Serious Bodily Harm (Revisited)

I had been trying to figure out how to make Aperture export an electronic book where the pages really flipped and along comes Issuu (thank you to the weblog Exposure Compensation for turning me on to Issu)

2.4 Billion for Getty

©Russell Kaye & Sandra-Lee Phipps

Iceberg, Labrador Sea (Previously represented by Getty Images, produced over $8000 in sales in May 2005 alone - Getty offered to move it to their Royalty Free partner Punchstock where sales average $50 - no thank you very much.)

from the NY Times Deal Book Blog 2.4 Billion for Getty to the Private Equity Firm Hellman Friedman - thanks Clare

It's certainly been a downward spiral for our cash flow from the Getty Gorilla; our check this month was barely $1000 - way down from the golden days of $5000/month averages a few years ago. An interesting aside is the images Getty just returned to us last month as ones they no longer want to represent as right's managed - of course if we want to send them to their royalty free brand Punchstock, they'd love to have them. I bet. These are images that were doing very well for us in the RM world. I've never kept running totals on our images but a random look at previous sales advices came up with over $8000 in sales from one month in 2005 alone. PunchStock’s royalty-free collections are available starting at prices below $50 for low resolution images.

Needless to say, we're rapidly moving away from Getty - the new models in DIY stock photography are PhotoShelter and Digital RailRoad. We're also looking at the older agency models Alamy and Jupiter. As we're far from experts in stock, any input from you readers would be appreciated.

See also this link to this great article comparing PhotoShelter and Digital RailRoad - it's time to sit down and read it - thanks Steve Casimiro!

Give Away the Positive - Take Home the Negative

© Russell Kaye click for bigger view

Polaroid is getting out of the Polaroid Business link to Patrick Lyons @ New York Times

I still shoot film. I still use a ton of Polaroid. There's nothing like it.

Is the digital age accelerating? Will Kodak soon cease to make film? I love my EOS digital but I'm not emotionally attached to it like I am to a sheet of Type 55 in my Linhof. No batteries, no cables, no downloading. No unkept promises - I can give away the Positive and take home the Negative - No need to send a print. Is Digital Making Things Easier?

Don't Take My Polaroid Away

Andrea Modica

©Andrea Modica From "Fountain"

Andrea Modica's newest body of work "Fountain" is on view this month at Edwynn Houk.

I had read that she had been photographing a family that ran a small slaughterhouse in Fountain, Colorado but I hadn't seen many of the images. I've long considered Ms Modica's 1996 book "Treadwell" a masterpiece -shot in 8x10 and printed in platinum - it's a look at the tattered yet innocent life of rural and poor in Treadwell, NY. Treadwell somewhat stars Barbara who Ms Modica first photographed at the age of 7. Barbara later stars in the title roll of Ms Modica's 2004 monograph "Barbara" in which Ms. Modica documents Barbara's battle with adult-onset diabetes- Barbara died in 2001 at 22.

How Ms Modica tenderly fills her images with love and respect is what separates her photographs from ones that would seem manipulative and contrived.

©Andrea Modica, From "Fountain"

Chris Buck Shoots President

I must admit I felt a little left out - over at Mr Colberg's Conscientious site there's a pretty good discussion of portrait photography by a not-so-wide variety of photographers. You'll see that most of the photographers who Joerg asked for insight are also the same ones whose blogs we all read. I would have offered up this image as one of my favorite portraits - it's Chris Buck photographing himself for Esquire; the black eye being makeup, I do remember Chris working hard in the early 90's to develop his "name recognition." I think he's met his goal.

Hey Chris - post a copy of that great promo you did: "Chris Buck Shoots President"

Everyone A Publisher

I'm going to post a roundup of contests and such here for our Turning Pro Workshop students. There's not a better way to promote yourself than getting in CA, Luerzers, or PDN. This one however is judged by two photographers and has no entry fee: Remain in Light, Voume 1

"friend? how do we know each other?"

Let me please apologize if Facebook has contacted you recently on my behalf - it seems that while researching the whole social networking thing I inadvertently turned over my gmail addressbook to Facebook and it conveniently and automatically listed everyone that I've ever even exchanged an email with as a "friend." I have some great emails now from folks I've never met: "friend? how do we know each other?" "good question," I reply, and with a quick search of their email address (which is the amazing, if not Orwellian part of gmail, not so much that you can search your past emails but that their archived on google's server's not mine) I can reply that "sure we know each other - don't you recall that I inquired about a 1999 Volvo XC Wagon you had for sale on Craig's list in December of 2006?"

The best part however was watching my 12-year-old daughter check her email on Saturday morning - her half-asleep gaze was suddenly jolted into full-Bustello-awake - "You're doing Facebook now?" Horror! What do we think it means that she didn't accept my invitation to be facebook friends?

Another best part is that I invited my wife to Facebook and listed her as my Spouse - look at what one get's as you wait for confirmation that your wife is indeed your wife. Hopefully I won't need to hit the cancel relationship button.....