Digital Railroad: Community

The new Digital Railroad Community has numerous ways to connect, discover, and be inspired by your fellow members. Through our Member Directory, Blogs, Success Stories, Events, and Resources, there is a lot to discover. Check out all the opportunities to get the most out of our immense community of talented members.

Latest Marketplace Blog Entry

With a concentration of top photographers, media companies - publishers, advertising, design, broadcast, corporate-- and picture libraries, London's photo community is incredibly vibrant and diverse. It was therefore wonderful to see so many picture buyers, photographers and agency members turn out to attend the BAPLA Picture Buyer Fair this week.

Opening night reception, BAPLA Picture Buyer's Fair, London, May 7, 2008
© drr.net

During the opening night reception, BAPLA announced annual awards for newspapers with the highest percentage of images published with proper photo credit. The winners were The Sunday Independent with 73% pf published images credited; Telegraph with 64%. The Sun was chastised for having the lowest percentage with only a mere 37% of all published images appearing with a credit.

Digital Railroad UK Sales Manager Andy Mitchell meets picture buyers at BAPLA.
© drr.net

The most well received featured at the show for Digital Railroad was our Research Network. After being introduced to the service, several buyers were so excited by the potential to tap 1000's of member archives for fresh images, they entered requests for images before leaving the show floor.

© drr.net
UK Member Support Manager James Jones demos Digital Railroad archives to Angela Murphy.

Of course, no BAPLA fair would be complete without "tipping a few jars" with editors and picture buyers at Cantina, an annual tradition. As usual, the place was packed with revelers spilling out on to the sidewalk to enjoy laughs among friends and colleagues.

London's photo community gathers at Cantina Augustus Pub post-BAPLA, May 7, 2008
© drr.net

See more images from this years event and mark you calendar for next year!

Latest Member Showcase Blog Entry

©Michael Mullady
(As toxic emissions pour from the biggest chimney in Latin America, Michael William Mendoza Garcia, 3, turns away in tears. Michael lives just across the river from the plant; as a result he is exposed to a high level of gas. He cries when the air is dense with gas because, "it makes him nauseated and causes vomiting," says his mother Maribel Garcia Torres.)

At an altitude slightly above tweleve thousand feet, in the Central Andean region of Peru, pollution is a fact of life for the inhabitants of La Oroya. Since 1992, the city of 35,000 has been exposed to toxic emissions released from a metal smelting plant owned by the Missouri based Doe-Run. A recent Health Ministry study from the government of Peru showed that 99% of the children tested had lead poisoning, a condition which causes mental retardation, hyperactivity, liver disease, kidney disease and death.

This Saturday May 10, 2008, during the WHNPA Eyes of History Gala in Washington DC, Michael Mullady will be awarded the Student Photographer of the Year award for his "Children of Lead" story . As sponsor of the WHNPA, DRR will also award Michael a free year subscription to DRR. We would personally like to welcome Michael to the DRR community!