Benjamen Chinn dies at 87; photographer documented San Francisco's Chinatown - Los Angeles Times

Benjamen Chinn dies at 87; photographer documented San Francisco's Chinatown - Los Angeles Times: "Benjamen Chinn, one of the few Chinese American photographers to live and artfully document street scenes in San Francisco's Chinatown, has died. He was 87.

Often photographing from the doorway of his home in Chinatown, Chinn began training his camera on his neighborhood in the late 1930s, but his most productive years were from 1947-1949 while he was studying at what is now the San Francisco Art Institute"

Photographer, Author, Bill Jay, 69

Photographer, Author, Bill Jay, 69: "COSTA RICA (May 14, 2009) – Photographer, professor, and popular author Bill Jay, 69, founder of the program of photographic studies at Arizona State University, died Sunday in Samara, Costa Rica, where he lived in retirement, according to friends.COSTA RICA (May 14, 2009) – Photographer, professor, and popular author Bill Jay, 69, founder of the program of photographic studies at Arizona State University, died Sunday in Samara, Costa Rica, where he lived in retirement, according to friends."

Fotolia Launches Free Stock Photography Bank PhotoXpress

Fotolia Launches Free Stock Photography Bank PhotoXpress: "Fotolia, a marketplace for microstock photography and video, is launching PhotoXpress, a free, premier-quality image bank, which will offer users royalty free image licenses for personal or professional use, ranging from Web site design to advertisements and editorial imagery.
Patrick Lor, president of PhotoXpress North America, says the site will feature a collection of more than 350,000 images and illustrations, but Lor’s ambitions are to have close to a million photos available free of charge. Lor, who also holds the title of president of Fotolia North America, recently joined the company. Lor previously helped to build rival and now Getty-owned iStockPhoto, which he helped co-found (Lor left in 2006, shortly after Getty acquired the startup for $50 million)."

SNE JAPAN DIGITAL CAMERA FIRMS SHOW MIXED PICTURE OF FY09 SHIPMENTS

SNE JAPAN DIGITAL CAMERA FIRMS SHOW MIXED PICTURE OF FY09 SHIPMENTS: "TOKYO, May 18, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- SNE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- While overall worldwide shipments by the top eight Japanese digital camera makers are forecast to dip only mildly in fiscal 2009 by one per cent year-on-year to 95.27 million units, projections by individual companies show a wide gap. Sony Corp. (TSE:6758) is the most pessimistic of the bunch, predicting a two million unit plunge to 20 million units in fiscal 2009.
'Rather than lowering prices and increasing unit-term sales, we aim to secure profits even if it means a smaller sales volume,' Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda said.
Canon Inc. (TSE:7751), the world's top digital camera maker, also expects digital camera shipments to decrease by 1.7 million units to 23.9 million units. The company estimates that sales at its camera division will fall 18 per cent in the current year through December 31."

Massachusetts wants to imprison people for 10 years if they take a nude photo of their over-60 spouse, even with spouse's consent - Boing Boing

Massachusetts wants to imprison people for 10 years if they take a nude photo of their over-60 spouse, even with spouse's consent - Boing Boing: "Disaboom reports on an idiotic bill that would make it a crime to 'photograph with 'lascivious intent' a person over the age of 60 or a person with a disability who has been declared mentally incompetent.'"