The PICTURE PROFESSIONAL, Spring 2015 by American Society of Picture Professionals

ISSUE 1/2015

THE

QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

PROFESSIONAL

The ARCHIVE issue

TABLE OF CONTENTS ISSUE 1 / 2015 THE PICTURE PROFESSIONAL

COVER: © Baron Wolman

5 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 7 EDITOR’S LETTER 8 WHAT’S HANGING 36 A SECOND LIFE Ron Sherman 42 HARRIS & EWING, AN AMERICAN ARCHIVE Martha Davidson 46 THE LAW: ARCHIVE SURVIVAL Nancy E. Wolff 50 TECH: SMOOTH OPERATOR Samaruddin Stewart 52 CLICK: MICHRON Weston Lyon 53 ASPP REMEMBERS GEORGE SINCLAIR 56 CHAPTER CAPTURE 59 BOOK REVIEWS 63 CONTRIBUTORS 64 LIFE IN FOCUS Shorpy.com

PORTFOLIOS

12 NANCY NEWBERRY Identity and Memory in Texas by Michelle Weidman 18 BARON WOLMAN A Face in The Crowd by John W. W. Zeiser 36 JOSHUA SCHAEDEL A Study in Resilience by Lauren Westerfield

American Society of Picture Professionals

Since first forming as a small, dedicated group of picture professionals in 1966, ASPP has grown into a large community of image experts committed to sharing our experience and knowledge throughout the industry. We provide professional networking and educational opportunities for our members and the visual arts industry. If you create, edit, research, license, distribute, manage or publish visual content, ASPP is the place for you. Join us at www.aspp.com.

LIST OF ADVERTISERS age fotostock akg images Art Resource Association Health Programs Bridgeman Images Curt Teich Postcard Archives

MASTHEAD

Custom Medical Stock Photo Dan ita Delimont Stock Photography Debra P. Hershkowitz Disability Images Everett Collection

Fundamental Photographs Gra nger Historical Picture Archive Minden Pictures MPTV images North Wind Picture Archive

The Picture Professional quarterly magazine of the American Society of Picture Professionals, Inc.

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2014-2015 NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2015-2016 CHAPTER PRESIDENTS

PRESIDENT Cecilia de Querol

West Christopher DiNenna

EDITORIAL STAFF

VICE PRESIDENT Anna Fey

Midwest Christopher K. Sandberg

Publisher Sam Merrell

SECRETARY Ellen C. Herbert

Editor-in-Chief April Wolfe

TREASURER Mary Fran Loftus

New England Jennifer Riley Debra Lakind

Art Director Mariana Ochs

MEMBERSHIP Doug Brooks

Copy Editor Debra P. Hershkowitz

EDUCATION Susan Rosenberg Jones

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Paul Henning John W.W. Zeiser Lauren Westerfield Martha Davidson Weston Lyon Nancy E. Wolff Ron Sherman Michelle Weidman Samaruddin Stewart Jain Lemos

TECHNOLOGY Mayo Van Dyck MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Lisa Vazquez Roper

The American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP) is a non-profit, non-partisan association of image experts committed to sharing their experience and knowledge throughout the industry. The Picture Professional (ISSN 1084-3701) is published spring, summer, fall and winter as a forum for distribution of information about use, purchase and sale of imagery. ASPP is dedicated to promoting and maintaining high professional standards and ethics, and cooperates with organizations that have similar or allied interests. We welcome the submission of articles and news from all sources, on all aspects of the imagery profession. Contact editor@aspp.com Advertising is also desired and welcomed. We offer a specific readership of professionals in positions of responsibility for image purchase decision making. For our media kit and rate sheet, contact Sam Merrell, director@aspp.com (or 516-500-3686). Space reservation deadlines: February 10, May 10, August 10, November 10. Subscription rates: Free to mem-

Robert Harding World Imagery Sovfoto/Eastfoto The Image Works Travel Stock USA Vir eo/Academy of Natural Sciences

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New York Darrell Perry DC/South Cory Lawrence NATIONAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES Cathy Sachs, Chair Andrew Fingerman Michael Masterson Chris Reed Amy Wrynn Helena Zinkham

ADVERTISING & EXECUTIVE OFFICES Sam Merrell Executive Director director@aspp.com EDITORIAL April Wolfe editor@aspp.com NATIONAL PRESIDENT Cecilia de Querol president@aspp.com MEMBERSHIP Doug Brooks membership@aspp.com WEBSITE Sam Merrell director@aspp.com Tel: 602-561-9535 eNEWS BLOG newsletter@aspp.com

bers, $40.00 per year to non-members. Back issues: $20.00 when available. Non-members are invited to consider membership in ASPP. POSTMASTER: Send old and new address changes to ASPP, Inc., Attn: Merrell, 201 East 25th Street #11c, New York, NY 10010. Members can update contact information and mailing addresses in the Member Area of our website at www.aspp.com. © 2014 American Society of Picture Professionals, Inc. Single photocopies of materials protected by this copyright may be made for noncommercial pursuit of scholarship or research. For permission to republish any part of this publication, contact the Editor-inChief. ASPP assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by the contributors to the Society’s publications. Editorial views do not necessarily represent the official position of ASPP. Acceptance of an advertisement does not imply endorsement by ASPP of any product or service.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE CECILIA DE QUEROL

GREETINGS ASPP MEMBERS AND FRIENDS, Happy Spring! Volunteers on our local and national boards have been busy during the winter months, pouring their energy and creativity into making ASPP happen. Our Education Chair, Susan Jones, and the chapter boards have been hard at work planning events for 2015. Chapters around the country will be presenting events on general licensing, model and property releases, concept images (and how to find good ones), and strategies to deal with the downturn in fees and the upturn in workload. Our copyright workshops are always popular, so you’ll want to look out for courses on topics like copyright pitfalls, fair use, public domain and Creative Commons, social media theft, and the Library of Congress Electronic Registration. We’re also very excited about our upcoming sessions on using social media in all its forms. From the New England chapter, which is planning an all-day series of panels and presentations in conjunction with Visual Connections in Boston on March 26, to ASPP Midwest, which is preparing for their ASPP Education Day later this spring, ASPP offers a variety of in-person events. But we’re not forgetting our members who are too

far away from chapter hubs to attend these. Our webinar series will continue throughout the year, as we explore new technology to broadcast our live events online. And very exciting to us this year is that we have started publishing exclusive, educational content on our website. Anna Fey, our national vice president, has developed and launched ASPP Arrow, a members-only series of articles on all aspects of our business to help ASPP members stay on top of their game. It launched in February with an article called “Fair Use Doctrine in an Online World” by Christopher Sandberg, an attorney and president of ASPP’s Midwest chapter. We look forward to Anna and Arrow expanding our coverage of the photography industry on a regular basis. Lastly, I want to thank all our members for their loyal support. Our core is our community and what we all gain by coming together and combining our power. We can’t do it without you!

CECILIA DE QUEROL president@aspp.com

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EDITOR’S LETTER

APRIL WOLFE

DEAR PICTURE PROS, We are very excited to present to you an issue we crafted around the idea of preserving archives. Many of our members have been in the photo business for the long haul, and a peculiar and welcome trend has arisen in this disposable-image culture—beautiful archives are suddenly finding new audiences and purposes. So in this issue, we’ve found a handful of stories for you from this trend. Rock photographer Baron Wolman’s images have a new archival home with Iconic Images in London, which will be releasing his next book. Ron Sherman walks us through how he sold his photo archive to the Emory University Library collection. And Martha Davidson shares her expert knowledge on the amazing Harris & Ewing Archive at the Library of Congress. Rounding out our theme, Nancy Wolff gives us the legal lowdown on how to protect your photographic legacy far into the future. We’re also very excited to feature the work of photographer Nancy Newberry, whose gorgeous portraits of Texas teens show a very different side of the Lone

Star State. And Josh Schaedel takes us on an artful and heartfelt photo-documentary journey of his family’s displacement during economic hardship. On the tech side of things, Samaruddin Stewart evaluates the technology behind Instagram’s popular Hyperlapse app, and Weston Lyon tries out the new Michron time-lapse attachment for DSLR cameras. This issue is packed with rich images, new and old, and writing from experts all sharing the same passion for our industry. And so it is especially painful that in this issue, we say goodbye to one of our own most passionate ASPP members, the incomparable George Sinclair. As the sun begins to peek out from those clouds, we hope you find our issue good company in the season’s change. It’s comforting to be surrounded by those who share your goals and love of the photograph. And in some small way, we wish to remind you that you are part of a much larger, thriving community. Sincerely,

A WOLFE

editor@aspp.com

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WHAT’S HANGING

Photo exhibitions near you

© 2014 Rick Smolan/Against All Odds Productions. Robyn had been hot, irritable and tired when she arrived at the Docker River Aboriginal settlement, but she was greeted as a hero by a group of excited children who lifted her spirits with their cacophony of laughter.

