New Ideas At IDEA

24th October 2012

Issue 41/2012

Newsline

New Ideas at IDEA.

At the IDEA AGM held in Sydney on Tuesday, over 40 attendees witnessed the voting for positions on the 2013 board.

James Murray from Nikon was elected President, Marc Radatt from Olympus was elected Vice President Consumer, Rob Gatto from Kayell, Vice President Professional, and Clem Kennedy from CR Kennedy, Treasurer.

There were also additions to the current board in Stuart Holmes from IPS, Steuart Meers from Photo Direct, and Gary Pertot from Adeal. A press release from IDEA, with further details will follow.

New faces inevitably lead to fresh ideas, which will hopefully benefit us all.

PMA is, (as ever) looking to work with each of the trade associations in our industry, to try and add value for our members.

On behalf of those members, we congratulate the above gentlemen on their appointments, and look forward to future discussions on ways we can all work closer, in growing the business.

Following the elections, Katherine Singson presented the concepts and plans for next year's show.

Peter Myers from AIPP then outlined the steps they have taken, to add relevance and value in AIPP membership . Peter should be justifiably proud in raising membership in recent years from 2100 to over 3400!

Kind Regards,

Peter Rose

Director of Australian Activities

In This Issue

Celebrating 140 Years - Thornton Richards Camera House

Will Street retires

PPFA Annual Convention

Create a solution, not a problem - by Lorraine Nicholson of First Retail

The Lighter Side

PMA Calendar 2012 - 2013

Your PMA Australia Executive

National Chairperson

Phil Gresham
philip@fotofast.com.au

Eastern Region TVP

and NSW Chairperson

John Ralph

jrcamerahouse@bigpond.com

WA, SA, NT, QLD TVP

and QLD Chairperson

Andrew Mason

print@photocontinental.com.au

TAS Chairperson

Tim Jones

tim@perfectprints.com.au

VIC Chairperson

Jeff Crowley

jeff.crowley@fujifilm.com.au

SA Chairperson

Paul Atkins

paul@atkins.com.au

WA Chairperson

Murray Gibbs

murray@ggch.com.au

Director of Australian Activities

Peter Rose

prose@pmai.org

Australian Directors for PMA

John Paxton

jpaxton@paxtons.com.au

Len Sandler

len.sandler@starshots.com.au

PPFA Chairperson

Bob Smith

bob@classicframing.com.au

APCI Chairperson

Paul Atkins

paul@atkins.com.au

PSPA Chairperson

Paul Dawson

pd@hydrophotographics.com.au

PIEA Chairperson

Earle Bridger

e.bridger@griffith.edu.au

PMA Australia Office

02 9454 2444

pmaaustralia@pmai.org

Editor

Glynn Lavender

pmaaustralia@pmai.org

Celebrating 140 Years - Thornton Richards Camera House
Excerpts from 22 page Ballarat Courier Supplement

Australia's oldest camera store, Thornton Richards, is this year celebrating 140 years of outstanding business.

Having first opened its doors on the Ballarat goldfields in 1872, Thornton Richards has evolved over the years into the specialised camera house it is today.

With only three owners since it opened, Thornton Richards has been offering the same personalised service and professional service for over a century.

The company - which was once primarily a studio - has grown over the years into cameras and processing, and into a commercial lab in the 1970's.

Current owners Gerrard and Sue Lewis are proud to be a part of such a successful business in Ballarat.

Sue & Gerrad Lewis

Malcolm Kennedy (CR Kennedy)

"Heartiest congratulations on the tremendous achievement of 140 years for Thornton Camera House.

Our association spans more than six decades and covers two generations of our families, which have been trading together.

We have always treasured the close connection and the great emphasis your family has always put on service to the local community."

Paul Shearer (Camera House)

"Camera House would like to congratulate the Lewis family on their 140th anniversary.

Merv, Sue and Gerrard have always been great supporters of the Camera House Brand.

Camera House recognises Merv's contribution by presenting the Merv Lewis Supplier of The Year Award at its annual general meeting.

Merv won the Camera House Member of the Year award in 1981 and Sue and Gerrard won the same award in 2001.

All of the Camera House family thank you for your support and friendship and look forward to many more exciting years in a very exciting industry"

Will Street Retires

After more than 50 years working in the photographic industry, I have decided it's time to take life a bit easier.

Doug Raisin, a younger, enthusiastic guy with over 5 years experience in professional photography, has purchased the business.

Doug will bring innovation and ideas to Street's but will continue to provide the quality and service you have come to expect.

In order to provide continuity, I will be working with Doug over the coming months while he gets used to the systems that Street's has implemented. I will also be available on a consultancy basis to work with Street's clients to help with systemisation and setting up workflows to make studios run smoothly.

