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RANDOM THOUGHTS 115
January 14, 2006
PhotoAlto Produces RM Collection
PhotoAlto has produced a stylish, European-inspired collection of RM images that they call es (pronounced "ess") and has appointed Veer the exclusive distributor of this collection in North America.
Cinematic and experimental, es photography evokes the moods, styles, and sensuality of Europe. Created by a collective of professional photographers with a contemporary sensibility, this distinctive rights-managed library embodies the human experience via its striking portraits, and uses varied subject matter to evoke a range of emotional and intellectual responses.
"In Veer we found a partner who shares our goal of bringing a distinctive look and voice to the photographic market," says Sandra Ly-Flores, the PhotoAlto Agency's US Office Director. "For our new rights-managed collection we wanted a partner who recognized the quality of the collection and whose audience would appreciate its unique aesthetic. Veer fits those criteria to a T."
"A big part of Veer's appeal is the high-quality, distinctive elements that our customers can't find elsewhere," says Don Wieshlow, head of product development at Veer.
iStockphoto Updates Site
iStockphoto, has recently made sweeping site improvements and its 600,000 plus member community can expect dramatic improvements to site navigation with a 10x speed improvement. The company has also added dynamic licensing (available at the end of January), created 5,000 individual categories to streamline search, and enhanced site functionality.
Of particular interest to designers is the new BuyRequestTM tool that will be available on the site by the end of January. This formally extends iStockphoto's offerings beyond stock photography by allowing buyers to tender a bid for a specific project to the site's photographer/illustrator community.
BuyRequest allows iStockphoto members to contact photographers directly for specific projects. Members can offer "Finder's Fees" for image library research, make "Open Offers" for custom images and even hire specified photographers to shoot "On Spec." It offers a formal structure for the process that benefits both designers seeking a particular image and the artists bidding on the job.
The automated license creation interface eliminates the need for manually generating special license agreements for clients whose requirements fall outside the standard license restrictions. This revolutionary approach relaxes strict royalty-free contracts, and gives users unprecedented options on usage rights.
This multi-million dollar enhancement project is the result of iStockphoto's combined investment in new hardware and software infrastructure improvements, and months of work by iStockphoto's internal development teams. The AJAX-based redesign provides instant feedback, fewer page loads, a more application-like interface and an enhanced workflow.
"From the beginning, we have listened to our community, and tried to exceed their expectations," said Bruce Livingstone, President, CEO and Founder of iStockphoto. "These latest improvements will have dramatic impact for all of our members and further our mandate to integrate iStockphoto into the creative process and the desktop."
New hardware has quadrupled the site's processing power for increased speed and capacity, and a redundant data center has been installed for increased reliability. iStockphoto has also chosen the EdgeSuite® Delivery service of Akamai Technologies, Inc. to deliver its image and thumbnail content, resulting in increased site availability, faster page downloads and improved reliability. With EdgeSuite, iStockphoto has experienced consistent content delivery performance improvements of between 800% and 1600%.
Getty Or Jupiter
Third party suppliers that have a significant number of images with both Getty Images and Jupiter tell us that they are earning a significantly higher rate of return-per-image from Jupiter than from Getty.
It is believed there are two explanations for this: (1) Given the number of Image Partners on the Getty site the position of their images in the search results has gone lower and lower. (2) The royalty they receive from Jupiter is a slightly higher percent than what they receive from Getty.
Picture House In Chicago
Picture House has announced that it will sponsor an event in Chicago that gives image sellers a chance to promote their wares to image buyers. The event will be held on Thursday April 6th in Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center. Complimentary food and drink (including wine and beer after 5:00PM) will be available throughout the day.
Picture House has been sponsoring such events in major cities in Europe and in New York for several years. Last fall they sponsored an event in Los Angeles and this will be the first time in Chicago.
Stock photography organizations currently planning to exhibit are: AKG-Images, Masterfile, StockFood, Superstock, Getty Images, Bridgeman, Alaska Stock, Christie's Images, Pacific Stock, Grant Heilman Photography, Corbis, Northwind Pictures, IBID, OM Images, Alamy, Animals Animals, JupiterImages, Veer, Workbookstock, Danita Delimont, PhotoTake USA, Panoramic Images, Getty Images, Viesti, Bokelberg, Everett Collection, Robertstock, Custom Medical, Photo Researchers, The Picture Desk, Punchstock, The Image Works, The New York Magazine Cartoon Bank, Viesti, and others.