CALIFORNIA ANNENBERG SPACE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY 2000 Avenue of the Stars #1000 Los Angeles Inside Tracks: Behind the Lens on the Assignment of a Lifetime Extended to May 3, 2015 Inside Tracks: Behind the Lens on the Assignment of a Lifetime is about the extraordinary story of Rick Smolan, an American photographer assigned by National Geographic in 1977 to document Robyn Davidson,

a 27-year-old Australian woman who undertook a 9-month, 1700mile journey through the desolate Outback. Davidson and Smolan’s story evolved beyond the May 1978 National Geographic article to include Tracks, a best-selling memoir by Davidson; From Alice to Ocean, a groundbreaking book/ CD-ROM project by Smolan; and the feature film Tracks starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver. Weaving together elements from all of these projects, the exhibit Inside Tracks illustrates the lifelong impact of this assignment for Smolan. © 2014 Rick Smolan/Against All Odds Productions. Robyn Davidson

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MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS 1649 El Prado San Diego Hendrik Kerstens: Model and Muse February 7–May 31, 2015 Inspiration comes from many sources. For the artist Hendrik Kerstens, it is his daughter, Paula, who inspires his photographic explorations. For more than two decades, self-taught photographer Kerstens’ primary subject has been his daughter. From the beginning his images were not the traditional snapshots of a child growing up; rather his formalized portraits of her had, and continue to have, far more in common with traditions in painting—light, gaze, gesture, and scale. By directing the viewer’s gaze to images that closely reference painting and yet are the product of modern technology, the artist has created work that is sublime, provocative, and endlessly fascinating.

A unique collection of images representing the history of Russia, Soviet Union, and the entire Communist Bloc including Eastern Europe and China. research@sovfoto.com (212) 727-8170

WHAT’S HANGING Right: © Russell K. Frederick, Alanzo, 2010. Far right: © Rose Callahan, Barima Owusu-Nyantekyi at the King’s Head Club, London, 2013.

ILLINOIS MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY Columbia College Chicago 600 South Michigan Avenue Chicago

ion with traditional African sartorial sensibilities. The exhibit features work from emerging and renowned photographers and filmmakers from the US, Europe, and Africa.

Left: © Laurie Simmons, How We See/Liz (Coral), 2014. Courtesy the artist and Salon 94.

NEW YORK Dandy Lion: (Re)Articulating Black Masculine Identity April 6–July 12, 2015

THE JEWISH MUSEUM

Dandy Lion: (Re)Articulating Black Masculine Identity seeks to distinguish the historical and contemporary expressions of the Black Dandy phenomenon in popular culture. The first comprehensive exhibition of its kind, this project highlights young men in city-landscapes who defy stereotypical and monolithic understandings of Black masculinity by remixing Victorian-era fash-

Laurie Simmons: How We See March 13–August 9, 2015

1109 Fifth Avenue New York

The Jewish Museum will present a series of recent photographs by artist Laurie Simmons, How We See. The images draw upon the “Doll Girls” community, women who alter themselves to look like Barbie, baby dolls, and Japanese Anime characters through make-up, dress, and even

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cosmetic surgery. Simmons’ images call to mind high school portraits, featuring fashion models posed in front of a curtained backdrop, cropped from the shoulders up. Prismatic lighting and small, surprising details in the models’ clothing lends these otherwise banal images a psychedelic effect, which is exaggerated by each girl’s preternaturally large, sparkling eyes. In How We See, Simmons goes beyond the disturbing questions raised by the “Doll Girls” community to explore notions of beauty, identity, and persona. ●

Identity and memory IN TEXAS

THE WORK OF NANCY NEWBERRY BY MICHELLE WEIDMAN

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PORTFOLIO: NANCY NEWBERRY

GROWING UP, NANCY NEWBERRY participated in the

Texas tradition of giving and receiving homecoming corsages called “mums,” long before she ever conceived of her photographic series on the tradition. “I actually found a box of relics from my old mums at my parents’ house. Mine were made with real Chrysanthemum flowers, and compared to the ones you see in my project, they were modest.” The mums of today are not simple flower arrangements, but often massive ornaments that include ribbons, stuffed animals, and sometimes small electronics. The size and flavor of one’s mum is determined by social status and other cultural factors. Each mum is a unique ornament, showcasing the popularity and interests of the subject. Although mums were the catalyst and the stable feature of the series, Newberry’s images are not only about the taxonomy of mums; they are also purposefully composed dream- and memory-scapes. “The work is about the psychological underpinnings of a larger tableau,” Newberry explains. “The ritual aspects of life, the relationship between self and culture, self-presentation, identity in contemporary social groups, and how ritual objects unite a community.” Shot with a Contax 645 and later a Canon 1DS Mark III, using strobes and other accessories as needed, Newberry notes that her equipment is straightforward but she often uses it in “unconventional combinations.” Strong shadow and precise illumination add to the psychological narrative of the series. Each shoot involves meeting at the subject’s home and getting a sense of them and their space. “My research, memories, and reality collide in these moments while I decide on a location and formulate a plan,” she explains. This process would take varying amounts of time, culminating in a spontaneous moment when Newberry knew it was right to start setting up the lights and directing the shoot. The series then is a com-

bination of very still and very active moments, ones that seem to teeter. Newberry instructed subjects to portray the roles they normally inhabit and the skills that are inherent in those roles, while closely directing them for photographic aesthetic. There is a greatness to some of the poses and expressions that seems to contradict their quotidian surroundings. The bandleader’s noble posture, for instance, belies his perch in front of a backyard junk pile, while the lighting of his face and hands affirms his grandeur. Many of Newberry’s subjects were strangers, making their acquisition one of the most challenging parts of the project. Her choice of subjects—high school students— and location—in their homes—made it especially taxing. “In the beginning, there was a lot of begging and calling everyone I knew to do the same, but somehow I knew this would be a pivotal project, so I was tenacious.” Her tenacity paid off in broad interest and exhibition opportunities such as at PhotoEspaña after Newberry was awarded the top Discovery (Descubrimientos) Prize. Halfway to Midland followed the Mum series, retaining many of its themes, but shedding the corsages for a closer inspection of the Texan landscape and movements of her subjects in and through that landscape. Frequently exhibiting the two series together, Newberry highlights the obvious connections between them, but stops short of ascribing the significance of one on the other. Both are an obvious extension of Newberry’s Texan roots, bound to branch into other overlapping spaces. As the former inhabitant of a small, depressed town obsessed with western themes and traditions, I appreciate Newberry’s eye for not only the banal and wonderfully absurd but also the struggle of develop and present identity in a place that can seem, from the outside, devoid of cultural complexities. In Newberry’s work, highart aesthetic is directed at some Texas traditions well worth giving a closer, more nuanced look. ●

“My research, memories, and reality collide in these moments while I decide on a location and formulate a plan.” 16

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CROSSFIRE

CULTURE A FACE IN THE CROWD

A TRIP TO DEVIL’S DEN

A smoke-fogged battlefield; a spectator on horseback, plastic ear buds in place to dull the pounding of cannon fire; a weary Confederate sucking down a post-ceasefire McCafé: welcome to Devil’s Den, a gorgeous documentation of the Battle of Gettysburg’s 150th anniversary re-enactment.

Above: Battlefield Mini Mart, 2013. Right: Monocle, 2013.

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BY LAUREN WESTERFIELD

Baron Wolmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Legendary Rock Photography

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Previous page: 300,000 Strong at Woodstock, Bethel, NY 1969. Above: Jimi Hendrix, San Francisco 1968.

