The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have each introduced versions of an "orphan works" bill this April. Orphan works are created compositions that are copyrighted but for which it is difficult to locate the copyright owner or the owner is unknown.

The Copyright Office has attempted to make orphan works public domain for many artists and institutions. In 2006, a similar bill was introduced but was highly unpopular with many groups and was later withdrawn.

Both new proposals would require the creation of an extensive public database of current works before either bill could become law, a feature lacking in...

The same day that Getty Images announced that it had accepted a $2.4 billion buyout by private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman, shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that the stock agency had not looked after their interests and had accepted an undervalued bid.

The long-rumored deal, worth $34 per share, was confirmed on Feb. 25 and is expected to close in the second or third quarter of this year. The merger has been approved by Getty's board of directors, it was still subject to shareholder approval at press time.

Securities and Exchange Commission filings for the transaction indicate that Getty had left room for better offers. Bids well over $40 per share had been tendered by other parties, but in settling with Hellman & Friedman, Getty had to take into account...

Sotheby's reported record bids for its photography sales in New York on April 7 and 8. All three auctions on the block during the two-day period exceeded estimates, for a total of more than $17.3 million.

Twenty-five artists were represented in the works at auction, including record-setting sales for Diane Arbus, Paul Strand and Edward Weston. According to Denise Bethel, director of Sotheby's photographs department, only 26 of 300 lots did not sell.

The April 7 evening sale of the Quillan Collection of 19th and 20th century photographs spotlighted 68 unique images dating from 1847 to...

"I will always work on those classic landscapes," Soloway says. "But what really drives me is this search for how I can show the essence of different natural communities in a way that really cuts to the heart of what they're about."

Soloway's goal is to get away from shooting an overall location and concentrate on getting to the essence of the scene.

"I'm thinking less about the particular "here is the place' and thinking much more about what it's like to sit in a dark summer hardwood forest, what it's like to be in the forest at night in a windy storm, and trying to come in and capture...

Think Tank Photo has announced the release of the Hydrophobia 300-600, a rain cover specifically designed to be premounted for quick deployment.

In inclement weather, photographers can attach the Hydrophobia over their lenses before going into the field. When rain threatens, they can quickly unroll the cover over the rest of the lens and body.

The Hydrophobia uses a "film" coating rather than a "spray" coating applied to the underside of the fabric, as well as...

Daguerre Canvas 400 gsm is a specially coated artist canvas with a tactile surface texture that makes it perfect for fine-art photo printing. Its bright-white color offers great contrasts for black-and-white reproductions.

Monet Canvas 410 gsm is a genuine artist canvas with a special coating that is ideal for...

Adobe Systems has announced the Photoshop Express public beta, a free rich internet application (RIA) available to users who want to store, sort and show off digital photos with special effects. During the beta period, Adobe will solicit Photoshop Express user feedback to increase product features and functionality.

Photoshop Express allows users to store up to 2GB of images, make edits to their photos, and share them online via downloading and uploading from popular social networking sites, such as Facebook.

Photoshop Express empowers anyone to make standard edits, such as...

Eastman Kodak has announced a new high-resolution CMOS Image Sensor that combines two new Kodak technologies to produce higher-quality pictures from a smaller sensor. The Kodak KAC-05020 Image Sensor combines the Color Filter Pattern technology with a new CMOS pixel to create the world’s first 1.4-micron, 5-megapixel device.

The Kodak Truesense Color Filter Pattern adds panchromatic or clear pixels to color ones in order to collect higher proportions of light, increasing capture in low-light and fast-action scenarios. The Kodak Truesense CMOS Pixel re-engineers the...

Porter Case has introduced the PCX Lite series of luggage designed as a semi-hard side-wheeled airline carry-on with a built-in trolley feature that can carry up to 100 pounds of other baggage.

The luggage case weighs less than 10 pounds for easy lifting. It has a heavy-duty Extension Handle System with one-button control for up and down, and a one-button case release to convert it into the CART position. In addition to the...

Lofty recollections from the inventor of "height photography."

Situated 746 feet above the waters of San Francisco Bay on May 24, 1987, photographer Peter B. Kaplan was fulfilling his lifelong dream of capturing majestic images from atop one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge.

At the same time, however, he thought he was about to get a bird's-eye view of one of the world's greatest catastrophes.

The event was the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1.7-mile-long icon. Kaplan, who had practically invented an entire genre of photography shooting images from tall structures, which he termed "height photography" recently had been named the official photographer of the Golden Gate Bridge...