Will Street

It has been an interesting career watching the evolution of photography through to the exciting opportunities that digital imaging gives us today. In clearing out some of the old newsletters, it was interesting to read my thoughts on the future of the profession back in 1994. I made the forecast that photographers would be giving brides their images on CD which is now becoming the norm although DVDs and USB sticks have taking over from CDs. I also forecast that film would still be the best way of recording events and then digitising those negs. Going through old photos and negs and scanning and printing from these gave images as good as the originals however, some images stored on early disks were not able to be recovered due to the deterioration of the media. This will be an ongoing problem as disks fail with time. Today's printed photos will still be around in 100 years as there are still printed photos from 100 years ago.

Looking back, I often wonder what people thought when this young 16 year old fronted up to take their photos at weddings, engagement and 21st birthday parties. (The legal age for drinking in those days was 21!) There are some interesting stories from the wedding/portrait section of the profession back in the 60s and 70s.

However, looking forward, I hope to remain in contact with clients, friends and associates and to watch with interest how the professional photography market progresses.

Thank you to all those who have made the past 50 years in photography an interesting, exciting and rewarding experience.

Now, what's next?

Cheers,

Will.

PPFA Annual Convention

The Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA) will hold its PPFA 2013 Annual Convention Jan. 26-30, 2013, at the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. - concurrent with the West Coast Art & Frame Expo/National Conference, sponsored by Picture Framing Magazine.

In a Special Combo Deal, PPFA members can buy a PPFA All Convention Pass for $240 and get a WCAF & National Conference VIP Pass at the special PPFA rate of $159, saving $240 off the regular price. Entire package: $399. A la carte pricing and non-member pricing are also available.

Registration for PPFA 2013 will open Nov. 1, 2012. PPFA speakers, topics and special events will be available shortly at www.ppfa.com with a PPFA coupon code and a link to the registration site, which will be handled through WCAF.

Suzanne Smeaton, Gallery Director at Eli Wilner & Company in New York, will be the keynote speaker at the PPFA All Member Meeting & Luncheon on Jan. 27. Her Powerpoint presentation - sponsored by Larson Juhl - will showcase the re-creation of the original, monumental 19th century frame for "Washington Crossing the Delaware," for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from working with curators and period photographs; crafting, carving, and gilding the frame; and the final delivery and installation of the frame.

Smeaton will also present a session on the History of Frames, sponsored by Larson Juhl.

PPFA educators includes Kirstie Bennett, Ellen Collins, Jared Davis, David Lantrip, Rob Markoff, Joyce Michels, Jim Miller, Chris Paschke, Hugh Phibbs, Linda Pujo, and Ron Stark.

Technical framing topics include building 3-D glass shadowboxes; striplining and stretching canvas; preservation physics and chemistry; a hands-on sewing/lacing/couching session; and preserving/framing animation cels, military memorabilia, and high-end giclée prints. Nine sessions meet the requirements for MCPF Continuing Education Credit, but are open and of interest to all framers.

PPFA also offers creative uses of Photoshop in the frame shop; marketing with e-newsletters; and how to manage the "Social Media Beast."

The finals of the International OPEN and PRINT Framing Competition will be held, and framers can vote for Popular Choice. Winners will be honored during the Convention. PPFA members interested in becoming competition judges may take a course, and current judges can update their credentials.

PPFA will repeat its popular Welcome Reception &Vendor Tabletop Showcase on Jan. 27, a sneak preview of several trade show vendors.

PPFA will also offer a full slate of Certification courses and exams; and hold the annual Chapter Leaders Conference on Jan. 26.

"Running the PPFA Convention concurrent with WCAF was a huge success last January, and we're looking forward to another fantastic event in 2013," says PPFA President Ron Mason, CPF. "I've attended nearly all of our Annual Conventions in over 25 years as a PPFA member, and I've yet to leave without learning something that made me a better framer or improved my income."

For more information click HERE

Create a solution, not a problem - by Lorraine Nicholson of First Retail

(Editor) Recently I had a model cancel at the last minute at one of my Workshops. He was the only one booked and he let me know 15 minutes before he was due to arrive. He was sick, that happens, but he created a problem that I had to solve in a hurry. Because he created a problem I vowed never to use him again. Imagine the scenario falling a different way - he knows he isn't going to make it, he calls a model friend (they all have model friends) and gets them to fill his spot. Then he calls me and tells me his problem and then tells me he has solved that problem for me - how different would our relationship be going forward?

Here's a timely article from Lorraine at First Retail.

Time-poor consumers are a key challenge for photo stores.

Lorraine Nicholson, client services manager at retail strategist First Retail, explores ways of engaging this market, maintaining relevance and building goodwill.

The world is such a busy place that people rarely have time to stop, plan or organise themselves anymore. This has become a real issue for many retail categories as they struggle to maximise sales, but it is imaging businesses which are among the most vulnerable.

To produce prints, a photo book, gifts or decor requires a degree of forward planning by the customer. They need their images together, time in-store to create and the need to call back to collect. Hectic schedules often don't allow the luxury of time to do all these things.

The problem is compounded by digital devices offering an imaging experience that is immediate and exciting. Traditional photos - and the retailers who make them - need a way to fight back.

Read the full article HERE

The Lighter Side

Here are a few 'what were they thinking' album covers - just think, someone is paying photographers to do this injustice!