Is This the Most-Viewed Photo of All Time?, Bliss, Mona Lisa, Charles O’Rear’s photo, Charles O’Rear

Is This the Most-Viewed Photo of All Time?
July 16, 2012 by Todd Wasserman


It may not be as well known as the Mona Lisa, but Charles O’Rear’s photo, Bliss, may have been viewed as many times, if not more.
Published in 2002, the photo got most of its distribution as the default desktop wallpaper for Microsoft’s Windows XP’s “Luna” theme. O’Rear snapped the photo while he was on break from another assignment in California’s Napa Valley. O’Rear, a former National Geographic staffer, didn’t disclose what Microsoft paid for rights to the photo, but O’Rear has said it’s “extraordinary.”

Long acknowledged for its exposure across the globe, the photo drew attention once again on Monday when a photo blog claimed the audience for the photo at 1 billion. The entry got wide circulation on Google+.

However, O’Rear told Mashable that the 1 billion figure “has always been a guesstimate.” However, “All the folks I talk with agree it is the most ‘recognizable’ photo ever. If it were shown to a villager in rural China, for example, good chance they would recognize it. If it were shown to astronauts on the ISS, good bet they would know it, too. I have seen it appear in photos of the White House situation room, the Kremlin, etc.”

Can you think of a photo that might have been seen more times?

Image copyright of Microsoft, thumbnail courtesy of Flickr, Mike Baird

UK Wedding Photographers Driven Bankrupt by Angry Customers

[News] UK Wedding Photographers Driven Bankrupt by Angry Customers

This is a situation that seems to be getting more and more common. A couple in the United Kingdom were so upset by the atrocious images they received from their wedding photographer that they demanded a refund. Unfortunately Westgate Photography went out of business. The photographers had charged a paltry £750 (about $1200 USD), and the bride and groom obviously overpaid.
To me, the problem here is less that Westgate Photography (owned by Ian McCloskey and Nikki Carter) shot the wedding, but more that couple hired them thinking they would get an amazingly documented wedding. The price point is far too low, and the couple likely did no research into what kind of results they were to expect from the now bankrupt business. The bride and groom asked for a refund, but unfortunately the photographers went out of business and were only able to pay back half their investment. McCloskey said that “They were the first couple we had a complaint from. If I could have paid all the money back I would’ve.
They weren’t happy with the images and neither were we. We did all we could to try and make it right. We ended up with terrible photos and put our hands up to that and we have attempted to pay them back as much money as we can but unfortunately we are going bankrupt.” McCloskey added that they had set up the business “at the wrong time” and had decided to call it a day to ensure the same thing didn’t happen to anyone else.
He said one of their cameras broke and rather than give the couple half the number of pictures they offered them all of them. Yay.
Below are some examples of the photos from the wedding. Full story and More Photos: [DailyMail]

Source: Fstoppers.com

Have A Blog..? Earn Money With URL Shortner...
adfoc.us

Google Doodle Pays Homage to Street Photographer Robert Doisneau

Google Doodle Pays Homage to Street Photographer Robert Doisneau
by Alex Fitzpatrick on Mashable

Today’s Google Doodle features photographs from the famed French photographer Robert Doisneau on his 100th birthday.

Born April 14, 1912, Doisneau was one of the original street photographers — he wandered the streets of Paris snapping away with his Leica camera decades before thousands of Brooklyn’s hipsters would do the same throughout Williamsburg.

Doisneau picked up street photography at the age of 16. He entered the world of professional photography in a creative graphics studio and was later hired by French carmaker Renault. After being fired, he became a professional photojournalist and never looked back. He served as a war photographer during World War II and was appointed a Knight of the French Legion of Honor before he died in 1994.

“Le baiser de l’hôtel de ville (Kiss by the Town Hall),” a photograph of lovers kissing in the streets of Paris taken in 1950, became his most famous work. Doisneau was once sued by a couple that mistakenly believed themselves to be the pair in the photograph, because French law dictates that a person owns the copyright to their own likeness.

Doisneau won the case after revealing that he asked a different couple for permission to take the photograph. “Lovers kissing in the street, those couples are rarely legitimate,” he said while explaining why he didn’t take the shot without permission.

What do you think of today’s Doodle?

The Christmas Google Doodle

Each package gets larger with a mouse-over, and a click on it returns search results pertinent to a specific country or the particular items featured in a scene. This one is from December 24, 2010.

---

Charlie Chaplin Google Doodle

The Google Doodle team stars in an homage to the silent film era's greatest star's 122nd birthday, April 15, 2011.

---

Google Logo Repelled by Cursor

This one's done in HTML5 and was published Sept. 7, 2010. To get the full effect, here's one you can interact with.

---

John Lennon Google Doodle

This Doodle commemorated John Lennon's 70th birthday in October 2010.

---

Martha Graham

Debuting May 10, 2011, this Google Doodle marks dance choreographer Martha Graham's birthday.

---

Robert Bunsen

Commemorated the birthday of the inventor of the Bunsen burner, German chemist Robert Bunsen on March 31, 2011.

---

Thomas Edison

The great inventor's birthday was honored on February 11, 2011.

---

Independence Day

Marking Independence Day 2010.

---

Pac-Man's 30th Anniversary

A real crowd pleaser was this playable Pac-Man game, which appeared on May 21. 2010. Here's aplayable version.

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/04/14/google-doodle-robert-doisneau/

Veteran Bangladeshi photographer Al Haj Mahammad Zahirul Haq watches Sachin Tendulkar reach his 100th ton, Bangladesh v India, Asia Cup, Mirpur, March 16, 2012

Veteran Bangladeshi photographer Al Haj Mahammad Zahirul Haq watches Sachin Tendulkar reach his 100th ton, Bangladesh v India, Asia Cup, Mirpur, March 16, 2012

©ESPNcricinfo Ltd 

Veteran Bangladeshi photographer Al Haj Mahammad Zahirul Haq watches Sachin Tendulkar reach his 100th ton, Bangladesh v India, Asia Cup, Mirpur, March 16, 2012©ESPNcricinfo Ltd 

Life of nigerian sex worker in italy

Life of nigerian sex worker in italy
Paolo Patrizi's photo series “Migration” documents a young Nigerian woman who sells her body on Italian roadsides through her own accord so she can send money back to her family. “Most migrant women, including those who end up in the sex industry, have made a clear decision to leave home and take their chances overseas,” the photographer says. “For many girls prostitution in Italy has become an entirely acceptable trade and the legend of their success makes the fight against sex traffickers all the more difficult.”