Canon, Apple gear stolen from CT home
On June 22, the home of Christopher Capozziello at 107 Linwood Street in Milford, CT was broken into and every piece of equipment he owns was stolen. In total, he lost $16,000 worth of photography equipment. He currently works as a freelancer, mostly for the New York Times, in Connecticut, but has
had to turn down assignments since this happened.

Unfortunately he did not have insurance that can be obtained from NPPA at a low price; a hard lesson to learn. He has been scouring local pawn shops over the last week-and-a-half, and have been working with a detective from the police. but has found nothing.

Anyone with information, contact:
Chris Capozziello at www.chriscappy.com, phone 203-314-1714.

NPPA Region 2 is offering a small reward to help out a fellow colleague.

Here is a list of the stolen Items:
Powerbook G4 Macintosh Laptop Serial Number: W85242NWSQ7; Canon 5D, digital SLR camera, Serial Number: 0520205294; Two Canon 5D BP-511A Lithium-Ion Batteries; Canon 1-V, film SLR camera, Serial Number: 257938; Canon 16-35mm zoom lens, Serial Number: 241324; B + W 82mm UV Haze 010 (MRC) filter slim; Canon 70-200 mm zoom lens, Serial Number: 270829; B + W 77mm UV Haze 010 (MRC) filter slim; Canon 2x tele-converter; Canon 580 EX Flash; Canon off camera shoe cord; Canon EF 24 mm 1.4 lens, Serial Number: 35664; B + W 77mm UV Haze 010 (MRC) filter slim; Canon EF 35mm 1.4 lens, Serial Number: 36315; Value: $1,180; B + W 72mm UV Haze 010 (MRC) filter slim; Canon EF 50 mm 1.4 lens, Serial Number: 12502425; B + W 77mm UV Haze 010 (MRC) filter slim; Canon ES-71 II Lens Hood for 50mm lens; 4GB Compact Flash Card; Flash Difuser; Firelite 120 GB Portable Hard Drive; Lacie 160 GB Portable Hard Drive; Domke F-3x camera bag; Domke F-5XB camera bag; Tamrac shoulder bag; Shepherd/Polaris – Digital Reflected, Incident and Flash Light Meter.

Press parking becomes more difficult as result of media stories, Mayor policies
In light of the mayor's position on privileged parking, we must make an extra effort to park only where authorized as stated on the reverse side of the NYPD issued press parking permits.

You may not park in bus stops, hydrants, blocking of crosswalks, no standing anytime and lastly no
double parking. Do not park in a zone that is zoned for judges, doctors & etc. If you continue to disregard the parking privileges, we are placing our permits in jeopardy. Should we lose these permits, it is highly unlikely that we will ever get them back. Use common sense when parking and read the what the
sign says.

Recently, there has been concern about commercial parking areas because at least one NYP vehicle was towed and others were summoned. We continue to have the privilege to park these areas “while we are working,” so please, do not abuse the privilege. In the meantime, Jerry Engel, the NYPPA police liaison will be talking with towing officials to ask them to refrain from towing and ticketing NYP vehicles in commercial parking zones where we are permitted to park. In the meantime, if you parking in a commercial zone and it requires payment of a muni meter, pay for the first hour. It shows the judge who will decide the case that you made an honest effort to pay for your privilege. Your receipt would be used as part of your proof if you get a summons.

If you get a summon's submit it promptly to avoid being towed as a scofflaw – do not sit on that ticket for even a minute. If you owe money for a previous offense you run the risk of being towed. If you are towed by the Sheriff, you are at their mercy and the NYPPA can do nothing on your behalf.

Those who are members of the NYPPA, please fill out the required paperwork and copies of both sides of permit, provide proof that you were on the job (write affadavit on news organization stationary) and send it directly to the NYPPA. If you are not a member of NYPPA, or decide to fight this on your own, bring all proof with you to court including the copy of the permit in your windshield and proof you were on the job. If you receive a summons with a “code 14,” pay it right away as that code cannot be adjudicated. If it's a code 16, 17, 20 or 21 the NYPPA can work with that and get it adjudicated in your favor.

NPPA members should keep in mind that we do not have apparatus set up to fight your tickets – this is an NYPPA function only. However, if you need advice, email us immediately and we will do what we can
to help.

