After over twenty plus years working in and observing the photo industry, one conclusion is clear: One of the worst enemies of the photo industry is its own members. While the forces of business, technology, and social trends have had some profound adverse effects on photography, nothing has been asContinue Reading

The world of photojournalism has changed but photojournalists do not seem to have noticed. Either schooled by tired teachers repeating the same outdated mantra to wide-eyed students or self-taught by blindly following obsolete rules, they are hitting a wall of incomprehension and misunderstanding. The result is an unhealthy combination of painful frustration and veryContinue Reading

Confusion and mixed messages are creating a worried atmosphere in the world of Splash News contributors. First, the news broke that Silverhub Media signed a worldwide and exclusive distribution deal with Shutterstock. The news made no sense, SilverHub having little to no content of value for the microstock giant until itContinue Reading

The year has not been kind for the editorial space and as result, photo agencies have continued to suffer. The market continues to see  decreasing space rates along with print publications shutting down. Once the kingdom of Rights managed and exclusives, it is now a vast flat plain of yearly unlimitedContinue Reading

Apparently, Getty Images is no longer in love with its entertainment division. Word in the street is that all the top executives of that branch, Vince Bannon, VP of Strategic Partnerships and Georges DeKeerle, Sr. Director EMEA have been given the pink slip. And there might be more.  The reasons are not clear. SomeContinue Reading

An Interview with Ulf Schmidt-Funke by Stefan Hartmann for PICTORIAL Magazin 04/2016. It was – actually – a discussion about an entirely different topic. But Ulf Schmidt-Funke was just about to travel to the USA, where he planned to meet with major market players – including Reuters, New York TimesContinue Reading

The man, shot, had been agonizing on the ground, his face full of blood, with the commotion still going on around him. The photojournalist had been shooting all night, trying to make sense of the events as they were unfolding, trying to keep composure as chaos was unfolding around her.Continue Reading

Some days are harder than others. Some days just hit you so hard that when the sun finally sets, that your stuff is somewhat back in order and you head finally hits the pillow, your first and last thought before you fall asleep is just an unanswered question: why ?Continue Reading

Whenever we find ourselves in a troubling situation, as a witness, we intervene. We either get physically involved or call for rescue, but either way, we do not remain passive. Photographers – photojournalists in particular- do the same, but not the same way. Lately, the actions of photojournalists witnessing troublesomeContinue Reading

Boring. Blaaaaah. That is the first word that comes to mind when looking at the winner of the World Press Award, circa 2015. Don’t get me wrong, this year’s committee, led by Michele McNally, probably the best photo editor of our generation, was full of talent. But it was just that,Continue Reading