Here we find ourselves once more, at the end of another megapixel-filled year, hoping that Santa (or whatever gift-bearing mascot or family member you choose to affiliate with) will stuff our stockings with digital frames, rechargeable batteries—maybe even the new Nikon D3X (I’m not holding my breath on that one, though maybe my husband actually does read my blogs like he says he does).

It’s been a challenging year, and rough times may still be ahead for many: We’ve officially been notified that we are indeed mired in a recession, and many around us have lost their jobs, tapped into their dwindling 401Ks, and been forced to cut back all around. In the spirit of the season and in an attempt to spread a little humor and good cheer during these difficult times, I leave you with my top 5 photo-related stories of 2008, stories that caught my attention either because of their inspirational nature or because of their inherent inanity or bizarreness.

5. Jill Greenberg, meet John McCain: The avant-garde New York City photographer made an international name for herself by manipulating photos of the Republican presidential candidate originally shot for “The Atlantic” magazine, with the intention to cast him in as unflattering a light as possible (and considering he most closely resembled the craggy-faced Emperor from “Star Wars,” it appears Greenberg fulfilled her mission). Whether you sided with Greenberg on the platform of free speech or rebuked her for unethical behavior unbefitting a professional photographer, everyone can agree that it resulted in some of the more passionate posts in the blogging community we’ve seen in a while—and passion in the photography industry is just what we need right now.

4. As homo sapiens, we tend to carry a bit of species-specific narcissism. But National Geographic’s Best Animal Wildlife Photos of 2008 reminded us of how dangerous and beautiful our creature companions can be—and that we share this planet with them.

3. You can mash them, dice them, bake them, even cut them into crinkles and fry them—but 2008 was declared the International Year of the Potato by the United Nations, so it naturally followed that there be a photo contest to document this titillating tuber.

2. Who can forget that iconic 1945 WWII photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt of a nurse being swept off her feet in Times Square by a sailor right after the surrender of Japan? Well, the Navy didn’t forget, honoring the young woman in the photo (the now-90-year-old Edith Shain) this past Veterans Day.

1.After the public outcry that took Annie Liebovitz to task for provocatively draping a nearly nude Miley Cyrus in nothing but a blanket for her Vanity Fair shoot, the teen phenom recently came out and said that she’d “love” to work with the “amazing” photographer again. No hard feelings, I guess—and who am I to argue with Hannah Montana?

Haven’t gotten around to scanning and digitally archiving some of your old photos, even though you know it’s the right thing to do (or, at least that’s what certain magazine editors and other industry pundits keep telling you)? Well, stop making excuses—after all, if LIFE magazine can manage to scan and upload 10 million of their most personal images, surely you can clean out that snapshot-laden shoebox sitting in your hall closet.

In what is being touted as one of the largest professional photography collections on the Web, LIFE is making available its photo archive through a new hosted image service from search-engine behemoth Google. Even more amazing than the sheer bulk of the project itself is that 97 percent of the images have never been seen by the public.

Viewers can check out handsomely mustached Civil War hotties on display in the 1860s section; browse through iconic photographs of Pablo Picasso, Franklin Roosevelt, and Marilyn Monroe; and travel back in time to see photo documentation of the 1930s oil boom, Vietnam War, or the World’s Fair. And web surfers trolling for photos can hail from all walks of life from all over the planet: the search keywords have been translated into 16 different languages.

Plus, if you’re in the market for some high-end artwork (if only to impress your high-falutin’ friends), you’ll also be able to purchase fine-art photographic prints through Qoop.com, an online sales portal.

LIFE also announces the most comprehensive offering to date to purchase fine art photographic prints online. The general public will now have access to buy LIFE’s famous photography through QOOP.com, a leader in online art sales.

The project is far from complete—at last count, LIFE had only posted a few million of its archived photos (the staff hope to have all 10 million up in the next few months). But it’s yet another masterful melding of art and technology, joining two powerhouses in their respective industries. Photos are meant to be shared, and what better way to share them globally than by tapping into the Google machine?

