Bit Revolver

Photo sharing site Flickr has announced a deal with Getty Images wherein the stock agency will approach Flickr members to include specific photos in the Getty inventory through a special communications platform that is currently under development.

Getty images has a post regarding the deal on their blog, written by Flickr general manager Kakul Srivastav. A shorter but equally detail-barren post is up on the Flickr blog, and there is some discussion going on in the Flickr help forum.

A Q&A with Flickr and Getty confirms that Flickr members who enter into deals with Getty will be paid, but has a bit of disheartening news for Flickr contributors looking to quit their day jobs:

From our perspective, on the Flickr side, we’re not expecting this will be a huge stream of monetization for our members. For some it might be, but that’s not really the driving force. The driving force is we really feel we want Flickr to be a place where photos can be all that they can be.

This pretty vague statement could mean the licensing fees won’t be much, but it could also mean that since it sounds like Getty will be making individual selections on the image level, one photographer will probably not contribute more than a few photos to the Flickr/Getty collection. Photographer Thomas Hawk mentions to a Seattle PI article that claims contributors will be paid in the same manner as professionals.

Whatever the case may be, the Flickr blog makes light of the fact that their members produce some truly remarkable photos — which should rightly translate into competitive licensing fees.

“The D3, D700, and Canon” is a sharp analysis of the state of professional-grade digital cameras by James Duncan Davidson. While Canon has been going after the introductory consumer-level DSLR market full-force, Nikon has managed to catch up to Canon’s line of professional-grade equipment.

My own photography is quite casual so I have not been chomping any bits — in fact, I was quite happy to purchase a brand new 5D at a significant discount — but I can definitely feel the tension in the air when it comes to the subject of a 5D successor. If Canon ever had any intentions to abandon that niche and push its users up into the 1-series bracket, then the Nikon D700 has certainly changed that game plan.

The two filmmakers seen here set up their camera and tripod nearby while I was relaxing in Central Park last Sunday. Sheep Meadow was full of frisbee tossers, wiffle ball games, and sunbathers on this unusually spring-like October afternoon, and the two began to take some panning shots of the scenery. I myself had already shot over 2 GB worth of photos of the surrounding activity.

Within seconds, two bicycle cops swooped in from either side and began questioning the pair. The female officer asked whether the two had a permit from the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting. They replied that they did not, and the officer told them that The City of New York requires them to obtain a permit in order to use their tripod in a public place. I was able to snap a few shots of the scene before the officers instructed the filmmakers to put their tripod away, then quickly disappeared.

I spoke briefly with the pair, who were quite dejected, but said they would rather comply than argue with the NYPD. We talked about the MOFTB’s proposed rules on film and photography permits, which to the best of my knowledge are still under review.

Many feel that the first amendment rights of amateur photographers and filmmakers in New York City are in serious jeopardy as of late. The proposed rules are broad, restrictive, and ill-advised. At this time I have been unable to locate any current laws on record that prohibit the use of a tripod in the manner I have described here, so I cannot say with certainty whether these police officers acted incorrectly. New York City’s 311 information line forwarded my phone call to the MOFTB, whose permit office did not answer. I sent an e-mail inquiry requesting information, and am awaiting a reply.