After 22 years as a prominent Seattle photo gallery, Benham Gallery closed its doors in December 2009 and will launch a virtual iteration called Benham Fine Art.

Owner Marita Holdaway, a former PhotoMedia Photography Person of the Year, said the new site (benhamfineart.com) will allow clients to browse through artists' pages and review or purchase prints. Interested users will still be able to set up personal consulting appointments.

Benham has held more than 500 exhibits and propelled the careers of local photographers, such as Phil Borges, Peggy Washburn and Bruce Barnbaum.

With enhanced security scanners being implemented in airports by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, the International Imaging Industry Association (I3A) is advising that all low- and high-speed film needs to be hand-inspected.
I3A suggests that printed circuit-board film as well as medical, consumer and motion-picture film, graphic arts materials, and storage media devices are at risk...

A new website titled Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow (dpBestflow.org) was launched at the end of last year by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and the Library of Congress to definitively outline up-to-date guidelines for best digital photography practices.
On the website, users can learn how to preserve and categorize their images, read about the current best practices...

Between waiter/waitress and ad salesperson at No. 126 — that's where a career as photographer will land you in the rankings of 200 best and worst jobs of 2009, a list compiled by CareerCast.com. Even lower down the totem pole, photojournalist came in at No. 189, between firefighter and butcher. Looking for a slightly better photo job? Photo processor came in at No. 90.

The criteria for this ranking included physical demand, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook. Since the 2008 report, photographers maintained the same ranking, but photojournalist dropped 22 positions from No. 167.

In a legal battle over the definition of personal morality in a photography business, the New Mexico state court has ruled that a photographic enterprise is a service, not a form of artistic expression, and is required to follow anti-discrimination laws.
Elaine Huguenin, a New Mexico-based wedding photographer, was first taken to court in 2006 after refusing to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony between Vanessa Willock and Misty Pascottini...

Since the January release of Apple's latest must-have creation, the iPad, magazine publishers have been anxious to get a bite of this new e-reader's potential audience and market share.
Among the list of hopeful users, Time Inc. hopes to create SI Tablet, a digital version of Sports Illustrated magazine with multimedia and photo imaging capabilities. The SI Tablet would further entice e-readership with incentives such as access to twice the number of images offered in...

Photojournalists have been in Haiti since day one, documenting the aftermath of the 7.0-magnitude Port-au-Prince earthquake that ravaged the country on Jan. 12.

Among the photographers covering the disaster was Miami Herald staffer Patrick Farrell, who won a Pulitzer Prize last year for his coverage of 2008's Hurricane Ike, which devastated Haiti. Others, such as Washington Post photographers Carol Guzy and Niki Kahn and AP photographer Gerald Herbert, flew into the neighboring Dominican Republic and drove across the Haitian border from the eastern side of the island. Most photographers arrived within 24 hours of the disaster by small planes, carrying news crews and rescue aid...

Ad revenue for magazines has plummeted in the past year across the nation, affecting both small publications and large media corporations. Coupled with decreased print readership, this shift in magazine trends equates to layoffs, fewer pages, mergers and closures.

According to Mediaweek Monitor, the hardest hit publications are photo-centric magazines such as American Photo, with a 59 percent difference in ad pages from the same time last January; Skiing...

Since creating the popular Black Star Rising blog (rising.blackstar.com), New York-based photo agency Black Star has redefined itself as a popular new source for photographic news and information. The site celebrated the publishing of its 600th post in August.

With 19 contributors from across the United States and the United Kingdom, Black Star Rising encompasses a variety of information from marketing and legal experts as well as many photographers and photojournalists. ...

In July, Associated Press photographer Mannie Garcia joined the copyright lawsuit brought by the Associated Press against California-based artist Shepard Fairey over Fairey's now-infamous Barack Obama poster.

In 2006, Garcia shot a photograph of Barack Obama while freelancing for the AP. In 2008, Fairey used Garcia's image as a reference for his Obama poster. The AP and Garcia are now suing Fairey for copyright infringement, and the courts must determine whether Fairey is protected under fair use laws...