Now get to work on that shoebox of yours.

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.”—Pablo Picasso

“Orange is the happiest color.”— Frank Sinatra

If colors, like features, mark our emotional fingerprint, what does your camera say about you Mr. Serious Photog shooting with a charcoal-black body? Huh?

Granted, there aren’t many pro cameras on the market today that come in Vintage-Violet or Pumpkin-Pie Orange, but you should never say never… Especially when never came this year at photokina in the form of a G1 DSLR by Panasonic—the new G1 offers photogs a choice between black, red, or blue. And though professional cams don’t come in as many colors as their point-and-shoot counterparts, the new Panasonic designs are one step in a colorful direction; however they aren’t the first…Hasselblad released colored camera bodies almost a decade ago with their 501 series, which came in black, yellow, red, green, and blue. They haven’t continued the trend in recent years—which brings me to my next question…Is there even a professional market for colored cams?

The jury is still out on whether lens color effects capture and exposure…Do Canon’s white lenses make that much of a difference in solar heat absorption? I’m not sure, but I can say with ease that the lighter lenses probably made more of a difference in Canon’s marketing campaign than anything else. So what about the colored bodies? With the success of colored point-and-shoots, companies are trying to take advantage of a good thing. As the women’s market expands, will colored pro cams become all the rage? Or does the color craze begin with point-and-shoots and end with bridge cameras? Surely there isn’t any real technical advantage worth noting other than, well, the fact that they’re easy on the eyes; and if they’re prettier, maybe more people will want to look into their lenses? We can only hope, right?

So what’s your favorite color cam? Are you more traditional—do you have a soft spot for the standard black? Do you like to mix it up with blue? Or are you willing to stand out with red…On our homepage, you’ll find a survey asking what camera color you prefer—check it out, and give us your opinion…

At an event where talent and superstars are ubiquitous, there was a clear star of the show today–the one and only Bill Eppridge. In an amazing event held at the PhotoPlus theater hosted by pulitzer prize-winning journalist formerly of CNN Peter Arnett (now teaching in China), 50 years of a storied photojournalism career was honored in stories and images.

For those who don’t know, Bill took many iconic photographs including the pics of the Beatles’ first trip to America and the poignant and iconic photo of a Los Angeles busboy cradling a dying Robert Kennedy in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel, just seconds after he was shot.

These legendary photos are the result of a three-day assignment for Life to follow a “little known” band called the Beatles, including their visit to the Ed Sullivan show and another assignment to cover Robert Kennedy’s entire presidential candidacy.

While it was thrilling and spine-tingling to see these photos up close on a huge screen while the two men chatted about the experience like they were in their own living room–a third project captivated me immensely. It was Bill’s compelling photo series of Needle Stick Park.

In 1965, he followed around and lived with a white, middle class couple addicted to shooting up heroin. This experience seemed to really resonate within the silence of the 300 people gathered. The series demonstrated the absolute beauty of photography’s realism and the talent of man who could have only taken such intimate pictures if he were able to blend in or almost become part of the dangerous circle he was capturing.

“You become part of it,” said Bill. “You dress the way they dress, you talk the way they talk…”

Added Arnett: “The best photographers have the ability to blend in.”

We saw the whole stream of 20-plus photographs that told their harrowing story of the love between and man and a woman competing for the love of a fix.- Only about five in the series made it onto Life magazine.

The son of a judge from New Jersey and the daughter of an upper middle class Long Island family, Karen and John, allowed Bill into their lives of petty theft, prostitution, hospitalization and desperation.

It was Bill that talked the couple into doing the shoot-convincing them to do something good for someone else for a change. They did that as well as shatter the stereotype of who a “druggie” was. The photo series was the inspiration for Al Pacino’s first movie “Panic in Needle Park.” Arnett said the series was like a “beautifully written novel.” I’d have to agree. It was visual poetry. One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

But one of the scariest.

“His list of assignments are unbelievable in breath and would test any photographer,” said Arnett.

