Following a request from the NYCLU, New York City has agreed to reopen the period for members of the public to submit comments about a controversial new city proposal that would require formal permits for a wide range of casual photography. Last Friday the City informed the NYCLU that it now will accept comments until Friday August 3.

The New York Civil Liberties Union says the proposed rules, as strictly interpreted, could cause selective and perhaps discriminatory enforcement by police. The ruling was designed with professional photographers and filmmakers in mind, but the obscure language draws no distinctions.

For more information visit the NYCLU's website.

With one week left in the 2007 Photobloggies nomination process, we wanted to let everyone know that Lensbabies is now sponsoring our event and offering prizes in all 25 categories!

The winner in each category will receive a Lensbaby 2.0 valued at $150 USD and the winner of "Photoblog of the Year" will get the grand prize package:

• Lensbaby 3G: [Valued at $270 USD]
• Lensbaby 0.6 Wide Angle / 1.6X Telephoto Conversion Lens Kit: [Valued at $89 USD]
• Lensbaby Macro Kit: [Valued at $33 USD]
• Lensbaby Creative Aperture Kit: [Valued at $10 USD]
• Lensbaby T Shirt: [Valued at $18 USD]
• Lenspen Pro: [Valued at $10 USD]

We appreciate Lensbabies's very generous donation and wanted to say thanks!

Remember there's only about 7 more days to make your nominations, so be sure to get on over there and nominate your favorites of 2006.

Winners will be announced at the North America Photobloggers event in April. See you there!

Bob Foss was kind enough to share some words about our friend Lynn Rockwell. She will be missed greatly. Below is what Bob wrote yesterday, February 4th, 2007.

A smile and a camera.

This is how I want to remember Lynn Rockwell, who lost her battle with lung cancer on Saturday morning. Even while suffering nearly unbearable pain, Lynn returned to Peggy's Cove – one of her favorite places for making photographs – early last week. She posted her last photograph to her blog Focus on Photography on January 28.

Lynn was a special person to me, as she was one of the first regular visitors to Forgingahead and over time we came to be close. We shared compliments, we shared suggestions of how to improve our photographs, we shared special sites we found, and ... yes, we even shared occasional gossip.

Today I spoke with Diane Varner, one of Lynn's dearest friends in the photoblog world, and we remembered how much Lynn had meant to us. Later, I followed various links from Lynn's sites and read many tributes others have written. I discovered that her personal influence extended to all corners of the world.

Many of you did not know Lynn. But many of you did. She has been an active participant in discussions at Photoblogs.org, was an original member of WeeklyShot, took part in the weekly photo critiques in the Photoblog Critique group, participated in the growth of Requestock, and was a strong support person for folks using PixelPost. I know these only scratch the surface of the contributions Lynn made to the photoblogging world.

Lynn's passing has brought home for me the power and reality of the photoblog community. Sometimes we speak about community in vague terms. Sometimes we think the connections we make online are less real than those we have with the people around us. I cannot help but feel, as Diane suggested to me earlier today, that just as a "real" community loses something when one of its members dies, so too did the photoblogging world lose a bit of its energy on Saturday.

We will all miss you Lynn.

Throughout modern history, new organizations have relied on citizen journalists to supplement images of news events regularly provided by the photojournalists they employ. Many of the most poignant images of major news events in recent years have been made by amateur photographers and regular citizens, often armed with little more than a camera phone. The larger news organizations are taking notice of this trend.

On December 5, 2006, Reuters.com and Yahoo! News began collecting news images submitted by the general public. Now anyone can upload images of news-as-it-happens onto the You Witness News website where they will be considered for use in features and articles on Yahoo! News. All submissions will appear on Flickr or a similar video-sharing site.

Editors for Reuters and Yahoo News will then organize the images to be used for various, relevant news stories. People will not be paid for use of their submissions. However, Reuters does plan to implement a system where they would pay for exclusive rights to images relating to larger news stories.

This brings up two conflicting arguments. On the one hand, it can be argued that the frequent use of citizen journalists will mark the demise of traditional professional photojournalism. Why should news organizations pay for a staff of photojournalists when they can get the images for free from anyone with a camera phone?

On the other hand, as Mike Johnston points out on The Online Photographer, the use of images and video from amateurs has been going on for decades and will continue, not to the detriment of professional photojournalism. Mike says:

Because everybody is literate and occasionally an amateur writes a good book, does that mean we no longer need book authors?...The fact is, good news reporting has always used primary source material. But having more primary source material hardly means we have less need for professional reporting.

What do you think?

You can read more about this project in the NYTimes, and check out Mike Johnston's article on his website.

(Posted with thanks to Chrys.)

Want to see your photos in a deluxe coffee table book? Then this is the contest for you. TCB CAFE Publishing & Media LLC is sponsoring their Photography Competition / Art Competition 2006.

All entries for the competition must be postmarked no later than December 15, 2006. Finalists will be announced on February 1, 2007.

First and second place winners in the two categories, A Smile Is Worth A Thousand Words and Super Heroes, will have their winning submissions included in deluxe editions of the books of the same category names.

Up to three entries submitted via e-mail or on CD-ROM will be accepted. The entry fee is $25USD for the first image and $10 for each additional image.

Check their website for more information.

Kentucky based photoblogger, Tread, has brought together 30 Toy Camera users for an international event called Toy Polloy. On Friday, November 17, 42 images from thirty artists will be displayed at the Icehouse in Lexington, KY, USA.

In an interview, Tread explained to me the origins of Toy Polloy, and various participants in the exhibit discussed their use of Toy Cameras and their Art.

Read more...

*****

If you can't make it to Toy Polloy, then check out the online exhibit, where Flak Photo and Light Leaks magazine have teamed up to feature select artists from Toy Polloy in a week-long display of their work.

Fantasy & Fantasies
Transcending the rules of the known world. Be it fantasy or personal fantasies, opportunities for creativity are limitless.

Juried by Grace Norman, Exhibitions Director for The Center for Fine Art Photography
Submissions due online by midnight November 28th, 2006

DIA International Invitational Photgraphy Exhibition
This is an exclusive two month exhibition in Denver International Airport's Main Gallery
Open theme

Juried by Tim Anderson, publisher, CameraArts magazine
Submissions due online by midnight December 28, 2006

The Art Of Digital Imagery
The intent of this exhibition is to showcase photographic art created through the digital process. All images must be printed using any of the various digital printing processes.

Juror: George DeWolfe, Senior Editor for CameraArts magazine & Author: The Digital Fine Print Workshop and Contemplative Photography
Submissions due online by midnight January 16, 2007

For more information: The Center For Fine Art Photography

Photographer James Nachtwey has won the 12th Annual Heinz Award for Arts and Humanities, the Pittsburgh-based Heinz Family Foundation announced today. The award carries a $250,000 prize.

Past winners have included academics, scientists, physicians, and artists. Nachtwey is the first photographer to receive one of the awards. Read the entire article.

Harrod Blank took his love for cameras and passion for photography to a whole new level.  His dream was to cover his van with cameras and take pictures of people as he travelled around the country.  With help from some friends, Blank has managed to do just that.  Since 1994, Blank and his van have been travelling the world, capturing people in surprise and awe.

Check out the Camera Van, and see when it will be visiting a city near you!

Dan and Jill Burkholder have made a 7 minute film about their travels to the 9th Ward in New Orleans--which is the subject of Dan's new HDR series of work that's currently on exhibit in Fresno California at the Spectrum Gallery. He speaks about the HDR technique and describes how he captured various photos in his new series of work.

"Shadows of Lives and Loss" Video