The Obsidian Stock Blog

Obsidian Stock congratulates its contributing photographer Rob Jenkins for winning an Honorable Mention in the PX3 International Photo Contest, based in Paris, France.

The topic was “The Human Condition” and this funny, uplifting shot was rightfully selected:

Well done, Rob!

For some people, BendFilm is all about the movies, the independent films, or maybe the clever shorts, or perhaps the gutsy features. For me, it’s all about the parties. And this year’s kick-off parties did not disappoint. BendFilm Feed, the exclusive kick-off party for the festival, was held last night at Les Schwab Amphitheater.

That’s outdoors. In October. In Central Oregon.

In case you weren’t aware - October is the rainy season in Bend, and rain it did. Fortunately, no one seemed to mind. Party-goers braved the cold, wet night in their urban threads (not a fleece jacket in sight!), lounging on cushy white furniture on the crimson-draped stage or huddling next to propane heaters as required. Hip-looking waiters (where do they find these guys?) passed prosciutto-wrapped salmon, rare sirloin on fennel crackers, and juicy chicken skewers slathered in salsa verde. The food, I presume, was catered by Merenda’s, because I caught a glimpse of Jody Denton in his chef whites, mingling with the guests. If Denton is indeed responsible for the food, he outdid himself. With each delectable bite, I closed my eyes and thought, I’m so glad I’m not a vegetarian.

As BendFilm Feed wound down, Hot Box Betty’s picked up. By 9:30, the tres chic downtown clothing store was pulsing with DJ Swett’s dance tunes, a full dance floor and go-go dancers in cowboy hats. Plenty of local movers and shakers were there, including Pamela Andrews (Cascades Publishing), Peter Lowes (Lowes Commercial Properties), Katie Merritt (BendFilm founder), John Anderson (former Bend Living editor) and Judy Campbell (Campbell Consulting). Molly Hogan, real estate agent extraordinaire, whipped out her glowing hula hoop for an impromptu performance that was immensely sexier than the local housing market.

There were probably some important film industry people there, but I was too busy dancing to notice. Maybe I’ll take in a film before the weekend’s over.

by Renee Davidson, on assignment for Obsidian Stock

This one’s for the “Isn’t this cool?” category …

Obsidian Stock is proud to announce that we’ll be providing and coordinating all photography surrounding the 4th annual BendFilm festival this year.

The festival starts this Thursday, October 11th, and will end Sunday, October 14th (for more info, movie schedules and supporting events, see here: bendfilm.org). Check out the photos by OS owners Simone Paddock and Lance Hardy of last year’s festival for a glimpse at upcoming festival fun.

See you at the movies!

Oregon’s premier photo stock agency, Obsidian Stock, has partnered up with Absolut Vodka’s Lomo campaign to bring you one of the coolest, hippest tools of the photo trade: the Holga camera.

We are raffling off 10 of these hot little gadgets in an effort to inspire, mobilize and spark creativity among Oregon photographers. The contest is FREE to enter and anyone can take part - aspiring amateurs and pro shooters alike.

To find out more about what the heck a Holga is anyway, and how you can get your hands on one, just go over to Obsidian Stock’s Lomo site and fill out the form for a chance to win.

And for a little Lomo inspiration, check out AbsolutLomo’s wall of pictures.

A little Central Oregon photo stock agency we are no more. Behold - the *new* Obsidian Stock!

Obsidian Stock is happy to announce that we have officially expanded the geographic range of our image library from Central Oregon to all of Oregon - read the complete news release here.

Obsidian Stock is now also accepting submissions from photographers interested in having their images of Eastern, Western and Coastal Oregon represented. Read our submission guidelines to find out how to go about it.

From the wonderful new world of podcasting comes a special gem today:

Bend designer Brian Hinderberger interviews Obsidian Stock co-owner and CTO Lance Hardy about the company, our approach to stock photography, and the Artist Directory.

To listen to the podcast, go here.

The Central Oregon business publication, Cascade Business News, published an article on Obsidian Stock in its July 19 issue. The article covers the Press Release issued by Obsidian Stock, announcing the official launch of the company along with outlining the mission and goals of Obsidian Stock. You can view the article in pdf format here.

Hello, and welcome to the Obsidian Stock blog!

You’re probably thinking now: “Oh, brother. Another blog. Aren’t there zillions of them out there already? Why should I spend my time reading this one?”

Good point. Here’s why you really, really should:

• There’ll be no endless rants or in-depth examinations of the dust in one’s navel. Only up-to-date information on all things photography you can actually use - custom-tailored to both our photographers and clients.

• If you’ve been shooting slides up until now, this blog will bring you tips and tricks on how to most efficiently digitize those slides, and guide you gently towards embracing the awesome power of Photoshop and other digital editing software to stay competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace.

• If you’re a fully digital photographer already, you’ll find a host of tools and tutorials that can help you get more and better images out of your camera.

• Photography is an industry guided by lots of gray-zone laws that are constantly being challenged. The Obsidian Stock blog is making it a priority to shed light onto those obscure laws, and answer questions posed to us by contributors to keep you legally fluent and out of trouble.

• Gear - we can’t deny it. We love it. The more, the better. The cooler, the better. But what do we really need, and what is truly useful? Our blog will attempt to separate the wheat from the sheaf.

• Since we value our photographers not only for their outstanding artistic talents, but also for the neat people they are, we are committed to profiling new and existing contributors in this blog. Read it, and see who your peers really are!

• And last, but not least - you’ll be the first to find out about the new and cool features and innovations we add to Obsidian Stock over time, and be privied to announcements and news about the company before it hits the wire.

Be informed. Stay informed. Read the Obsidian Stock blog.