FlipGloss Media, the web’s first photo programming network, and Variety, a global publication for entertainment business news, have launched FlipGloss-powered photo features on Variety’s “Emmy Central”.  Using FlipGloss’ pioneering “Digital Glossy Insert” technology, Variety now offers a visually rich, interactive presentation of Comedy and Drama nominees, just in time for Emmy voting. FlipGloss’ unique ‘Flip, Hover, Discover’ navigation experience lets Variety.com users flip through high quality Emmy images, hover over points of interest and click to discover more information on nominated shows, actors, related content and show credits or previous wins.

Alphabet photography - the brainchild of Canadian photographer Jennifer Blakeley - is the creative process of photographing images that resemble letters of the English alphabet, then arranging the photographs together to create a name or word. Inspired by the children’s book “Alphabet City,” Blakely traveled across Canada taking photos of objects and scenery that resemble letters of the English alphabet and has now turned those photos into a thriving online business, Alphabet Photography Inc. Blakeley develops the photos in sepia tone and customises the photographs to spell names and words that are special to each individual customer - creating alphabet art. The letter art business, in which Blakely is partnered with her husband Sam Blakeley and friend Miriam Laundry, functions primarily online - allowing customers to mix and match the alphabet photos to create any name or word. To see how all this works, head to the website below.

Website: Alphabet Photography

Getty Images have announced two new Web & Mobile image products featuring very small file sizes designed specifically for online and mobile use. These new Web & Mobile products enable customers to license high volumes of compelling, high quality and simple to use imagery at appropriate prices for the digital element of their campaigns and communications. For more information on these new products, visit www.gettyimages.com/webandmobileimages.

Samsung has launched a teaser campaign called ‘Tap and Take’, to draw attention to its new range of ‘Smart Cameras’, scheduled for launch on 13 August 2009. The Korean company has created a promotional website, called TapAndTake.com, which teases visitors with a host of short, intriguing videos (with more to come). The ‘Tap and Take’ campaign also has a presence on Twitter and Facebook.

Website: Tap and Take

iSyndica, a cloud-based digital media distribution platform that simplifies online selling by syndicating, promoting and tracking user content on multiple established channels, has announced a reduction of its subscription prices. The new prices, which start at $4.99/month, is expected to help attract even more customers to iSyndica’s growing distribution platform. To date, iSyndica has already distributed more than 110GB of photos and 60GB of videos to stock photography and footage sites, the company claims. As a complement to its new pricing, iSyndica has also introduced an affiliate programme designed to encourage existing users to promote iSyndica to their friends and colleagues. It gives existing users the chance to gain credits, which they can use to distribute more media through iSyndica, and even share revenue.

In response to continued harassment of photographers by the police, the British Journal of Photography (BJP) has launched a campaign entitled, ‘Not A Crime’. “Police routinely invoke anti-terror legislation to prevent photographers from carrying out their work, and photojournalists are constantly filmed at public gatherings and their details kept on an ever-growing database. Tourists, particularly foreign tourists, are also targeted by police,” the BJP claims. As you may remember, PhotographyBLOG editor Mark Goldstein was also stopped and issued with Form 5090(X) for “taking photos of iconic landmarks” in central London. Those who agree that photography is not a crime are advised to visit the website below and submit a photo of themselves with a sign saying, ‘Not a crime’ or ‘I am not a terrorist’, to the campaign’s Flickr group. Additionally, you are encouraged to leave a comment here, after the break.

Website: Not A Crime

Take two photographers, one camera and a weekend in Barcelona - and the result is a collection of a thousand portraits! This was the recipe cooked up by photographers Sergi López Graells and Gerard Franquesa Capdevila, owners of the website 1000 Portraits Barcelona, itself modelled after thousandportraits.com, a project started by Eamon Lane and Carlo Nicora. You can take a look at all the photographs at the website below.

Website: 1000 Portraits Barcelona

Livestream has launched Twitcam.com, which enables users to add live video streaming to their Twitter feed with just one click. Twitter users need only to log in to twitcam.com using an existing Twitter user name and password and press the ‘go live’ button. Twitcam automatically detects the camera, creates a page and live video player for the broadcast, and posts the link in the user’s Twitter feed so followers can join in live. Twitter-centric services for sharing photos and videos have been exploding and are in high demand by Twitter users. Twitcam fills the application void for those wanting to stream live and chat with their followers with a single click. Twitcam is free and available today at http://www.twitcam.com/.

Time Factory Publishing has launched a new online photo Web site, Pikcal.com, offering consumers a chance to store and share photos and create fully customisable photo products. Adults and children alike can create photo books, calendars and other school and office supplies suited to their tastes. Pikcal.com allows consumers to combine personal images with galleries of professional photography to create these products.

A new Web site has been launched, promising its users a place to market their intellectual properties such as photos, videos etc. to prospective buyers. The President and CEO of MyPayCut.com, Franklin Lopez, said, “In these hard times this Web site fills a necessary vacuum in the Internet for anyone with talent in any of the areas of intellectual property, allowing them to make money. This Web site even permits anyone who has access to a camera to sell any breaking news materials to news organisations, television stations, or newspapers using an application called Octupix, which will be available for free to MyPayCut users.

