Photo Club

If you haven’t heard, Digital Railroad is in the process of shutting down—quickly.

Stock Artist Alliance has some details here, and there is chatter all over photography sites about what went wrong, how poorly this has been handled and how angry many photographers are about the whole situation .

There will be time in the coming weeks to analyze the situation, compare different surviving online storage and marketplace options, but right now is a time for action. If you know any Digital Railroad photographers that may not have heard of this trainwreck and imminent shutdown, get in touch with them as soon as possible. Alert them to the current situation that their photos and records stored on Digital Railroad may not be accessible after midnight Pacific Time on Halloween.

Trick or Treat, indeed.

[October 31, 2008. Editor's Note: we originally published the above story  on October 30th, 2008. As the East Coast business week wound down today we recieved an alert from the Stock Artist Alliance about a potential letter of intent from an unnamed buyer. Below is an excerpt of this letter from their website.  Please visit SAA for the full text. -- Jack Howard, Editor, PopPhoto.com]

Memo from Diablo Management
Re: Digital Railroad
October 31, 2008

To Digital Railroad Members and Customers;

Digital Railroad (DRR) has been attempting to keep its servers up and running for as long as possible. However, given DRR’s current cash position, it can no longer keep these servers operational. Therefore, as early as midnight EST, October 31, 2008, the DRR website will be closed and the images located on the DRR servers will be inaccessible. DRR apologizes for difficulties and inconvenience that this creates, however, without additional capital investment, DRR has no other recourse.

These images will be preserved on the existing hardware in anticipation that at a later date they can be retrieved by their owners.  Continue reading the memo here.

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Adobe has released updates to both Lightroom and Camera Raw adding raw support for 15 additional cameras such as the Canon EOS 50D, Canon EOS 100D, Nikon D90, Nikon D700 and several Leaf backs. Updates are free for Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4 users but Photoshop CS3 users have access to raw support for the same cameras in recently released Camera Raw 4.6.

In addition to the expanded raw support, the Lightroom 2.1 update addresses improvements in areas such as Photoshop integration, 64-bit utilization for both Vista and Mac OS X 10.5, and keyword migration.

Additionally, Adobe has posted a new set of camera profiles on Adobe Labs: http://labs.adobe.com

The Lightroom 2.1 update is available at: www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/.Photoshop
For Camera Raw plug-ins, go to: www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/

DOWNLOADS WILL BE AVAILABLE AS OF MIDNIGHT, OCTOBER 22

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“If I would be in his place I wouldn’t have the strength to smile. Coal is still very much used in Chinese houses for cooking and heating and it has to be carried and distributed door-to-door by people like this man. I simply dismissed my personal worries when I saw his smile amid this burden”. Inner Mongolia. Taken by Quimdoporto

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“Usually when a hamster’s ears are down it means they’re not very happy. But this afternoon Mary had just woken up and was just generally mellow. Taken at home in the South of England. Mary lives in a cosy cage and is indulged regularly. She is very affectionate and loves to snuggle between a neck and shoulder”. Taken by Ros

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Software has long been cross-platform but now your SD and SDHC cards can be cross-platform as well, thanks to Delkin’s new SD/SDHC to CF adapter. Just insert your SD or SDHC card into this small adapter and you can use SD/SDHC cards in any CF-compatible device including cameras and card readers.

This plug-’n-play adapter is also hot swappable and comes with a 2 year limited warranty. The device is shipping now at a price of $29.99.

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Olympus, Nikon and Canon have announced firmware updates. Canon’s firmware update for the Canon WFT-E3/E3A wireless transmitter will now make it compatible on the 50D. The firmware update for Nikon D80 and D200 corrects the problem of light flashing empty, inspite of it being fully charged, commonly known as the ‘Dead Battery Syndrome’. Meanwhile, firmware v1.1 for the Olympus E-520 and E-420 improves the brightness level of AF target points in the Viewfinder.

 

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Photokina 2008: Pretec has today introduced the highest capacity and fastest CompactFlash cards in the world. Under the highest capacity come the 64GB and 100GB, 233X CF cards with a read and write speed of 35MB/s. And the 333X CF cards in 32GB and 50 GB capacities have broken the record of the fastest read and write speed with 50 MB/s. Both the cards will start shipping this month.

