A few weeks ago I linked a story to my Facebook account. It was an opinion piece entitled “Art Lessons for Obama” by Judith H. Dobrzynski posted to Forbes.com. I thought it might inspire some interesting conversation about art in times of economic distress. Being that I work on a photography magazine, and being that the majority of my Facebook friends are artists in their own right —granted I haven’t hit the five hundred mark like my editor (popularity has never been a virtue of mine)—I thought it might be a hot button issue. However, my artist-friends apparently had more important things to worry about—like their shrinking 401ks and their eternal abhorrence for Anne Coulter.

Maybe I was being presumptuous in thinking that art deserved equal time in the spotlight. If I couldn’t even get other artists to read a link about Putin drawing in pastels for a St. Petersburg cultural group, then the “a” word must really be a dirty word, especially when there are bigger issues at hand, like the Wall Street meltdown. Then I watched the Academy Awards, and listened to Penelope Cruz talk about art as a unifying agent, and even cheered when the Slum Dog Millionaire kids climbed the stage, and finally remembered my point… Is art all we have? Just thinking about some of the artists I know, and some of the artists I’ve studied, and their somewhat sporadic, somewhat maddening nature, it’s almost funny, or maybe even scary to consider art as the last stabilizing force in a world gone awry. However, artistic expression is the single most loyal counterpart to human existence since well, we’ve existed—so maybe I’ve just put myself in my place.

President Obama allotted $50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts in his economic stimulus plan. Amidst some of his toughest critics was Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia, who, as an even tougher critic of the arts said “I just think putting people to work is more important than putting more art on the wall of some New York City gallery frequented by the elite art community.” Mary Chapin Carpenter questioned this statement in the Washington Times, “according to Americans for the Arts, Mr. Kingston’s congressional district last year had 778 arts-related businesses that employed 2,663 people. Are all those people in his district who work—professionally or as volunteers—in the fields of painting, dance, photography, singing, writing, filmmaking, pottery, poetry writing, computer design, art, architecture, history, acting, stage design and crafts part of the elite?”

I think not Ms. Carpenter. Our entire industry from capture to print to sales is in one way or another reliant on the arts. And though the photography industry doesn’t have an Academy Awards, we should still remember, while walking our own red carpet of trade shows— from Photoplus to WPPI to PMA— that art isn’t just an afterthought. It is the thought. Now, as I step down from my soap box, I want to ask for your opinion… How does art fit into your life?

Within the next few days a very difficult decision will be made regarding our fallen soldiers. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is reviewing on the ban on press photographs of flag-draped coffins of soldiers returning to Dover Air Force Base and other military facilities.

The ban was installed by President George H.W. Bush for the 1991 Gulf War; he had been embarrassed in 1989 at a news conference in which he joked with reporters as split-screen television showed the first US casualties of the invasion of Panama returning to Dover. It was continued by his son.

But President Obama said on Feb. 9 that he had ordered the review, which the Pentagon said it would complete in a few days. Removing the ban will allow the American people to see the sacrifices made by the troops first hand.

We all hear stories on television and radio, read articles in the newspapers and magazines and hear speeches made by politicians. But as photographers, we KNOW the power of the image. The public should see these coffins, not only to have a heavier heart when they debate the war, but it may delete the apathy and ignorance of some.

These images are a form of accountability as well. Photos of our fallen, lend more transparency to the Pentagon. Coffins can be counted by more than a few pairs of eyes. With images we bear witness to the effects of atrocities going on in the world. Removing this ban will also give honor to the fallen as their sacrifices will be seen by the public. In fact, many families of these troops have requested a removal of the ban for this purpose.

Of course, there are families, and rightfully so, who want privacy during this time. Can’t those families be given their privacy by preventing photographing and the others be public? As different as each and every soldiers is, are the wishes they may have in case of death.

Likewise, families all have different identities. Why not respect the wishes of families nationwide by showing the flagged draped coffins of those who wish to honor their children in public and not allowing access for those who wish to grieve in private.

By now, everyone’s seen the Obama “Hope” image that was used on posters and other campaign paraphernalia during last year’s presidential race. Street artist Shepard Fairey manipulated a pensive photo of now President Barack Obama, turning an ordinary photograph into a red-, white-, and blue-infused work of art. Fairey’s already-iconic image has even inspired a pop-culture sensation through the Obamicon.Me website, which lets you upload your own photo and type in your own descriptor at the bottom of the image (you can even order a poster, T-shirt, mug, or stamp with your “Fairey-ized” likeness through the site).

Problem is, the Associated Press owns the copyright to the original Obama photograph, which was taken back in 2006 by photographer Mannie Garcia. The AP wasn’t happy about this and made public statements that hinted at possible lawsuits against the renegade California artist. The agency was subsequently taken by surprise, however, when Fairey actually filed his own lawsuit this week against the AP, claiming that his work is protected by the Fair Use Statute, which allows limited use of copyrighted material to make original works of art. Fairey and his supporters argue that he visually transformed the original photo to convey a completely new meaning.

