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Glenn Ruga, Photographer, Graphic Designer, Activist & Founder, SocialDocumentary.net joins Host Scott Sheppard to explain his background and passion for using photography to promote global awareness of issues. Finding a lack of a centralized location where people could go
to find this type of work, Glenn decided to create a website which allows photographers to showcase their image journals and provide a platform where students, researchers, or reporters can go to see these photos.

Glenn explains that photographers often participate in these critical issues either while on assignment or simply because they are passionate about the cause and topic as seen in this photograph by, Daro Sulakuri. Glenn discusses the types of exhibitions included on SocialDocumentary.net many of which are short collections done by both amateur and professional photographers. Although many social documentary photographers have and maintain their own websites, Glenn encourages them to post a few images of their story with description and links to help increase awareness of their work and their chosen issues.

Glenn and Scott also discuss some tips on how to begin creating a photo-documentary journal and details on how to submit images to the site, submitting exhibits are free but there is a small annual fee to maintain your story. Glenn emphasizes it’s important to build a relationship with their subjects and consider the background and overall story behind the images they want to capture demonstrated in this image by Deb Marcano.

To find out more, or submit your own work visit: http://socialdocumentary.net/ Glenn also runs a design firm dedicated to helping non-profit organizations, visit: http://www.vizcom.com/

The McNamara Report on Inside Digital Photo with Michael J. McNamara
This week’s topic: Panasonic dives in deep with its latest cameras

On January 27, 2009 Panasonic invited a horde of Who’s Who journalists from the US and Europe to Miami to show off its newest compact cameras. The weather was great and the beach was hot, but some of us wound up tossing our cameras into the ocean…Find out what drove us to that extreme in this segment of the McNamara Report.

Listen in on the McNamara Report segment or get more photo insights and analysis on a variety of topics from Mike McNamara at: http://www.mcnamarareport.com.

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Option-Click or Right-Click HERE to download this radio program (mp3)

Yvette Roman, Wedding & Portrait Photographer joins host Scott Sheppard for some insight and perspective on the impact of VPS LLC’s recent patent suit against Pictage on her photography business and what this action means to professional photographers selling their work online. Yvette, a longtime Pictage client, received a notice from Pictage raising their fees effectively immediately. Yvette uses Pictage’s services for online proofing and remote print sales and fulfillment. Yvette explains the benefits of working with Pictage, including the ability to store and access her archives off-site providing her instant access to her high-resolution images.

VPS LLC., in their suit, also went after some individual photography studios. Rather than panic, Yvette did extensive research to find out the details of the patent and shares her findings. She explains that Pictage’s services involve an online conversion and replacement of high-resolution and low-resolution images handled on their server which was the root of VPS’s patent and their suit costing Pictage millions in unpaid royalty fees which they passed onto their clients. The suit has since settled and Pictage’s new fee structure is in place.

Yvette also researched some other lab options including services offered by DigiLabs and RedCart which are not effected by VPS’ patented technologies. She advises other photographers to look into these services carefully, and encourages them to ask whether their business model is affected by VPS royalties or patents.

Yvette also explains some details about her work. She primarily shoots on film and then scans her original work for digital finishing, in a hybrid workflow. She feels her traditional approach has helped her carve out a niche in her local wedding market and shares some anecdotes to consider.

Find out more about Yvette’s work at: http://www.yrphoto.com

The McNamara Report on Inside Digital Photo with Michael J. McNamara
This week’s topic: Sony’s latest HD Mega-Camcorder: Is it a DSLR replacement?

At CES 2009 Sony introduced a new HD camcorder that’s bound to catch the attention of still photographers. On the one hand, the HandyCam HDR-XR520V (@1500 street) does all the things you’d expect from a decent Sony HD camcorder, like capture hours and hours of high quality 1080i HD video to its 240GB hard drive, plus reveal detail in low light with the help of its new sensor and bright 15X optical-stabilized lens. On the other hand, it crosses the line into high res still photography by capturing 6MP still photos (Sony claims 12MP still capture, but that’s after interpolation) to a Memory Stick Pro DUO. Plus, it has a built-in GPS receiver for geotagging location information to both still photos and movies. Learn more about this camcorder and why it might bring more than a smile to serious photographers in this segment of the McNamara Report.

Listen in on the McNamara Report segment or get more photo insights and analysis on a variety of topics from Mike McNamara at: http://www.mcnamarareport.com.