Random Thoughts 86

Posted on 9/28/2004 by Jim Pickerell | Printable Version | Comments (0)

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RANDOM THOUGHTS 86



September 28, 2004

Selling Stock Offers New Service


A few subscribers have asked Selling Stock to provide a Classified Advertising section for Employment Opportunities on the site, and we have introduced this service this week.


Job posting are located in an open (non-password protected) section of the site that may be accessed by anyone at anytime by going to the home page and clicking on Job Postings under Employment Opportunities, or going directly to
www.pickphoto.com/jobs.asp


Whenever a new job is listed we will notify subscribers in the next e-mail update. Rates and submission requirements for this service are listed on the home page under Classified Ad Rates.



E-Data Facts


Getty Images, in cooperation the Corbis and PACA, has developed a site where interested parties can obtain facts and resources to challenge the "Freeny" patent claims from E-Data. The URL is:
www.gettyimages.com/EdataFacts


The site contains third-party documents, summaries, updates and other resources that cast serious doubts on the validity of E-Data's patent claims. Among the documents are "prior art" a legal term for explanations of an invention or concept that were publicly available before the patent was filed. Such documents could be grounds for invalidating the patent.


The site was launched August 9, 2004 and will be regularly updated as new information comes available.



Overseas Printers Competing For U.S. Printing Jobs


Trend Watch Graphic Arts (TWGA) reports non-U.S. printers are the newest competitor to the U.S. commercial printing industry. For the first half of 2004, the surplus in printed materials trade declined by $75 million, a 38% decrease compared with 2003. The deficit with China alone was more than $500 million in the first half of 2004.


In the past, language, logistics, delivery time, and shipping costs all made coordinating cross-border print purchased difficult. For this reason, Canada had been the U.S.'s only significant trade partner in print, with the U.S. maintaining a surplus.


About ten years ago, the U.S. had a 72% surplus trade balance in books and printed matter. Today it is barely more than 16%. According to TWGA new communications technologies, new overseas plants, and reduction in trade barriers have conspired to erode natural protectors of commercial printing.


It is unclear whether any of the creative aspects of the content is moving overseas but that could be the next step.



Life Magazine Back


Life Magazine has been revived once again - this time as a weekly insert in 70 newspapers. It will compete against Parade , USA Weekend and American Profile , and like its competitors is designed to be a quick read and avoid dark and heavy news. Time Inc. executives say they will set it apart with top-flight photography on a better paper stock.


Among the 70 newspapers are the Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee and New York Daily News. With an estimated 12 million readers, a page of advertising in Life will cost $310,976. This compares roughly with $525,000 a page in USA Weekend and $850,000 a page in Parade.


According to Peter Bauer, Life's newly named publisher, who spent several years with Time Inc.'s People, there will be a broad mix of story subjects. Celebrities will be part of the mix, but they will not be predominant.



SuperStock To Use PicScout


SuperStock, a subsidiary of a21, has signed an agreement with PicScout to use its Image Tracker monitoring service to track the use of their imagery on the Internet. PicScout will provide detailed reports that will enable SuperStock to identify and pursue copyright infringement.



Getty Offering Editorial Grants


Getty Images plans to award five editorial grants over the next year for projects that will explore a particular issue in depth. Each grant recipient will receive $20,000 to help fund the project.


Getty will market the resulting images on its web site for one year but the photographer will retain the copyright and receive Getty's standard contributor fees of 50% of U.S. sales and 30% of sales made outside the U.S. After one year either party can opt out of the agreement.


The judges for the contest include: Stephen Mayes , director of Art and Commerce's Anthology division; Alain Genestar , editor-in-chief of Paris Match; photojournalist Reza of the Webistan agency; Maura Foley , former picture editor of People Magazine and Herald Menk , foreign editor of Stern Magazine.


Photographers will have two opportunities to submit proposals for the program this year. Applications for the first two grants, to be awarded in February 2005, must be postmarked by Dec. 1, 2004. Applications for three additional grants, to be announced in September 2005, must be postmarked by June 15, 2005. Getty employees are not eligible for the grants. Entry forms and full criteria are available at
www.gettyimages.com/contributors



News From PhotoShop World Conference


Adobe Systems and Wacom offered advance information about future workflow trends and digital imaging products at the PhotoShop World Conference & Expo in Orlando, FL in early September.


Adobe spoke mostly about the impending release of an updated Camera Raw and the importance of Camera Raw in photo editing workflow. They also discussed Photoshop CS's new "layer comps" feature.


Wacom introduced a brand new line of tablets called Intuos3 that offer two brand new, first time features for pen tablet products. ExpressKeys work just like keyboard keys, but they are completely customizable application by application. The smallest tablet, Intuos3, has four of these keys and the two larger sizes have eight. These are important for workflow because users now have Photoshop's modifiers (or customized short-cuts) handy on the tablet.


Intuos3 also introduces the concept of touch strips that provide a new way to access zooming in and out, scrolling, changing brush size, moving up and down layers, or other actions desired by our customers. The design of these features is such that users are never required to look away from the screen when using them.


Over 2,500 people attended this conference and everyone attending received 3-inch workbook of instructions and tips designed around every class available at the show.


Chris Bain, Photography Director of Barnes & Noble, said, "The best Photoshop educators in the world teach these classes - the guys and gals that write the books. There were eight 4-hour pre-seminar conferences that ran from Photoshop for Beginners to Lighting for Digital Photographers to Advanced Image Compositing. The following three days of classes addressed the Photoshop related needs of photographers, graphic designers, print/pre-press pros, and anyone else using Photoshop to solve their day to day challenges. This is THE event for users of Photoshop, and easily worth the price of admission and travel."


Research for this report was supplied by Pat Hunt, Index Stock Imagery.


Copyright © 2004 Jim Pickerell. The above article may not be copied, reproduced, excerpted or distributed in any manner without written permission from the author. All requests should be submitted to Selling Stock at 10319 Westlake Drive, Suite 162, Bethesda, MD 20817, phone 301-461-7627, e-mail: wvz@fpcubgbf.pbz

Jim Pickerell is founder of www.selling-stock.com, an online newsletter that publishes daily. He is also available for personal telephone consultations on pricing and other matters related to stock photography. He occasionally acts as an expert witness on matters related to stock photography. For his current curriculum vitae go to: http://www.jimpickerell.com/Curriculum-Vitae.aspx.  

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