BY JOHN W.W. ZEISER CHANCES ARE GOOD THAT YOU’VE SEEN BARON

Wolman’s rock photography. His black-and-white photo of Jimi Hendrix on stage at the Fillmore West in 1968 is probably next to the definition of “iconic” in the dictionary. But Wolman never saw musicians like Hendrix or Janis Joplin as gods. Rather they were his friends, his neighbors, just people making music. Eventually, Wolman’s subjects were elevated to nearmythic proportions, forever solidifying his images in the canon of rock photography. “The moment I picked up the camera as a kid, it was like an apocryphal moment,” Wolman says. “I knew that was what I was going to do with my life. I could define

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the world through the viewfinder in a much clearer, more concise, personal way than I could with words.” In 1961, while Wolman was stationed in Berlin, the Berlin Wall went up. Seeing an opportunity to tell a unique story for people back home, he began to photograph this new borderland, the frontlines of a potential World War III as Wolman describes it. Though still just a serious hobby at the time, his hometown paper in Columbus, Ohio paid him fifty dollars for the entire series. Something clicked. “Fifty bucks in ’61 was a chunk of change, and I thought, wow man, this is my hobby, and I’m getting paid for my hobby.”

PORTFOLIO: BARON WOLMAN

At first, he toyed with the idea of staying in Europe, especially when the international military paper Stars and Stripes offered him a job as sports editor (which he thought a strange offer for a budding photographer). Eventually, he returned to the states, but at home in Ohio, his parents pressed him on what he planned to do. He thought about law, to which his parents replied, “You’d be a terrible lawyer.” Wolman hopped in the Volkswagen Bug he’d had shipped back to the states and headed west, arriving in Los Angeles. He photographed musicians in the burgeoning rock scene, but the city’s notorious smog and traffic got to him and his then-girlfriend, so north they went to the

Bay Area, where they took up residence at 164 Belvedere in Haight-Ashbury. His neighbors included Janis Joplin and members of the Grateful Dead. As if this luck wasn’t good enough, Wolman met Berkeley student Jann Wenner, who was brainstorming a new publication with San Francisco Chronicle writer Ralph Gleason. The magazine was Rolling Stone and it needed a photography editor. He agreed to take the position on the condition that he remain owner of all his images. “Starting to shoot for Rolling Stone was a milestone in my career. Without the photo gods smiling on me and putting me together with Jann, I wouldn’t be talking to you today,” he says. Wolman was the magazine’s first photo

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Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, San Francisco 1969.

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At a time when photojournalists needed to be “embedded” to document a culture, Wolman already existed there, deep in the skinny-dipping, communal-living thick of it.

PORTFOLIO: BARON WOLMAN

Left: Pete Townshend of The Who, San Francisco 1967. Above: The Plaster Casters of Chicago, Chicago 1969.

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GTOs Miss Pamela and Miss Sparky, Los Angeles 1968.

editor, serving from 1967 to 1970, and his images and editorial eye contributed much to Rolling Stone’s unique style. Although portraits of rock stars is what made his name, Wolman began to seek new challenges and took a greater interest in rock’s mise-en-scène: the crowds, the fans, and the venues. His recent book of photos, Woodstock, for example, is mainly images of what was going on off-stage rather than on it. “I had photographed most of the bands that were playing, and that didn’t challenge me anymore. But what did challenge me was this incredible gathering of people. I

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had never seen so many people at one time in my life.” To call his images intimate seems almost an understatement. At a time when photojournalists needed to be “embedded” to document a culture, Wolman already existed there, deep in the skinny-dipping, communal-living thick of it. And this intimacy is no better expressed than in his Groupies series. Featuring his work for a 1969 Rolling Stone story on the new phenomenon of groupies like the GTOs and the Plaster Casters, Groupies eschews a simplified, sexualized version of these women and instead portrays them

PORTFOLIO: BARON WOLMAN

in an almost glamorous black-and-white portraiture, as though their faces are on their very own record sleeves. Wolman, who would go on to found the short-lived fashion magazine Rags, was impressed by how serious the groupies took their preparation for a concert. “What I loved about these particular groupies was they had style, and they worked very hard on their own personal style to prepare for every concert they were attending.” This is the type of humanizing effect Wolman has on his subjects. We’ll be able to see the collection in hard binding with the release of a new book in August, Groupies, from

Iconic Images in London; you can pre-order it right now. This new book has special importance to Wolman. “When we go to that big darkroom in the sky, the images will remain, but the stories will be gone.” To prevent this loss, he has spent the last five years finding someone who could preserve his archives and legacy, something that he told me many of his fellow photographers haven’t done. He thinks he’s found it in Iconic Images. Groupies represents Iconic’s first step in continuing Wolman’s legacy, a relief to Wolman and a blessing to historians, collectors, and fans alike. ●

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Miss Pamela of the GTOs, Los Angeles 1968.

The Cows of Woodstock, Bethel, NY 1969.

Above: Walking to Woodstock, Bethel, NY 1969. Right: Groovy Way, Woodstock Music & Art Festival, Bethel, NY 1969.

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PORTFOLIO: BARON WOLMAN

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A STUDY IN

RESILIENCE Joshua Schaedel’s So Where Do We Go From Here?

BY LAUREN WESTERFIELD

that saw the loss of more than eight million jobs and catapulted countless families into precarity. Photographer Josh Schaedel and his grandparents were no exception: in 2009, they lost their home and were forced to uproot their lives. Over the ensuing five years, however, Schaedel’s determination to make art out of his family’s predicament resulted not only in a nuanced micro-portrait of the recession, but also in a shared sense of validation, purpose, and pride. The result is So Where Do We Go From Here?, a four-part series chronicling his grandparents’ “slide from stability to instability and back again.”

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FOR MANY AMERICANS, THE GREAT RECESSION was a time of incredible hardship, a period

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PORTFOLIO: JOSHUA SCHAEDEL

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PORTFOLIO: JOSHUA SCHAEDEL

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What began for Schaedel as a “desperate” outlet has evolved into a collection at once intimate and haunting. “My hope was to show details from the move that empowered the emotions we were feeling at the time, and to create a narrative from the inside looking out,” he says. From candid portraiture to the blank walls that recur throughout the series—walls that, in Schaedel’s mind, “became the narrators of the story”—viewers are invited to experience both the abstract, reflective mood of abandoned spaces, and the anxious, chaotic, and utterly human reality of unstoppable change. In the titular first chapter, we see Schaedel’s family packing up and moving out of their home. In Trespassing, Schaedel returns to the empty house (“I felt like a criminal,” he says. “I was scared…and yet, I was home.”) The third chapter, #23, depicts Schaedel’s grandfather, Mike, grappling with the health problems that perpetually ate away at the family’s finances. Finally, in Getting Through Today, we see Penny and Mike moving forward—one glance, one joint, and one freshly made bed at a time. Throughout the shooting process, Schaedel shared what

he considers a “collaborative” relationship with his grandparents. “They really understood what I was trying to say,” he explains—enough to let him include difficult images depicting Penny’s anxiety or Mike’s efforts to ease his pain in the wake of surgery. Juxtaposed with the more loving and triumphant moments in the collection, such as Mike’s arms raised in victory above his wheelchair, or Penny shaving Mike’s beard after his return home from the hospital, these “hard” images help us grasp the full spectrum of emotions at play in the piece. And ultimately, Schaedel says, “they owned them—just like my grandfather’s scars.” This capacity for ownership, for pride, is the resounding message at the heart of the collection, one that Schaedel hopes will “allow walls to be broken down” and encourage viewers to share their own stories. “I continue to learn from this project, even more now that it’s nearly over,” he says, and even though “there are still things that feel undone.” His goal is to see So Where Do We Go From Here? published as a book. “I have a feeling that once it is set free into the world, it will feel complete,” he says. “But who knows; only time will tell.” ●

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HOW UNIVERSITIES CAN GIVE YOUR PHOTO ARCHIVE

A SECOND LIFE BY RON SHERMAN When I arrived in Atlanta in 1971 and started doing assignments for national, regional, and local publications, including Time, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, and Georgia Magazine, I did not realize then that I would create a photographic archive that would be valuable enough to be acquired by an important university library decades later. This article is a guide for other photographers who have a collection of photographs and are looking for placement of their images.