Press Release:

Pretec Releases 64GB and 100GB CF Card – Highest Capacity in the World

Cologne, Germany, September 23rd , 2008 － Pretec, creator of the highest capacity CompactFlash card in the world (48GB) and the fastest CF card in the world (333X) will demonstrate even higher capacities including a 64GB CF card, in the Leaf booth (West Hall 4.2, B009) and CFA (Hall 5.1, G-019) at Photokina 2008.

Continuing the revolution in the field of flash memory card speed and capacity, Pretec today releases 64GB and 100GB, 233X CF cards with access speed of up to 35MB/s, overtaking the Pretec 48GB CF card, the previous world’s record holder for highest capacity CF card; and super high speed 333X 32GB and 50GB CF cards capable of running up to 50 MB per second of Read/Write speed, the highest speed CF card in the world.

Pretec CF 233X and 333X CF cards use metal housing and ruggedized construction to provide extensive ruggedness making the card resistant to impact and shock – at least 10 times more durable than a typical CF card. With the green concept of reuse, recycle and reduce in mind, Pretec 64GB CF cards can be configured or reused to make a 256GB SATA or IDE SSD, the highest capacity 2.5” SSD in the world so far, by using Pretec Q-SATA, a patent-pending technology of flexible, scalable and modular SATA/PATA design based on up to 4 CF cards. This technology provides ultimate flexibility and ease of use, especially for those needing both CF cards and SSDs.

Pretec 233X and 333X CF cards will be demonstrated together with high performance digital cameras from Leaf, a business unit of Eastman Kodak and a world-renowned industry leader in providing cutting edge digital photography solutions, whose AFi professional camera was recently awarded “Product of the Year” at the Photoforum exhibition in Russia. The new Leaf AFi-II system delivers the fastest shooting speeds of any camera in its class, with a practically unlimited burst depth.

These speeds are enabled by advanced communication and CF technologies and Leaf Capture software. “Leaf and Pretec share a similar vision –to offer cutting edge technologies and unique products with unparalleled performance and to provide our customers with exceptional quality and satisfaction,” said Seth Greenberg, Leaf Marketing Director. “We are pleased to have chosen Pretec as our exclusive storage partner at Photokina 2008 and to witness the excitement as Pretec breaks the CF card speed and capacity world records.”

Pretec 233X 64GB and 333X 32GB CF cards with suggested retail price of $399 and $630 are slated to start delivery by Photokina 2008, and 233X 100GB and 333X 50GB are expected to start shipping by the end of 2008.

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“Was the war in Georgia just an agreement between Putin and Bush? One Latvian NGO put this posters all over Riga as part of their project”. Taken by Biljana Klisarova

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Pre-Photokina 2008: Canon has announced a pair of 10 megapixel successors to its PowerShot S5IS ‘super zoom’ compact digital camera. Both the PowerShot SX10 IS and PowerShot SX1 IS feature 28-560mm (equivalent) 20x zoom lenses, DIGIC IV processors, improved image stabilization system and wealth of new features. The SX1 IS is particularly interesting as it is the first PowerShot to feature a Canon CMOS sensor, which allows the camera to offer 4.0 fps (full resolution) continuous shooting and true 1080p HDTV movie capture at 30fps. UPDATE: While we haven’t heard this officially from Canon it does appear that the new CMOS SX1 IS won’t be available in North America.

Press Release:

Canon brings HD moviemaking and 4.0fps shooting
to its PowerShot super zoom series

Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 17 September 2008: Canon today supercharges its PowerShot digital compact camera range with two powerful new models: the 10 Megapixel PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS, which jointly replace the PowerShot S5 IS.

Both raise the benchmark for compact zooms with an outstanding 20x wide-angle (28mm) optical zoom, with USM and VCM for fast, silent, zooming. The  PowerShot SX1 IS offers a revolutionary series of features never seen before on a Canon compact camera – a 10 Megapixel Canon CMOS sensor, 4.0 frames per second continuous shooting, and full HD movie capture – while both cameras use Canon’s new DIGIC 4 processor for fast performance and richly detailed, clean images in a wide range of shooting situations.