We continue to urge our members to turn down assignments in which you are asked to photograph illegally parked police personnel, court officials or other law enforcement agencies. Those who are forced to do these assignments should register their disapproval with their editors and ask that they not have their photo credit attached to it.

It is because some of our media colleagues continue to believe that attacking our friends in the NYPD is fruitful that we have been targeted in some instances.

If there is one good thing, is that some of the NYP parking areas have been vacated by police and other city officials after they have had their cars ticketed and towed. Try to park in these areas, as they are reserved for our vehicles.

The leadership of NPPA Region 2 believes that these stories are a waste of time and only result in press photographers being unfairly targeted. So sound off to your bosses, because it will come out of their budgets if we are forced to pay for parking.  

Remember, it is no longer business as usual!

New Web Site Features 48 Live NPPA Multimedia Immersion Workshop Stories
Those of you who think they can continue to get away with not continuing to educate yourself in your field are fooling themselves. Still photos will give way to video cameras and visa-versa. You will need to know the latest programs, hardware and camera gear to stay ahead in this game.

Those who attended the Multimedia Immersion in Louisville, KY, know this first hand. Ask Region 2 members Charlie Eckert of Newsday, or Joel  Cairo of the NY Daily News. Or how about asking
Will Yurman, Democrat and Chronicle – our Top Gun winner. They didn’t get where they are by sitting
on their hands.

The 48 stories produced by participants in NPPA's Multimedia Immersion workshop during Convergence '08 in Louisville, KY, in May are now live on a new Web site launched today.

"Through a lot of hard work by the organizers, the coaches, sponsors, and the students, 48 stories were produced about the Louisville area," NPPA's Multimedia Committee chairman and Multimedia Immersion workshop co-director Seth Gitner of The Roanoke said.
 
At the NPPA Multimedia Immersion workshop each participating student had the choice of doing an audio slide show or a video, and they were coached by the staff of instructors and professional multimedia producers. Each participant used Canon XHA1 video cameras, Sennheiser Microphones, and Apple MacBook Pro computers and the software Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Soundslides to produced their story.

Coach and instructor Bob Sacha, a photographer who shoots for National Geographic and a multimedia producer for MediaStorm.org, said, "One great thing about being a coach was being surrounded with all this amazing talent, from students and from other coaches. I might have learned more at this workshop than at any other workshop I ever attended, either as a student or as a coach. It was awesome!" Read the full article here

See the workshop's 48 finished multimedia stories online here.

NPPA's Multimedia Immersion workshop was sponsored by Apple's Aperture Software; B&H Photo and Video; Cradlepoint Technology; Canon Professional Video; Libec; MediaStorm; Olympus Audio Recorders; OnOneSoftware; Sennheiser; ThinkTank Photo; Vuvox and Visual Portfolio Pro.We in Region 2 will seek to expand immersion to NSC and other great programs that we are running. We will seeking to bring NSC and eventually the Convergence to New York City. Stay tuned.

Mary Beth Murray, wife of NYDN Photographer, dies in her sleep here
Family, friends and co-workers of Daily News photographer Kenny Murray after his wife Mary Beth Murray died June 26 in her childhood home in Brooklyn.

Mourners joined Kenny and his family at Torregrosa Funeral Home in Gravesend,  Brooklyn, after Mary Beth suffered for years after a brain aneurism left her partially paralyzed in 2002.
It is believed that she died of the same thing.

Kenny and Mary Beth were married for 22 years and had a son, Kenny , 17, who recently graudated
high school.

We mourn with our friend and colleague Kenny.  Well wishers can send their condolences to the Daily News. He will get them.

July Calendar Items
J&R events for July
On July 8, Todd Maisel, NPPA Director and Daily News Staff Photographer, will be conducting a seminar and special presentation at J&R. All are invited to this very special event. And don’t forget, take advantage of the NPPA special discount on gear. You are crazy not to.

W. Eugene Smith Fund offers
Humanistic Photo Grants - Deadline Tuesday, July 15
The 2008 W. Eugene Smith Fund wishes to remind all that call for submissions to its Grant in Humanistic Photography is still open for entries.

Application deadline for the coming W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography
is July 15, 2008.

Photographers interested in applying may download an application at: http://www.smithfund.org

We hope you will spread the word by email to photographers in your communities and to emerging photographers who might still not be aware of the Grant. The W. Eugene Smith Grant is presented annually to a photographer whose past work and proposed project, as judged by a panel of experts, follows the tradition of W. Eugene Smith's compassionate dedication exhibited during his 45-year career as a photographic essayist.