HAD TO REINVENT MYSELF a few times during my

career. I started out as a newspaper photographer in the ’60s. In the ’70s and ’80s, I was doing editorial assignments and started to work for company publications. The ’80s and ’90s brought corporate annual reports and advertising assignments. And by the early 2000s, I’d been contributing my images to stock photo agencies for four decades. Along the way, I’d become entrepreneurial and started my own website to display and license my images at RonSherman.com. But by 2011, the global economic crisis had significantly reduced corporate spending on communications projects, and stock photo licensing fees fell off the scale. I hired Mary Virginia Swanson, a photography-marketing consultant, and also participated in portfolio reviews at an Atlanta festival of photography. With the consultant and the portfolio reviews, I showed a variety of my work, but to my surprise, in both situations, my black-andwhite prints from the ’70s caught people’s attention. 36

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These 8x10 and 11x14 black-and-white prints were made in my darkroom. Also called silver gelatin prints, these were used by editorial and corporate clients. Other prints were sent to my New York agency for licensing to publications and advertising agencies. Black-and-white prints were the currency of the time because color images were expensive to reproduce and only used for special coverage. When the agency closed in the ’80s, boxes of these prints were returned to me and ended up stored in my office for over twenty years, meaning my most valuable work had been sitting there in plain sight. I got to work sorting through my archive, and by 2013 I had found that 750 images were of Atlanta subjects. When looking for a home for these images, I knew Atlanta was the most likely target. In your own archives, it’s important to find that angle, even if that wasn’t the original intention of the shoot. You may find that a new market has opened up, and it’s your job to know where your archive exists in that market.

A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, road traffic collision, road traffic accident, wreck (USA), occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction, such as a tree or utility pole. Traffic collisions may result in injury, death, vehicle damage, and property damage. ÂŠ Ron Sherman

Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport known locally as Atlanta Airport or Hartsfield, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ÂŠ Ron Sherman ASPP.COM

Poultry is a major source of consumable animal protein. Per capita consumption of poultry in the United States has more than quadrupled since the end of World War II as the industry has developed a highly efficient production system. ÂŠ Ron Sherman

Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock, and the site of Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet and 825 feet above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain is well known not only for its geology, but also for the enormous bas-relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world. The carving depicts three figures of the Confederate States of America: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis. ÂŠ Ron Sherman

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

Atlanta porn shops on Peachtree Street. © Ron Sherman

Klan rallying, and Hank Aaron with two fans rounding After sorting, the next step was to digitize the print second base after hitting his 715th home run. The other collection and upload it to my website. I made a specifithree pages were filled with images that fell into the catcally named folder, “Silver Gelatin Prints,” on my Archives egories of personalities, school boycott, KKK rally, educapage. Detailed captions were added to the metadata, as tion, and middle-class Atlanta. historians and librarians look fondly on any images that With marketing materials in hand, have been neatly categorized and I started a list of prospects by contactgiven a context. This point can’t be LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVISTS ing galleries, museums, and libraries. I stressed enough, because libraries HAVE TO TURN DOWN MANY built a mailing list from these contacts and archivists have to turn down AN AMAZING COLLECTION— and referrals from clients, prospects many an amazing collection—the THE BEST OF THE BEST—SIMPLY and associates, and friends. But no best of the best—simply because of BECAUSE OF UNSATISFACTORY matter whom I spoke with about my unsatisfactory documentation, disDOCUMENTATION, collection, I was asked the same quesorganization, or shallow captionDISORGANIZATION, OR tion: what was its value? My search ing. It’s truly a shame, so don’t let SHALLOW CAPTIONING. was on for an appraiser. your archive go down that road. All referrals for an appraiser of Next, I tried to find other phophotographs led to one person, whose office was in Atlanta. tographers who had placed their archives in permanent She accepted the assignment in December 2013 but delayed homes. I queried my contemporaries and professional starting until I had a majority of the images on the database. associations for anyone who had a successful placement In June, she delivered a sixty-page report, including a fiftyof their photographs, but came up empty. When I startthree page spreadsheet with a valuation for each print—exed, finding a home for archives was a new thing for the tremely helpful if you have a particularly large collection and individual photographer, but if there’s one thing we’ve want to split up the images. There was also a section about learned in the economy shift, it’s that we must be our own the collection and another section about the value considerbiggest advocates. ation and justification for the appraised photographs. So by late 2013, I had 250 prints digitized and added In early 2014, I started my email campaign, using the to my website, and it was time to start my marketing efbrochure I had produced, making telephone calls, and forts, trial and error. I created a four-page brochure, sending out the printed version of the brochure to selected displaying three of my most newsworthy images on the prospects, such as museums, galleries, and collectors. Colcover—Rosa Parks meeting Coretta Scott King, Ku Klux ASPP.COM

Schoolrooms were mostly empty Feb. 14, 1972, as Richmond County parents participated in a boycott, protesting federally ordered school desegregation. © Ron Sherman

Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King at Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday celebration in Atlanta, Georgia, 1975. © Ron Sherman

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

Hank Aaron rounds second base after hitting his 715th home run to break Babe Ruth’s record, April 8, 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia. © Ron Sherman

In the span of a few months, I had numerous meetings lectors who were familiar with my work only wanted spewith representatives from both universities, showing more cific prints, and I wanted to keep the collection together. I prints each time. When August came, the University of turned them down, but I was already in it for the long haul. Georgia informed me that the leadership at the library had A couple of the area research libraries indicated that changed and they could not make an offer until 2015. they did not have the budget or staff to acquire my collecThe Emory archivist, however, made me an offer imtion. The High Museum of Art, for instance, declined my mediately. During those months of meetings, I’d gotten to offer, but they did suggest I contact nearby Emory Uniknow each library and felt confident versity, who was already on my IT’S IMPORTANT that either would make a good home list, along with another top choice, TO VALUE YOUR WORK for my images. What I learned from the University of Georgia Library. AT ITS MAXIMUM POTENTIAL, my early discussions with the library I simply put in a call to the archivists and my appraiser was that UGA Library representative, usSO YOU HAVE A STARTING ing a mutual contact name to get PLACE FOR NEGOTIATIONS, BUT the perceived value of the archive is only the starting point. The actual me a meeting, and when I heard ONLY YOU WILL KNOW WHEN value is what the client is willing about an open event at the Emory THE OFFER SEEMS RIGHT. to pay. It’s important to value your library, I went specifically to introwork at its maximum potential, so you have a starting duce myself to their archivist and leave a brochure with place for negotiations, but only you will know when the him. I have a well-rounded archive, filled with historioffer seems right. When the Emory offer came in, it was cally interesting images. Any photographer worth their right for me, and I readily accepted. weight who has been doing this for a long time—and is The print collection acquired by Emory will be for reforganized—should have such an archive, and I knew I’d erence, educational, and research purposes, including at least get a meeting. displays, exhibits, websites, publications, posters, broSoon after, I did meet with both libraries’ archivists. And, chures, among other Emory University and Library uses. just as expected, both library contacts asked me, “How much I also kept my copyright for all images and third-party is it worth?” But this time I had an answer, along with the licensing, which is something you’ll have to negotiate in name and contact of an extremely respected appraiser. I your own contract. mentioned the appraiser by name and gave them an approxWith one archive down, now I can start editing and imate date that I could answer that question, but I was aldigitizing the rest of my 500,000 images. ● ready past that big hurdle that had slipped me up previously. ASPP.COM

HARRIS & EWING AN AMERICAN ARCHIVE BY MARTHA DAVIDSON

Martha Ewing and George Harris enjoying a buggy ride in San Francisco around 1903. They met as colleagues while working for Frederick Bushnell, proprietor of a chain of West Coast portrait studios. Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-38921.