Unbeatable reach
With a Canon 20x wide-angle (28mm) optical zoom lens, the PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS tackle everything from long-range telephoto shots to sweeping landscapes. Canon’s Ultrasonic Motor (USM) combines with Voice Coil Motor (VCM) technology for near-silent operation and the speed for sports or wildlife subjects. And thanks to Canon’s optical Image Stabilizer – which now offers a 4-stop advantage – camera shake blur is avoided even with the zoom fully extended.

10 Megapixel power
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS feature resolutions of 10 Megapixels, capturing all the necessary detail for poster-size prints or creative cropping in post processing. A Canon CMOS sensor allows the PowerShot SX1 IS to shoot full-resolution JPEGs at speeds of up to 4.0 fps – making it a powerful, pocket-sized tool ideal for capturing fast-paced action sequences.

High Definition moviemaking
For the ultimate in visual quality, the PowerShot SX1 IS delivers 1080p (30fps) High Definition video – ready for instant playback on any HDTV via a built-in HDMI connection. The PowerShot SX10 IS offers fun, spontaneous VGA movie shooting. Movies on both cameras are enhanced with CD quality stereo sound, optical zooming and Face Detection Technology; and if extra reach is required, the PowerShot SX1 IS includes Canon’s Advanced Tele-Converter for an extra 2x zoom with no loss in movie quality.

DIGIC 4: intelligent processing for better photos
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS both feature Canon’s new DIGIC 4 image processor. As well as ensuring ultra-fast operation and superb, low-noise images, DIGIC 4 drives several intelligent technologies that make great photos easier than ever.

People shots benefit from improved Face Detection Technology, which even detects faces positioned at an angle to the camera, or in profile. Face Select & Track tracks a specific subject even more accurately, while a new FaceSelf-timer function – which automatically triggers the shutter shortly after a new face enters the frame – makes group shots and self-portraits easy.

Canon’s improved Motion Detection Technology delivers fantastic, sharp results by registering camera and subject movement, then automatically adjusting ISO to prevent image blur. Blur is further guarded against by new Servo AF, which continuously adjusts focus on subjects moving towards or away from the camera.

DIGIC 4 also powers Canon’s new i-Contrast feature, which brings out great, natural-looking detail in dark areas of pictures – without blowing out lighter areas.

Total Control
For the ultimate creative precision, the PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS offer full manual control over both aperture and shutter speed. A Multi Control Dial offers fingertip access to all key settings. Plus, compatibility with a range of accessories – including Canon’s professional Speedlite EX flash units – extends creative potential even further.

Also included with the PowerShot SX1 IS is Canon’s WC-DC300 controller, which allows wireless control of shooting and playback. This is ideal for tripod shots at slow shutter speeds, or any situation where keeping a distance from the camera is preferable.

 “Both of these cameras offer exceptional imaging possibilities,” said  Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “In particular, the PowerShot SX1 IS genuinely redefines what a compact digital camera can do. This kind of power and versatility must be experienced to be believed.”
Features at a glance:

• 20x wide-angle (28mm, f/2.8) optical zoom with optical Image Stabilizer
• 10.0 Megapixels
• Canon CMOS sensor for full resolution continuous 4.0fps shooting
  (PowerShot SX1 IS)
• Full HD (1080p, 30fps) movies plus HDMI output (PowerShot SX1 IS)
• DIGIC 4 for outstanding images and fast response times
• Shooting modes include full manual control
• Great people shots with Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB plus
  Face Select & Track and FaceSelf-Timer
• Targets every possible cause of blur with High ISO Auto, optical
  Image Stabilizer, Motion Detection Technology and Servo AF
• Auto Red-Eye Correction in shooting and playback
• i-Contrast boosts brightness and retains detail in dark areas
• 2.5” vari-angle LCD II with wide viewing angle plus electronic viewfinder (PowerShot SX10 IS)
• 2.8” widescreen vari-angle LCD II with wide viewing angle (PowerShot SX1 IS)
• Multi Control Dial and customizable My Menu
• Smooth, 30fps VGA movies (PowerShot SX10 IS)

Additional Information – PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS

Printing
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS feature a dedicated Print menu for quick access to direct print options. Full PictBridge support means users can print directly to any PictBridge compatible printer without the need for a PC. A Print/Share button allows one-touch printing and easy uploads to Windows or Mac systems.

