Tamrac launches new website, contest

Tamrac-HomePage

Tamrac-HomePageIf you’ve ever re-launched your website, you know what an enormous undertaking it can be. Camera bag manufacturer Tamrac has done a great job with their new, streamlined site at www.tamrac.com. It now offers more product information, images and a rich user experience to help users find the perfect Tamrac bag.

To make sure there is plenty of buzz around the new site, Tamrac is also running a contest from June 12 to June 26 to coincide with the launch. To enter, visitors to the site simply leave a review on their favorite Tamrac product within the contest period.  After the close of the contest, a randomly selected winner will win a Canon Digital Rebel Kit with an 18-55mm lens –  donated by Canon Canada — and a Tamrac Evolution 6 Photo Sling Backpack.
What a great idea, and a simple way to get people clicking through those web pages!

Australia’s Picpress prints prized picture books

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Screen Shot 2013-06-02 at 6.54.15 PM

PMA Director of Australian Activities Peter Rose lets us know Nulab Group’s Picpress won the gold award for photo books at the National Print Awards in Melbourne — as well as a silver award for inkjet printing.

“And to top it off,” the company says, “for the fourth time, Picpress took the Currie Group Award Prize for the most innovative use of imaging in printing.”

 

Camera market focus to shift East

Ken research_Logo

Ken research_LogoAsia is expected to become the sales center for the camera industry, according to market data from Indian firm Ken Research.

The global camera market is “expected to achieve high growth trajectory in coming years,” the firm says. Mature demand in developed countries is countered by growth in emerging economies such as India and Brazil, Ken adds. Asia will receive 44.6 percent of total camera shipments 2017, and has emerged as the fastest growing market in the global digital camera industry in recent years.

The full report, Global Digital Camera Industry Outlook to 2017 – Emerging Markets, Next Big Destination for DSC Manufacturers, is here.

UPDATED: CPI closes Sears, Walmart portrait studios; Canadian operations continue until sold

cpi logo

cpi logo picture me logo St. Louis-based CPI is closing shop — and with it, the portrait studios it operated in Sears and Walmart retail outlets across the United States.  In a letter written to CPI employees,  President and CEO Jim Abel said “Over the course of the past year, we have discussed in a variety of communications that we have been battling through the decline of our business. During that time we negotiated deals with our hosts, secured additional funding from our banks, and marketed our company to potential purchasers. Unfortunately, all of those efforts have fallen short – the decline of our business proved too great an obstacle to overcome and we will be forced to discontinue our U.S. operations effective … April 3. The Canadian business, which has not suffered from the same difficulty as the U.S., has continued to deliver strong financial performance. The Canadian operations will continue as a standalone company until it is sold to another party.”

sears portrait Studio logoAs Popular Photography put it: “The department store portrait studio has long been a part of our American cultural lexicon. For some families, it’s a tradition, giving them an opportunity to get dressed up and put on fake smiles for cheesy, boring pictures. At one time, some of them were staffed with photographers, but they have long since become a punchline. Now, it has moved two big steps closer to extinction, as Sears and Walmart have shut down their in-store studio programs.”

The message on Sears’ site reads:

“After many years of providing family portrait photography, we are sad to announce our Sears Portrait Studios are now closed. We appreciate your patronage and allowing us to capture your precious memories. If you currently have an album or have had a recent portrait session, you can order products at searsphotos.com thru April 18, 2013. If you have had a recent session, your portraits may be available at your local studio.”

Walmart’s PictureMe Portrait studio site is down.

The St Louis Dispatch reports CPI defaulted on its lenders.

More information is here and here.

And as The Imaging Resource concludes in its news item:

“If you do still enjoy perfectly posed family photographs, taken with an extremely soft lens, there are many small, local portrait studios who would be more than happy for your business. And that way you can support local artists, too.”

