Photocase Blog – Creative Stock Photography that's good for your eyes.

Rock climbing with gregepperson

Written by an.ne - Posted in Photographers talk about their photos - There are 0 Comments

This month, we asked our Californian photographer, rock climber and mountain biker gregepperson to tell us more about one of his photos for our feature “Photographers talk about their photos.” Here’s the story behind his photo “Team of climbers rapelling”.

(Editor’s Note: The writing of this article coincided with the fight on Mount Everest that happened earlier this week. We’re glad to hear Miyolangsangma kept the peace.)

A photo by gregepperson

Our objective was a new route on the Angel Wings Massif, a group of granite peaks in the region that includes Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Late season storms in this Sierra Nevada mountain range of California can come in fast, cold and very wet. Years of experience in this terrain influenced our decision to abandon this climb and descend. Our intuition was good, a violent storm appeared in the next few hours. The climbers are quickly and carefully checking their set-ups for descent and rope retrieval. I use a 14mm linear corrected lens on projects like these, it helps minimize the edge distortion and works well in confined spaces like this small ledge. The photo was taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II (ISO 100, 1/400 @ f10).

Thanks, gregepperson. Head to his user profile here.

How to use Photocase photos in your Newsletter

Written by dexter - Posted in Handbook for photo buyers - There are 1 Comment

A newsletter without pictures is like a door without a handle. Have you ever wondered if you can use Photocase photos in email campaigns? If yes, then it’s your luck day because that’s the topic of today’s new feature “Handbook for photo buyers.”

Let’s say you’re dog owner and your Golden Retriever is your best friend and always at your side. On long walks together, you often think about your dog, your life, your dog’s life. Let’s say you have a blog about dogs and you already have a loyal readership built up. Wouldn’t it be nice to keep your audience up to date with a snazzy newsletter?

Newsletters need text, but they also need photos. Good photos can make an unexciting newsletter exceptional. Recipients tend to click on photos or graphics more often than on text links. And the old “a picture is worth a thousand words” is doubly-true when it comes to newsletters.

Where can you get photos that are good for your eyes, your wallet and can be used worry-free in your newsletter? (Royalty-free stock photos, to use the technical term)? Duh: from us, Photocase.

Our dog photos (but not just our dog photos) are perfect as teasers, and direct your readers straight to the latest article on your blog.

sample_newsletter01_en

You can also use them to illustrate your articles. We call that “editorial usage” (which means the photo is used to support the text).

sample_newsletter02_en

What do I have to keep in mind?

Well, you need to include a photo credit. The credit tells people where the photo is from and who the photographer was who created it. When you buy a photo, we give you the proper credit, all you need to do is copy and paste it. If you can’t include a credit because it won’t fit, won’t look good, or some other reason, you can buy an omit copyright license.

If you plan to use the photo in a newsletter about the Kama Sutra, the health advantages of smoking or to promote your religious cult that believes that the Moon is made of chunky peanut butter, please read our FAQ entry called ”Are there restrictions or prohibitions against using photos in certain contexts?”

Grab a fresh cup of coffee and read our Terms of Use through. It’s not exactly Shakespeare but it lays out in clear terms what you can do with Photocase photos, and it’s a lot shorter than Hamlet. The really relevant bits are in sections 2.2 and 2.3. If you still have any questions, just contact our friendly support team. We’re here to help.

Woof.

The sweet little dog in the logo of the newsletter is from sivaprakashravi / vecteezy.com

Email from Hong Kong

Written by an.ne - Posted in Uncategorized - There are 0 Comments

OMG, a bug! – a photo by Kai

We received this worrisome email from Kai. The shock of a 3D bug is going to take us some time to digest. More news from Hong Kong soon.

The big 5: Photo songs

Written by an.ne - Posted in Uncategorized - There are 0 Comments

We’re into lists at the moment. Recently, we shared with you what we use, read or watch at the moment in our team profile post. This week, we got inspired by the German radio show Sanft und Sorgfältig with Jan Böhmermann und Olli Schulz and their awesome feature “The big 5″ (e.g. The big 5 chocolate bars, The big 5 snacks you can buy at the gas station) and decided to compile another list for you. It’s photography related, of course. And also has to do something with music. It’s a top 5 list of our favorite songs about photos and photohgraphy made by Johannes and here it is:

Number 5: Paul Simon – Kodachrome (1973)

Paul Simon’s homage to Kodak’s Dia film, in which he not only reveals himself as a Nikon fan but also praises the colour quality of the film.

“Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away”

Number 4: Duran Duran – Girls On Film (1981)

Duran Duran’s hit starts off with the triggering sound of a camera. According to Wikipedia both, manager Paul Berrow and photographer Andy Earl claimed afterwards to have supplied the camera for the recordings. In fact, it was recorded with a Nikon camera, that Paul Berrow had borrowed for the day from his father. The video had been censored due to too much nudity to be shown on MTV.