Some of Bill’s mottos include: “They pay you one day’s work for three days–one to worry, one to shoot and one to recover.” “You only get one perfect shot and you need to be ready.” “‘You have to do your research so when you go in you are ready for anything.” “I never want to shoot the same thing twice,” said Bill to his editors at Life.

Another compelling part of the talk was the fact that Bill got so close to Robert Kennedy because he spent so much time on the road with him. He believes that he would have been an amazing president–that he had a talent that was probably more incredible than his brother John.

If you’d like to hear more stories about the Robert Kennedy, Bill has a book out called “A Time it Was.”

In other PhotoPlus news, there are some new guys exhibiting at the expo for the first time. At least one is extremely notable.

Microsoft.

Why are they here?

Well, that is a question that 20-year veteran photographer Jeff Greene, now a technical evangelist for Microsoft can answer. He is part of the company’s Icons of Imaging program.

It seems the company is throwing its hat into the ring to compete against the likes of Adobe, Apple and others by taking charge in marketing the upgrades to Microsoft Pro Photo Tools, Microsoft Expressions Media (2) and Phase One’s Capture One- Media Pro- is an already released product that is an image management/editing/archiving software that’s compatible with Apple/Mac.

Pumping up the marketing by talks like Greene’s I think shows their belief in the product that is billed as NOT being “cool and sexy” like other products are today, but something you will thank your lucky stars about in several years when you’re looking for that photograph that you took today.

“It’s an extra insurance policy,” said Greene.

The strategic partnership with Capture One was due to realization that the Phase One product had “great processing software.” The software has a guided, logical workflow and has a strength in skin tonality.

The pro fashion and commercial photographers loves this,” says Greene. But it is easy enough for a mom to organize her family photos on. It provides lots of areas to embed text.

Greene added that audiences are “wowed” that it takes only 90 seconds for him to load his 4,000 image collection.

Microsoft is offering a special show price of $199. See their web site for more information. Meanwhile, other newbie exhibitors to the show include: Hasselblad and Casio.

The show began Thursday as people were travelling into the city by bus, train and plane.

As soon as I boarded the LIRR line and took my seat on the train, the conversation about photography began. Two women sitting across from me discussed their photos the entire hour it took to get into the city. Mostly they debated on which works better for them–Bibble or Aperture.

The brisk cold hit my face as I walked out into the sunlight in the 30 degree weather for my 10 minute walk to the Jacob Javits Center. I was thinking–this is my third or fourth PhotoPlus–and it never gets old.

The conversation about photography never ends like how the technology for it is always evolving.

These challenges are what make the craft so exciting. Evidence of this is embodied by a more intimate show like PhotoPlus–where you can easily listen to the conversations people are having without being distracted by too much information–and where the focus is not always on what’s new (as a lot of products are introduced a month before at photokina) but what photographers are doing with the new products.

Greg Gorman talked about his love affair with the Canon EoS 5D Mark II. He uses it especially for his personal work. He used it on a recent project for Homeland Security-travelling around the country shooting images of “ordinary people.”

Hanson Fong recently discovered Canon’s EoS 50D for his wedding work. After decades if shooting weddings he passionately shared with an audience of more than 100 his intimate secrets to shooting weddings.

The most important?

“Making the bride look good. It’s all about the bride.” Fong explained that the secret to this is positioning–having the bride stand a few inches behind the groom to appear smaller and shooting at various angles.

“The secret to posing is creating uneven height,” he told the crowd.

The beauty of the Canon workflow said Fong is the ability to take pictures at a wedding and showcase them at the reception.

Meanwhile, the conversation at Nikon was all about the new D3-a camera so advanced, especially for shooting action like sports-that it is causing some non-Nikon pros to make the switch. At the booth, a D3 was displayed cut in half, exposing all the insides. People were standing around in awe of the guts. Shooters were then able to try out the D3 at various stations with varying lenses.

Recently, I interviewed Ron Wyatt who covered the Olympics for Kodak with the D3. He was amazed at the results he got with it shooting historical moments in China.