 

Photo Industry Reporter evolves into Digital Imaging Reporter

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digital imaging reporter525

In order to “address the broader digital imaging market that has emerged over the last few years,” the publishers of Photo Industry Reporter have upgraded and renamed their magazine and website. “The imaging world has certainly changed,” they say, “and we see an opportunity to broaden our scope to address this dynamic environment.”

The new magazine debuts this month with an improved design and wider editorial focus. “Digital technology has created new arenas in which the industry must compete, and Digital Imaging Reporter has the responsibility to keep our readers informed of the new challenges in the market.

Photo Industry Reporter was founded in 1993, and purchased by Jerry Grossman and Alan Levine in 2005. They say the magazine is now the only print trade magazine exclusively serving the imaging industry.

Editor in Chief Grossman says he will “expand the editorial range of the publication to take into account the broader market that has emerged. The imaging industry is not just about cameras and printing anymore. For example, smartphones have completely changed the imaging landscape, and HD video is now a critical component of DSLRs.”

New columnists include George Schaub, Gaby Mullinax, Gary Pageau, and some guy named Paul Worthington.

 

Gallery One voted “Best Art Gallery” in Cleveland area

Gallery One, Mentor, Ohio, was Named “Best Art Gallery” in the Cleveland area in the 2013 “Hot List” competition. The gallery took top honors for the second consecutive time, having won in December 2011. The gallery is a member of the  Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA).

This year’s competition featured more than 5,000 nominees. More than 34,000 voters cast 95,287 votes to select 124 winners in categories that included restaurants, fashion, health and fitness, nightlife and shopping. The arts and entertainment category featured 79 art galleries.

“We are extremely proud and grateful to have been chosen for this honor for a second time,” said Alan Brown, president. “We represent so many outstanding artists with whom we have developed a close working relationship, and that carries over to our clientele. Art collectors who attended our artist events and exhibitions as youngsters today come back with their children and grandchildren. We plan our gallery events to make art accessible, enjoyable and available to a wide range of art lovers everywhere. We ship orders all over the world, and our staff of certified picture framers and professional art consultants provide expert advice and free in-home or in-office design services throughout Northeastern Ohio.”

Gallery One, founded by Brown and his wife, Norah Lynne, in 1974, has grown to over 18,000 square feet that serve as a venue for regular exhibitions by legendary artists such as Robert Bateman, Carl Brenders, James Christensen, Bev Doolittle and the late Thomas Kinkade, drawing collectors from all across North America.

In 2010, Gallery One founded its sister company, Gallery Giclées, publishing giclée canvases, hand-signed by renowned artists.

 

IPC honors eight photography professionals

ipc

ipc

The International Photographic Council announced its 2013 IPC Professional Photographer Leadership Awards, who will be honored at the United Nations in New York City on May 22.

The IPC is a non-governmental organization NGO of the United Nations. The winners were nominated by professional photography organizations, and selected “because they best represent the groups’ criteria and ideals,” says the IPC.

The nominating associations and respective winners are:

• American Photographic Artists: Anthony Nex

• American Society of Media Photographers: Shawn Henry

• Federation of European Photographers: Neil Warner

• National Press Photographers Association: Michelle McLoughlin

• Professional Photographers of America: Don Dickson

• Professional School Photographers Association: John Rak

• White House News Photographers Association: Charles Dharapak

• Wedding & Portrait Photographers International: Cliff Mautner

 

A sad note on the closure of Camera Action in Australia

Glynn Lavender
Glynn Lavender

Glynn Lavender

As all our readers in Australia, and many in other parts of the world, have already heard, Camera Action Camera House is no longer in operation. Here, my friend Glynn Lavender, editor of PMA Australia Newsline, who worked for Camera Action for many years, shares his thoughts on this sad story.

Last week, as we have all no doubt heard, Camera Action Camera House, one of the biggest specialty stores in our country, went into liquidation. It is not for me to comment on why, who, when or what.

But as someone fairly intimate with the store, having worked in a number of roles there for a total of 14 years over my 28-year photo retail career, I feel I have something to say.

