All posts by Paul Melcher

Paul Melcher is the founder of Kaptur. He is an entrepreneur, advisor, and consultant with a rich background in visual tech, content licensing, business strategy, and technology with more than 20 years experience in developing world-renowned photo based companies with already two successful exits.

Flickr / Smugmug: The frog that ate the bull

advertising, content, editing, flickr, google, Instagram, mobile, photo organizing, photo sharing, PhotoTech, prosumer, Social Media, transaction April 23, 2018 Paul Melcher Leave a comment

Flickr’s acquisition by Smugmug, if anything, has reminded us that the grandfather of photo sharing site is not dead. Yet. Almost hidden in the weekend lull, the news surprised almost everyone paying attention to this space: It’s been a long while since Flickr grabbed the headlines. But beyond the unconventional lack of details, what does this acquisition forecast? Let’s look at the available numbers. Smugmug and Flickr, while sharing photos as a common denominator, have not much in common. With 90 million monthly users, Flickr is 18 times bigger…

10 questions to a founder: Imatag

advertising, analytic, Brands, content, Content Recognition, editing, flickr, interview, license, marketing, PhotoTech, Social Media, technology March 13, 2018 Paul Melcher Leave a comment

Publish an image online today and there is a very good chance that within a few days, there will be hundreds, if not thousands of copies of it throughout the internet. None, unfortunately, will bear any information on who is the creator and how he/she can be found. This is not just an issue for professional photographers, who make a living by licensing images, but anyone who creates visuals to communicate, like marketers or social media manager. Because with each reuse comes the damaging potential…

is Unsplash the new Instagram ?

Adobe, advertising, Brands, commercial stock, content, editing, Instagram, investment, marketing, Marketplace, Microstock, Pinterest, Royalty free, Shutterstock, UGC February 26, 2018 Paul Melcher 1 Comment

About a week ago, Unsplash announced that they had raised $7.25 million, along with plans to bring cryptocurrency to its free stock photo service. While most see their move as a potential Shutterstock killer, Unsplash could end up becoming a potent competitor to Instagram, Pinterest, and Snap as they share more DNA . A short review of the hard numbers as those are explicit enough: Over 2,083 Unsplash photos are viewed across the web every second. 1,231 API partners ( include: Trello, Medium, InVision, Google Slides, Lonely…

10 Questions for a Founder : TruePic

analytic, Artificial Intelligence, computer vision, content, Content Recognition, interview, mobile, photojournalism, Social Media, technology, UGC, visual recognition February 6, 2018 Paul Melcher 1 Comment

With each iteration of Photoshop, it is easier and easier to alter images, making it impossible to spot the alterations. Soon, with AI generated images taking over in many fields, it will be impossible to trust if an image is an actual photograph or a complete fabrication. Photography is in danger of losing its essential tie to reality and truth. Enters TruePic. With an array of patented technologies, the company offers a solid counterbalance to this seemingly unstoppable wave of reality-altering technologies. It certifies that a photograph is 100%…

2 research that will change photography forever

analytic, Artificial Intelligence, Brands, commercial stock, computer vision, Content Recognition, Facial recognition, getty, photojournalism, PhotoTech, research, Shutterstock, technology, visual recognition January 19, 2018 Paul Melcher 2 Comments

A couple of research papers were recently published, both touching on advancement in computer vision and machine learning. While research papers are a common occurrence in this field, these two are worth reviewing a bit deeper, as their implication will have a wide impact once they mature. The first is a research organized by Nvidia for presentation at the upcoming International Conference on Learning Representation to be held in Vancouver this coming April. The purpose is to build a more efficient GAN by growing both the generator and discriminator progressively.…

18 Visual Storytelling Trends That Will Take Off in 2018

advertising, AR, Augmented reality, Brands, content, editorial, Facebook, Instagram, Interface, marketing, PhotoTech, Snapchat, Social Media, UGC, video December 21, 2017 Paul Melcher 1 Comment

Who better to predict where visual storytelling is going than those who handle it on a daily basis? With 2018 right around the corner, Libris by Photoshelter asked a few to make predictions on what they see as the dominating trend of the upcoming year. While there is no major group consensus, one thing is for sure, whatever it is, it will happen under our thumbs.Read on…. Dustin Drankoski | Art Director at Mashable | @downsmileyface 2018 is going to be a big year for vertical story. From Instagram…

Sculpture: Deadly Sins #1, Pure Products USA, by Nova Ligorano a

Visual Tech Losers of 2017 and Winners of 2018

advertising, analytic, AR, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented reality, computer vision, Content Recognition, depth imaging, Facebook, flickr, getty, in-image, marketing, mobile, photo sharing, Pinterest, research, Snapchat, Social Media, study, UGC, video, visual recognition, VR December 9, 2017 Paul Melcher 2 Comments

Sometimes, great things come out of failure. Especially in the startup world. As we look back at the year past, we take one last look at what failed, with the hope that they will generate great, unsuspected outcomes. As well, we take a peek at 2018 and its probable heroes, with the firm understanding that our vision just might not be that accurate. Losers of 2017 Ads in images. A long time coming. And while we will certainly continue to see them for many years to come – bad ideas die…

Mobile Photo Connect : 10 Questions to a Founder : Lightricks

Adobe, AR, Augmented reality, computational imaging, content, imaging, Instagram, interview, mobile, Mobile Photo Connect, PhotoTech, tablet, VR October 11, 2017 Paul Melcher Leave a comment

Outside of Instagram, the biggest success in the world of photo apps is certainly Facetune. With millions of paid downloads, it was the number one paid app in over 120 countries. The creation of 5 Israeli friends, it certainly benefited from Instagram’s success and especially its insatiable appetite for selfies. But unlike Instagram, Lightricks, the company behind Facetune, is a real software development company. It currently has 6 different photo/video editing apps in the app store, all very successful. We spoke with co-founder Itai Tsiddon…

Ubiquitous photography

Artificial Intelligence, computer vision, Content Recognition, Emotion analysis, Facial recognition, Interface, photo organizing, photo sharing, PhotoTech, Social Media, technology, visual recognition October 5, 2017 Paul Melcher 1 Comment

One of the most important announcement during Google latest release event has mainly passed under the radar or simply dismissed as a gadget. The Pixel Clip camera is a small device that can be attached anywhere and, using a simple A.I., continuously takes photos when it recognizes familiar faces. Perfect for busy parents who like to record everything but do not want to break the moment by picking up their phones to take a picture. But, beyond the convenience, Google just might have open the door to a new type of…

Seeking ethics in visual tech

analytic, Artificial Intelligence, big data, computer vision, Content Recognition, Facial recognition, PhotoTech, research, study, visual recognition September 19, 2017 Paul Melcher 1 Comment

The Trolley Problem is a famous ethic thought-experiment. Here how it goes: There is a Trolley barreling down the railroad tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the side track. You have two…