Presidential Perspective

For nearly five years, the NPPA and through our membership in the Federal Shield Law Coalition has been working with Congress to craft a federal shield law. This week, it appears to be closer than ever to be enacted into law.

The House of Representatives passed a version of the shield law (HR 985) last March and two weeks ago the the Senate Judiciary Committee reached an agreement on the Free Flow of Information Act (S 448) which is a compromise bill. An integral portion of the compromise was the approval of the White House which was given two weeks ago. The bill is scheduled for mark-up next Thursday and the NPPA is asking members to call the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and encourage them to either support the bill or allow it to be voted upon if they oppose it.

According to the NPPA Counsel Mickey Osterreicher, previous “national security concerns, expressed mostly by Republicans but also some Democrats, have been addressed and significant concessions were made in the compromise bill to take national security into account.”

To find a list of Senate Judiciary members, check here.

For the first time in NPPA history, members (both professional and students) are electing the Board of Directors nationally. This is an important time in the NPPA and I want to encourage you to look at the candidates running for the Board and cast your vote for the two individuals you feel are best suited to lead the NPPA into the future.

The NPPA is looking to the future and we want the leadership on the Board of individuals who are responsible. I am excited about the caliber of everyone who has decided to run. It is an impressive group and I believe we have some outstanding candidates. I look forward to working with the new Board beginning in January.

The candidates who are running for election for NPPA’s new national board are:

Mike Borland
Jeff Gritchen
Danny Gawlowski
Michael P. King
Todd Maisel
Merry Murray
Jim Michalowski
Smiley Pool
Greg Smith
Gerald S. Williams
Jack Zibluk

Convergence 09 kicks off Saturday with the sold-out Multimedia Immersion Workshop in Las Vegas. This year looks to be a great time with a multitude of options for learning and improving your profession.

On Wednesday June 10, its the 20th annual Women in Photojournalism followed by the Photojournalism Workshops and Edit Foundry on Thursday through Saturday. Saturday night finishes the week with the annual NPPA Awards Banquet.

There’s still time to register for events. The workshops are “hands-on” and will help tailor your skills for today’s changing workplace. We’re offering such things as: shooting & editing video, starting up in multimedia, pricing your work, audio, marketing, and shooting panoramas to name just a few. Additionally, there are workshops to help you transition from a staff position to freelancing.

Remember, this year what happens in Vegas, goes home with you.

If you haven’t seen the new comments section on News Photographer news stories, I encourage you to check it out. The first story it is available on is here. We have added the ability for you to leave comments when editor Don Winslow posts a story on the web. Our hope is that you’ll respond or comment on the latest news in photojournalism. It’s just another way for you to interact with us.

By the way, if you haven’t used it yet, you can also share stories on Facebook and other social networking sites. Look for the share box in the right hand column of every news story.

Do you Twitter? Well follow the latest news from the NPPA on Twitter.

Congratulations are do to photo editing icon John G. Morris on his being awarded the The French Légion d’Honneur. The award is the highest and most prestigious award given by France. Morris received his award from French photojournalist Marc Riboud at the paris office of Magnum Photos. News Photographer has more on the story and photos of the event by Peter Turnley.

White House photographer Pete Souza provided a behind the scenes look at the first 100 days of President Barak Obama to CNN’s John King recently.

This is a fascinating look at the way Souza works covering the President. As an educator, this is a great teaching piece on how Souza considers himself “a visual historian.” I am constantly looking for pieces to share with students on how visual journalists play an important role in society. This piece is one that will help make an impact on young photojournalists. Souza emphasizes the importance of visual journalism for society when he states:

The most important thing is to create a good visual archive for history, so 50 or a hundred years from now, people can go back and look at all these pictures.

You can view the video featuring Souza here.

With the first coverage of the return of a Fallen Hero after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates overturned an 18-year ban of media coverage of the transfers, I want to pass on some information that may be helpful for photojournalists and media outlets wishing to cover the ceremonies. The Department of Defense has posted the following media advisory to explain basic rules and procedures.

Photojournalists interested in being notified about the return of Fallen Heros should write to the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center Public Affairs office: AFMAO.PA@Dover.af.mil. The DOD requires that the e-mail include their name, media organization and e-mail address, plus the name, phone number, and email address of their immediate supervisor.