“There’s a camera rolling on her back, on her back, and I sense the rhythm humming in a frenzy all the way down her spine”

Today, you can find an uncensored version on Vimeo, but it’s missing the camera sound at the beginning:

If you want to hear the camera trigger, check out the song on hier bei TapeTV

Number 3: Outkast – Hey Ya! (2003)

Admittedly, Outkast’s hit from 2003 has only little to do with real photography – except for the metaphor “shake it like a polaroid picture” and because this line is so dominant and at the same time so great (although Polaroid said you shouldn’t shake their instant photos), that we thought that our list needed this song.

Number 2: Spoon – I Turn My Camera On (2004)

Yes, the dancing robot is cute, but actually the song itself is pretty sad. It’s about a lonesome photographer, who hides his broken heart behind a camera. Before we all get too depressed now, note the funky beat!

Our number 1: Urban Cone – Urban Photograph (2012)

For those of you, who follow us on ThisIsMyJam, you might recognize this song. It’s full of energy, has a catchy keyboard melody and a dancing beat. No wonder, it has been played a lot on the radio, clubs and our office.

“we don’ mind if you take a photograph”

Want more photo songs? Here’s a whole Spotify playlist.

Photocase team profile: What we use read or watch

Written by dexter - Posted in Uncategorized - There are 1 Comment

Every day, someone at the office praises a new app, TV show, website or book. I find it always very interesting to hear, what the others use, read or watch. That’s why I asked around and today I would like to share that list with you! Feel free to add your recommendations in the comments!

Peter

Which websites do you visit often or even on a daily basis?
sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/, silversevensens.com, kottke.org, seriouseats.com, grantland.com, reddit.com

Which apps or programs do you use often?
MS Word, Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, timehop

What are you reading at the moment?
Gomorrah – Roberto Saviano, God Emperor of Dune – Frank Herbert

Which TV series are you watching?
The Wire (again), Justified, Archer, Community

Any new passions?
Brewing Beer, making food I’ve never made before

Johannes

Which websites do you visit often or even on a daily basis?
Spiegel Online (German), Last Gas Station, Soundcloud, fuckyouverymuch.dk

Which apps or programs do you use often?
Öffnungszeiten, Foursquare, Move The Box, Fruit Ninja

What are you reading at the moment?
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Which TV series are you watching?
Game Of Thrones, Justified and (soon again, finally) Breaking Bad & Dexter

Any new passions?
Playing golf with Tiger Woods (on the Wii), riding my bike on ice-free streets

Theresa

Which websites do you visit often or even on a daily basis?
Facebook, Zeit online (German), Pinterest, SLOMO (German), Jewels

Which apps or programs do you use often?
Theresa uses a mobile phone with buttons and a small screen.

What are you reading at the moment?
Cereal Magazine, Kinfolk Magazine, SisterMag, Ernest Hemingway: A Moveable Feast.

Which TV series are you watching?
No TV series at the moment but TV shows like Bambule und Bauerfeind (both German)

Any new passions?
Food photography and food styling, everything with sweet potatoes, homegrown herbals

Anne

Which websites do you visit often or even on a daily basis?
Photocase , Facebook, ThisismyJam, BOOOOOOOM!

Which podcasts are you listening to?
This American Life , Sanft und Sorgfältig (formally known as “Joko und Klaas mit Olli und Jan”, very funny German podcast)

Which apps or programs do you use often?
Foursquare, Instagram, Loopcam, HowDo, Timehop, Zeit App, DRadio, Svpply

What are you reading at the moment?
Heat by Bill Buford

Which TV series are you watching?
Justified, Mad Men, Homeland, The Walking Dead, The Big Bang Theory

Any new passions?
Rendering walls and homemade Knödel (best thing in the world you can do with leftover buns)

Kai

Which websites do you visit often or even on a daily basis?
Ebay, Spiegel Online, Pitchfork, Lookbook, Queer.de, DPReview

Which apps or programs do you use often?
WhatsApp, Facebook, Feedly

What are you reading at the moment?
Spex (German magazine) and a book about Buddhism

Which TV series are you watching?
The Wire, The Big Bang Theory

Any new passions?
Things you can gratinate with cheese

Frank

Which websites do you visit often or even on a daily basis?
Photocase, Twitter, Feedly, Radsport News, Dribble, Google Analytics, Medium.com

Which podcasts are you listening to?
Sanft und Sorgfältig, Star Talk

Which apps or programs do you use often?
Twitter, Gmail App, Kindle, Spotify, Basecamp, Feedly

What are you reading at the moment?
Magazines: Rouleur, Reportagen Book: Responsive Web Design, A Short History Of Progress

Which TV series are you watching?
Community, Tageschau (German news broadcast), Entourage, Louie

Any new passions?
Twins