DIGITAL RAILROAD TRANSFORMS BUSINESS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS AND BUYERS


New York, NY, Aug. 11, 2004 – Digital Railroad Inc. today launched the first online archive system that gives the power of a large photo agency to individual photographers.

Digital Railroad's Web-based application services transform the individual photographer’s business. Digital Railroad, DRR.NET, automates repetitive workflow tasks, as well as streamlines delivery of images and communications with clients—providing photographers an online searchable archive that unlocks potential image revenue.

Photography legends and previous White House photographers Dirck Halstead and David Hume Kennerly, who have tested the system, believe it is a watershed product that will change the way business is done in the professional photography industry.

"Digital Railroad eliminates the daily technology hurdles photographers struggle with; finally photographers can have access to efficient tools for editing, archiving and simultaneously distributing their work," said Halstead, award-winning photojournalist and publisher of Digital Journalist.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist David Hume Kennerly says Digital Railroad has proven to be the answer for many of his production workflow problems and enables him to interact more easily with his editors.

"I like the real-time collaboration with editors using the digital lightbox features—I can be online in Bangkok, and making selections with an editor in New York. Digital Railroad is the answer for those of us who want total control over our own marketing and distribution,” says Kennerly.

"With Digital Railroad, photographers can finally take control of their creative businesses," said company founder and chief executive officer Evan Nisselson. "We've created an affordable, automated system as powerful as any of the proprietary major agency systems. We free photographers from managing technology and allow them to concentrate on what they love—being creative."

Nisselson and other industry veterans conceived the idea of Digital Railroad to address common technology concerns among photographers, agents and buyers around the world—problems he experienced in his 14 years working on all sides of the industry and continues to deal with today as a photographer.

“Photographers tell me they want to minimize repetitive production tasks and to sell more pictures. They want an organized method of delivering digital images to their clients," Nisselson said. "Buyers say they want tools to find unique photos that are relevant to their needs and within their budget. They want fast access to high-resolution downloads. Digital Railroad’s system solves these issues simultaneously with one unique system."

A core value of Digital Railroad lies in its unique marketing features. Typical photographer Web sites without archives provide no value to buyers as they have no search, download or interactive sharing features. Digital Railroad provides the all-in-one solution so member photographers can have personally branded archives that better market their images, publicly or privately, to buyers around the world—all for a low monthly fee.

Photographers share a lightbox with buyers via a unique link in an email, which opens a Web browser displaying selected images within their archive. Buyers can choose the images they want from the lightbox, share those with their editorial staff, or even search the photographer's entire public online archive. Buyers negotiate and finalize pricing with the photographer, who then makes the purchased selections active for download.

Nisselson said beta testers on the buyers' side see Digital Railroad and its lightbox communication system as an optimum editorial workflow tool for photo researchers, picture editors and advertising agencies.

About Digital Railroad

Digital Railroad is an application services company that is dedicated to solving the critical technical problems facing the creators and buyers of digital imagery. Digital Railroad’s unique, comprehensive suite of online services transforms the way photographers manage, market and sell their images to photo buyers worldwide. The company will continue to evolve with the dynamic photography industry and bring solutions to market that empower individuals and organizations. More information is available at DRR.NET.