In several of the stories, the DOD reports that they discussed the policy with

several military support organizations for a policy change that, under strictly delineated conditions, allows media filming of dignified transfer operations of fallen servicemembers’ remains at Dover Air Force Base.

Interestingly, the releases make no note of discussing the policy with media groups, although several press agencies were involved in a couple of conference calls on the policy.

Here are some other links related to the transfer policy:
Gates Signs Policy Change for Dignified Transfer Operations at Dover
Military Support Groups Provided Input for Dover Policy Change

I am excited to share with you that after the NPPA and several other photo groups expressed our concerns to Canon about their CPS requirements for bodies and lenses, a change has been made. The NPPA called and along with several members wrote to Canon USA about the requirements. In our conversations, we brought up the fact that with the recent newspaper industry layoffs, numerous photographers have been left to fend for freelance assignments with older equipment which was not on the list.

Several weeks ago, Canon added some older bodies to the list, and this week has added some non-L lens to the list. I am excited that Canon has listened to us and responded positively for photographers. I am hoping that they will expand the list and even possibly reduce the number of bodies.

The expanded list for their three levels of membership is here.

After the NPPA Advocacy Committee received complaints last year from Region 2 Director Todd Maisel and several other photographers about Amtrak harassing or arresting photographers taking photos at public train stations (NYC’s Penn Station and DC’s Union Station), the committee jumped into action and began a dialogue with the railroad’s attorney.

NPPA General Counsel Mickey Osterreicher wrote to Amtrak offering to help them craft a revised policy that would address First Amendment considerations. Amtrak accepted the offer. Osterreicher and Advocacy Chair Alicia Calzada began a flurry of e-mail conversations about the policy and drafted changes they submitted to Amtrak Police General Counsel David. J. Domzalski.

One of their biggest concerns was wording that described photography in sinister terms. They rewrote the section and Amtrak agreed to the revisions. In fact, Domzalski wrote yesterday to tell Osterreicher, “all of your recommendations were incorporated into the guidelines …”

The end result, a change in Amtrak’s photo policies which now state:

‘It is the policy of Amtrak that the taking of photographs and/or videos is permitted within public access areas on Amtrak property.’”

Amtrak also issued Amtrak Police General Order 09-02 which gives direction to the police on how to handle situations involving photography. In the order, they state that:

Officers may request that an individual consent to release of a recording, film or picture. Any consent must be knowing and voluntary. Under no circumstances will officers delete, destroy or alter photographs/videos; nor shall they request that photographs/video be deleted, destroyed or deleted.

Read the full story in News Photographer.

This is a major victory for photography and First Amendment freedoms. I am proud of what the NPPA has accomplished with this work. I want to thank all of the people who helped with this issue, but especially Mickey, Alicia, Todd, News Photographer Editor Don Winslow, and NPPA Executive Director Jim Straight.

The NPPA Northern Short Course is offering a special educators track this year in Mclean, Virginia March 19-21. It is aimed at college educators and those who are interested in pursuing educational opportunities. David Handschuh has been putting this together for NSC chair Michelle McLouglhin.

This career track will help photojournalists new to the world of academia, long time photojournalism educators and visual journalists who are thinking of entering the classroom as adjunct or full time faculty.

From syllabus planning to teaching tips, survival in the world of academia to sabbatical suggestions, the Northern Short Course’s Visual Journalism Educator’s Track is the place for everyone who teaches photojournalism.

• Roundtable Discussion: “Newsroom to Classroom”, Teaching Photojournalism 101 David Handschuh, moderator, Prof. Loret Steinberg, Prof. Jim MacMillan, Prof. Ken Kobre, Prof. John Kaplan

• “Talking about Trauma to our Students” Professor Jim MacMillan, Temple University and Dart Ochberg Fellow and Mike Walter, WUSA-TV, Washington and Dart Ochberg Fellow

• “Teaching the Photo Story” Prof. John Kaplan, University of Florida

• “Materials for increasing student skills while teaching Photojournalism” Prof. Ken Kobre, San Francisco State University

If you’re interested in teaching, you don’t want to miss this set of workshops.