EORGE W. HARRIS WAS ONCE REGARDED as

the dean of American photography, and for several decades of the twentieth century, the credit line of his famous firm, Harris & Ewing, dominated newspaper photo layouts. The firm’s name still graces a national landmark building in Washington, DC, but the company—at one time the largest photo enterprise in the nation—is little known today. Harris and his business partner, Martha Ewing, founded their portrait studio in 1905; it quickly became the rage

of the city’s elite and the favored photo service of the White House and Supreme Court. In 1910 Harris & Ewing added a news photo agency—the first such syndicate based in Washington, DC. With distribution agents in New York (The New York Times) and London (The Topical Press, a Fleet Street agency), the company expanded its reach internationally. By 1945, Harris & Ewing had a staff of over a hundred and an archive of more than five million images. Before the introduction of wire transmission, Harris & Ewing mailed its subscribers at least three times a week photos of figures in the public eye, feature pictures, news

“All the photographers thought I was crazy when I set up business in Washington, but I said to myself, ‘Someday that’s going to be the news center of the world.’” —George W. Harris, Washington Evening Star, Feb. 17. 1939 42

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

Martha Ewing and George Harris outside the Harris & Ewing studio on her last visit to Washington, DC, in 1947. After divorcing her second husband, Ewing sold her shares in the business to Harris in 1915 and returned to California. She retained a strong interest in the studio and its staff, and Harris and Ewing maintained a close friendship until her death in 1959. Library of Congress, LCDIG-ppmsca-38979

Harris made this playful portrait of Ewing (the taller woman) and a friend at the Bushnell Studio, printing the images back to back on a single sheet of photo stock. Ewing, a skilled retoucher and astute manager, was a wealthy widow with a sense of adventure. She accepted Harrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s invitation to partner with him in founding their own studio. Her social skills and business acumen contributed to its early success. Library of Congress, LC-DIGppmsca-38977 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; LC-DIGPPMSCA-38978.

As Secretary of War William Howard Taft answered a call from President Theodore Roosevelt, Harris took a series of five photos. Taft responded to news that he had just been chosen as the 1908 Republican nominee for president. The images are believed to be the first candid photos of a presidential candidate. Library of Congress, LCDIG-ppmsca-38922.

HARRIS & EWING

Precursor to the iPod, a radio with an earpiece kept a young person entertained at a barbershop in the early 1920s. Harris & Ewing photos trace the popularization of other new media, including television and movie newsreels. Library of Congress, LC-H27- A-7806.

Editorial cartoonist Clifford Berryman (left) was one of Harris & Ewing’s early clients. After Harris photographed him, Berryman commissioned portraits of every member of Congress to use as visual references for his caricatures. Library of Congress, LC-H25- 23400-A.

photos of national politics, and—always—a photo of an attractive woman. Its images introduced new inventions and innovations and captured fleeting moments of everyday life. Unlike the Bain News Service and other competing syndicates that relied on freelancers, Harris & Ewing had a growing staff of top photojournalists and portrait artists as well as younger photo professionals trained to their high standards. Many of the employees stayed with the firm for decades, their fierce loyalty cultivated by Harris’s management style (a style inspired by Harris’s mentor, President Theodore Roosevelt), which gave them a voice in the company and offered them loyalty in return. Other photographers gained experience and moved on to found their own studios; several left to join National Geographic. Following the practices of Underwood & Underwood and other photo agencies of the time, Harris & Ewing didn’t credit individual photographers, but released all photos under the company name. Harris disbanded the news service in 1945. In 1955 he made a gift of 700,000 glass-plate and film negatives to the Library of Congress and sold the portrait studio to a parent company, which folded in 1977. Culling the collection to 70,000 negatives, the Library of Congress pre44

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

served them in an offsite repository. File prints of many of the photos—including iconic images of the women’s suffrage movement and portraits of presidents—became a popular resource for photo researchers. A generation or two of Americans learned history from the Harris & Ewing photos that enhanced the pages of textbooks. In recent years, the Library of Congress’s Prints & Photographs Division has digitized approximately 41,000 of the glass-plate portraits and news photos and made them available online at www.loc.gov/pictures. In addition, in 2012 the Library acquired George W. Harris’s personal papers, the generous gift of his grandson and namesake George Harris Jordan. The remarkable collection, which includes notes and memorabilia dating back to Harris’s beginnings in photography in the 1880s, reveals the fascinating life of this self-made man and documents the development of photography from the age of glass negatives to the era of color film. Another recent acquisition—the Krainick Collection—comprises photos of Harris, Ewing, and many of their employees and associates. Together, these resources convey the unique ambiance of this unusual studio and bring to light a seminal but nearly forgotten figure in American photo history. ●

THE LAW

ARCHIVE SURVIVAL Securing the Legacy of Your Life’s Work BY NANCY E. WOLFF

EPENDING ON THE VALUE OF THE WORKS cre-

ated during an author’s lifetime, planning for the future becomes important in order to preserve the value of the estate, and manage the exploitation of the exclusive right granted a copyright owner. Under the current United States copyright regime, copyright is automatic—from the date of creation—in works created after January 1, 1978; the term of the copyright lasts for the author’s life plus an additional seventy years. For works made for hire, the duration of copyright is ninety-five years from first publication, or 120 years from creation—whichever is shorter. This long duration of copyright allows authors to benefit from their works and leave a legacy for future generations. But determining the duration of copyright for works created before January 1, 1978 is significantly more complicated. So before we tell you the how of securing your legacy, we’ll go into why it’s so difficult. The Copyright Act of 1909 only provided federal copyright protection for published works and also required those published works to be registered and renewed in an exacting timeframe to maintain copyright protection. But the revised Copyright Act of 1978 superseded the Copyright Act of 1909 with sweeping changes, even for works created under the earlier act. Now works created before January 1978—but neither published nor registered—have the same duration of copyright: life plus seventy years (or ninety-five or 120, depending on the nature of authorship). There are many other extensions and exceptions, but the duration of copyrights in many published works under the 1909 act were extended to the end of 2047. 46

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

Since 1978, the length of the renewal term was also increased initially to forty-seven years and then to sixty-seven years and became automatic for works copyrighted between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1963. Published works of United States authors—with copyrights properly registered and renewed—will not be in the public domain but remain in copyright if they were published any time after January 1, 1923. For additional information on duration and other copyright basics, the Copyright Office offers free publications available at copyright.gov. Now to get into protecting your personal archive. Since copyright of a work exists separately from the physical object, an artist may have a body of work at the end of his or her lifetime in which the copyright status may not be entirely clear. Regardless, there can be value in both the physical property—vintage prints, negatives, slides, and other ephemera—as well as the copyright. All physical and intellectual property assets should be considered in estate planning. Just like physical property, all or some of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights may be transferred; however, it’s important to remember the transfer of exclusive rights under copyright requires a contract signed by the owner or authorized agent to be valid. A copyright owner may also bequeath copyright under his or her will to designated heirs. If the copyright owner dies without a will, the copyright passes to next of kin, according to the applicable state law governing inheritance. Copyright cannot be involuntarily transferred, and the act has a quirky provision prohibiting any governmental body or other official or organization from seizing, expro-

THE LAW

IF THE SALE OF LIMITED EDITION PRINTS IS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE ESTATE, CARE SHOULD BE GIVEN TO WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF AUTHORIZED PRINTS, WHETHER POSTHUMOUS PRINTS CAN BE MADE, AND IF SO, UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS AND UNDER WHAT QUALITY CONTROLS.

CALLING ALL PICTURE PROS!

COMMUNITY ADVOCACY EDUCATION If you create, edit, research, license, distribute, manage or publish visual content, ASPP is the place for you!

