Townhall revisited

For those of you who weren't in attendance at the Photoshelter Photography 2.0 townhall event at the famed Filmore East nee Irving Plaza in New York you can catch up on all the goings on below. There is some interesting insight and discussion from photographers and photo editors and it may give some of you the chance to put some names to faces.

See photographer Chase Jarvis 'turn that frown upside down' as he gives away the secrets to his black box here.

Photo editor and buyer Catherine Talese provides perspective from her standpoint here.

And the illustrious panel gets their talk on here

Up to his old tricks !

Well it looks like famed Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani is up to his old shock and awe tricks. Toscani was the mastermind behind the groundbreaking and oft controversial Benetton advertising campaigns of the 80's and 90's where he was not only photographer but also creative director. Most of these campaigns were pure image pieces for the brand; usually devoid of any fashion all together. Toscani's most infamous image was perhaps his portrayal of a man dying of AIDS, lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by his grieving relatives, reminiscent of a Pieta painting.

Not one to shy away from the spotlight since his Benetton departure in 2000 Toscani has continued to bring his own brand of color to the plate for other clients. This week to coincide with the fashion shows in Milan see's the launch of his latest effort on behalf of Italian fashion group Flash & Partners and their Nolita brand of clothing. The add depicting the photograph of a naked anorexic woman appears in newspapers and on billboards to highlight the effects of the illness. As you can imagine it has stirred up a ton of debate already, go here to read more.

Photography 2.0 . . . . A Review of Sorts - Part 3

Following a break to recooperate from the Jarvis show we were treated to a little more laid back fare as photo editor Catherine Talese took us through her career and gave us an insight into how she operates as a photo-buyer in the magazine world. I had worked once with Catherine many years back while she was at GQ and have to say I enjoyed her show and tell immensely. She loves photography and her passion and enthusiasm were enchanting. Did I learn anything new, no not really, but she still loves to look at a portfolio full of prints over a website.

The panel discussion followed; we had Kareem Black (photographer), Jennifer Miller (photo editor), Landon Nordeman (photographer), George Pitts (teacher, photo editor and erotic photographer), Roy Hsu (art director, stock photographer and President of Stock Artist Alliance) Jarvis, Talese and was moderated by the highly amusing Grover Sanschargin, VP sales and Marketing for Photoshelter. See their bio's here.

The first half of the discussion centered around 'stock' and everyone weighed in on Getty's recent decision to sell all collections for web only usage at the knock down price of $ 49.00 extensively reducing the value of all their rights managed imagery. You can read more about it and recent developments here. It cannot and was not stressed enough how important it is to register your copyright with the Library of Congress. I had not previously been aware of the Stock Artists Alliance and I encourage those of you involved in stock to check the site out, lots of great stuff on there. President Hsu was most knowledgeable and articulate during the discussion and he himself is a Getty contributor so he is actively involved on all fronts.

The second half was more concerned with marketing in this day and age, all the while the floor was open to questions, nothing really new for me here either, just the odd question cringe.

Perhaps the real high light for me was coming across friends, some expected others not, as well as meeting the panelists most of whom I have had some contact with and making some new contacts. It was a real treat to catch up with old friend the road warrior himself Jason Florio (more on him in a future post) also in attendence were friends and 'inspirators' Eric McNatt, Joe Fornabaio, Cara Phillips. I managed some one on one with George Pitts, with whom I have always enjoyed meeting, he is a true original. As he alluded to in his own introduction on the podium he is an erotic photographer of some repute. I didn't realise he has a chapter dedicated to his work in the Taschen release 'The New Erotic Photography' and he is currently engaged in working for them on a book of his own featuring 'the older woman' don't forget you heard it here first.

So all in all a fun day and I encourage everyone to try and check this travelling roadshow out as it hits the road over the next couple of weeks, schedule here. There is an ever evolving selection of panelists and speakers.

Hey Photoshelter I am ready and available for some cross country travel should you require a rambling Irishman to bring the blarney !