The NPPA TV BOP judging is underway. There have been some fantastic pieces chosen and discussed. The NPPA and the Poynter Institute are hosting a live chat (12-12:30 pm eastern) that you can join in, ask questions and learn more about video storytelling. Finalists, winners, and judges comments will be posted on the NPPA BOP site, while the winning videos will be posted at Poynter.

And you can keep up with everything going on with the TV BOP Blog.

Looks like White House photographer Pete Souza may have competion for the insiders look at the Obama presidency. According to a NYTimes blog, and People magazine, President Barack Obama’s daughter Malia, has been busy snapping photos over the last several days. According to the blog, she was using a Kodak EasyShare M893 today just prior to the swearing-in ceremony. Over the last several days she’s been seen with several other point-n-shoots.

Maybe Souza can offer some informal photo lessons.

News Photographer editor Don Winslow broke the story about Pete Souza being named the official White House photographer for President-elect Barack Obama earlier this week. It was a great tribute to staying on top of news and people in the photojournalism community.

Souza will be covering the White House from the inside for the second time. He was previously the White House photographer for Ronald Reagan’s second term. According to the story, Souza agreed to take the position after

“reaching an agreement that the primary function of the White House photography office will be to document Obama’s presidency for the sake of history.”

Winslow’s story has been referenced by a variety of news outlets including PDN and The British Journal of Photography. 

As we finish the year and celebrate the holiday season, I hope that you and your family have enjoyed the holidays. I know it has been a special time for my family.

My Christmas morning this year was fairly quiet. My children are older and and the gift-giving ritual is less than in years past. In fact, this year, I was much more reflective as my oldest daughter prepares to leave next month for the Peace Corps, serving in Rwanda. She is one of 35 volunteers selected to serve in Rwanda for the first time in 15 years. she’ll be there for 27 months, so the next two Christmas celebrations will have a different tone without her bubbly personality to keep me laughing.

The coming year will certainly bring more changes in our lives be it personally or professionally. As we approach the new year, it is my hope that the NPPA will be able to help you face the changes in our profession.

Elections for Directors and Associate Directors in Regions 2 and 4 begin this week. If you’re a member in those regions, please take a moment and vote. These volunteers are an important link to NPPA members. They are responsible for working in the region and organizing and coordinating NPPA activities and events.

Do you live in Region 6, 8 or 10? Well, we need your help. We are looking for members who are interested in serving as either Director or Associate Director. If you’re interested, then contact your regional director or NPPA secretary Denise McGill and they’ll get you started.

Volunteering is one of the most important things we need as an organization. Are you willing to get involved and help?

NPPA Members should find something new in their e-mail boxes - NPPA Close-Up, the weekly e-mail newsletter for members. As part of our efforts to keep members better informed about news, educational events, and member benefits. Thomas Kenniff, who is in charge of sales, contests, and eCommerce for the NPPA, will be producing the newsletter. 

This is a new feature that we are suppling members to help keep them informed.

Recently on the NPPA list serve, there has been a bevy of discussion about our lack of being Web 2.0 savvy. When I was elected president last June, I put as one of my major goals to change the look and feel of the NPPA web site. I asked Damon Kiesow to lead as chair of the Website Committee and he has come back with some wonderful ideas and suggestions. However, it has been a slower process than I had hoped for.

But we have begun to change, sometimes in spite of ourselves. Thanks to our members, we now have a Facebook group page, a TV Quarterly Contest Facebook group, a NPPA Flickr group, and a NPPA LinkedIn group. 

Shawn Montano is offering the Edit Foundry. His goal is to help anyone who edits video improve their skills. This week he has a discussion on dissolves. Check it out. Region One has a blog under the direction of Sarah Evans. Sarah has been active in keeping up on news in the region. Kudos to her for her dedication.

I have clamored for several years to change the website and we are working on it. My goal is to see more blogs be active on our site. Look for more changes coming in the next several weeks.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, it brings another realization of all that I have to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my job in this time of economic downturn in our industry. I have friends who have been laid off and others that face layoffs in the near future. Indeed we are in tough economic times.

Today, I am thankful for my health. As I write this, my wife is at a funeral home with my pastor’s wife making arrangements for his funeral. He died yesterday after fighting brain cancer. He leaves behind a wife and three children.