JOIN OR RENEW TODAY! www.aspp.com

American Society of Picture Professionals

priating, transferring, or exercising rights of ownership with respect to the copyright (except for bankruptcy), if the author had not previously transferred it. When copyright is owned by more than one beneficiary—like if it’s left to a number of family members—consideration should be given to how copyright will be managed. If four children inherit copyright in equal parts, each of them would have the right to grant nonexclusive licenses, and each would need to account to each other for any grant of exclusive licenses. Splitting up the copyright has benefits if you wanted, say, to proliferate the licensing of your images through multiple parties after your death. But if you wanted to keep a tighter hold on your archive, you may want to keep ownership with only one or two heirs. In addition, if the sale of limited edition prints is a significant part of the estate, care should be given to who will be responsible for the management and control of authorized prints, whether posthumous prints can be made, and if so, under what conditions and under what quality controls. The value of vintage prints can easily be diluted if, for instance, one heir elects to flood the market with lesser-quality posthumous prints. Not all estates have family members interested in managing a collection of artwork. Other options may need to be considered, such as the sale of the collection, or donation to an institution, historical society, or university. And donations have other issues, such as funding the costs of archiving, storing, and preserving the works. Because copyright can be scattered among many people during the seventy years after an artist’s death,

seeking permission to use a work and obtaining exclusive rights can be challenging or impossible to accomplish. If copyright was initially owned by a corporation under a work-for-hire agreement, and the corporation no longer exists, determining who acquired the copyright as an asset after dissolution may also be very difficult or impossible to determine, as no records may exist. The result is an “orphan work,” which is up for grabs in the public domain. The newer Copyright Act also provides terminations of transfers and assignment of copyright within the United States and protects artists and their heirs from bad deals that may have been made early in a career at a time when the artist had little leverage or negotiating power. These termination rights exist under both the current copyright act for works created after 1978, and for works created under the 1909 act. Just as the duration of copyright for works created before 1978 is complex, termination under copyright is complex and full of detail. For older works first published before 1978, where transfers were also made before 1978, the rights granted in a work may be regained by an author or his or her beneficiaries, provided a renewal claim was registered or, in some cases, was renewed without registration in the twenty-eighth year of the original term. If your renewal is timely, it can extend the term for an additional sixty-seven years. As long as the work is not a work made for hire, the right of termination cannot be waived, even if there are contractual provisions to the contrary. Termination reverts all United States rights to the author or family members except for previously authorized derivative works that continue in distribution. But no new derivatives may be created without a new agreement. It’s never too early to get your archive in order. Considering these issues well in advance, and consulting with an estate planning attorney who has experience with valuation of artwork and copyright, is important. But even more important is protecting your family from any costly litigation if your copyrights aren’t organized. For more information on copyrights after death, contact me through my office at Cowan, DeBaets, Abraham & Sheppard LLP. ●

Video grab from Hyperlapse taken in Washington, DC. Original Hyperlapse by Samaruddin Stewart: http://tinyurl.com/hyperlapse002

TECH

Smooth Operator  Hyperlapse for iOS BY SAMARUDDIN STEWART

IKE MANY PEOPLE, I don’t normally carry around

a dedicated video camera anymore. My iPhone serves as my de facto daily video camera—albeit a shaky one. That’s why this August I was very interested in the release of Hyperlapse, an iOS app from Instagram that allows for capture of time-lapse video with built-in stabilization technology. Quite simply, Hyperlapse allows users to create videos that can neatly compress time at a user-defined speed setting while also making cinematic stabilized video, both techniques normally once reserved for cumbersome equipment and expensive editing software. Add to that, Hyperlapse is completely free and extremely simple to use. Creating time-lapse video with Hyperlapse is as simple as pressing one button—record—and then using a slider to dictate the desired playback speed. When finished, the final video can be shared to social media and/ or saved to your iOS camera roll. 50

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

But while a time-lapse app for an iOS is already an amazing feat, I think the real impact of this one is its ability to stabilize mobile video. Hyperlapse does this so well because it capitalizes on technologies inherent in smartphones to allow the camera to know its location and movement. Hyperlapse can then use that gyroscope data to counteract any shake or motion by using adaptive zoom of the output image. Prior to this, software-based solutions generally relied on analyzing video frames, taking much more processing time and power. Hyperlapse makes all this possible on your mobile device, in near real-time. According to Instagram’s engineers: “Cinema algorithm changes the frames to counteract camera shake. The region inside the white outline is the visible area in the output video…the edges of the warped frames never cross the white outline. That’s because our stabilization algorithm computes the smoothest cam-

era motion possible while also ensuring that a frame is never changed such that regions outside the frame become visible in the final video. Notice also that this means that we need to crop or zoom in, in order to have a buffer around the visible area. This buffer allows us to move the frame to counteract handshake without introducing empty regions into the output video.”

using the front-facing camera, giving users the ability to create what is called a “selfielapse.” Hyperlapse definitely had some buzz when it initially launched, and the buzz has dwindled somewhat, but for such a specified app, that might not be surprising. It’s also worth noting that Apple released a similar time-lapse capability on their bundled camera app for iOS8. However, it was more limited in features. And in our CLICK column, we have a review of another time-lapse app, Michron, which is bundled to a device for use in DSLR and mirror-less cameras. In the end, Hyperlapse does a very specific task very well. It focuses on the most used camera at the moment, delivers to it technology that recently would have been very expensive, makes it free, and puts it into your palm. No signup, no login, and a great, simplified user interface. I see it as just another example of smartphones continuing to revolutionize the imaging world. It’s an amazing time to capture visuals. Wait, make that, Hyperamazing. ●

I was amazed at the results I achieved right after downloading the application. I have to say, it’s pretty incredible to be able to capture both time-lapse and stabilized footage all within a simple-to-use iOS app—something that a short while ago would have required time spent editing afterwards. For visual professionals, I think it’s a great storytelling tool certainly worth downloading and exploring, as many others must think, too, because of its surprising success. According to an Instagram representative contacted for this article, “This started as a side project by a small team of engineers who worked on it during nights and weekends. We never expected it to be an everyday app for the mainDownload Hyperlapse from Instagram. And to get a more stream, but its usage has far exceeded our expectations.” in-depth look at the technology behind the app, visit the For now, the app is only available for iOS devices runInstagram Engineering blog here: http://tinyurl.com/hyning OS7 and newer. The Instagram representative also perlapse001. confirmed that the Android holdup relates to API access on devices running Android, a larger problem that might take some time to overcome. Since the initial release of the app, reports have also surfaced about a secret “Hyperlapse Labs” menu, which can be accessed by tapping the screen four times with four fingers all at once. According to the Instagram representative, the menu’s original purpose was to expose developer options, but was left in the public release to give people more control. After accessing the menu (at the time of penning this article) users can customize several additional options, including speeding up the final After its release, Hyperlapse was used With multiple film festivals that only video up to 40X multipliers. by millions of Instagrammers on road trips, show iPhone-made movies popping up— Also, since initial launch, Inmimicking another popular trend— iPhone Film Festival, iPhone Filmmaker, stagram has added the ability dash cams—by mounting the camera indieFone, etc.—the drive to make more to capture Hyperlapse video on the dashboard of the car. sophisticated apps has reached a pinnacle. ASPP.COM

Michron: the Tiny Time-Lapse Device BY WESTON LYON

option is “New Time-Lapse,” where you can easily program a time-lapse sequence and even save it for later access. is a simple, three-part device that enables timeMost notable is that this app will calculate the number of lapse photography to be taken with any consumer images and running time that your settings will produce as DSLR or mirrorless camera. a time-lapse sequence. This information up front is incredTo begin, detailed instructions on a small ibly convenient if you are trying to not only meet a specific card direct you to download the free Michron app to duration but to get an idea of how much data will be needyour smartphone, which you will then use to control the ed for a given video sequence. Programmable durations device. The tiny Michron box—no larger than a cubic can run from an hour to two whole days! Minute-duration inch—mounts to your camera’s hot shoe where it doesn’t settings are included for fine-tuning. actually trigger the camera but only sits conveniently. A Once your sequence is set, you press the arrows below camera trigger cable runs from the back of the box to your to navigate to the final menu, where you then upload that camera’s remote control terminal. The last step in assemsequence to the Michron box and shoot away. During the bly is to connect your smart phone to the back of the box picture-taking process, via a 1/8” mini cable that you can easily cancel the could certainly be a lot sequence or reset the longer for convenience counter with the click of while shooting. one button—very conveOnce all plugged in nient if you accidentally and immediately after shift the camera during turning on my camera, your first few images and the Michron was already want to start over. taking repetitive images. Other features in the I had not touched a sinmain menu include: an gle menu item for pro“Auto Time-Lapse” that gramming a time-lapse lists several presets for sequence. This could be shooting common suba real annoyance. I was jects, from people to stars only able to stop the endin the sky; an “External less firing after pressing Trigger” that functions “Take A Photo” in the like a basic shutter re“External Trigger” menu lease, giving the photogof the app. rapher full control over The app itself, though, the shutter as well as a is well laid out and very The Michron app interface on both iPhone and Android. single-take timed shutter easy to use. The top menu 52

