Chicago Sun Times dumps Photogs

The Sun Times group has fired its entire photojournalism staff - indicating that relying on candid snaps from cellphones and social media photo-sharing would appeal to an "increasingly digital-savvy" readership.  It's also been reported that all reporters will be taking mandatory iPhone workshops for photo training.

Is this validation of the shift to backpack journalism, or another short-sighted attempt to cut costs by reducing the product's value?  While I think arming all reporters with the capacity to capture photos, audio, and video can be helpful, a trained photojournalist can add value through framing and their ability to identify and capture "the moment."  And that quality is one of the few competitive advantages major news outlets have over their online competition.  Is it really one to ditch for possible short-term cost savings?

Source -  Chicago Sun Times Fires Its Entire Photo Staff

The Power of Pictures

I've just run across a post - 20 Photos That Change The Holocaust Narrative - that reminded me of the power of good photojournalism.

 The post collects some photos from the late 1930s through the 1980s to illustrate that the story of the Holocaust is more than just the horror of the camps.

(T)here are other images. Images that show a more subtle, more true, story. A story that shows our inner power, our inner turmoil in dealing with a situation we cannot comprehend, our attempts to gain justice, and our final steps into moving above and beyond our past and into a new future.

There are pictures of opposition, of survival and liberation, and the building of new lives.  It's definitely worth a look.

(Shabbat service after the liberation of Buchenwald)

I do have one quibble, with the header.  I don't think that it changes the narrative as much as it expands it - into the contrast of the horror of the Nazi oppression and the strength, spirit, will, and ultimately triumph of those oppressed.

This picture captures the actions of a woman Holocaust survivor, attacking a neo-Nazi skinhead during a 1985 skinhead demonstration march in Sweden.
  Moments later, thousands of other townfolk joined her, chasing the skinheads into the train station toilets (where they were rescued by police)


Source -  20 Photos That Change The Holocaust Narrative,  PopChassID

edit- fixed some spacing issues

Using Social Media Images

In what looks to be an interesting case, a Federal judge ruled in a summary judgement that the Washington Post, press agency Agence France-Press (AFP), and Getty Images (which AFP uses to market its photos, and which it used to license the images in question to other media outlets and publications) improperly and illegally used images that a photojournalist had posted on Twitter. 

Daniel Morel, a photojournalist whose photos (of the immediate aftermath of the Haiti earthquake) were placed on the AFP newswire without payment, turned to the courts in March 2010, claiming AFP had violated his copyright. AFP responded with a few different defenses; its boldest, almost shocking defense was that the Twitter terms of service actually granted it a license to use whatever photos it could grab off the micro-blogging service.

 AFP had argued that once posted on Twitter, the images became public - specifically that since the photographer had granted Twitter a license to post and share the picture, that meant that he had granted permission for everybody else to use the photos freely, without permission or royalty.  In this case, the judge ruled that such an argument was dead wrong now, just as it was when it was pointed out to the AFP in a copyright infringement case years earlier.  And it's certainly not an argument that AFP and other media outlets would extend to their own photos and content, or when they sought payment from others for licensing the Morel photographs to other outlets.
  So it was no surprise that the judge knocked down that defense in a summary judgement.  (Judges use summary judgements when the allegations are so silly and/or inappropriate that there's no point in even going to trial).  The judge also ruled in a separate summary judgement to limit potential damages.  Morel's attorneys had argued for damages as set forth in U.S. Copyright Law, which allows for damages of up to $150,000 per instance if infringers did so willfully, and $200 if infringers can prove they didn't know they were infringing; the kicker, though, is that each the damages apply separately to each separate instance of infringement.  That let plaintiff's attorneys to ask for damages for each infringement, for each copy of the photo printed in newspapers, or each time a webpage with the image was accessed online - which could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in statutory damages).  The judge, in summarily ruling that any damages would be limited to the initial infringement of each image (and not later reuse), essentially indicated that the current legal language on damages was "ridiculous" - at least when applied to online circumstances like this specific case.
  A number of other arguments and aspects of the case, such as whether the infringement was willing, and whether Getty Images acted in the role of purely a middleman passing images and covered by the ISP exemption, will continue on to a full trial, or whether AFP & Getty violated the DMCA by providing false copyright information (in this case claiming ownership by AFP for licensing purposes through Getty).

