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December 2, 2008 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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by Gabby Salazar |
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The 2nd annual Microsoft Pro Photo Summit was held in Redmond, Washington at the Microsoft corporate campus July 11-12th. An invitation only event, the summit brought together industry professionals from across the globe. David Vaskevitch, Microsoft CTO gave the opening keynote presentation with an exciting introduction to new technology and the future of photography. Also a photographer, Vaskevitch shared some of his images throughout the presentation.  David Vaskevitch, the CTO of Microsoft, gives the opening keynote of the summit. Photo by Chris Greene.
This year, there were 12 panels on a variety of topics relevant to the professional photographic community including “The Business of Photography,” “Impact of Digital,” and “Too Many Megapixels.” In between panels, software and tech representatives had three minutes to “wow” and blew the audience away with software demos, new image formats and new editing tools.  Attendees in the summit room watch as David Vaskevitch, CTO of Microsoft gives the keynote presentation and shows some of his photographs. Photo by Chris Greene.
On the first day of the summit, the winners of the 2007 Microsoft Future Pro Photographer Photo Competition were announced. College and university students around the world entered over 15,000 images and category winners were selected for Nature and Landscape, People and Portraits and Fine Art. A grand prizewinner was also selected to receive $20,000 cash, a Dell computer, Canon 30D SLR, Epson printer, Adobe Creative Suite and a personal portfolio review by Corbis. The category winners for People and Portraits and Fine Art were in attendance. Sadly, Zhang Minjie from Chengu University in China, the Grand Prize winner, had trouble with a visa and was unable to visit the United States. He sent a video to thank Microsoft and wore an “I Love Microsoft” t-shirt that he made for the event. To see the winning images visit: http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/galleries/fppc07_gallery.aspx.
 Jeff Greene, Technical Evangelist of the Rich Media Group at Microsoft, stands between Sarah Wright (right), the first prize winner for the People & Portraits category in the Future Pro Photographer Competition and Paul D. Van Hoy II (left), the first prize winner for the Fine Art category. Photo by Chris Greene.
The panel on copyright and orphan works sparked a heated discussion between summit participants and panelists. The unauthorized use of photographs has become more likely with Internet circulation and the professional community is concerned about copyright protection. According to the panelists, “orphan works” legislation will go through in congress. When panelists asked the audience who had read the executive summary of “orphan works” legislation, it was surprising how few people raised their hands. All professional photographers should research the issue because it will affect their business.  The panelists of the Copyright and Orphan Works panel from left to right: David Trust, Chase Jarvis, Jule Sigall, Jonathan Band, Maria Pallante, and Vic Perlman. Photo by Chris Greene.
How many megapiexels do we actually need? Some manufacturers said we will reach a saturation point, while Hasselblad joked that the sky is the limit. One participant compared 39 megapixel cameras to luxury cars. The numbers will keep going up.  Attendees, including some of Microsoft's Icons of Imaging, gather for a photo. From left to right: Matthew Jordan Smith, Phil Borges, Colin Finlay, Bambi Cantrell, Sarah Wright and Gabby Salazar. Photo by Chris Greene.
During the “Still Versus Video” panel, one of the speakers commented that the panel was unnecessary because successful photographers have to combine still and video. While panelists and summit participants had different views on the future of still photography, most agreed that video and the ability to rip stills from video is necessary for photojournalists. One of the representatives from Microsoft Live Labs shared new software called Photosynth with the audience. Photosynth takes a group of photographs, analyzes them for similarities and organizes them in a three dimensional space. You have to see it to believe it! For a preview of Photosynth technology, go to labs.live.com/photosynth. A highlight of the summit, the attendee party at the Bellevue Arts Museum brought summit participants together to socialize and network. Many of the conversations were centered on the future of the industry and connections were made between companies, photographers and publishers. The winning images from the Future Pro Photographer Competition were displayed above the bar.  Winners of the Microsoft Future Pro Photographer Competition are displayed at the attendee Party at the Bellevue Arts Museum. Photo by Chris Greene.
Tim Grey, Senior Technology Evangelist hosted the event and helped to bring the pro photo community together to communicate and to respond to the needs of photographers. The summit was a success – packed with information, connections and inspiration. The ideas exchanged will certainly trickle down into the consumer and prosumer markets and will influence the continuing evolution of the entire industry.  Kostas Mallios (left), Senior Director of Rich Media Group at Microsoft, shakes hands with Tim Grey, Senior Technology Evangelist of the Pro Photo Community team at Microsoft and host of the summit. Photo by Chris Greene.
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