By Jim Colton In the wake of the landmark $1.2 million award reached in the Daniel Morel vs. AFP/Getty Images lawsuit for willful infringement of Morel’s images from the 2010 Haitian earthquake, there has been much discussion concerning photographer’s copyright and how to pursue organizations and publications for damages for unauthorized usage.  Veteran photojournalist Yunghi Kim is a strong proponent of photographer’s rights and offers suggestions to problems that all photographers now face as they tread through the morass of digital landmines. She also is quite vocal ..read more

By Jim Colton The current state of photojournalism has often been described as a Digital Revolution. I prefer to describe it without the letter “r.” To me, we are experiencing a Digital Evolution. Our industry is constantly changing and those who are grasping on to the ghosts of the past will only lose out on the fruits of the future.  Over ten years ago, we transited from analog to digital photography and it rocked our world, even though there were many who resisted that change. Perhaps the same could have been said when color photography was first introduced and Black & White purist ..read more

Today my heart is filled with sadness. Our industry has lost a legend and I have lost a friend, mentor and a second father. I just heard of the passing of former Photo Editor of Newsweek magazine Jim Kenney. Jim was my son Shane’s Godfather. But more than that he was like a father to me. As a scrapping young photo editor in 1977, Jim hired me away from the Associated Press to be an Associate Photo Editor at the magazine as they were just starting to use more color images in the magazine and I was AP’s Color Picture Editor. It was the beginning of a 17-year, two stint relationship that I have c ..read more

  Looks like all this Hoo Ha about the Why I'm Glad Paul Walker Is Dead story is all a hoax. The writer's Facebook page was just created. And other stories on the website are as absurd as this one. Either way, it was in extremely poor taste and I feel sorry for the creators. I have removed it from my blog ..read more

OPINIONS MATTER. BUT PLEASE, CAN'T WE BE CIVIL?                The six World Press Photo of the Year 2018 finalists. Credit: World Press Photo By Jim Colton I write a version of this story every year around this time: Photo Contest result time. And every year, it’s addressing the same grousing and whining and complaints about everything from non-diversified juries to images being too newsy or not newsy enough. And of course, everybody has an opinion about the winners! Oy vey! Well, you know the old saying about opinions; they are like assholes -- everyb ..read more

Photo editor Jim Colton (right) during portfolio reviews at the Eddie Adams Workshop. Credit: Robert Caplin By Jim Colton In light of another prominent figure in the photography industry being accused of sexual misconduct, I feel compelled to pen my feelings about it all, specifically what it has done to MY profession of choice; photojournalism. First and foremost, I am saddened. Saddened to know that there are people in positions of influence that would use their stature to satisfy their own sexual inefficiencies. Saddened that the actions of a few have tarnished the good name of the majorit ..read more

Photographers "watching" the game winning moment. ESPN Screen Grab BY JIM COLTON It was a classic NCAA Championship game. Perennial powerhouse Alabama comes back to tie the game in regulation and then win it in overtime. The game winning play was a 2nd down, 41- yard heave-ho into the end zone that broke a lot of Georgia fan’s hearts. It was a play that will be etched in their collective memories for a long time. And one image, a screen grab of that play, will also be etched in the memories of a few people…for a totally different reason. The screen grab above, has been circulating on the inte ..read more

Russian President Leonid Brezhnev ogles actress Jill St. John at a Washington DC function. Copyright: Wally McNamee BY JIM COLTON It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. It seems like I find more reasons to not write one than write one. And I blame myself for that. I’ve become a bit complacent in the autumn of my years. Much has happened in my life recently and I’ve found less time to do things than I used to...or at least I perceive it to be that way. I feel like I’m busier now than when I was working full time! That’s not the way it’s supposed to work is it? It’s Thanksgiving night, an ..read more

"Enemy of the people." At a Trump campaign rally in November, 2016. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters via ZUMA Press By Jim Colton From a recent Photoholics Anonymous meeting in Webistan Hello. My name is photojournalism…and I have a problem.  I’m sick. Although I feel the same as I always have. Perhaps there’s something new in the air that my immune system isn’t capable of handling. It used to be that journalism was a respected and admired profession. Heck, even Walter Cronkite was once voted as “The Most Trusted Man in America.” And that’s that way it was! Could you imagine one of us being n ..read more

By Jim Colton They say that if you stare into an eclipse, you might go blind. Unfortunately for social media, that’s already happened. Using the most recent eclipse is a fine analogy of what is happening to the world of photography…which is ironic as the literal meaning of photography is writing with light. The huge mass of available images (There will be more pictures taken in this calendar year…than in all of history combined) has managed to block out the light…and with it…the truth. The sheer volume of images now being distributed on every social media platform from Twitter to Instagram to ..read more