All of us here at PhotoGuides have been pretty darn busy with our own personal projects and work.  I for one have been working my new job, making videos and taking photos every day, as well as blogging on my personal blog and even writing for WPDaily.co. I promise I (Jacob) will keep sharing great information with you this year. Everything from first hand experiences, my new photography podcast, photo editing tutorials, videos, inspiration, and hopefully some interviews. This time I wanted to share with all of you a great new app that is in the works and is being funded via KickStarter called Pressgram.

I decided to back it with $125 because I firmly believe in it.  Not just the app itself and what it could be, but the guy that started it.  Not only am I supporting it, but at that pledge amount, I get to be a part of the beta testing of it as well.  I get to use it, test it, and be a part of the great new community it will build and be there the entire time it grows.  The blogging community that John Saddington leads is an amazing one and that is why I trust him so much.  I have learned a ton from him and his blogs over the last few years.  I trust him on this app development and the potential it has.  He has his reasons for making it, and he doesn’t mess around when it comes to getting things done. When he does projects, he does them well. Very well actually.

Why is John making Pressgram?

Head to the Pressgram Kickstarter Page to watch all the rest of his videos about why he wants this app to become a reality and what it will do.

Why is it different from Instagram?

I won’t get too deep into the details of what John had to say about it, but I will tell you some of the great points he makes.

1. You have full and complete ownership of all of your content you share on it. You won’t have to “license” your photos from the app or the company – they are yours forever and you’ll never see them anywhere else except your own profile and blog.
2. It’s going to be integrated with WordPress so you can share right to your blog with proper metadata and SEO.
3. You gain traffic on your website, not on your facebook or instagram web profile.  YOU get views, not the corporations. Higher traffic means more opportunity.
4. When people comment on the app network, just like you would on Instagram, posts are integrated onto your website or blog. This means conversations on your website both via the app and a computer.  It will be a very dynamic social experience that all takes place on YOUR wesbite.
5. Fundamentally its very similar to Instagram, but philosophically it is much bigger.  Not only is it free, but it will be much more powerful because you will be able to combine an “Instagram” type community with WordPress and many other social networks. This is big for artists as well as businesses.
6. You can easily share a filtered photo from the palm of your hand within a mobile community as well as your blog without having to do a ton of work arounds or multiple apps.  It saves you time and keeps your content your content without worrying about app licensing your content along the way.
7. It will create a brand new community of filtered photo lovers that will mostly be WordPress lovers as well.  That means high quality conversations on a social network built by wordpress developers.  That means bugs will be fixed and ideas will happen and be developed.  The app and community will just keep getting better and better and keep on growing.  It has so much potential.

For me to insert this above image from Instagram, I had to post it to Instagram and then log into WordPress separately, grab the url from Instagram to past into this post.  Time and stress can be saved with Pressgram.

What John wants Pressgram to become.

Here are some quotes that I liked best from the very extensive and descriptive page all about Pressgram over on the Kickstarter page.

You see, we believe that true creative control is not just about act and process of creating but also publication, especially in today’s digital economy.

 

This is a boon for the artist, the creative, the independent content creator who doesn’t need to worry about digital agreements or where they may end up seeing their own handiwork.

 

In an over-simplified nutshell, it’s WordPress + iOS (iPhone) + Filtered Photos.

 

And it’s going to be a 100% free download for everyone to enjoy, as long as I’m able to get this project kickstarted and the app built.

 

Yes, we’ll create a synchronization between the Pressgram network (in app experience) and your published post so that you can continue the conversation in a much larger context.

 

Finally, social sharing via Twitter and others will come right out of the box. We’ll have those for you because they are awesome.
Obviously if it’s a free app then it’ll grow faster. If it’s paid it’ll add a bar of adoption that I’m not sure I’m interested in creating. But I’m not throwing advertisements on the app so direct monetization is out.

 

Why should you support it?

No one likes to see a loading screen on Instagram or any app for that matter, so John is going to need a little help to make sure the app is solid, bug free, and efficient.  I am so in love with everything that John as to say about the development of this app. If you are a content creator and love having complete ownership of your work, you should really support John and his Pressgram project.  Not only would you be supporting the app development, but you are supporting a whole new community as well as the WordPress community.  Many of your favorite websites utilize wordpress to create and share content to teach you amazing things.  Why wouldn’t you support that?  When Facebook bought Instagram, the licensing and ownership of content definitely changed and many people left Instagram and even Facebook because of those things. Pressgram eliminates any of that bull crap. Which is Awesome.  So whether its a small pledge or a big one like mine, support this project in any way you can.  You will not regret it, because once you have it, I can guarantee you will love it.

As of January 16th, updates to Instagram’s terms of service and privacy policy mean that the app holds a royalty-free, worldwide license to all posted images.

“You agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.” It’s such a blatantly clear, aggressive statement that it’s hard to imagine how Instagram expected anything but a backlash.