For 2008, the Smith Grant will be $30,000, with an additional $5,000 in fellowship money also to be given at the discretion of the jury. The Grant recognizes photographers who have demonstrated a commitment to documenting the human condition. The grant program is independently administered by the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund and is funded in part with contributions from Digital Railroad, Getty Images, Inc., The Mona Fund and Open Society Institute. Winners receive their awards in a ceremony held in New York City in October.

One of the most prestigious honors in photojournalism, the Smith Grant was established in 1978 following the death of Smith, the legendary photo essayist, by his friends Howard Chapnick, Jim Hughes and John Morris to perpetuate his work and spirit. The grant program provides photographers with the financial freedom to envision and carry out major photographic studies.

Applicants must include a written proposal, which should be, concise, journalistically realizable, visually translatable and humanistically driven.  

Applicants are also asked to provide a resumé of educational and professional qualifications along with evidence of photographic ability in the form of photographic workprints (8"x10" prints preferred, and no more than 40), and/or photocopies, duplicate transparencies, contact sheets and clippings of published stories. Digital images will be considered only if delivered as low-resolution jpegs on a CD or DVD (no RAW files, TIFF files, or on-line applications.)

The Smith Fund's executive committee appoints a three-person jury each year to review the applications and proposals. The jury meets twice, first to select finalists. The finalists are then asked to submit a comprehensive photographic portfolio, to write a more details and focused proposal and to answer questions about the project.

At their second meeting, the jury reviews the new material and selects the grant recipient and the recipient of the additional fellowship. The recipient must warrant that the project in progress is ongoing, and agree to provide the Fund with a set of photographs when the project is completed. The photographs will be housed as part of the permanent W. Eugene Smith Legacy collection at
the ICP. 

There is no entry fee. The application advises that preliminary material will be returned only when accompanied by appropriate packaging and sufficient U.S. postage or its equivalent in U.S. dollars or prepaid return Delivery Form by courier. The Smith Fund is not responsible for loss or damage. 

Please send all submissions to:
W. Eugene Smith Fund
c/o ICP 1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036 USA

For any and all questions please email:
EugeneSmithFund@mac.com
http://www.smithfund.org

Past grant recipients are: Marc Asnin, Jane Evelyn Atwood, Letizia Battaglia, Ernesto Bazan, Ellen Binder, Pep Bonet, Chien-Chi Chang, Stephen Dupont, Carl DeKeyzer, Donna Ferrato, Maya Goded, Paul Graham, Stanley Greene, Graciela Iturbide, Alain Keler, Brenda Ann Kenneally, Gideon Mendel, Dario Mitidieri, James Nachtwey, Trent Parke, Paolo Pellegrin, Gilles Peress, Eli Reed, Eugene Richards, Cristina Garcia Rodero, Milton Rogovin, Sebastião Salgado, Vladimir Syomin, John Vink and Kai Wiedenhöfer.

Exhibit in Bronx features local photojouralists until Saturday, July 12
An exhibit entitled “The Press On the Wall,” features the works of numerous New York City photojournalists, especially members of our organization. The opening reception was held on June 6 photojournalist friends had the opportunity to get together and see great work at Haven Arts Gallery, 50 Bruckner Blvd., Bldg. A, Bronx, NY.

Some of those in the exhibit include Mary Altaffer, Susanna Bates, Tanya Briganti, Angel Chrevesti, Jason DeCrow, Angel Franco, Frank Fournier, Alfred Giancarlo, Robert Kalfus, Richard Levine, Mariela Lombard, James Messerschmidt, Matt McDermott, Linda Obuchoska, Katie Orlinsky, Frances Roberts, Librado Romero, Ardina Seward, Jeremy Sparig, and Robert Stolarik.

The exhibit will be open until July 12. For information on the exhibit,
see www.havenarts.org
see photos from opening night

NYPPA exhibit at Forbes on Fifth Avenue
If you are coming to the Forbes Gallery Exhibit for the New York Press Photographers Association on Thursday, July 17, please RSVP by July 10 at rsvp@nyppa.org or call 212-889-6633. We really need to know who is coming so we are prepared.

This year, the NYPPA is also honored students from public school who entered the special student contest sponsored by the United Federation of Teachers. Hope to see you there at the Gallery at Fifth Avenue and East 12th Street in Manhattan