UT OF THE BOX, THE MICHRON by Alpine Labs

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

ASPP Remembers George Sinclair

GEORGE SINCLAIR’S CONTRIBUTIONS to the ad-

option; a “Create A Queue” option for compiling preset sequences for easy access when shooting on the fly or needing to stick to a schedule. Finally and unfortunately, the “App Settings” was inaccessible on my phone and crashed the app each time I clicked on it. Hopefully a program update is in the works. Overall, the Michron is a very useful device that serves and expands upon basic time-lapse functionality. You have all the tools here to devise the right time-lapse sequence for any vision imaginable (within two days’ time). The added settings are a real bonus and help the Michron surpass basic name brand or third-party time-lapse remotes. The makers of this product will probably iron out the kinks listed above sooner rather than later, and at a $59 price, it won’t break the bank. Here’s to a solid product that makes for a nice addition to anyone’s camera set! ●

The Michron will arrive at your home in a miraculously tiny box. With an easy-start guide and minimal hardware, this device attempts to mimic the simplicity of smartphone apps while keeping your professional DSLR in your main toolkit.

vancement of the photo industry, and its licensing and business practices, were enormous, as was the role he played within ASPP. Under his leadership from 2005 through 2012, the Midwest chapter thrived, and we are extremely sad to say goodbye to this luminary figure in our world. George spent forty-one years in the picture industry, having started in 1973 in the development and commercial exploitation of picture transmission systems. He was always at the forefront of technological advances and served on key committees, including the IPTC Technical and Management Committee and IFRA North America (now WAN-IFRA), that paved the way for new protocols. His deep knowledge burgeoned early when George was press photo advisor to Kodak for development of digital cameras, rapid film scanners, and thermal printers. He managed technology businesses in London and New York for the development of digital picture storage devices, portable photo transmission systems, and so much more. All of this expertise led him inexorably toward the stock agencies and publishing industries. Whether it was strategic development of Corbis or asset and business management at Getty, George brought in-

George Sinclair proposes to his wife, Ruth.

ASPP.COM

REMEMBERING GEORGE SINCLAIR

credible value to whatever job he undertook. Eventually, he started his own companies—Virtual Picture Group in 2002 and Universal Images Group in 2008—which amalgamated his expertise and special interests. UIG set a new standard for producing, aggregating, and becoming an international distributor of educational images, with staff in cities around the globe. His more recent venture, as co-author of the subscription-based Britannica’s ImageQuest, showed once more how he was at the forefront of our industry. His son Alex followed in his father’s footsteps with his own company, Learning Pictures. He once described his father as “The White Rabbit Man,” saying, “When the chips are down, at the last second, he makes something work. He will pull the proverbial white rabbit out of the hat.” Many remember him as a fountain of ideas and enthusiasm. In 2013, George was honored with the much-de-

served Jane Kinne Picture Professional of the Year award. It was also the year that he married Ruth, the love of his life. It’s difficult to imagine a world, or an ASPP, without George Sinclair. He was always kind and willing to share his experience and knowledge with colleagues; so many ASPP members have been touched by this generosity. So we end this memorial not with a goodbye but with a resounding thank you, for we owe him and his legacy a great debt of gratitude. In lieu of flowers, a Macmillan Tribute Fund webpage has been set up to receive charitable donations in George’s honor. ASPP is collecting donations for this fund. If you wish to participate, you can send a donation via Paypal to director@aspp.com, or via check to our national office. ● A special thanks to Cathy Sachs from whose article we culled much of this memorial.

MIDWEST NEW YORK

Left: Wendy Zeiger, senior account manager of Bridgeman Art Library, is the recipient of ASPP’s 2014 Jane Kinne Picture Professional of the Year award. Front row (l–r): Deborah Van Kirk, Ed Whitley, Doug Brooks, Wendy Zieger, Nicky Howell, Lieutenant Noral, Cecilia de Querol, Don and Barber Smetzer. Back row (l–r): Mike Fisher, Todd Bannor, Mary Albanese, Doug Segal, Brian Boerner, Beth Bannor, Laurie ShoulterKarall. Right: ASPP president Cecilia de Querol presents honoree Wendy Zieger with the award. The beautiful crystal was obtained under the direction of past ASPP president Michael Masterson.

MIDWEST PICTURE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD PRESENTATION By Doug Brooks On a reasonably nice (for December) Chicago evening, our Midwest chapter was honored to present Wendy Zieger the Jane Kinne Picture Professional of the Year award. Wendy is a past president of the Midwest chapter, the long-standing senior account manager at Bridgeman Art Library, and a sensational supporter of the ASPP for many years. Meeting at Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro in the heart of Chicago’s NorthCenter neighborhood (Lincoln Ave. and Byron St.), our intrepid group enjoyed a few hours of networking and fun conversation along with the fine buffet and enjoyable libations. Finally, ASPP president, Cecilia de Querol, in from NYC for the event, “crowned” this year’s recipient. We were very happy to have Ed Whitley, president of Bridgeman Art Library and 2013 Picture Professional of the Year recipient, on hand to help with the festivities. Ed had a particularly difficult time reaching us, as the weather in Canada was not kind. He arrived just in time to mix, mingle, and congratulate a surprised Wendy on her award. 56

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

The event was orchestrated and arranged by Mike Fisher and Todd Bannor, and a good time was had by all. NEW YORK HOLIDAY PARTY AND PEER2PEER By Darrell Perry On Friday, December 10, 2014, ASPP’s New York chapter celebrated the holiday season at midtown Irish tavern, Jack Demsey’s. Christmas music, flavored with jazz and rock ’n’ roll, filled the air as sixty chapter members dined on typical seasonal fare, including roast turkey, stuffing, and vegetables. The open bar helped lighten the mood as we played host to visiting officers from ASMP, Frank Rocco and Thomas Donley, and YPA leaders, Jerry Tavin and Lindsey Nicholson. We paused in a heartfelt moment of silence to remember our recently departed colleague, Laura Wyss, in a heartfelt moment of silence. The solemn moment passed and now sobered, the party soldiered on into the evening. To catch up after the busy holiday season, we also hosted our signature Peer2Peer on February 4, 2015. Twelve New York chapter members and three others who found us

at the Footage Marketplace last fall had snacks and drinks and shared information about upcoming events and useful websites, including lumoid.com and springwise.com. Upcoming chapter events were discussed, including a screening and photo exhibit of the movie Selma, and upcoming talks at NYC’s PhotoShelter space. The New York chapter will be having five more Peer2Peer meetings in 2015, with a preliminary programming schedule already jam-packed. SAVE THE DATE Anita Duncan, ASPP’s 2006 Picture Professional of the Year, will celebrate her life of art in an exhibit being presented at the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science in Evansville, Indiana. The exhibition will begin during the late summer of 2015 with an opening reception on August 8 and remain through October 4, 2015. ●

ASPP Members and Friends Annual Holiday Party at Jack Demsey’s Pub.

BOOKSHELF

Best new books on photography

NO PLASTIC SLEEVES: PORTFOLIO AND SELFPROMOTION GUIDE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS AND DESIGNERS Larry Volk and Danielle Currier Focal Press Paperback, 266 pages $32.96 ALTHOUGH

THE

PROFESSIONAL

picture industry has been characterized by constant upheaval during the past two decades, one thing has consistently remained the same: if you’re a photographer or illustrator, nobody’s going to hire you just because you say you’re great. You have to show ’em just how great you are, and that means having and showing a killer “book.” A “book,” of course, is a portfolio. But the 21st-century definition of that term has broadened considerably from the old image of hauling around an oversized zippered case filled with a couple dozen 11x14’s on acetate-covered pages. Today’s book includes a mind-boggling variety of designs, for-

mats, colors, materials, and construction strategies. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned online portfolios. Whew! Thank goodness Larry Volk and Danielle Currier have seen fit to release a significantly updated edit of their original 2010 publication, No Plastic Sleeves. This is the book creatives need to guide them through the morass of portfolio options, and not just because of the

Photographers expert and newbie will debate the right way to present their work. But just as photography evolves, so does the presentation.