  I've posted on a similar situation emerging from secondhand use of photos and images on Pinterest.  The main point coming from that situation and this case, is that content creators need to be aware that availability on the net does not equate with being in the public domain.  If you do reuse content, you need to consider the nature of that use, whether permission is likely to be needed, and that proper credit and attribution is provided - particularly if you're commercial operation.
  The one thing I'll disagree with in terms of the judge's summary judgements relates to the damages.  I'll agree that the current copyright law language overdoes damages (mostly to maximize potential deterrence), but rather than limiting damages to the single instance (per image), I'd also argue that Morel should be able to recover a hefty multiple of the revenues that AFP and Getty earned by (illegally) licensing his photographs.  But that's the result of fraud as well as copyright infringement, so I hope Morel's attorneys can still make that case.

Sources - News flash for the media: You can't sell photos grabbed from Twitter,  arstechnica
More than $120,000,000 at stake in AFP vs. Morel case,  British Journal of Photography

Pics Rule on Social

Forget for a moment the recent success of Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr and other photo/visuals oriented social media.  A new study of Facebook posts by HubSpot found that photos on Facebook pages generated 53% more likes than the average post, and photo posts generated 103% more comments - at least for businesses.  (The study examined posts from B2B [business to business] and B2C [business to consumer] Facebook users).

  Facebook users posted and shared around 300 million photos last year, an increase of 20% from the start of 2012.  Instagram use (measured separately) is up more than 1000% since it was bought by Facebook; however, Facebook recently announced it will no longer post Instagram metrics separately.  The study looked at thousands of business posts to see if incorporating visuals encouraged use and engagement by other social media users.  In addition, engagement metrics are a large component in Facebook's EdgeRank metric, which is used to determine what posts and comments appear in Facebook News Feeds (providing businesses with even more exposure and chance for impact).
  The study looked at a variety of types of posts, and found that 85% of the "most engaging Facebook posts" incorporated photos.  In contrast, 3% of the most engaging posts incorporated video, 5% were status updates, and 7% were links.  Furthermore, photo posts received 84% more link clicks that text-only or link posts.

The report suggests that this conclusion might challenge initial theories that using text-only posts could be a better Facebook strategy for businesses, versus the contradicting argument is that Facebook surfaces text-only posts in News Feeds more often than photos...  Marketers who are using interesting images to their advantage can increase traffic to their websites with an included link.

Sources -  A Picture is Worth More Than Any Words,  ResearchBrief
Facebook yanks Instagram usage data from public view, C/Net
Photos on Facebook Generate 53% More Likes Than the Average Post [NEW DATA], HubSpot's Inbound Internet Marketing Blog

Cool: Ghosts of WWII (Images)

UK's Daily Mail has a fascinating piece on the work of a Dutch historian who -after finding a collection of WWII negatives in a flea market - matched "atmospheric" photos from WWII with new photos of the same locations, and combined them.

(Historian Jo Teeuwisse) believes that making war scenes familiar by linking them to somewhere we recognise heightens their impact.
'I knew what happened there, but knowing the exact spot of some detail will etch it into your visual memory,' she said.

Be sure to check them out.

Source - Ghosts of War, MailOnline
Ghosts of History, flickr album
Ghosts of History, Facebook page

Licensing Photos for/from Social Media

  The copyright for a photograph belongs to the person who took it, and for most photo-sharing sites, you retain the copyright while licensing the site to post and share it.  However, without a definitive indication of downstream licensing, the consequent use of the photo may be problematic.  (And no, the fact that a photo is shared online does not mean its licensed to use by everyone under all conditions).
  If you're a professional, or want to be one, you'll need to explore the various options for licensing.  The American Society of Media Photographers has a good online Licensing Guide that outlines copyrights for photos and the various licensing options.
  On the other hand, if you just want to share your photos with others without having to develop specific licensing language, there's Creative Commons licensing language.  Creative Commons (CC) is a nonprofit organization which has developed a set of standard licensing statements that indicate what uses you want to allow others to make of your content, while confirming your ownership of the copyright..  They basically outline three aspects of downstream use to license - whether you want the work to be attributed to you; whether you want others to be able to manipulate (change) the work; and whether you want to allow your work to be used for commercial purposes.

  The photo-sharing site Flickr allows you to set a basic (default) Creative Commons license for all your photos uploaded to Flickr.  It also allows you to change the license for specific photos through the "Owner Settings" option.  More than 200 million photos on Flickr bear Creative Commons licenses.
  There's also a way to easily attach Creative Commons licenses to photos uploaded to Instagram. I am CC is an add-on service that allows Instagram users to sign up under their Instagram account, select the CC license they prefer, and then every photo uploaded to Instagram for the next three months will carry that license.  In a nice move, I am CC asks you to renew the service every three months as a reminder of the license choice.

