Friday Happy Hour: The Death of Flickr & More

Friday Happy Hour: The Death of Flickr & More

This week’s Happy Hour touches on a number of different sectors of the photography industry, but perhaps namely the business of photography. There’s the in-depth Gizmodo article on “The Death of Flickr”; Leica selling the world’s most expensive camera; Fotolia’s latest round of funding; and more. Take a look to see what interested us this week.

The Death of Flickr

Or, as Gizmodo more aptly names it, “How Yahoo Killed Flickr and Lost the Internet.” In his version of a case study, Gizmodo editor Mat Honan tells of the story of how Flickr went from its beginnings as a homely Internet startup, to its acquisition by Yahoo, to its downfall brought on by a corporate environment and forced integration.

“This is the story of a wonderful idea. Something that had never been done before, a moment of change that shaped the Internet we know today. This is the story of Flickr. And how Yahoo bought it and murdered it and screwed itself out of relevance along the way.”

If anything, just check out this post for the comments and the discussion over whether Flickr is for “serious” photographers.

Leica sets record for most expensive camera ever sold

Last weekend at the WestLicht Photographica Auction, the 1923 Leica O-Series sold for a record-breaking price of $2.79 million. Previous to that, the same model sold in 2011 for $1.89 million. Appreciating much? Watch the live video below to see how it all went down.

Friends of Anton auction raises over $100,000

This past week, Christie’s held its first-ever auction of contemporary photojournalism prints at its NYC auction house. The event marked the one-year anniversary of South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl’s death in Libya. Friends of Anton, the organization that has come together to help secure the future of Anton’s three young children, raised over $100,000 from prints by notable photojournalists like Robert Capa.

Several members of the PhotoShelter team, who helped sponsor the auction, attended the heartfelt event. “The print auction was really incredible and touching,” said PhotoShelter CEO Andrew Fingerman. Anton’s colleagues spoke, as well as his wife who shared some prepared words from Anton’s three children. Chris Owyoung, who works on the marketing team at PhotoShelter, was there and captured a few images – check them out in his gallery here.

Photo by Chris Owyoung

Caroll Taveras’ Photo Studio project on Kickstarter

Brooklyn-based photographer Caroll Taveras wants to take the concept of small-town photo studios to communities around the world. Her Photo Studio project, now on Kickstarter, says:

“Small town photo studios in the first half of the twentieth century were once abundant and in a way taken for granted. When people lived in one area for many years the relationship between photographer and subject was often long term. In an age of digital media…having access to a photo studio in your neighborhood, where everyone can be photographed with a 4×5 view camera is not only a fun activity, but a necessary addition to the historical and social documentation of our time.”

With a pledged goal of $8,500, Caroll hopes to take this project to London. To reach more about her endeavors and back her goal, please visit her Kickstarter page.

Photos by Caroll Taveras

Facebook opens on NASDAQ

At roughly 11:30am EDT today, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg rang the bell on Wall Street to officially open Facebook on NASDAQ at $42.05/share. Fortunately, someone at Facebook was there to mark the event on Zuckerberg’s timeline.

Enough said.

European stock site Fotolia receives $150 million in funds

Fotolia – the “leading” microstock agency in Europe – announced this week a $150 million growth equity investment. Fotolia prides itself on its community of crowdsourced and professional images, with other 17 million images, vectors, and videos sold royalty-free. The investment signals the apparent success – and growth – of microstock agencies.

Photos of Mexico’s drug war: 50,000 dead in 6 years

One of the latest of The Atlantic‘s In Focus photo stories centers on Mexico’s drug war, quoting more than 50,000 death since 2006. “Warning: All images in this entry are shown in full,” says the article. “There are many dead bodies; the photographs are graphic and stark. This is the reality of the situation in Mexico right now.” See the full set of images here.

Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images

Curious how Alan Taylor chooses which stories to feature? Hear him speak at Luminance, PhotoShelter’s conference this fall in NYC.

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