Does the end of Windows XP support mean trouble for photographers using it?

Does your computer run on Microsoft Windows XP? If it does, you're not alone. As of the end of last month, NetMarketShare reported almost 30% of computers world-wide are still running Microsoft Windows XP, more than three times the total number of Apple computers running all versions of OSX.

As of April 8^th, Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP. That means Microsoft will no longer be providing security fixes, and other critical updates and patches to the 13 year old operating system.

You might ask if the end of Microsoft Windows XP support signals upcoming trouble for its users? In my opinion, it does!

Websites which strip image metadata may face future copyright liability

In the US District Court of the Southern District of California, Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel is hearing the case of Steven M. Gardner, vs. CafePress Inc. (Case No. 3:13-cv-1108-GPC-JMA).

CafePress.com's website allows users to upload images for printing on items like hats, T-shirts, other clothing, mugs, home decor, etc. Mr. Gardner has alleged CafePress facilitated the storage and sale of his photographs of Alaskan Wildlife, infringing on his copyright, in large part by stripping the metadata, containing his copyright information, from his images. He has claimed that before CafePress disabled access to his images in response to his lawsuit, more than $6,000 in merchandise printed with his images had been sold.

The crux of the case is the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), it's “safe harbor provisions,” and the automatic stripping of image metadata, including copyright information which some websites like CafePress perform.

Calumet Photographic bankruptcy update: Contact Information for those with rental equipment and other issues

As reported here earlier this month, on March 12th Calumet Photographic, the US based photography store chain filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and closed all their US locations. The Calumet stores in the United Kingdom, and elsewhere in Europe, being financially separate entities from the US company, are unaffected by the US bankruptcy.

By the middle of the day on March 14th, the Calumet US website, as well as their Twitter and Facebook accounts were shut-down.

There are many US Calumet customers who are currently holding photography gear rented from the company, and currently unable to return the gear, due to the store closures. Others have prepaid orders at the company, while others have Calumet US store based credits.

Unreturned rental gear from bankrupt Calumet Photographic isn't owned by renters

For many of us in the photography world, it was a sad day today, when we learned that Calumet Photographic in the US filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy on March 12th, and closed all their stores in the US.

Apparently their employees were given no warning of the impending bankruptcy, and many have personal belongings remaining behind the locked doors of Calumet's stores. They appear to be completely in the dark about what will happen next, and when they can retrieve their belongings.

Calumet was an important part of the communities in which they had stores, not only selling equipment to professionals and amateurs alike, but offering quality classes for photographers at affordable prices.

Daylight Savings Time and your Digital Camera

In most locations of North America, we are about to reset our clocks, moving the time forward one hour, in the “wee” hours of the morning, on Sunday, March 9^th, to begin “Daylight Saving Time,” or “Daylight Time.” In some parts of North America, such as the states of Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation lands there) and Hawaii in the US, and most of Saskatchewan in Canada, “Daylight Time” isn't used. They stay on “Standard Time” throughout the year.

North America isn't alone in the world moving it's time forward in the spring and back in the fall. Across the globe, 79 nations use “Daylight Time” in at least part of their country. The Falkland Islands stay on “Daylight Time” throughout the year. Most countries on Earth, 159 at this time, remain in “Standard Time” all year.

For those countries which use “Daylight Time,” the date on which “Daylight Time” starts and ends varies from country to country, set by government regulation or law. It also varies according to which hemisphere each country is located, north or south.

Since photography began, photographers have always been cognizant of the time of day, both because it can dramatically affect their work, both outdoors and inside, and for image documentation.
I hear the question, “When is the best time of day to shoot?” often. The answer is, of course, every time of the day is the “best” time to make photographs, as the light at these times can each set a particular mood, feeling, or tone, giving an opportunity to show the same scene in far different, and multiple “lights.”

Photography Exhibition: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - An Enduring Vision

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, periodically has terrific photographic exhibitions. An Enduring Vision: Photographs from the Lane Collection definitely one such exhibit and it's ending soon.

This exhibition will run through March 30, 2014