Alongside stock agencies, imaging companies are also facing large cuts in profits and jobs. Kodak, Sony and Canon have all reported losses in earnings, forcing them to lay off workers.

Eastman Kodak announced that it would eliminate up to 18 percent of its workforce, or 4,500 jobs, this January. This is up from its estimate last year that 1,500 jobs would be cut in 2009. The company reported marked decline in several of its key businesses last year. Sales of camera equipment fell 36 percent, for instance...

Amid layoffs, reorganizations and market imbalance, a number of photo stock agencies have decided to trim the royalty rates they pay for rights-managed images.

The changes began in September 2008, when Alamy announced that it would reduce its royalty rates from 65 percent to 60 percent. A few weeks later, during the 2008 PhotoPlus Expo, Corbis senior vice president Don Wieshlow said Corbis would lower its rates from a range of 45 to 50 percent to 40 percent as contracts come up for renewal...

It's not easy to encompass a clear vista of well over a million people in one image, but a new panoramic mount, called the GigaPan Epic, appears ready for the job.

Demonstrating the capabilities of the new motorized mount in spectacular fashion this January was photographer David Bergman, who created a monumental image of President Barack Obama's inaugural address. The panorama became an overnight sensation as one of the most viewed photos on the internet. In the first five days after the historic occasion, more than 2 million people in 186 countries viewed the image...

Youth in Focus (YIF) netted more than $80,000 in support of its mission at its 12th annual Doublexposure 2008 auction on April 18. The event offered images by local and national professionals, plus the best works by YIF students. One student piece sold for $1,200.

The auction was held at the Armory in Seattle's South Lake Union Park. Sponsors for the event included Getty Images, Safeco Insurance and Museum Quality Framing; images were donated by...

In an effort to make copyright processing more efficient, the U.S. Copyright Office is in the process of transitioning from a paper-based to a web-based registration process.

The conversion has resulted in a temporary backlog of paper applications that could cause receipt of a certificate to take up to eight months. The Copyright Office is encouraging users to begin registering claims using its online Electronic Copyright Office...

The G2 Gallery in Venice, Calif., held its grand opening March 8 with a private exhibition featuring the works of nature photographer Tom Mangelsen. The gallery doors opened on March 11.

G2, the brainchild of Dan and Susan Gottlieb, is an environmentally conscious gallery that seeks to educate the community by displaying works of distinguished nature and wildlife photographers. The Gottliebs plan to keep the gallery strictly for artists who work with environmental themes; it may also venture into art outside photography.

The gallery plans to donate 15 percent of sales to environmental organizations, including...

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has added a new search service that allows members to list themselves as assistants. The "Find an Assistant" engine is a free, ASMP-members-only benefit and is currently still in a gamma-test phase.

The application has been designed so that chapters can borrow the search engine and place it on their regional websites. ASMP's national board may consider options to open the service to the public, but currently intends...

The Red Gum Creative Campus in Anaheim, Calif., has opened new rental facilities that include five studios designed for shooting specific subjects.

For example, an Automotive Studio, ideal for photographing vehicles, has ceiling heights of up to 28 feet and an in-floor turntable to spin subject cars. Red Gum's Water Studio is set up for above- and below-water shooting and liquid effects. A Product Studio also includes overhead hoists for heavy-duty product photography...