TWiP #202 – Trading Fear for Photos

On this episode of TWiP, in case of a water landing – take pictures, Getty Images acquires PicScout, Adobe gets touchy feely, and an interview with SnapKnot.com co-founder Reid Warner.

Hosts: Frederick Van Johnson, Syl Arena, Doug Kaye, Ron Brinkmann

NEWS & DISCUSSION

Trading Fear for Photos on a Stricken Plane
Photographer Pak Bea was on a flight from Singapore to Jakarta with his family when one of the engines exploded. Not knowing if they would make it, Pak leaned on his experience as a photojournalist and decided to use his last remaining moments to photograph the situation on the plane. Fortunately the plane landed and everyone was fine but he managed to capture some incredible images in a very stressful situation. The panel discusses what they would do in a similar situation. Doug would probably pull out his camera as well. Syl didn't feel that the photos really told much of a story without the words. If he was in that situation he isn't sure what he'd do. Ron would be more inclined to turn on the video and talk about his feelings at that moment.

Getty Images Acquires PicScout
Getty Images has acquired PicScout to “bring leading image identification technology to more customers around the world.” PicScout touts itself as being the leader in Image Copyright Solutions. Syl doesn't do a lot of stock photography so he passed on PicScout over the years. He thinks the bigger story is about Getty acquiring the service and whether they will use it to protect Getty images exclusively or offer it to the public. Ron feels Getty acquired it to protect their own assets however it could still represent a good source of revenue for them. Ron mentions that TinEye is another service you can check out for doing this type of thing.

Adobe releases three touch friendly iPad Apps
These new touch friendly applications integrate with the desktop version of Photoshop CS5. The trio includes Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop. Color Lava lets you mix and match color swatches to create new colors on the iPad. Eazel lets you draw using the touchscreen of the iPad and Nav lets you use common Photoshop tools as well as browse open Photoshop documents on the iPad. Syl doesn't have an iPad but is considering incorporating one into his workflow but is worried if it will be durable enough based on how hard he is on his gear. Doug downloaded the applications and tried them out. He felt they were interesting and was a good concept but found it awkward to try and incorporate them into his workflow.

INTERVIEW WITH REID WARNER

This week, Frederick sits down with Reid Warner from SnapKnot.com – a website dedicated to helping couples locate a photographer for their wedding.  To learn more about SnapKnot, visit www.snapknot.com or follow them on Twitter @snapknot. If you are interested in signing up for SnapKnot, TWiP listeners can sign up for a Diamond level subscription for just $10 per month for six months. If 200 or more sign up then you'll get your first six months free.  Enter the coupon code TWIP3 to get your discount. Offer expires on June 20th.

TIPS OF THE WEEK

We've suffered some growing pains with our forums so we've temporarily taken them down until we find a replacement solution. In the meantime, we're bringing back the Tip of the Week feature for the next few shows and we'll bring back the Listener Questions once the forums are back up and running.

Tip #1 – Doug: Find a local camera club and get involved.

Tip #2 – Syl: The solstice is coming (June 21). Shoot early and shoot late. There's great light at both ends of the day.

Tip #3 – Ron: Your camera lies.

Tip #4 – Frederick: Look at shadows.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

Syl – Picture Licensing Universal System

Doug – The Photographer's Ephemeris (iOS application)

Ron – Timelapse Helper (iOS app) & his friend's Greek Import Company featuring the best olives in the world

Frederick – 500px

WRAP UP

Follow us on twitter.com/ThisWeekInPhoto. Join the Flickr critique group. You can also join our Facebook group.

Syl Arena – http://pixsylated.com/ or http://www.twitter.com/syl_arena

Ron Brinkmann – http://www.digitalcomposting.com or http://www.twitter.com/ronbrinkmann

Doug Kaye – http://www.blogarithms.com/ or http://www.twitter.com/dougkaye

Frederick Van Johnsonwww.frederickvan.com or www.twitter.com/frederickvan

CREDITS

TWiP is brought to you by the following sponsors:

Squarespace.com – the fast and easy way to publish a high-quality website or blog.  For a free 14-day trial, go to Squarespace.com/twip. And be sure to check out their annual plans for savings of up to 20% off!

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Pre-Production and Show notes by Bruce Clarke www.momentsindigital.com or www.twitter.com/bruceclarke

Producer: Suzanne Llewellyn

Bandwidth provided by Cachefly

Intro Music by Scott Cannizzaro

2 Comments

  1. I took a look at 500px, and it does look like a great site, but I am confused as to how it is any different from PurePhoto? It basically looks like a copy of Purephoto, they even use the same square shaped thumbnail images of the photos. What’s the deal?

  2. patterbt, I see what you mean. Purephoto seems a little more developed. I did notice that Purephoto take 50% of the revenue but 500px only 20%.