Language
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS feature a user interface that supports 26 languages: English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Romanian, Ukrainian and – new for Autumn 2008 – Farsi.

Memory Card Support
In addition to SD, SDHC and MMC memory cards, the PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS support MMCplus and HC MMCplus card formats. Both cameras are supplied with a 32MB memory card.

Software and CANON iMAGE GATEWAY
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS come bundled with the following Canon Software:

• ZoomBrowser EX 6.2 (Windows), ImageBrowser 6.2 (Macintosh): For organising and editing images, movies and slideshows, or creating and printing digital photo albums.
• PhotoStitch 3.1 (Windows), PhotoStitch 3.2 (Mac): For creating panoramic photos from multiple images.

The bundled software supports Windows Vista (including SP1) / XP SP2 and Macintosh OS X v10.4-10.5. Both cameras support PTP for driverless transfer to Windows XP and Macintosh OS X, along with MTP for image and movie transfers to Windows Vista.
Purchasers of the PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS are eligible for free membership of CANON iMAGE GATEWAY, 100MB of online ‘personal gallery’ space for sharing stills and video with family and friends.

Optional Accessories
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS can be combined with the following accessories:

• Soft Case (DCC-800)
• Canon Speedlite flash units (220EX, 430EX II, 580EX, 580EX II)
• Speedlite transmitter (ST-E2)
• High power Flash (HF-DC1)
• Off-Camera Shoe Cord (OC-E3)
• Compact AC Power Adaptor (CA-PS700)
• Battery Charger Kit (CBK4-300)
• Ni-MH Batteries (NB4-300)

Technologies Explained:

DIGIC 4
Canon’s DIGIC 4 (Digital Imaging Core) image processor manages all of the camera’s primary functions to optimize operating efficiency. Advanced image processing algorithms deliver superb image detail and colour reproduction with accurate white balance. High-speed processing results in outstanding responsiveness, rapid auto focus and extended continuous shooting ability. DIGIC 4 also powers advanced Noise Reduction Technology, i-Contrast and Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB.

Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB, Face Select & Track and FaceSelf-Timer
Canon’s Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB system automatically detects up to 35 faces within a frame before adjusting focus, exposure, flash and white balance to ensure optimal results. It is able to determine which faces are intended to be the subject, instantly reverting to the partnering 9-point AiAF system if no face is the primary subject. Face Select & Track allows the user to select a particular face to be the main subject of a photograph and track it, for the best possible results. FaceSelf-Timer allows easy group shots by automatically triggering the shutter shortly after a new face has entered the frame.

i-Contrast
Available in either shooting or playback mode, Canon’s i-Contrast function analyses the exposure, dynamic range and other image characteristics of a shot, then adaptively increases the gain in dark areas – to produce heightened detail in darker regions, without blowing out correctly-exposed parts of the image. The noise reduction function of DIGIC 4 ensures minimal noise in adjusted areas.

iSAPS
iSAPS (intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) automatically optimises key camera settings before every shot. Each scene is analysed and cross-referenced against Photographic Space – a vast in-camera library of photographic data. This enables the camera to make optimal adjustments to auto exposure, auto focus and auto white balance before image capture occurs.

Optical Image Stabilizer
The PowerShot SX1 IS and PowerShot SX10 IS use a lens shift-type Image Stabilizer (IS) system to detect and correct slight camera shakes that can cause image blur. The IS delivers a 4 stop advantage for improved performance in low-light conditions, when shooting at the telephoto end of the lens and when vibrations are more severe. It also features increased sensitivity to low frequency vibration, such as the rocking of a boat. Minute vibration gyros detect camera movement caused by hand shake.

