ASPP MEMBERS | PHOTOSHELTER
(www.PhotoShelter.com)

Looking for a way to jumpstart your photography business in 2013, but not sure where to start? Think $15,000 in prizes could help? Then PhotoShelter's Jumpstart Contest is right up your alley!

If you need help taking your photography business to the next level—whether you need to attract new clients, improve your existing relationships, or fine tune your technique—then we have the contest for you.

Jumpstart Your Photography Business Contest

One grand prize winner will win exclusive one-on-one time with each member of our Dream Team Advisory Board:

• Lindsay Adler - Social media guru, author, and New York-based fashion and portrait photographer who teaches seminars worldwide.
• Zack Arias - Editorial and commercial photographer known as a highly experienced speaker and educator.
• Ilise Benun - Marketing consultant and author, and co-founder of Marketing Mentor.
• David Brabyn - Website consultant, photojournalist, and Founder of digitaltechparis.
• Bill Cramer - Commercial photographer, and Founder and CEO of Wonderful Machine.
• Jasmine DeFoore - Photo editor and consultant, and Founder of Texas Photo Roundup.
• David Hobby - Editorial and commercial photographer, and Founder of Strobist.com.
• Brian Smith - Award-winning celebrity portrait photographer.

Get 15% off Getty Images Creative & Editorial Video or Music Tracks until February 15, 2013.

ASPP members can receive this special discount when licensing creative or editorial video clips and music tracks. The offer is for those members who do not currently have a price/rate agreement with Getty and have not licensed any of their video or music content in the past.

The offer applies to transactions completed by a resident of the United States or Canada on www.gettyimages.com or gettyimages.ca on or before February 15, 2013. Members can use the discount more than once during the offer period, too.

A promo code must be applied at time of purchase. Log into the Member Area with your username and password to receive the promo codes or call the ASPP National office.

Enjoy the sights and sounds and savings from Getty Images!

ASPP MEMBERS | MARILYN ANGEL WYNN
(www.nativestock.com)

"Feathers & Leathers" Book and Gallery Exhibit

Ongoing
NativeStock Gallery
Santa Fe, New Mexico

NativeStock, the leading supplier of Indian Country imagery, recently opened their first studio and gallery at 1036 Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico. NativeStock Gallery is proud to present the photography exhibit "Feathers & Leathers" in conjunction with the release of photographer Marilyn Angel Wynn's latest book.

Wynn specializes in shooting colorful stock images of Native American Indian cultures, creating antique-inspired amber gold tone prints in the syle of historic works by Edward S. Curtis, who photographed tribal nations 100 years ago.

Videos of the presented THE NEW COPYRIGHT ECONOMY event, presented on October 23rd, 2012 by ASPP NY Chapter are now available for viewing.

The event featured a keynote Presentation by Chris Reed from the U.S. Copyright Office, and a panel Discussion led by Roy Kaufman from the Copyright Clearance Center and featuring Nancy Wolff (Partner, Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard), Lynn Oberlander (General Counsel, The New Yorker Magazine), Shawn G. Henry (ASMP President) and Jackie Lissy Brustein, (VP Media Rights & Permissions, Bill Smith)

 

Chapter co-president Jessica Moon snapped me at the New York event with Zack Brown, Nick Flynn and Dan Geraci of Shutterstock.

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over. And 2012 has been an incredibly productive year for the ASPP thanks to stellar chapter programming and events. We've also seen our membership initiatives bear fruit with strong growth in new members and renewals. This seems like the right moment to remind those of you whose memberships are expiring at the end of the year to please renew yours. We'll be adding new benefits in 2013 and you don't want to miss discounted attendance at chapter events or upcoming issues of our beautiful magazine, The Picture Professional. You can renew easily here.

One of the biggest events each year is the New York chapter's holiday party and this one was outstanding. Nearly 130 people showed up to enjoy the food, libations and networking—watch for a complete report in an upcoming issue of the magazine. We're grateful to Shutterstock, the event sponsor, and the Aperture Foundation which provided the space as well as many other companies, groups and individuals who also provided support for this “must-attend” evening. This is the usual venue for the presentation of the annual Jane Kinne Picture Professional of the Year Award.