To many it is just another store closure. But to the staff, past and present, that have lived a good portion of their lives under that roof it has many more connotations.

In the movie ‘The Castle’ they state: It’s not a house, It’s a home. It’s got everything…it’s a place for the family to turn to, come back to.

Camera Action was not just a store, it was much more.

During my time there we lost loved employees to untimely, tragic deaths. Whilst the store still stood there always seemed to be a living connection to those two guys. That will no longer be the case. Last year they lost another long-term staff member to that insidious disease cancer. He was part of the furniture. The store always seemed that much emptier afterwards.

Several other past employees, the lifeblood of the character and substance that built the store have also passed. They will all be missed.

I resumed work with Camera Action in 1997 after returning to Melbourne from long term travel. During that trip I met my wife and mother of my children. It was the job that helped us move into our own flat and then our own house. It was a house that was furnished by money made from spivs alone. Looking around at pieces of furniture I see connections back to those heady first days of our relationship. All entwined around the thread of a store.

Over my years there, I saw relationships among staff start, flourish, and sometimes, lead to marriage and children. Connections that would never have happened had it not been for the store. I saw staff leave to try out careers as actors, photographers, models and many more. I saw many of those staff return, sometimes a little bruised by life, but welcomed back to the store and into ‘the family.’ Camera Action always seemed to be a place you could return to.

I saw some go on to lead lives as war photographers, film directors, artists and teachers. We all felt a little like we had some small part in their successes.

I saw people start great friendships with co-workers on their first day of work. I see (from Facebook stalking) that many of those friendships continue today.

Over my years I have seen hundreds of staff come and go. All touched and were touched by those around them and the environment in which they shared: Camera Action.

There are many new faces that have been through the store in the years since I was there. There are many there now I do not know. That doesn’t stop me feeling the pain and uncertainty they must be feeling.

Camera Action Camera House was not unique. There are stores like this all around the country. Yours is probably one too. It’s one of the things that make retailing such a great job to be in.

Sadly these bonds look to be no more at Camera Action. It feels like losing another staff member. No one is a winner here.

Rehabilitation Through Photography adds to board

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RTP1

The volunteer charity Rehabilitation Through Photography elected Matt Sweetwood to its Board of Directors.

rtp - MattSweetwood 2Sweetwood is the president of the Unique Photo camera store in New Jersey, and developed its in-store education program, the Unique University. He also founded the Photo Insider publication, and is known as a marketing innovator, risk-taker, and creative thinker, RTP says.

The NYC-based Rehabilitation Through Photography association says it “puts cameras in the hands of veterans, the physically and emotionally challenged, the elderly, at-risk youth, the economically disadvantaged, formerly homeless and the visually impaired.”  Through its photography programs, professional instruction, exhibitions, and publications, the students, ages 8–80, “develop a talent for visual self-expression and connect to their communities.” The organization first incorporated as Volunteer Service Photographers in1946.

rtp Herrick-222x300

 

 

Historic video found: Edwin Land talking pocket instant cameras in 1970

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edwin land, wallet

Polaroid founder Edwin Land was known for innovation, and presentation. Now you can see a bit of both: “The Long Walk,” a short film Edwin Land made for Polaroid’s shareholders in 1970, has been unearthed and can be seen at Polaroidland.net.

In the 15-minute film, Land “uses a helicopter and a giant blueprint as presentation aids as he talks about Polaroid’s plans for its next-generation instant camera,” as Time’s Harry McCracken says puts it. (“But mostly, he stands in a trenchcoat in an unfinished factory and talks about the future of photography.”)

What’s most interesting is when he envisions a pocketable instant camera, using his wallet as a prop, “almost as if he’s somehow gotten his hands on an iPhone 5 a few decades ahead of time.” McCracken says the upcoming camera Land discusses was the SX-70: unveiled it in 1972, it was “more compact than any Polaroid before it, but wasn’t remotely wallet-sized.”