Kevin Systrome, Instagram’s co-founder and CEO, has already responded to the backlash with a blog post titled ‘Thank you and we’re listening‘. It’s PR gold…

“The language we proposed also raised question about whether your photos can be part of an advertisement. We do not have plans for anything like this and because of that we’re going to remove the language that raised the question.”

Kevin’s post is more of a clarification than a concession. Instagram won’t be removing the clause entirely, but will endeavour to amend the language to make it sound less asshole-ish.

The internet’s backlash is already in full swing. #boycottInstagram was trending on Twitter yesterday with thousands of users (Anonymous included) protesting with threats of deleting their accounts. Major blogs are asking if this is Instagram’s Netflix moment – A PR disaster causing millions of users to jump ship and stock prices to tumble.

The news comes just a month after our piece on Facebook’s similar privacy policy.

We’ll wait and see how Instagram amends their terms. In the meantime, does this change the way you’ll use Instagram?

Ed Hetherington is a bit of a tease. He placed his 5D MkII next to a buffalo carcass and hid in the bushes with a wireless shutter. Sure enough, a lion came to investigate the buffalo. But it decided to eat the camera instead.

“When a lioness brought down a buffalo about 400 meters from our camp approached in the Land Rover to get some images of her with her kill. The lioness walked away out of sight to get a drink of water in a nearby stream and we placed the camera near the carcass so that she would walk past it on the way back to feed.

Instead of going back to feed on the fresh kill, the lioness decided she wanted to take the camera as a souvenir. It all happened very quickly and as soon as she picked it up we began to drive toward her – fortunately she quickly lost interest and put it down before we got close.”

Enjoy the collection! And be sure to jump over to Ed’s facebook page for the full story, and to show him some love.

I knew something wasn’t right as I wound the film back into its canister. Something had broken, but I’d managed to click 24 shots without knowing that the film in my OM10 had slipped off the winder. The film didn’t move for an entire photoshoot, leaving me with this epic multi-exposed photo.

Albeit tragic to lose such a great photoshoot, I kind of like the photo. Look within the photo and you’ll see trains, gauges, copper pipes, drivers and probably a Mini Cooper. I think my shoulder is somewhere in the middle of the frame too. This was the film companion to last week’s train driver photoshoot. Sad to lose part of the series but, looking at the crazy multi exposure that came of it, I don’t really mind!

I suspect this is an ‘everyone does it once’ kind of thing. Felt it was worth sharing here though

This is one of those ‘must see before I die’ places. Photographer Boguslaw Strempel has conquered the mountains of Poland and the Czech Republic to capture this majestic collection of sunset mountain photographs. With the vibrant sun rays bursting through trees and the fog cascading across the mountain tops, these are undoubtedly some of the most breathtaking sunset photographs you’ll ever see.

Be sure to follow Boguslaw on 500px and 35 photo!

Computer on the Beach by Kai P.

Facebook has non-exclusive rights to all content you publish on the website. The social network is able to use your images in any way they wish, for however long they please – and there’s not much to be done about it.

It may not seem like such a biggie at the moment. If you’re a beginning photographer, you might wonder the chances that Facebook would use your images publically anyway.

But everyone starts somewhere; Sam Worthington was living in his car when he was cast in Avatar. So in ten years time, when your photographs are critically acclaimed and the Guggenheim is knocking at your door, Facebook will still have the rights to use any image you ever published on the site. They will be able to create billion-dollar advertising campaigns using your photographs – and you won’t see a dime:

“For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.” (Facebook Terms and Conditions)

So what is really going on when you publish your photography to Facebook?

Zuckerberg has rights to your photography

When you post content on Facebook, you are publishing it. You are giving Facebook the rights to use it however they like:

• “Transferable” and “sub-licensable”: Facebook can give third-parties rights to your content.
• “Royalty-free”: Facebook has the right to use your copyrighted work without paying you license fees or royalties – no matter how much they make from its use.
• “Worldwide”: Facebook can use your photography anywhere, any time.

In their Terms and Conditions definitions, Facebook states:

“By “use” we mean use, copy, publicly perform or display, distribute, modify, translate, and create derivative works of.” (Facebook Terms and Conditions)

You still own the content

Facebook does not have exclusive rights to your content. It is still under your own copyright (which is created as soon as you release the trigger on your camera). You can produce, modify, display and distribute your content anytime, anywhere in the world. Essentially, you still own your photograph. You just won’t make any money from it if Facebook decides to use or sublicense it.

Deleting the content will terminate the license…sometimes

When you delete your image, the license granted to Facebook terminates. However, if your photography has been shared, and is not deleted, the license will still exist. And even if you delete the image, or de-activate your account/page, all content will exist in Facebook’s historical files:

“When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).” (Facebook Terms and Conditions)

Facebook can modify and sublicense your content

Facebook can grant a licence of your work to a third-party, and they can do so without obtaining your approval. They are also able to modify your work when they use it – think digital manipulation or marketing design for an advertisement.

Remember, Facebook’s definition of “use” includes “create derivative works of.”

Some third-party applications have rights too

Some third-party Facebook applications can use, store and transfer your content and information, and content your friends have shared with you.

