AP Images, the photo licensing branch of the Associated Press (AP), has won a multi-year contract to secure commercial licensing rights to images of National Football League games. Getty Images had possessed the rights since 2004.

This is the second sports deal finalized by AP Images this year, a contract with the NCAA was inked in February for commercial distribution rights of championship photos. AP also owns editorial licensing rights for all sports images...

Attorneys representing California artist Shepard Fairey in his legal dispute with the Associated Press (AP) over copyright ownership of a Barack Obama presidential campaign poster image are now citing a legal defense called, the doctrine of unclean hands‚ to help negate claims of copyright infringement.

The doctrine states that parties cannot seek damages for an activity in which they partake themselves. Referencing this doctrine, Fairey's team maintains that the AP regularly uses images in stories without permission from the artist...

Tamron has introduced the SP AF60mm f/2.0 Di II LD (IF) Macro 1:1 lens, a life-size macro lens designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras, with APS-C-size image sensors with a maximum aperture of f/2.0.

The lens is compatible with Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts and covers an equivalent angle of view of 93mm when using 35mm format. It offers an...

Canon has created two new ultra-wide 17mm and 24mm tilt-and-shift lenses for 35mm photography.

The TS-E 17mm f/4L has a +/- 6.5 ° tilt and +/-12mm shift for a wider view. The TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II has a +/- 8.5 ° tilt and +/-12mm shift for greater movement. Both lenses are equipped with aspherical and UD lens elements to minimize chromatic aberrations.

Compatible with all Canon EOS cameras, the...

In addition to the 150 educational workshops offered each year by Santa Fe Photographic Workshops (santafeworkshops.com), the photographic resource center began offering individual mentorship programs in January.

After an initial orientation, students are paired with one of the 12 photography professionals affiliated with the studio, who include Nevada Wier, Arthur Meyerson, Sam Abell and Elizabeth Opalenik. The program focuses on each student's particular aspirations, whether it is to enhance technical skills, capture a personal style or generate career advancement, and includes assignments, critiques and mentor consultations...

Noted photojournalist and master printer Pirkle Jones died on March 15 of heart failure in San Rafael, Calif. He was 95.
Famous for his portraits of migrant farm workers in the 1930s and leaders of the Black Panthers in the late 1960s, Jones was known for his striking social and political imagery. He worked closely with photographers Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, who helped hone...

Canon has released two new professional photo printers: the 10-color (photo black, matte black, gray, cyan, magenta, yellow, photo cyan, photo magenta, red and green) Pixma Pro9500 Mark II and the eight-color Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printers.

The Pro9500 Mark II printer uses Lucia pigment-based inks for long-lasting, professional-quality prints and outputs in three levels to create true black-and-white photographs. The 7,680-nozzle head prints pictures one and a half times...

In April, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announced plans to enter the next phase of its planned gallery expansion.

The plan, which was originally conceived in 2007, was put on hold until this past April, when the museum got the go-ahead to resume development. While construction won't begin for a few years, the museum plans to double its gallery space to 100,000 square feet.
With the expansion, SFMOMA will also begin augmenting its curatorial, conservation and library programs...

Helen Levitt, an American photographer noted for her black-and-white images of New Yorkers during the 1930s and 1940s, died in her sleep at her home in Manhattan on March 29. Levitt was 95 years old.

Born in Brooklyn in 1913, Levitt first turned to photography after dropping out of high school in her senior year. Looking for more inspirational activities, she began work as a photography assistant for...

Bend, Ore.-based photographer Kevin Kubota was awarded the third annual Monte Zucker Memorial Humanitarian Award during the Wedding & Portrait Photographers' International Convention and Trade Show, held in Las Vegas.

Kubota received the award for his philanthropic work with Bend's Family Photo Day...