I've just returned from two weeks at various conferences' PACA in Florida and Picture House in NYC, where I was happy to have seen many of you!

It's hard to believe Dave and I were in hot and sunny Key West, Florida for the International PACA conference just a short while ago! What a setting--not unlike Bourbon Street in New Orleans! PACA draws in member stock agencies from all over the world and because Dave sits on the executive board as Treasurer now, we often meet and network with colleagues that we might not have met otherwise.

PACA has great opportunities to hear what trends are happening in the stock photo industry in different markets worldwide. It also educates us on copyright issues going on in emerging countries and the need to be vigilant and aware of copyright abuse going on globally.

This is all the more reason to license images from credible sources that you know are honest and professional. With digital theft ever increasing, it's important to know that you're working with legally authorized agencies. Further, the conference always exposes us to the latest in digital technology for tracking images, not only on the web, but also via print. There are more and more sophisticated new technologies being developed to help discover copyright infringement, not unlike the visual search technology on our website. Pixel recognition technologies are pretty amazing!

PACA also gives us a chance to network with possible sub-agents in different countries, whose images enhance our image collection in many ways. Thus, for many of us at the conference, it's very much about "Let's Make a Deal." The week culminated with a 65 foot sailboat charter with 16 colleagues for an afternoon of sailing, snorkeling, kayaking around mangroves teeming with red-throated frigates, brown pelicans, double-crested cormorants, ibis, osprey and kingfishers! Once in awhile it's important to get out and experience the real thing, rather than through the visions of our photographers. We highly recommend it!

Picture House

Picture House New York was once again a lot of fun for everyone! This was my 4th year attending and it really was great. It's such a wonderful event for both buyers and sellers to come together to find new connections. For me, having worked with NY-based photo editors and researchers for 25 years, it's always fun to finally meet someone face to face!

Thanks to so many of you that dropped by my booth to say a friendly hello! I still run into people I've worked with but have never met and it's like old friends coming together. One thing I've always loved about this business is the interconnectedness we have. So many people work from offices of all kinds throughout the country. We've developed long-term relationships with many, but have never met personally. Events like Picture House bring us together in a unique and mutually beneficial way! If you ever have a Picture House event coming to your area, by all means take the time to attend.

For those who are unfamiliar with PACA it stands for "Picture Archive Council of America." It's an industry membership of stock agency professionals primarily from the U.S. but with International stock agency members as well.

Picture House is a venue based in major cities around the world. It brings photo buyers a chance to attend an all day event where stock agencies and photo sources exhibit their websites, talk about their agencies and image content. It started in New York several years ago and has now expanded to several cities in Europe. Picture House held an event in Chicago last year as well.

-Danita