Whether Fairey has a valid case in taking this David-versus-Goliath preemptive strike against AP to protect himself remains to be seen (and believe us, he needs all the help he can get in fending off the law—he was just arrested in Boston a few days ago for “defacing property with graffiti”). Posts on several blogs range from siding with the AP (Fairey should have sought permission before using an agency’s intellectual property; to defending Fairey’s creation (Obama always has that look on his face—does AP own that expression?; AP is not suffering any financial loss due to Fahey’s image). What do you think? Was it fair usage on Fairey’s end? Should he have filed suit against AP to protect himself, or was that just going overboard? Tell us your thoughts.

While all you northerners were suffering an apparent ice storm last week, Panasonic was smart enough to organize a Winter shooting tour in Miami for journalists to test drive some of their new Lumix cameras slated for Spring ‘09. The sights and sounds of this southern beach playground definately relieved the Winter Blues in a major way. It was through the lens of these two Lumix cameras that many of us there experienced the seductive city of Miami Beach.

For the shooting tour, Panasonic hosted stations on the beach - South Beach - for us to test out the Lumix TS1 and ZS3. These “stations” were set up on right on the beach sand and at the walkway near the beach. Snake charmers, rollerbladers, volleyball players and even Miami Dolphin cheerleaders provided for great action-packed scenes to capture. The most anticipated feature of these new releases: HD video capability.

The ZS3 with HD recording in AVCHD LITE will be the flagship of the new ZS series which replaces the TZ series. This technology, as compared with conventional Motion JPEG format, allows for longer recordings and has the benefits of HD video and auto quality in compact.

This feature was pretty cool when the we (especially the guys) wanted to record the energetic cheers of the Miami cheerleaders to take home the experience ..um ..for their wives (ha! ha! ) or vice versa. I admit, I took a great recording of them for my husband. At that exact time, he must have been sitting in his artifically-heated office in Washington, D.C. as freezing rain hit the building’s roof. Earlier in the day, I recorded the quick moves of some very tan and fit volleyball players as well.

In both instances, I felt like I had great control of the recordings and was able to zoom, pan and create a short video with ease. The fact that the record button is positioned right on the camera’s back panel, insures you don’t miss the spontaniety that a beach day offers. Basically there’s no searching to get out of a still mode. For this reason, Panasonic calls the ZS3 its Hybrid model, appropriately named because it makes you want to be an amateur filmmaker as well as photographer. The popular Intelligent Auto (iA) is expanded to include Face Recognition technology (which exists on some other brands already) and could be a good addition for novices. It allows you to register certain faces for the camera to remember. How does it remember? It has something to do with the exact measurement between a person’s eyes. When a registered face appears in the frame, the camera will prioritize focus and exposure for that certain programmed face. You can also select an order of each’s priority in a shot. (Warning not to take to heart: This could create problems in families with many children and people with more than one best friend.)

The real beauty of Face Recognition may be back in the home office. It allows the photographer to streamline the function into a computer and pick out all of the priority faces you are looking for. And while the technology has some limitions, such as only being able to concentrate on one person per shot, it will surely evolve. In additon, the dial of the model still needs some tweaking as it slipped into a different modes as I went along the busy day–but this it easy enough to fix.

Panasonic execs embraced the salt water and sandy surroundings when it came to capturing the day with the TS1. This model Panasonic touts as the world’s first waterproof, shockproof, dustproof camera. It also has the cool HD video capability and Face Recognition. To me, this seemed quite unbelieveable that you can stick this one 10 feet below water and drop it on ground from a distance of 5 feet. But as I was up in my hotel room running late for the beginning of our first shoot, my colleagues were downstairs by the hotel pool busily shooting Lumix mermaids underwater. Chlorine and all, the cameras managed to make it onto the bus and to the beach in one piece.

Personally, I have never felt comfortable bringing any camera, except a film throwaway, to the beach–so this could be a perfect solution for those worries. I couldn’t believe that I could be in a sandstorm and this camera would come out of it better than me.

The real test here- the ocean. This thing can be underwater and still snap photos as well as take video. This is no throwaway…but rather a very slick looking point and shoot. Egged on my friends, I bent down on the beautiful sand and got my blindingly white toes wet. I kneeled further towards the sea and outstretched my arm to lower the camera but ….I just couldn’t do it. Putting a camera in the ocean just seemed unnatural to me.

Eventually, after being called “ridiculous,” I fought my instinct and dipped it into the water and got some very good underwater shots of the sand. Mind you, I was on the land, fully clothed at the same time, so I couldn’t get the proper shots this camera deserves- like schools of glowing fish or sunken treasures. Still, the TS1 was a little treasure that did not shipwreck. I expect when it comes out in April, it will be very popular with beachcombing parents and even their kids.

Below are some of the visuals I captured on South Beach with these cameras. Since I felt more comfortable with the Lumix ZS3, most are taken with that one. For captions, simply roll your cursor over the images.