Lighting magician Joe McNally was sharing his tips at the Nikon booth.

A passionate Matthew Jordan Smith praised the new Sony A900. “It’s sharp, quick and light,” he said. His ability to be able to depend on his equipment allows him to focus full-heartedly on his of celebrity photography and magazine work. He lit up as he shared his insights with the other shooters.

“I always do research before a celebrity shoot,” he said. “I always have the right drinks, know what they like to listen to, maybe light candles and give all the (female) celebrity clients flowers at the end of the shoot. Every time she walks out, she is carrying flowers. This never gets old.”

Smith relayed a story of the great talent Aretha Franklin.

“I was told she was difficult to shoot, so I sent her yellow roses-her favorite- before the shoot.” This small act, he explained, set the stage for the whole job. She arrived and commented on the gift. “We talked about food the whole time.”

She was so happy with Smith, she even began singing at the shoot. The shooter was stunned when she recently called him to run by a name for her new album. “She called to ask me what I think.” As soon as Smith hung up with the singer he called his mother in awe of what just happened.

“That is what happens when you create an atmosphere,” said Smith. “You are creating trust. They trust you with their image.”

Software is a big draw at the show this year and the competition between like companies is heating up. In this economy shooters, now more than ever, are looking for more bang for their buck. Imagenomic will release a photoshop/aperture plug-in Portraiture 2 in mid-November as they complete the compatibility with the newly launched Photoshop CS4. Their biggest competition is Anthropics’ Portrait Professional– recently released.

The founder and CEO has big plans for the company. “Down the road we will stay compatible with the big guys, but not be dependent on them,” he said. The upgrade works wonders on skin retouching and is stuffed with wonderful “workflow centric” new tools like the default latitude option and the ability to save settings in presets of groups as well as the ability to add notes to the prints.

It’s a free upgrade or $170-$200 depending on the version.

At an evening Adobe event at NYC’s Daniel’s Restaurant, the new launch of CS4 and Lightroom 2.0 were the big topics. One of Adobe’s Photoshop technology guru’s explained that never before has the Photoshop conversation been hotter at a show-”Probably because we just released it before PhotoPlus,” he said.

People want to know how all the cool new features can affect their workflow, he said.

The coolest new feature: the abilty to expand and compress a photo by choosing the visual noise you want to remove-like the wall or the floor-giving the shooter the ability to have everything they do want in a photograph. The practical applications?

Well, that’s all part of the conversation.

Stayed tuned for more blog updates from PhotoPlus 2008!

So by now you’re probably a master at texting on your fancy cell-phone QWERTY keyboard, and a pro at downloading ringtones. You’ve also surely taken more than a few pictures with that handy in-phone camera of your kids, your friends, your dog. And while your “Albums” file probably doesn’t have a lot of pictures that rival those you’ve taken with your real digicam, perhaps there are a couple that show some artistic promise, a strange technological aesthetic that can only be achievable in the heat of the moment (when you don’t have your real camera with you and have to rely on the ol’ horn).

Well, now all those who have clicked and captured on the go can get their change to show off their skills to the world with a unique new exhibit being held by the Brandt Gallery in Cleveland, OH. The “At The Cellular Level — Cell Phone Photography as Art” showcase, scheduled to open next month, will be comprised of cell-phone photography from both everyday amateurs and (supposedly) professionals. Interested parties simply have to download images from their phone and send them to cellphonephotoshow @ yahoo.com, or e-mail them directly from their phone.

I anticipate most of the submissions will be from the amateur side, closet imagers who will test their creativity without having to outlay any money for new equipment. I’d like to think most people who own cell phones already have one with a built-in camera, though I sheepishly admit that I just updated my own dial-up dinosaur at the Sprint store over the summer (I was basically laughed out of the store when they saw how old my phone was).