I am thankful for my family. My family and in-laws are enjoying the holiday together. It became a special celebration when my daughter got her invitation to serve in the Peace Corps for 27 months on Tuesday. She leaves for Rwanda as a Peace Corps volunteer in January. She is in the first group of volunteers to be sent to Rwanda since the genocide occurred almost 15 years ago. So this will be our last Thanksgiving together for a couple of years.

The more I reflect on my life, the more I find myself thankful for what I have and my loving family.

Digital Railroad (DRR) has announced it is suspending operations and members of the service may only have 24 hours to access their images.  Members were greeted with a notice of the closing earlier today when they logged on to their account according to News Photographer. There is much speculation in the industry that Photoshelter may attempt to purchase Digital Railroad. Currently, Photoshelter is offering current Digital Railroad subscribers a special offer to move their images to Photoshelter.

The National Press Photographers Association sent out an e-mail blast to our members this morning warning of the impending closure of Digital Railroad. In the e-mail, members were encouraged to immediately back up any images stored at Digital Railroad on their own, and consider using the Photoshelter offer. The NPPA had formerly had an agreement with Digital Railroad and felt the necessity to inform its members after the recent problems at DRR. 

Within a half hour of the blast going out, I had a phone call from one member who had joined DRR in early October. He thanked us for the heads-up, but was concerned about the charges for his account. While we talked, he looked and found that his credit card had not been charged. I encouraged him to immediately contact his credit card company and inform them to deny any charges. If you’ve recently joined DRR, you may want to look and see if your card has been charged.

For several weeks, the news about Digital Railroad has been bad. First there were the staff reductions and changes in management and then a recent e-mail stating that the company was not having any luck finding additional funding to keep them functioning at their previous level. The e-mail stated that:

effective October 15, 2008, the company has initiated a reduction in staff and expenses while it continues the funding effort.

News Photographer ran a story today and attempted to contact Digital Railroad to verify some information on their current financial woes, however, no one was answering the phones.

While I was at PhotoPlus, there was no lack of rumors about the situation at Digital Railroad. Over and over, I heard people say, if you’re a Digital Railroad member, make sure you back up to your own hard drives any critical images.  This is probably good advice, no matter what service you use. As John Harrington stated recently on his blog, 

I would be making darn sure I was downloading all of my needed files immediately, if for no other reason than to have a backup of them (even if they (Digital Railroad) remain in operation),

With the current state of business in this industry, every photographer needs to make sure they are doubly protecting their Intellectual Property. There is no assurance that a company will be able to protect your images if they go into liquidation. In todays world it can happen overnight. So be careful.

PhotoPlus opens Thursday at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC. It is considered the top photo trade shows and will draw hundreds of exhibitors including the NPPA. We will be in booth 1757. Executive Director Jim Straight will be in the booth all three days. I’ll be at PhotoPlus on Thursday afternoon and Friday. Stop by and introduce yourself. Both Jim and I’d love to meet you.

I was saddened today to hear of the loss of photojournalist Dave Garrett and pilot John Downhower who were in a KTRK-TV ABC 13 News helicopter when it crashed in route to a breaking news story outside of Houston. Our prayers go out to the families and co workers in this tragic loss.

According to News Photographer,

The station said they lost contact with the aircraft around 11:15 a.m., and that there is no word on what caused the crash.

KTRK-TV later aired the last footage received from the helicopter. The final seconds of video showed that the aircraft banked sharply to the right before the screen went to black.

The FAA is currently investigating the crash. Read more in the News Photographer story.

After the late night move by the US Senate, the House of Representatives were respectful of their duty to deal with the Financial Crisis and seemed to ignore the House version of Orphan Works. The House has now adjourned, but Orphan Works may not be dead this session. It is possible that the House will return in lame duck session and could take up several bills. Jeff Trexler has given a good perspective of what happened this session.

As photographers, we need to stay on top of this issue. When Congress convenes next year, I am hopeful that we will have made a push to write to lawmakers stating our views on this change to copyright law. One of the best suggestions I’ve heard is to approach this issue from the fact that we are small business owners.