“When you use an application, the application may ask for your permission to access your content and information as well as content and information that others have shared with you. We require applications to respect your privacy, and your agreement with that application will control how the application can use, store, and transfer that content and information.” (Facebook Terms and Conditions)

In summary, always check the fine print of an application on Facebook before you use it.

•

At the end of the day, Facebook enables photographers to share their work with one billion users – for free. It’s a fantastic platform for networking, promotion and client-generation, and it’s growing every day. Despite the concerns with their terms and conditions, Facebook is a great website for photographers to spread the word about their work. So if you’re going to stick with Facebook, despite their free, worldwide, sub-licensable rights to your photography, you may want to consider:

1. Not publishing your images on your Facebook page, or only publishing a few. Consider uploading low-resolution images.
2. Watermarking your images. Australian graphic designer Elle Jones says a large, low opacity watermark embedded across your image is the best solution to the problem. Corner-placed watermarks often look great, but can be easily cropped or edited out of the photo.
3. Always reading the fine print. If you are concerned about the use of your images by Facebook applications, this is a must.

Alternatively, you can steer clear of Facebook and publish your images on a private portfolio.

To read Facebook’s terms and condistions in full, follow this link.

It was a very lucky find. The famous Puffing Billy was dormant as engineers meandered with spanners and rags, twisting valves and polishing weathered copper. Coal was burning, steam was bellowing and the sun was just breaking through the clouds.

The drivers were nothing short of top blokes. I was out with a friend taking photos when we stumbled across the train, and the drivers were kind enough to let us clime aboard the engine, shovel coal and photograph them at work. It’s only a short series, but it’s a portrait collection I’m really proud of.

The photos have texture – texture unlike anything I’ve photographed before. There’s a nostalgia, a sadness and a monotony to the photos. It would be a waste to not share them with you all.

Enjoy them, and feel free to share them! Be sure to follow me on Twitter and 500px for more!

This year’s competition did not run without controversy. The winning photo was disqualified for excessive photoshopping, with slightly eccentric blog posts uncovering obscurities within the photos clouds and lighting.

As always though, the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition has presented some incredible photographs. We’ve delved through the finalists to bring you the best of the best.

The Original Winner

David Byrne’s photo won the competition outright before being disqualified for excessive use of Photoshop. Whilst the competition does allow for basic touch-ups, David’s photo was highly manipulated. He accepted the disqualification, noting that it was a misunderstanding of vague terms.

The New Winner

Simon Butterworth was awarded the top prize for his photograph ‘Condemned’.
Yes, it is an ironic choice of title.

Young Photographer of the Year Winner

Man in the Fog by Stephen Colbrook.

Living the View Winner

Fishermen on Loch Ard by Paul Bundle taken in Trossachs, Scotland.

Your View Winner

The New Forest by David Baker taken in Hampshire, England.

Classic View Winner

Delamere Forest by David Byrne taken in Cheshire, England.

Classic View Runner-Up & Judge John langley’s Choice

The Wave by Simon Park taken in Douglas, Isle of Man.

Living the View Runner Up

Colin the Shepherd at Milton Abbot by Les Bennett taken in Devon, England.

Classic View Commendations

Evening Storm over Ashey by Jamie Russell taken in Isle of Wight, England.

Bluebell Dawn by Louis Neville taken in Micheldever Wood, Hampshire, England.

Derbyshire in the Snow by Ian Lewry taken in Derbyshire, England.

Rainbow by David Mould taken in Rannoch Moor, Argyll, Scotland.

‘This Is Britain’ Winner and Living the View Commendation

London when it Snows: Big Ben and Lovers by Kayode Okeyode taken in London, England.

Your View Commendations

London City, Looking West by Howard Kingsnorth taken in London, England.

The Fairy Ring by Stephen Emerson taken in Newry, Northern Ireland.

In a bold journalistic move, TIME Magazine commissioned 5 professional photographers to cover the wrath of Hurricane Sandy via Instagram. Here we’ve compiled the most beautiful and powerful images from the experiment.

Michael Christopher Brown, Benjamin Lowy, Ed Kashi, Andrew Quilty and Stephen Wilkes explored the New York streets with iPhones to live-document people’s preparations, the power and the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Working from different locations across the Atlantic seaboard, they captured ordinary people getting ready to greet the superstorm. And when Sandy made landfall the night of Oct. 29, they braved rising floodwaters, high winds and driving sheets of rain to photograph the storm’s impact on several communities.

Be sure to check out TIME Magazine’s full collection over here. To our American readers and all those affected, I wish you all the best!

Yep, that’s the title we’re going with.

On a photographic expedition to Antarctica, Paul Nicklen encountered a 46 foot long Leopard Seal. It posed no threat, but instead began delivering live penguins to Paul as gifts. The video explains the story pretty well!

Paul Nicken is a widely regarded wildlife photographer, often working as a contributor for National Geographic magazine. Just last week Paul was awarded the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for the Emperor Penguin photograph below.

Be sure to check out Paul Nicklen’s portfolio on his website too. Otherwise, enjoy the video!