Website: MyPayCut

PhotoShelter has enhanced its Virtual Agency feature, which gives like-minded photographers a platform to band together and create niche agencies and collectively market their photos online. The recent updates enable photographers to brand their Virtual Agency with a custom name or logo, and introduces a simple navigation and background template. This provides a more consistent user experience for Virtual Agency visitors while maintaining the agency’s branding. PhotoShelter also welcomed WILD Photography, a new Virtual Agency which combines the work of legendary outdoor photographers Art Wolfe, Thomas Mangelsen, and David Doubilet. Each has embraced direct-to-client sales of stock photos instead of the traditional agency model, says PhotoShelter.

Nik Software announced today its Summer 2009 Webinar schedule. The Nik Software webinars have been developed to address specific types of photographic styles and are designed to appeal to everyone. Both current Nik Software customers and those who have not yet purchased a Nik Software product will learn more about how these software plug-ins can simplify their digital photography workflow and create extraordinary images. Participants only need to log in from their computer to access these free educational webinars. To register for any of these webinars, please visit: http://www.niksoftware.com/webinar. Click through / read on for the details.

Fotoglif today launched a new service that makes it easy for bloggers, social media fans and other Web publishers to add royalty-free images to their written content. The beta version of the Fotoglif image-sharing community and licensing platform is available now at www.Fotoglif.com. The site features more than 3 million images, with thousands of new ones from professional photographers and respected news agencies added each day from global breaking news, entertainment and sports stories. Traditional stock photos and images of everyday life will be added over time. In addition to providing professional images for Web authors, Fotoglif offers photographers a revenue-generating outlet for use of their photos online. Payments to publishers are made through PayPal.

Bogen Imaging has just announced a free webinar titled “Adventure Sports Photography: Round Table with Adventure Photographer Michael Clark.” This webinar will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT, on Friday, July 17th. Topics for discussion include adventure photography fundamentals, artificial lighting, photo equipment, outdoor gear and how to shoot rock climbing, mountain biking and whitewater kayaking. Webinar participants will have access to a number of exclusive benefits, including one?on?one interaction with the guest speaker, and will be automatically entered in a chance to win one of three Gitzo Traveler Series 2 Carbon Fibre 6X Monopods. To register for the free Bogen Café webinar and for additional information, please visit http://www.bogenimaging.us/webinar/

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has announced that it has launched a newly designed website with expanded resources available for all members of the photographic community. ASMP’s recently expanded web business resources, available free-of-charge, provide a forum for training in important skills. These include an updated copyright tutorial “Best Practices Guide for Registering Your Images;” access to the ASMP daily blog, a forum for timely idea exchange and comments; and educational videos covering topics such as pricing, negotiating, copyright and marketing.

Website: ASMP

Talenthouse, a purpose-built online platform for all artists and creatives, launched today at www.talenthouse.com. Artists can log onto talenthouse.com and create a profile that showcases their talent, including a brief description of history and past work experience, a profile picture as well as links to personal Web sites and other social networking pages. Most importantly, Talenthouse provides easy access to samples of an artist’s work, which are uploaded and presented in a unique 3D timeline. The site has already recruited more than 25,000 members in a closed Alpha release, with the goal of signing up more than 1 million before the first anniversary of the site in June 2010.

Photographer and Podcast Producer, David E. Warner, recently launched LensFlare35 to link the community of Canon professional photographers. Warner’s initial concept of a simple networking community quickly evolved into an all-out quest to interview today’s top Canon photographers. Their unique stories, tips and techniques are shared with other photographers through his LensFlare35’s weekly podcast episodes. For a list of upcoming episodes, visit LensFlare35.

Website: LensFlare35

Photographer Daniel Bayer, who had started his now-famous Kodachrome Project back in 2004, recently issued a statement saying he would “continue gathering images through The Kodachrome Project until its end date”. The statement comes after Kodak’s announcement of retiring the iconic film after 74 years of production. Daniel Bayer started his project five years ago, being fully aware that “it was only a matter of time before Kodak would discontinue producing this film”. He has travelled far and wide throughout the United States to capture “the best images possible” before it becomes too late, and now hopes to produce a book and exhibit next year to “visually celebrate the 75th anniversary of Kodachrome Film”.

Website: The Kodachrome Project

Táve (tave.com) has released a major update to their photography studio management web application with over 50 new features and improvements. Táve - originally named Táve Studio Manager - gives studio photographers’ clients the freedom to book them online. The update streamlines many common tasks and adds extensive new customisation capabilities throughout the application, contact forms, and client access booking engine. Some of the enhancements and additions include new client and job profiles and editors, a filter control to the Clients home page, a number of custom fields, Client Access Preview, job printouts and calendar improvements. Táve offers a free 30-day trial, after which the service costs $24.95 per month + $5 for each additional employee.

Stock photography agency Blend Images has announced the launch of Flex Packs, a new way of licensing rights-managed imagery on their Web site. The Flex Packs are billed as a simple and flexible way to license rights-managed imagery for broad commercial use. There are 7 Flex Pack options to choose from: All Marketing Pack, Collateral Pack, Advertising Print/Product Pack, Advertising Indoor Display Pack, Advertising Outdoor Display Pack, Digital Pack (Mobile, Interactive, Web), and All Internal Use Pack. Each option provides unlimited usage within the specified territory, industry, and time period selected.