I don’t think many professionals, on the other hand, will be entirely pleased with the quality of their captures, at least compared to what they’re used to getting on a daily basis in the studio or on location. However, there may be some pros who view this as yet another unique visual medium with its own requisite challenges; others may be drawn to the raw, on-the-fly nature that cell-phone photography necessitates.

it should be interesting, at any rate, to witness what comes out of this exhibit. I can’t ever see a pro trading in his or her Canon or Nikon for a Samsung or Nokia, but we could have a new creative outlet on our hands in its own right.

So I’ve been doing alot of driving back and forth from my home in Arlington, Virginia to my folks hometown in Lancaster, Pa. The reason is, unfortunately, because my mom was in the hospital and later, at home, but recuperating. On one of the trips when she was first in the hospital, it was the beginning of September.

Just two hours north and more provincial, in Pennsylvania the leaves were already changing color, the nights were brisk, and the air smelled like burning leaves. This first trip was pretty draining, my mom had invasive surgery and was still in ICU when I had to leave for home.

In the car driving home, I felt unstable, unbalanced and unwell. So I began the first leg of the journey home with just enough gas so I’d have to stop about 1/2 into the trip. I got off at an exit with a name I’ve never paid attention to before that day–something like Shrewsbury, Pa.–it was near a Kmart.

It was dusk when I got out of the car. I filled up and ran into the attached convenience store for some cheese puffs for some organized emotional eating. It was when I went to get back in the car with the cheese puff bag that I noticed something extraordinary. Around the back of this gas station sat a farm vacant except for thousands of harvested corn husks sitting still on the cold ground. Next to that was a single, spectacular tree that looked like a fireworks display in all autumn’s glory. It stood proud but silent. No wind blew. It was quiet. No soul in sight. The sun was setting on the whole scene. It was just about the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed. I didn’t have any proper camera with me, but I had to capture this view.

I took out my cell phone and began snapping away behind the gas station until day turned into night. After the whole photographing process was over, a strange thing happened. I felt better and complete again. It didn’t matter that the images were taken on a hot pink motorola camera phone with an At&t wireless plan. (Even though the photos came out pretty good.) The creative act of photography had the immense power to lift me from my depressed state to one of hope and pleasure.

That scene is something my own mother would have appreciated and stopped for. That was the “her” in “me.” I felt like it was going to be OK. And a month later, it really was.

One of the photos still serves as my phone’s desktop picture.

With all the problems going in today’s world, do me a favor. Try to stop and notice the views behind the 7-11 store or the view on your drive to the bank or the gas station. Carry a camera in your back seat or trunk. It just might make you feel better.

As of tomorrow, I’m editorless.

Off to Cologne Germany for photokina next week, my editor is abandoning our windowless office for beer, bratwurst, and photography. The world’s biggest trade fair for the photographic and imaging industry, photokina 2008 should be especially interesting this year, given the universally unstable state of the economic union. I couldn’t think of a better time to put on your shades, stock your photo-bags with lenses, DSLRs, and media cards, and hop on an international flight (remember to pay for your peanuts) en route to less frantic pastures.
With 160,000 visitors from 140 countries, imaging professionals from around the globe will find a most lucid window into the photography industry. And you can find additional portals into the world of photography by checking out Cygnus photokina news (which you can also read on www.imaginginfo.com), our two-addition onsite publication distributed at the show. While I’ve been doing most of the grunt work here, editing press releases and laying out pages, I’ve had a chance to get a sneak peak at what awaits dealers, professional end-users, and photo enthusiasts, and though I’m bound by NDA’s, what I can say is that there’s a lot to take in, digest, and learn. And one minor request for all attendees unbound by their windowless offices (I’m envious): When you return back to the states with product intrigues and creative ambitions dancing in your head, don’t forget to put that optimism into your business, your outlook, and your art—we all can really use it right now…

Pumpkin and apple spice, vibrant pressed leaves, the crisp air of a late-September evening (at least here in the Northeast), the jack-’o-lanterns and cornucopias dominating the seasonal aisle at Target — these are all harbingers of autumn, signs that it’s time to kiss the summer goodbye and start planning for the cooler months ahead.