This year's honoree, Ed Whitley from the Bridgeman Art Library, gave a delightful acceptance speech saying, in part, “I remember coming to the ASPP Christmas party in 2003 when the first such Picture Professional of The Year Award was given to the wonderful Jane Kinne after whom this award was subsequently named. Since then the list of recipients has been a veritable who's who of the Picture world. So I feel an enormous honor at being placed alongside them and immense gratitude in accepting this award.”

And he wore the honor well as you can see from this photo by Susan Jones of age fotostock! The event was also graced by the presence of four previous Picture Professionals honorees including Cathy Sachs, Jerry Tavin, Nancy Wolff and Anita Duncan.

A big thanks to all of you for your support during the past year. We literally couldn't do it without you. All the best to you and yours for the holidays and 2013. As the Irish say, “May the best of this year be the worst of the next one.”

 

—Michael Masterson, ASPP National President, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , (213) 760-1176

NEWS FROM NATIONAL

—Jain Lemos, ASPP Executive Director

As 2012 draws to a close, we would like to thank you! We appreciate your support and your loyalty to ASPP. It has been a busy year. Please let me take a moment to highlight some of the things our dedicated national board members accomplished.

Everyone has been praising the magazine's make-over. Our staff and contributors are incredible to work with. Issue 4 is at the printer now and many of you will receive your copy before the end of the year. Being able to publish a four-color magazine of such beautiful quality is all possible because of our advertisers!

We launched a digital edition, too. Many thanks to Corbis Images for their support in sponsoring this extra extension effort. We are now able to share the magazine with a larger audience beyond our members and subscribers which is fantastic for our advertisers and for attracting new members.

Our chapter programming excelled in 2012. From west to east, south to north and in the middle, everyone shared and learned. Copyright topics were once again popular; that's no surprise with our crowd. Please let us know what subjects you are interested in for 2013 and don't be shy about contacting your chapter boards to help.

Find-a-Pro had a face lift thanks to our super tech team. ASPP's social media presence is taking off. Thanks for liking us everywhere. Membership chairs worked hard to add benefits and bring lots of new category levels including our graduating student and educator programs.

In Chicago and New York we joined many of you at PACA and Visual Connections. These annual gatherings help all of us find more ways to connect and share. We named Ed Whitley our Picture Professional of the Year, too.

The board found many opportunities to grow our association and they deserve applause. Through all of these milestones, we realize we have more to do. In 2013 we will launch a new website, welcome in a new Board of Trustees, put more partnerships in place and maybe even start a Canadian chapter!

Remember, we can't do any of this without you. Staying involved improves your image, too. We wish you the very best, the most merry and truly successful New Year.

ASPP MEMBERS | GLOBAL IMAGE WORKS
(Global ImageWorks)

Make your clicks count! In the spirit of the season, please join Global ImageWorks in supporting those who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy.

For every visit to their website, Global ImageWorks will make a donation to Occupy Sandy, a Hurricane Sandy relief organization focused on resource distribution within affected neighborhoods.

Your help is only a click away.

Global ImageWorks is an industry leader representing contemporary and historic film footage and providing in-house research and clearance services. Visit their website here.

ASPP MEMBERS | JIM PICKERELL 
(www.selling-stock.com) 

Here is a recap of recent articles posted on Selling Stock. (There is a fee in the form of credits to read the full text of some stories. Some articles are free and most stories are 2 credits, but that varies depending on the story.)

Image Source Increases Royalty Rates to 60%
Due to an urgent need for North American imagery produced with a fresh approach Image Source has announced that they will be offering a royalty rate of 60% for all imagery produced in North America and accepted between Dec 1st 2012 and through to Dec 31st 2013. The bonus royalty rate will apply for the lifetime of those images”, added Anthony Harris, the Group’s Chief Operating Officer.

Textbook Rates Go Down
If you think there is still a decent market for textbook usage of stock photos – think again. The following is a summary of a conversation yesterday between a picture researcher for a major U.S. textbook company and renown travel photographer Wolfgang Kaehler

Photo Subjects Customers Need
What are the photographic and illustration subjects that clients look for most often? Recently, iStockphoto surveyed its customers and asked them to identify the subject categories that they searched for most frequently in 2012.

Is Small Claims The Answer For Protecting Copyright?
For several years there have been discussions about the possibility of developing a simplified, less costly, less burdensome process for making a legal claim for unauthorized use of images. Currently all copyright infringement claims in the U.S. must be brought in Federal Court. Is a small claims system the answer?

