KOAT, the ABC affiliate in Albuquerque, N.M., issued a written apology to the Rio Grande Sun for using a photograph from the weekly newspaper's web site without permission. The station, owned by Hearst-Argyle Television, also paid the paper $2,300 in legal fees incurred in pursuing the copyright infringement.

The Sun printed the apology, while its managing editor commented that the problem was all too common and that frustration had led the paper to "draw the line." The picture in question was aired in conjunction with an item about the arrest of a Pojoaque, N.M., substitute schoolteacher on drug charges.The station credited the image to the newspaper with type on the screen.

As we were preparing this issue’s biennial coverage on photojournalism, Hurricane Katrina was, unfortunately, right on cue, providing one of the biggest stories for photo coverage since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

One of our features already in progress was to profile three of the leading independent photo news agencies in the business — Polaris Images, World Picture News and ZUMA Press — and concentrate on the most notable news stories since our last photojournalism issue. Their cooperation was key to making this story possible.

When Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast and left New Orleans underwater, that cooperation extended to helping us present our four-page pictorial of the biggest natural disaster in American history...

After emerging from receivership earlier this year, Ilford Imaging, based in Mobberley, England, has succeeded in restructuring its operations to maintain its presence in the marketplace. The black-and-white photographic manufacturing company, established in 1879, was able to remain in business by selling land at its Mobberley headquarters to an investment company on the basis that the plant would remain.

Ilford Photo is the trading name of Harman Technology, the company under which the new enterprise trades, and is the brand that will be used for all monochrome products...

AgfaPhoto, based in Leverkusen, Germany, has completed the first stage of insolvency proceedings, initiated in a Cologne district court in late May. Under a plan of reorganization, comparable to a Chapter 11 reorganization in the United States, AgfaPhoto has begun restructuring its operations and finances with the intention of emerging from insolvency by October or November. As part of the reorganization, staff will be reduced at the German headquarters and production facilities.

A court-appointed administrator has determined that AgfaPhoto will be a viable company, capable of succeeding in the marketplace, once it has reorganized.

Getty Images recently established two new services for its customers:a subscription-based licensing service, called Creative Express, and a Chinese-language web site with content developed for the Chinese market. Subscribers to Creative Express pay a fee for access to more than 50,000 images selected from the Photodisc and Digital Vision collections, available at gettyimages.com.

All imagery included in Creative Express is provided with modeland property releases, plus full indemnification. The service offers monthly and annual subscription options, multi-user discounts and high-resolution image upgrades, which are available...

As part of ongoing efforts to adjust to the decline in demand for consumer film and photographic paper, Eastman Kodak is taking action to streamline its worldwide manufacturing operations. In all, Kodak plans to eliminate 12,000 to 15,000 jobs by 2007, trimming its work force to around 50,000.

Consolidation at the company's plants in Windsor, Colo., and Harrow, England, have resulted in the closure of a paper manufacturing operation in the company's home town of Rochester, N.Y. Other Rochester operations that recycle polyester waste and process polyester raw material also will be combined, with some of those services being contracted to outside firms. In addition, Kodak will reduce capacity...

First, I would like you to know how much I enjoyed the landscape issue [Summer 2005]. Something intrigues me, though. I have David Muench’s book “Portrait of Utah,” published, I believe, in 1989. On page 7 of the book, there is an image of White Canyon taken at the same time as the image running on PhotoMedia’s cover. The color and contrast of the two images is remarkably different. PhotoMedia’s cover definitely has more punch and the color is flaming when compared to the book’s rendition of the nearly same image. I have been to White Canyon and know that the canyon walls do not look like the cover’s image. I am not being critical of the magazine but would love to know who boosted the color and contrast of the cover’s image; David or Marc Muench or the magazine’s editors?

I recall that a few years ago PhotoMedia ran Jack Dykinga’s photo of Coyote Canyon [Spring/Summer 2001] on the cover and the color of that image didn’t match his well-known published images of the same shot. I think both covers looked great, especially if you weren’t familiar with the places in question, but, if the magazine’s editors chose to alter the color of the images so radically, shouldn’t the viewer be told and it would interest me what the photographers had to say about the alteration.

Claire Curran
Santa Ana, Calif.

The publisher responds:

Good question! We do our best to be as true to the photographer’s intended color as possible when we reproduce their photos in PhotoMedia. There are, however, variables that influence our ultimate rendition of that color. Your comments assume there is one definitive print and/or exposure of the photo, which may not be the case. Additionally, when original (digitally scanned) RGB files are converted to CMYK for printing, there is almost always a color shift, which must be corrected. Also, in CMYK, there are various colors that are virtually unprintable and must be adjusted to approximate what the photographer had in mind. Finally, color can further alter on press, when the ink is hitting the page. This entire process of color reproduction, while extremely careful, is totally subjective — that is, no two people see color the same. You might say that all photos in PhotoMedia have been altered to some degree. In the case of David Muench’s cover photo, he actually requested that we add contrast and saturation to the color, which we did, and is what you noticed.

Canon has expanded its camcorder line with two new models, the 4.3-megapixel Canon Optura 600 and the 2.2-megapixel Optura S1.

The Optura 600 combines a camcorder with a 4.3-megapixel digital camera. Simultaneous photo recording allows users to capture still images while shooting video. The CCD works alongside an RGB primary color filter for crisp images that can be printed up to 8.5 by 11 inches.

For accurate exposure, the model lets the user...