It’s also time for back-to-school photos and (shudder) time to enter the planning stages for holiday pictures and greeting cards. My two children were born in August and September, so I’ve got to set up birthday portraits as well, or I’ll never hear the end of it from my mother.

For the past three years, I’ve been too tired/lazy/unmotivated/frazzled/cheap/add-your-own-”bad-mother”-adjective-here to hunker down and do the research to select a professional photographer who could adequately capture the essence that defines each of my kids. Instead, I’ve done what many others have done in similar moments of desperation: I’ve gone to the in-house studio of a well-known national baby retailer.

Now, this isn’t to say said retailer has done a bad job. I have some really cute images of my son sitting in front of a faux lighthouse, my daughter draped in pearls. And, amazingly enough, they’re smiling (and sitting!) in all the photos. Plus, the prices have been fairly reasonable.

But as the years have ticked by, a nagging feeling has started to set in. I’ve noticed that the lighting in these shots leaves much to be desired, with harsh shadows evident throughout. I’ve also started to feel cramped by the images I’m able to order: While the photo session itself is free, you’re only allowed to pick a few poses to create prints from, and the limited packages makes it nearly impossible for me to put together a customized a la carte package I’ve been happy with.

And while the smiles are precious, every pose and picture angle is pretty much exactly the same in all the images. There’s not much originality and, frankly, not much personality. Plus, the interaction between the store photographers and my kids is lacking — while the staff certainly tries hard, they’ve usually been young employees with little to no photography experience trying to rush through the shoot to accommodate the growing line of cranky people at the studio. They’re usually forced to resort to chasing my son and daughter around the studio with a feather duster to try to eke out one half-smile. If that one trick doesn’t bring the desired results, they usually look to ME to evoke the perfect expression (and after a full day of spilled goldfish, bedroom brawls, and preschool attitude, I’m usually feeling less than inspired).

In other words, all this time I’ve settled for a hodgepodge of mediocre imagery. So I’ve started to do the research to track down a pro in my area. I know I’ll have to pony up a little more dough this time around (hmmm…gas in the tank, or an extra few sets of 5×7s for the grandparents?), but from interviewing many child and family portrait photographers, I know that in return I’ll likely get a more-relaxed session that won’t feel rushed; lighting that adequately illuminates my little angels; creative closeups and precious poses; and a pro who’s been around the kiddie block and knows how to appeal to and calm my kids down (as well as how to calm ME down).

That way, when my two tax deductions head off to college in a decade and a half, and I’m wallowing in my empty nest, trolling through the family albums and scrapbooks, I’ll be able to relive these fleeting days through every mischievous expression and missing-tooth grin that only a professional could truly capture. And I’ll know it was worth it.

Last week we reported that Zoomr CEO Thomas Hawk was thrown out of a San Francisco art museum because a guard thought his expensive camera could be used to spy on female employees (www.imaginginfo.com/web/online/News/Photographers-Face-Ejection-Over-Lenses-/3$4097).

Really.

For the record, Hawk is an extremely talented PROFESSIONAL photographer and the top dog at a company that many say is better that its counterpoint-Flickr.

Well, thousands of you read the story. A surprisingly large amount for such a short blog story. And those who commented about their own similar experiences were from Puerto Rico, California, Denver, New York City and Tennessee.

In the past I have written about how UK photographers risk getting their public rights jeopardized as well as a case in NYC that has officials trying to get pros to fill out permits before shooting there. I have resisted getting on the bandwagon as of late, but I am steamed. Pros shooters and even amateurs are really facing a crossroads here, where these types of stories are becoming the norm. As one commenter put it: “now we have camera profiling.”

Four recent issues reported just this summer include:

China Olympics Bans Professional Cameras

D.C. Rep Slams Union Station for Barring Photography

Photographers Face Ejection Over Lenses

Photography Guidelines in UK Set to Include Amateurs, Tourists

Not sure if security guards are just overzealous in a post-9/11 era or photographers are being thrown the rulebook. For the record, I’d be curious to know just how vast this problem is. I invite you to please list your experience in the comment area below if you have been a target of photographic profiling. Thanks! -A