  If you're looking for photos to use, there are several sites that aggregate images by Creative Commons license type.  There's also a number of useful online guides for how to properly use and reference those images.
  Regardless of whether or not you're a professional, it's smart to get into the habit of thinking about whether you want others to be able to use your work, and under what conditions.  So why not start with the vacation photos you're sharing with friends and family.
  And if you see a great photo online you want to use, save yourself from the possibility of a copyright violation take-down notice, and pay attention to an image's licensing and follow them.

Sources & Resources
How to License Your Instagram Photos on Creative Commons, Wired
I-Am-CC website
Creative Commons images and you: a quick guide for image users, Ars Technica
Using Creative Commons Images from Flickr,  SquidooHQ
American Society of Media Photographers Licensing Guide
Creative Commons website

Instagram For Android

Post contributed by Sheena Hunley -

It has been 17 months since Instagram was introduced on the iOS; finally the wait for the Android version is over. The popular app is now available from Google Play for Android smartphones versions 2.2 or later. However, it is not readily available on Android tablets.

  Since the app was introduced, it has been a popular tool of many iPhone photographers, with

30 million registered users and 1 billion photo downloads with the iPhone app alone. The

company expressed in a press release that the Android version would emulate that of the iOS.

However, slight differences have surfaced. There are a few features that are unavailable: Tilt

Shift/Blur, Share from Feed and Live Preview. 

  Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom says themissing features are due to trying to get the product out faster for Android users- omitting features that were least used by the iOS consumers. For example, live preview was only used by1 percent of all posters. But if you are an Android user who enjoys these features, don't worry.According to Instagram, feature updates will eventually workout the differences between the two

versions.

 Since the app has reached the Android market, it has already received stellar reviews in Google Play- reaching 3,000 5-star rankings. Overall, this is an efficient tool for some photographers to share camera phone shots. 

Source - Press Release, from Instagram

BJB- Added link to press release and did some minor editing and formatting.

Sony adds flexibility to PS3 platform

Basic post contributed by Rachel Cade: -

Photo Editing on PlayStation 3?

You read that right. Sony announced today that it will launch photo editing software for the PlayStation 3 this week.  The software, called “PlayMemories Studio,” is launched in anticipation of the cloud component called “PlayMemories Online” which will be launched in the upcoming months.  The software allows users to manipulate photo stills directly on their gaming console.

   The software will be launched Tuesday in the US at the PlayStation Store and will retail for $18. There is a 30-day free trial available.

Source -  Sony to Lauch Playstation 3 Photo Suite This Week to Link With Cloud Service,  PC World

----------------------

With internet connectivity, significant processing power and storage capacity, top gaming platforms have the power to engage in a lot of computer activities.  Traditionally, two limitations have limited development in this regard: first, the lack of a recording output option (not included in most platforms to discourage piracy of gaming software; and second, the limitations of game controllers as an interface (instead of mouse and keyboard).  The combination of the photo suite with coming Cloud external storage for the manipulated images addresses the first issue.  Hopefully, some creative options for interface will help with the second.
  Still, this announcement reflects the continued convergence of digital media across platforms and uses.
--Ben Bates

Photo Sharing with Color

Post contributed by Summer Johnson -

In March 2011, the first Color apps for smartphones debuted. Color is a new picture sharing app that connects multiple smartphones within a certain range to digitally share and sync photos in real time. The app then sorts pictures of individual events in a timeline and shares them with the nearby synced phones.

  Although Color meant to revolutionize picture sharing and connect more people in an exclusive interactive way, some believe it gives users too little privacy. In an article for Forbes, Andy Greenberg, reports security researcher and Veracode chief technology officer Chris Wysopal  had already hacked Color the night it debuted. By using an iPad hacked to allow third party applications in combination with another app, FakeLocation, Wysopal was able to change his own geographic location on Color to view all pictures in any geographic location he chose.

  When Greenberg contacted Color’s spokesperson, John Kuch, about the hacking, Kuch explained that Color has never offered privacy, and said that it has always been public.

Although pictures create about 20% more interaction on social networking sites like Facebook (as stated by Buddy Media in Stan Bashmashnikov’s article, The Future of Photo Sharing),  technology may be ahead of itself until applications like Color can offer more privacy to its users.

Sources -  The Future of Photo Sharing,  Social Media Week

Color Hack Lets You Spy On Anyone's Photos Anywhere,  Forbes.com

Photo Tech - Liquid Lens

Post contributed by Summer Johnson -

Technology has broken another barrier in photography with the design of the liquid lens. Although the liquid lens has been around for some time, the technology was produced only on a high-power scale. Recently, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, NY, have developed a low-power liquid lens for small point and shoot cameras with only two drops of water that change shape by use of sound waves.