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BOOKSHELF

treasure trove of solid information it contains on making an attentiongrabbing portfolio. What makes this book essential is that it doesn’t treat portfolio creation as an independent process that somehow takes place in a vacuum within your creative business. Instead, it takes a holistic approach in which the portfolio, while certainly important, is but one element in a thoughtful, well-rounded and consistent marketing approach that includes smart branding, online presence (including a blog), and promotional materials that complement and reinforce the messages presented throughout your self-promotional efforts. Best of all, No Plastic Sleeves includes extensive real-world, envy-inducing examples of successful portfolios as well as fifteen interviews with picture industry professionals, in which they reveal what has worked for them, what hasn’t, and why they made the choices they did. It all adds up to an essential text and guide for any creative-type who wants to “get the business.”

PEOPLE OF THE TWENTYFIRST CENTURY Hans Eijkelboom Phaidon Flexibound, 512 pages $35.00

—PAUL H. HENNING

IF YOU’RE A BIT BAFFLED on the

specifics of “normcore,” consider picking up a copy of People of the Twenty-First Century, the serial project of antisartorialist Hans Eijkelboom. In it he has compiled nearly a quarter century’s worth of documenting what is now commonly referred to as “normcore,” though it’s doubtful Eijkelboom would call it that. Rather he would probably describe it as a provocation for viewers to consider what the banality of getting dressed every day says about the pressure exerted on individuals 60

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to simultaneously conform and find ways to stand out in the crowd. Eijkelboom initiated People of the Twenty-First Century in the early ’90s, as a project called his Diary. It marked a shift from exhibitions like his 1981 show Homage to August Sander. He had participants come up with a number of visual categories into which people fit and then out onto the street everyone went where Eijkelboom photographed passersby who fit into participants’ categories. In Diary, Eijkelboom aimed to retain spontaneous, street-based photography, while narrowing his eye on ever more banal or everyday things like meals, objects, and plants. However, it was people who came to overwhelm his interest in other subjects. Open to the first page, and what’s immediately apparent is just how

forward-thinking Eijkelboom was in his ambition. It’s a grid of fifteen photographs taken between 12:30 and 13:30 on November 9, 1992, in the Dutch city of Arnhem. All the pictures share one glaringly obvious feature: everyone is wearing a red coat. Turn the page, and we’ve moved forward a month and fifteen different people out and about are clad in garishly printed jackets. By the final page we’re returned to red coats in the Netherlands, only this time they’re the puffy kind. Setting himself the somewhat arbitrary goal of taking between one and eighty photographs a day, six days a week, from November 8, 1992 to November 7, 2007, he scoured

the globe for fashion trends that had little to do with the runway. He hid his camera in his coat, snapping shots of people as they walked to and fro through cities on every continent. There are sets with women in New York City all carrying white Macy’s bags, sets with young men in Paris with miniature Louis Vuitton man purses around their necks. Apparently, argyle sweaters had a moment in Nairobi in February of 2011. The sets are relentlessly fascinating, amusing, even baffling (how could Eijkelboom be lucky enough to see not one but nine different people pushing double strollers in New York City between 13:30 and 14:00?).

The amusement, however, is never malicious. Instead, Eijkelboom’s photos provoke questions about the paradox inherent in fashion. How exactly does one express one’s individuality when confronted with so many people who have the same ideas? Individually, no photo in the book would even merit a second look. Instead, it’s Eijkelboom’s eye for patterns and his clever arrangement that forces the viewer to think about fashion’s dual demands of conformity and individuality, and the more you look, the more difference is apparent in his subjects. We are at last unique, just like everyone else. —JOHN W. W. ZEISER

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PICTURE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

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AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS

CONTRIBUTORS ISSUE 1 / 2015

Paul H. Henning was a professional location photographer for fifteen years. He co-founded and directed Third Coast Stock Source, and was manager of European operations for Comstock Picture Agency in London. He’s served as acting managing director at the Robert Harding Picture Library and is the founder of Stock Answers, a consultancy that works with stock picture agencies and photographers worldwide. Paul also serves as the director of business development for Tetra Images, a New Jersey– based royalty-free image production company. John W. W. Zeiser is a critic, poet, and occasional coffee roaster’s apprentice in Los Angeles. His earliest memory of writing was a poor imitation of Blake’s The Tyger that accompanied a finger painting assignment in elementary school. You can follow him @jwwz. Lauren Westerfield is a freelance writer in Los Angeles. Her reporting interests include health, literature, gender, and aesthetics. She is currently working on an anatomical memoir, and serves as an assistant essays editor at The Rumpus. laurenwesterfield.com Martha Davidson, a longtime member of ASPP, is a freelance photo researcher, writer, and editor based in Washington, DC. She has done extensive research on Harris & Ewing, Inc., and was instrumental in arranging the donation of the George W. Harris Collection to the Library of Congress. Weston Lyon is an artist who spent most of his early life living in the states of Texas and Oregon. He now calls Los Angeles home. He is the co-founder of Pair Shaped and works for Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He is nearly obsessed with DV cameras, vinyl-back decals, and the common things we use but hardly understand. Nancy E. Wolff is a partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP in New York. She practices copyright,

trademark, and digital media law and offers full legal support to a wide range of clients. Ms. Wolff is the treasurer of the Copyright Society of the United States of America, a member of the Media Law Resource Center, chair of the ABA Intellectual Property Law Section on Copyright Legislation, and member of the Task Force on Piracy and Copyright Reform. Ron Sherman has been a working photographer for the past fifty years. His assignments have sent him all over the US and the world and have been published in Time, Life, Newsweek, Business Week, Forbes, Inside Sports, and Sports Illustrated. He has developed a vast photo archive, from which ninety-five images were included in his latest hardcover book, Atlanta: America the Beautiful, published by Firefly Books in September 2013. Michelle Weidman is a writer and editor currently based in the Bay Area. Her interests include visual art, cultural criticism, feminism in popular culture, and crime television. She is the founding member of Serpentine Magazine, an online cultural criticism publication. She works as the operations manager for Gygax Magazine. Samaruddin Stewart is a 2013 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow, researching image forensics at Stanford University. Prior to Stanford, Samaruddin had worked at AOL, AFP, The Arizona Republic, and the US State Department. He’s interested in all things tech + media. Contact him at mediasam@stanford.edu or follow him @samsends. Jain Lemos has been deeply involved in photography publishing and licensing for more than twenty years. As an industry consultant she provides creative companies and artists with practical advice on moving forward with their projects and careers. She also shares her informed perspective about our visual industry as a writer and lecturer around the country and on her blog jainlemos.com.

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LIFE IN FOCUS SHORPY.COM BY JAIN LEMOS

Holton-Arms School, Washington, DC, circa 1927. The school was founded in 1901 by Jessie Moon Holton and Carolyn Hough Arms, nineteen years before women won the right to vote. Harris & Ewing glass negative. Colorized by Angie Dosio Hait/Color Me Six Ways to Sunday.

NGIE DOSIO HAIT, THE COLORIST of the above image, is a frequent contributor to Shorpy.com. The website is a vintage photo blog, which features a section where members can download original images from an ever-growing collection and colorize them. Colorists can then submit their tinted interpretations and receive comments and feedback from other Shorpy followers. Hait told us that this particular photo, above, was frustrating for her. “I recolored it four times because I wasn’t happy with the colors of the different dresses,” she said. Shorpy’s archive holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives and transparencies, from various sources, that they continually digitize and add to the site. The collection also includes images extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) found in the Library of Congress archive. More than 6,000 fine-art prints suitable for framing are available, from desk-size and larger, on archival paper or canvas. By creating a free account on Shorpy, you can share your own vintage photographs, too. Visitors to the site are 64

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particularly interested in images from the dawn of photography to the 1950s. Hait colorizes pictures of classic Hollywood actresses from the 1930s and ’40s, ladies from the Edwardian Era, and Ziegfeld Follies girls. To see her work, visit colormesixwaystosunday.blogspot.com. And to see more images from the Harris & Ewing collection turn to Martha Davidson’s story on page 42. ●

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AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PICTURE PROFESSIONALS