The leadership of the Senate pulled a fast one when they “hotlined” Senate Bill 2913 or known to us as the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works bill. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) pushed this bill through with an amendment that opens the door for the House of Representatives to act and make this law. 

I had seen postings on this, but found the actual indication of passage here. This is incredible!! The nation stands at a catastrophic economic concern, and Senators are considering other bills. What is wrong with our political system? Hotlining allows the leaders of both parties to send a bill to each Senator and give them a time to respond. There is no roll call vote. If a Senator does not vote, it is considered a “yes” vote. This is reprehensible to do this while giving lip service to our current economic situation.

I urge you to contact your US Representative and express your feeling about them possibly voting for Orphan Works this weekend. You can find your representative here.

The 51st Flying Short Course has finished day one in Boiling Springs, North Carolina at Gardner-Webb University. The national faculty packed up late in the afternoon and boarded a plane for the second stop, Arlington, Texas this evening.

John Harrington shares his business experiences and how to effectively negotiate

As can be expected, the new Canon 5d Mark II was the hit in the exhibit hall as students and pros tried their hands at the new DSLR that also records video. 

NPPA Secretary Denise McGill tries out a Canon at the FSC

Last night, I got to hold and play with the Canon 5D mark II. Canon has the camera available for attendees of the Flying Short Course. The FSC starts this morning in Boiling Springs, North Carolina and moves tomorrow to Arlington, Texas and winds up on Sunday in Portland, Oregon. The camera will be available at all three stops.

Several of us got to play with it while having dinner at the Hwy 11 Family Restaurant in Chesnee, SC. Joining me at that dinner were national faculty David Honl, EC Board Rep Tom Costello, and the Canon reps. OK, let me put the big question to rest, you can autofocus in video mode. 

I’ll add more to this post later this morning.

As I write this, several faculty and staff are landing in Charlotte. The Flying Short Course is beginning to pick up steam and should roll down the runway tomorrow morning around 8 a.m.

John Harrington will be the first speaker and I firmly believe that his workshop is one that all visual journalists need to hear. I heard John speak last year and was blown away at the great information he had to share. All too often, photojournalists neglect the business side of their freelance work. John will challenge you and more importantly help you be a better businessperson in the field of photography.

Oh, btw, have you seen, Reverie, the movie Vincent Laforet did on the Canon 5d Mark II? Well the camera will be shown at the FSC. The FSC will be the first public viewing of the camera. 

Haven’t registered yet, Well it’s not too late, you can register at the door. The stops are scheduled for:

Friday- Boiling Springs, North Carolina
Saturday - Arlington, Texas 
Sunday - Portland, Oregon

The NPPA’s 51st annual Flying Short Course is getting ready to take off this Friday morning in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, then on to Arlington, Texas on Saturday and winding up on Sunday in Portland, Oregon. I’m excited about the FSC and the faculty who will be presenting at the three stops. Additionally, there will be local faculty at each of the stops.

It is not to late to get in on this training for the changing industry. Whether you are looking for help with running a freelance business, honing your lighting skills, jump-starting multi-media or plunging head first into video, this is the place to start. You can register at the door in all three locations.

The national faculty this year are:

Regina McCombs - video skills
So you’ve begun shooting video and wonder how to take it to the next level? The Poynter Institute’s Regina McCombs will talk about raising the bar and how to improve your video skills and storytelling techniques.

John Harrington - business
John will discuss how he handles the business-side of photography, from pricing to negotiations, client relationships to logistical challenges.  How can you better negotiate? How do the needs of editorial and commercial clients diverge and intersect? How might you handle a book deal, a magazine assignment or corporate clients? During this presentation we’ll touch on these topics and more, as you learn how to handle your business better and more efficiently.

Dave Honl - Lighting
David will share his small flash location lighting techniques with FSC attendees. For the past 4 years, he has covered assignments in Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Kazakhstan, where he has led the charge for small, lightweight location lighting.

Kelly Jordan - Producing multimedia
The role photojournalism plays in today’s newsrooms is constantly changing. Many photojournalists are struggling with higher demands for content with little training, resources and limited production time. We will have a conversation to talk about some of these issues and some tips to help today’s photojournalists cope with the rapidly changing landscape.