These signals – at 8,000 per second, twice the speed of signals in conventional IS – are processed by a single-chip IS controller, which discriminates between hand shake and intentional camera movements. Shake signals are sent to the IS unit, which moves one of the lens elements accordingly to re-align the light rays and cancel out the effects of shake.

For improved accuracy and responsiveness, the moving lens element is supported on tiny ceramic spheres. In addition to minimising friction, ceramic spheres avoid some of the problems that can affect metal systems, such as thermal expansion and magnetism.

• 10 million effective pixels

• 1/2.3 " Type CCD
• 10 million effective pixels Image sizes • 3648 x 2736
• 2816 x 2112
• 2272 x 1704
• 1600 x 1200
• 640 x 480
• 3640 x 2160
• 1920 x 1080 • 3648 x 2736
• 2816 x 2112
• 2272 x 1704
• 1600 x 1200
• 640 x 480
• 3648 x 2048 Image processor DIGIC IV Movie clips • 1920 x 1080 (HD) @ 1080p
• 640 x 480 @ 30 / 15fps
• 320 x 240 @ 60 / 30 / 15fps
• WAVE (stereo) • 640 x 480 @ 30 / 15fps
• 320 x 240 @ 60 / 30 / 15fps
• WAVE (stereo) File formats • Still: JPEG (Exif 2.2)
• DPOF 1.1
• Movie: AVI (Motion JPEG compression) Lens • 28- 560 mm equiv
• 20x Optical zoom
• F2.8 – F5.7 (max)
• 13 elements in 11 groups (1 aspherical element, 1 UD element) Image stabilization Yes (Lens shift-type) Conversion lenses Yes Digital zoom up to 4x Auto focus • TTL
• AiAF (Face Detection / 9-point)
• 1-point AF (Fixed center) Focus modes • AF: Single, Continuous
• Manual
• Focus bracket AF assist lamp Yes Focus distance Closest 0 cm Metering • Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF)
• Center-weighted average
• Spot ISO sensitivity • Auto
• High ISO Auto
• ISO 80
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800
• ISO 1600 Exposure compensation • +/- 2EV
• 1/3 stop increments Exposure bracketing • 1/3-2EV
• 1/3 stop increments Shuttter speed 15 – 1/3200 sec Aperture F2.8-5.7 (max) Modes • Auto
• Program AE
• Shutter Priority AE
• Aperture Priority AE
• Manual
• Custom
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Night Scene
• Sports
• Stitch Assist
• Movie
• Special Scene
• Super Macro Scene modes

• Indoor
• Night Scene
• Foliage
• Snow
• Beach
• Fireworks
• Color Accent
• Color Swap
• Long Shutter
• Aquarium

White balance • Auto (including Face Detection WB)
• Daylight
• Cloudy
• Tungsten
• Fluorescent
• Fluorescent H
• Flash
• Custom Self timer • 2 or 10 secs
• Custom or FaceSelf TImer Continuous shooting Approx. 4.0 fps until card fills Approx. 1.4 fps until card fills Image parameters My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color) Flash • Auto
• Manual Flash On / Off
• Slow Synch
• Red eye reduction
• Flash exposure lock
• Flash Exposure Compensation +/- 2EV in 1/3 stop increments
• Manual Power adjustment
• Second Curtain Synch
• Range: 50 cm – 5.2 m (wide) / 90 cm – 4.0 m (tele) Hot-shoe • Canon Speedlites (220EX, 430EX, 580EX)
• E-TTL with EX series Speedlites, Canon’s High Power Flash HF-DC1 Viewfinder • EVF (0.40" type)
• 148,000 pixels • EVF (0.44" type)
• 235,000 pixels LCD monitor • Vari-angle 2.8" TFT
• 230,000 pixels
• Adjustable Brightness
• 100% Coverage • Vari-angle 2.5" TFT
• 230,000 pixels
• Adjustable Brightness
• 100% Coverage Other features • Playback red-eye correction
• My Camera
• Sound Memo
• Image tagging
• Orientation Sensor
• Histogram
• Playback zoom Languages English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Chinese (traditional), Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Ukrainian, Romanian, Farsi Connectivity • HDMI Mini Connector
• USB Hi-Speed
• AV out • USB Hi-Speed
• AV out Print compliance • PictBridge
• Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge (ID Photo Print, Fixed Size Print and Movie Print supported on SELPHY CP & ES printers only) Storage • SD / SDHC / MMC / MMC Plus / HC MMC Plus compatible Power • Compact AC power adapter CA-PS700,
• Battery Charger Kit CBK4-300
• Ni-MH Batteries NB4-300 Weight (no batt) 585 g 560 g Dimensions 128 x 88 x 88 mm 124 x 88 x 87 mm Read More..>>

