The AP has unveiled a new web platform giving their customers better access to its vast collection of news and archival images.
AP Images’ new platform offers quicker search speed with type-ahead functionality, infinite scrolling, curated collections and an elegant design with image rollovers and larger thumbnails providing users with a much improved experience. It also makes image downloads faster, sharing photos simpler and a user’s workflow more efficient with the ability to tag images with multiple project names.
Take a look here

→ View all AP Images articles on PAN

As part of a new relationship between UK picture library association BAPLA and PhotoArchiveNews.com we will be reporting on the work BAPLA is doing to uphold image copyright protection through the UK and European Law creators. here’s their latest update:

ERR Bill becomes law

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which includes changes to UK copyright law, has been passed by Royal Assent. This dramatic turn of events took the creative industry by surprise, as in the last update the bill had returned to the House of Lords to review clauses on estate agents, only to be passed on 24 April. Read the full press release from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills – here.

This development means that the clauses (clauses 74-78) the creative community wanted to continue debating and amend at the House of Commons cannot be changed. However, this is not where it ends – BAPLA still has an important job to do regarding secondary legislation, which refers to the practical application of primary legislation. This is where the BAPLA lobbying team will be crucial in ensuring that the concerns of our industry are listened to and changes implemented by the IPO.

In our last update we reported on the dialogue BAPLA is engaged in with the IP minister, Lord Younger of Leckie, instigated by our very own lobbyist. We are now scheduled to meet the IP minister in early June for a discussion about secondary legislation. We will seek reassurance from the IP minister that these significant changes to UK copyright law will not have a detrimental impact on BAPLA members’ businesses, and will also impress upon the IPO that our members’ concerns need to be heard.

On Wednesday 1 May, after a swathe of articles in the news about copyright changes passing into UK law, the IPO released a document setting out how the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 will affect photographers. You can read ‘The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 – Your Photos and You’ – here and the IPO ‘myth and fact information document’ – here.

© BAPLA – British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies

BAPLA are also working on a fact sheet about the copyright changes which we will report on soon….

Picture Editors at Newsweek and The Palm Beach Post were winners at the The NPPA – National Press Photographers Association’s Best Of Photojournalism 2013 Newspaper Picture Editor of the Year awards.
The picture desk team at the LA Times and zReportage by photo agency ZUMA were among the honours.
Full details here

Also: ‘RJ Sangosti of The Denver Post was named the National Press Photographers Association’s Best Of Photojournalism 2013 Photojournalist of the Year’ – here

Frankfurt base photo agency epa -european pressphoto agency- is celebrating it’s tenth birthday with a collection of the most outstanding epa images spanning the past decade has been compiled as a slide show (above) available also an e-book.
Hannah Hess, Editor-in-Chief of epa, said: “Ten years ago the then existing epa staff in Europe and the many new epa colleagues around the globe boldly joined hands to push their vision of the different angle in photo journalism forward from a European perspective to a global perspective. It is a great pleasure to see that none of the energy has been lost over the years. Based on the full dedication, professionalism and creativity of the epa team we will continue to further enhance epa’s photo journalistic quality in the years to come.”

EPA was founded in 1985 by seven European news agencies. The agencies, AFP of France, ANP of the Netherlands, ANOP (now Lusa) of Portugal, ANSA of Italy, Belga ofBelgium, dpa of Germany and EFE of Spain were motivated by what they saw as a lack of alternatives to the Anglo-Saxon picture services offered at the time.
Thanks to Photographer Robert Goddyn who worked for EPA during the Yugoslavia war for helping with this article

Salt Lake City based photo agency Newscom have announced the launch of a new photo resource, a sister company, Pixation Images providing ‘creative content for commercial use.’
Pixation Images is providing travel, stock, lifestyle, and creative imagery from stock photography partners like akg-images, Cultura, Danita Delimont , DPA, imagebroker,Robert Harding , and Tetra Images.
Commenting on the launch, CEO and President of Newscom, Scott Calder , said, “We are certain that Pixation Images’ combination of the world’s most advanced digital media technology plus its enormous and rapidly growing library of creative imagery will delight our customers. Moreover, we add thousands of images daily and continue to develop and implement innovative technologies to help users find exactly the image they need. We help our customers find amazing needles in very large haystacks.”
The new platform will provide Newscom’s commercial clients with a welcome alternative,” said BJ Warnick, Vice President of Sales, Rights, and Licensing at Pixation Images and Newscom.

Updated article:

Specialist health, beauty and wellness image library urbanlip.com are re-running their popular offer from last year’s Fotofringe. …and the winner is:

‘We’re thrilled to announce that the winner of our fotofringe competition is Eve George, picture director of Daily Mail, YOU Magazine.

She was only one lip away from guessing the number of cherry lips in the jar – which, for anyone who is interested, was 860.

Eve will be luxuriating in £150 worth of lavish treatments at URBAN RETREAT, Harrods.

Meanwhile, for those needing a hand or an extra pair of eyes to source luxurious, highly desirable health, beauty and wellness content, just give the team@urbanlip.com a brief and we’ll get busy searching the archives.’

The details published on 23 April
“Pamper Yourself with urbanlip.com! – Win £150 Worth Of Urban Retreat Spa Vouchers At fotofringe courtesy of urbanlip.com, the specialist health, beauty and wellness image library.”
“Come and visit us at fotofringe, Art Gallery Foyer, table AGF/17 for a chat about premium imaging ‘beautiful women’ related and guess the number of ‘cherry lips’ in the jar. The closest estimate will be luxuriating in £150 worth of lavish treatments and grooming services at URBAN RETREAT, Harrods.”

Register for Fotofringe here – free to image buyers
Read Fotofringe details on PAN fotofringe London – 24 April for creative & editorial photo buyers
See who’s at Fotofringe and the floorplan at Kings place

Joanna Smith who was by the side of Cepic President Alan Smith [owner of picture library Topfoto] for the formative years of 1997 to 2009 and Chairman in the founding years of Bapla died peacefully on the 19 April 2013 aged 75 years.

A private funeral will be held today at 11:30am close to Joanna and Alan’s family home in Kent, UK.