and another passed out nearby. Fans of the sexy ads say the new one is hotter than any that came before.

“It looks great, this new one. It’s more sexy then the ones before,” said Pepito Patamine. 48, of Queens. “If they want to sell panties, it’s perfect.”

Calvin Klein has a long history of advertisements that push the envelope. They pioneered the “heroin chic” look in the 1990s with strung-out-looking models, complete with pale skin and dark circles under their eyes. A Calvin Klein television ad featuring Mendes was banned from American airwaves last year. NYdailynews.com

Bria Murpy...is on fire

We have been waiting for this, and I see most of my viewers have as well.

I have been excited to see how many Bria Murphy fans are out there, so let’s all support this video.

View it before it gets pulled from You Tube due to whatever reasons. As long as it’s available, we will work to promote it, and get it to number one on the charts.

I will continue to feature her here, and give updates on what she is doing, but for now, here she is…

I made the decision to pull the plug on Gettyimages.

What started out as looking like a great deal for photographers on Flickr fizzled away with the announcement that their Premium Access Licensing was becoming mandatory for images in the Getty/Flickr group.

Reading the forums is disconcerting. By being short sighted and seemingly delighted that anyone would want to use, let alone pay to use their photos the majority of members seem fine with it the new agreement.

Does this sound like fair and equitable payment for a photo? A large publisher, let’s use Time magazine for example, pays a subscription price to download a set number of images during the subscription period. Looking for photos for a spread for their next issue they spot your image. You spent a day setting it up or traveled to the mountains just to take this shot. Or perhaps you paid a model to pose for your shoot. Whatever, you’re out cash.

Time picks your photo and it runs a full page. You get maybe $3.00. That number was thrown around on the forum and the Getty editors said it was possible. Likely? Unlikely? I don’t know but it’s possible.

Great deal huh? Your Rights Managed image has now been published which means that anyone else thinking of using it might pass because it was used nationally. You lose the sale. Who profits in that situation? Not you the artist.

There is or was a class action lawsuit launched by professional stock photographers last October and I can’t find out if there has been a settlement. I’ve got an email in to the lawyer that represented the artists and have not heard back. The photographers are claiming that when they entered into agreement with Getty that the Premium Access Licensing violates their original agreement. Their Rights Managed images have become less valuable and as a result they’ve lost potential income.

If I had more photos with Getty I would pursue this but because there are so few there, I’m content to let the term run it’s course and pull my images. If I had hundreds or thousand of images, it would be a different matter. Income loss would be much more. Me hiring a lawyer against the largest photo agency in the world over a few pics? Forget it. Not worth it.

But all the images that I had submitted and were approved by Getty, they will never see the light of day on Getty’s website.

As a photographer or as a working person, you have a choice in where you work and what you will be satisfied with. For all those amateurs with professional dreams in their eyes by being with Getty, you’ve just shot yourself in the foot by remaining. As long as people accept what Getty is forcing upon them, Getty has the power.

I prefer to be in control of my destiny and not blindly accept what is good for a large corporation just to get my pretty pictures published. It’s as simple as that.

Happy shooting,

Dan