  The use of a liquid lens benefits small cameras because it allows them to focus without any moving parts (like the zoom on a camera) or repositioning.

  Researchers test the lens by a long method involving filling the lens with water, locking it in a pressure chamber, and generating sound waves into the chamber.  The sound waves reform the surface of the liquid in the lens to create an image. Their findings lead researchers to believe cameras that use liquid lenses “could take tens of pictures at the press of a button and let software sort out the one that’s most in focus.”

  Although researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have only produced low quality images, they plan on upping their quality by using a different liquid in the lens. Some companies, like Phillips and Varioptic, have already produced these lenses for small cameras and camera phone; however the same liquid lens technology has been used in a high-power form for biomedicine device that finds lesions underneath skin. 

Sources -   Low-Power Liquid Lens, Technology Review

Better Bioimaging with a Liquid Lens,  Technology Review

Lytro offers light-field camera - A new approach to photography?

Post submitted by Summer Johnson - 

    With every new technology, the world of communication changes. Photography has changed dramatically in the last ten years with innovative technology introduced to the masses like digital cameras and photo altering software. Photography will change again in 2012 with the introduction of the first light-field camera, the Lytro Camera.
    Stanford University captured the first light fields 15 years ago by using an advanced supercomputer with multiple cameras attached to it. They have finally condensed the technology into a portable camera that will be produced for the masses in 2012. The Lytro Camera is special because it captures an entire light field whereas normal cameras only catch a single light plane. A light field is “all the light traveling in every direction in every point in space.” (lytro.com) The Lytro camera catches these light fields with a Light Field Sensor and a Light Field Engine 1.0. The Light Field Sensor captures 11 million light rays in a single picture. The Light Field Engine 1.0, created by algorithms, mimics the original supercomputer Stanford used in its research labs, and replaces many small camera parts in traditional cameras with powerful software that records the color, intensity and vector direction of the light rays.
    These two pieces of technology will allow users to focus there photos “after-the-fact” on their camera screens or on their computers later. Because this camera focuses photos later, it eliminates the need for an auto-focus motor most cameras have. The auto-focus motor usually causes delays in the shutter speed, which can cause the “perfect moment” to slip away in a thousandth of a second. The elimination of shutter lag can also improve the quality of photos in low light setting. Lytro Inc. also claims that capturing light fields instead of planes will allow users to switch between 2D and 3D views.
    This new technology will change the way photographers are viewed forever. Before the Lytro camera, when cameras were first developed, it took several hours to get one exposure of a photo that eventually faded off the page. New technology led to a permanent photo that still took multiple hours to create. (Think of all the old black and white photos of people not smiling and staring at the camera. They couldn’t hold their smiles for the time it took to create an exposure.) Long story short, technology led to cameras that required consideration to lighting, shutter speeds, aperture and focus. These key elements are what photographers spent so many years learning and perfecting to produce a “good picture”. When the public has access to a camera that does it all for them, it lessens the need for professional photographers. Society will no longer need the knowledge or experience from the professional photographers; they will have at their finger tips with a single-button light-field camera and their computer. 
    The technology will revolutionize picture taking. Imagine an iconic photo, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother, for example. What if Lange had accidentally had her camera out of focus just a little bit? The focal length was just a little short. It would not matter if she had a Lytro camera. She would have just snapped the picture and gone about her merry way. There would have been no consideration, no skill and no passion behind the photo--just another snap shot.  Or what about the photo of Jack Ruby shooting JFK’s alleged shooter Lee Harvey Oswald in the alleyway? What if the photographer had his camera focused on the bricks of the alley instead of Ruby shooting Oswald? The Lytro camera could fix that without any the knowledge and skill required to take such a picture at such an unexpected event.
    The Lytro camera is a disgrace to professional photographers, all their years of knowledge, skill, training and experience they use each time they create beautiful and shocking images remembered by all, forever. It celebrates amateur photography by sprucing it up with some powerful software, and disregarding the passion the real photographer expresses when behind the camera. The Lytro Camera debuts in early 2012 in three vibrant colors starting at $399, and the software is included.

Source - Lytro unveils radical new camera design,  cNet News

Ed. - The Lytro is a new means of capturing images as a 3-D field rather than a focused plane.  It allows the photographer the ability to also extract 2-D focus planes (i.e. normal photography) from the 3-D image.  And it still requires a photographer's eye to frame and select what points of time to capture a picture.  I see it more as extending a photographer's toolbox rather than being dismissive of professional photographers.  For a more significant impact of technology on photojournalism, check this earlier post. -BJBates
I left the title off of first version - now added.