THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 22, 1996 TAG: 9607200131
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUANITA RAISOR
STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 87 lines
You are an advertising agency with a project to produce a brochure for a travel agency to entice customers to far reaching places like the Caymen Islands. You need pictures. You can't afford to send a photographer to the location and still make a profit.
Or, your scuba diving magazine needs underwater photos for your next cover and you don't have a staff of photographers to send out on location.
That's where EarthWater Stock Photography in Virginia Beach comes into the picture.
EarthWater is a picture resource to professionals in the business world such as advertising and publishing. Their files contain images of subjects including marine life, wildlife, sports and leisure activities, conceptual still life and digital composites.
Chris Crumley, an underwater photographer who still tries to find time to take pictures, has owned EarthWater since 1992 when he created an intrastructure to sell his own pictures.
``After creating the computer systems, mailings and the business operation, someone came along and said, `Hey, if you're doing that for yourself, can you do it for me, too,' '' Crumley said.
He couldn't resist helping a friend, and now the operation consignes with 32 photographers based in Alaska, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
``To our knowledge, we are the only stock photo agency in Virginia, Crumley said.''
Volume One of the company's 59-page color catalog book was printed this month and distributed worldwide.
There are about 300 images in the catalog, but the photo agency has approximately 50,000 images in its file. Those 300 images were selected based on what the company thought would sell.
Customers pick out a picture in the catalog and indicate the use of the picture - for instance to be used as an add in a magazine - they negotiate a usage fee depending on the circulation and number of times the picture runs.
When the purchase agreement is made, Earthwater will send the company the film and its art department places the picture with its ad for publication.
Earthwater splits the fee with the photographer. ``It works pretty much on a 50 percent split. When the stock agency sells the picture and collects the money from the client, half of the money is given to the photographer,'' Crumley said.
Consignment with photographers is a five-year period, or for a longer period if the photos are not outdated.
If Earthwater receives a request of a local photo that doesn't exist in their file, they would ask a local photographer to provide them with the image requested. But Crumley said it would be necessary for the photo to be something that could be resold and not just a one time use.
``Most of our business is done around the world and around the country and not in Tidewater. Ninty-five percent of our business is done with ad agencies in New York, Chicago and San Francisco,'' Crumley said.
``We have relationships with a number of art directors at a variety of national magazines, such as Outside, Rodeo, Scuba Diving, Caribbean Travel and Life, Mens Health and Fitness Swimmer, who routinely call us for pictures,'' he added. ``A lot of outdoor and activities related stuff.''
Stock photography companies provide a much needed service to many businesses that are looking for art from far away places. ``There is a tremendous difference in the amount of money someone would spend for a picture if they were to produce it themselves.'' For instance, ``if you're in one part of the country and need a photograph of something in another part of the country - a shot of something that doesn't exist where you are,'' Crumley explains.
But EarthWater not only has a resource of sun-drenched to snow-covered compositions, they also provide marketing photos that depict particular concepts such as a dart board with darts, a calculator and the Wall Street Journal, a pair of dice showing the number eight, or $20 bills waded up and thrown in the trash can. ``Things that can be used in conceptual things like an illustration of gambling, business and finance, mom and apple pie, on target, relaxation, fishing, writing and communications,'' Crumley said.
And, their choice of creative, colorful photographs provide a wide selection for clients to pick from on the Web site. ``The first day we sold a magazine cover in Taiwan. We did everything by e-mail, never spoke to a person, did all the negotiation, used their international courier,'' Crumley added. He hopes the check is in the mail.
Their web catalog is located at hht://www.earthwater.com/. Or E-mail the company at staff(AT)earthwater.com. ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO COURTESY OF EARTHWATER
Chris Crumley, photographer and owner of EarthWater Stock
Photography in Virginia Beach, operates the Web site that displayes
a color image from his company's new catelog.
KEYWORDS: SMALL BUSINESS by CNB