I returned from Perpignan, France, recently, where I spent a week covering the 20th anniversary of the Visa pour l’Image festival with American Photo editor at large Jean-Jacques Naudet. While there we saw every exhibition, attended every press conference, and talked with as many photojournalism professionals as we could. Of course we wanted to bring our readers comprehensive coverage on our State of the Art blog, but also, once I was reminded of all the amazing documentary images we never see, I felt a compulsive need to see as many as I could.

I don’t have to tell anyone it’s a rough time for photojournalism: newspapers and magazines have slashed staff photographer positions and cut budgets and pages for freelancers; the value of each image has dropped significantly as competition for coverage has exploded; and online publishing, although full of potential, is currently paying small dividends and making it easier than ever to use images without payment or even attribution. Some of the most visible casualties of the industry’s un-glory days have been the big photo agencies, which have closed their doors or gotten rolled into bigger conglomerations at an alarming rate. In Perpignan I spoke with two agency heads: JP Pappis, a long-time Sigma guy who launched his own agency, Polaris, in 2002; and Christian Caujolle, the legendary semi-retired (he calls it “reorganized”) founder of Agence VU. Both of them lamented the state of photojournalism: Pappis saying he is working twice as hard today for the same results as yesterday, and Caujolle nostalgic for a time when the art of the images was appreciated as much as their monetary value. In such a climate, a gathering like Visa becomes even more important, they both said. “It’s extremely important because it’s the only place where you have all the ingredients of the photojournalism world: photographers, agencies, magazines, exhibitions, slide shows,” said Pappis. “It keeps hope alive.” Indeed, I heard several people characterize Visa as facilitating more deals in one week than happen the rest of the year.

But Visa is about refilling emotional coffers as much as financial ones. You can call it flocking together or licking wounds if you want, but I really didn’t hear too many people feeling sorry for themselves. More people were reminding each other (and themselves) that despite the hard times, photojournalists and the people that love them still think they have the greatest jobs in the world. “They can’t stop something that we love so much we’ll do it for free,” as multimedia guru Brian Storm put it so well. My favorite question of the week was, “What has gotten better in photojournalism over the past two decades?” After the initial groans and pouting “nothing” responses, here’s what I heard: 1) Visa, like the rest of the industry, continues to get more international and better connected every year; 2) the quality of the work continues to climb; 3) tons of new students are studying photojournalism, which creates its own crisis, but at least means the next generation sees the importance of the art. Now if the current generation can manage to heed pleas like Friday’s (read it, seriously, you’ll be glad you did) from Stanley Greene to respect the art, the photographers, and the people in the frame, we might be looking at a future that is not so grim after all. (Another good reason to read the comments from Greene and other top conflict photographers: With the September 11 anniversary in our minds, it’s a great way to remember the photographers who brought us the images that defined the conflicts it precipitated, and many more before.)

When I interviewed Visa’s grand master, Jean-Francois Leroy, the last day I asked him that same question: What has improved in 20 years of photojournalism? He skirted sweeping observations and instead focused on what he’s most proud of this year at Visa: He convinced 15 magazines to give 15 legendary working photojournalists interesting, long-term photo assignments. The number of images shown at Perpignan that have or ever will be published publicly seems to dwindle year-to-year, so getting 15 projects published, not just exhibited, was indeed a triumph. Considering the passion and resilience evident everywhere in Perpignan, I have hope that in another 20 years every image at Visa will be (and will have been) widely viewed by the public.

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