Shutterstock Had A $42.3 Million Third Quarter
Shutterstock has reported revenue of $42.3 million for the third quarter, a 36% increase over Q3 2011. The company expects to generate revenue of $44 to $45 million in the fourth quarter. Based on that projection revenue for 2012 will be between $164 and $168 million, up $44.7 million compared to the 2011 revenue of $120.3 million. This will be a 37% increase in revenue for the year.

Which Agency Offers The Best Royalty?
A photographer recently asked if I could point her to a chart that shows what royalty percentage each stock distributors pays its photographers so she could better determine which offered the best deal. She added, “I recognize that there were a number of factors involved -- home territories, partner agents, image collections, number of photographer’s images licensed, rights managed, traditional royalty free, microstock – so hopefully the chart would take all these factors into consideration.”

ASPP MEMBERS | TANYA SLEIMAN
(95 Lives on Kickstarter)

ASPP member Tanya Sleiman has launched an online fundraising campaign for her feature-length documentary about the legendary photographer Helen Levitt. All pledges received by midnight on Thursday, December 6, 2012 will be doubled courtesy of an angel donor!

In Tanya's own words:

"95 Lives seeks to change the reality that Helen Levitt is a major female artist of the 20th century, someone who innovated in photography and film, yet is virtually unknown outside of elite art circles. This is why we are making this film: to introduce the work and life of Helen Levitt to audiences all over.

We recently launched a Kickstarter campaign because we need help finishing this film, and we have until December 16 to reach our goal of raising $28,500. This fundraiser is all-or-nothing, which means if the project is not fully funded, the film will get $0.

To donate, watch the trailer, and read more about the project, click here.

Please help us in spreading the word about 95 Lives to the photography community. Blog posts, sharing our link in emails, tweets about our campaign, or any other outreach suggestions are most welcome.

Through Helen Levitt’s lens, we have found magic and visual poetry in our everyday lives. In helping her legacy live on, we hope her work inspires countless more generations of artists!"

Find 95 Lives on Facebook and YouTube!

Tanya Sleiman is a documentary film maker and educator teaching film and television production in California. She has taught documentary film-making at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and her projects have aired on PBS, Rooftop Films, and California Public Radio. She has been working towards a full-length documentary about Helen Levitt's work since 2008.

95 Lives still: Penny Wolin with her image of Levitt's hands holding vintage image of young Levitt ©2012 Penny Wolin ©2012 Tanya Sleiman / All Rights Reserved.

Our friends at the the Copyright Alliance announced their website got a makeover and they provide a list of key blogs. Lucinda Dugger, Director of Outreach, shares the following with the ASPP:

What’s new on the site?
We are building out our resources for creators, so feel free to pass along to me anything that we might be able to share with others. In the meantime, stay up-to date with copyright how-tos on our Frequently Asked Questions page and read our quick guide on DMCA takedown notices.

You can also read about our focus issues: creative culture, law & policy, digital citizenship, and innovation on our blog. See our new look here: copyrightalliance.org.

Copyright and creativity blogs worth reading
Also, check out these great blogs from artists who are focusing on all things related to creating and copyright.

• Vox Indie - voxindie.org. The Vox Indie blog is written and edited by Ellen Seidler. A 27-year film and journalism veteran, Seidler began her career in journalism at ABC News in New York as an assignment editor, and later joined KRON-TV in San Francisco as a photojournalist and editor. Seidler is currently a professor of Fine & Media Arts at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California.
• The Trichordist - thetrichordist.com. The Trichordist is a community blog for those interested in contributing to the advancement of an Ethical Internet, and the protection of Artists Rights in the Digital Age.
• Copyhype – copyhype.com. Copyhype provides news and information on current developments relating to copyright law, the media industries, and the digital economy. It is written by Terry Hart, a graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law with a J.D. and a certificate in intellectual property law.
• The Illusion of More – illusionofmore.com. Filmmaker David Newhoff writes the The Illusion of More, which is a response to the promise of the digital age that more would necessarily be better. More content, more information, more access, and more interaction would ultimately produce more freedom, more democracy, more cultural diffusion, more innovation, and so on. According to some, the evolution of the Internet would ultimately fuse with human evolution itself, allowing us to transcend even our own mortality. To be sure, we seem to have accomplished the more part, but whether it’s all for the better is a question worth asking. 

If your blogs or blogs you follow wrestle with similar issues, please feel free to pass them along to Linda if you’d like.