“As the micropayment stock industry leaders, we feel a responsibility to say a huge thank you to the community members who contribute so much, and we encourage other companies to do the same,” said Bruce Livingstone, CEO of iStockphoto. “The 100 percent revenue giveaway day will happen sometime in the next two months and we continue to create other great international partnerships and revenue possibilities. This is also a great time to go exclusive. Most of those who do so tell us the leap has made them more money in one month than what they earned on three other sites combined.”

The Inspiration for “Punctum Day” and Award Details
Roland Barthes was a French literary critic and philosopher born in 1915. His book on photography, Camera Lucida, suggested two distinct properties of a photograph. These were studium and punctum: studium referring to its cultural, linguistic, and political interpretations; and punctum to the sting or accidental detail that “pricks” or is poignant to the individual viewer.

The year’s best creative works and individual artists chosen as winners for “Punctum Day” should all have this poignant quality in their work. iStock artists can access complete contest guidelines at www.iStockphoto.com/punctumday. Community members will select their favorites in five of the categories from July 23 – August 13, 2007. The top 10 finalists selected by the community will be announced on August 19^th. Winners will be chosen by a panel of special guest judges and will be announced on September 4^th (with the exception of the Steel Cage Battle of the Year). $5,000 will be awarded to each artist in the following categories.

a) Image of the year

b) Vector of the year

c) Video of the year

d) Flash file of the year

e) Design of the year

f) Steel Cage Battle of the Year (winner to be announced later in September)

Two more categories will be awarded, chosen by the iStockphoto image inspection team.

a) Most improved contributor

b) Contributor most deserving of a new camera

Most improved will also receive $5,000, while most deserving will win a Canon EOS 5D with lenses valued at $5,000. The image of the year will be printed in large format and mailed to the top iStockphoto customers worldwide. Prints will be supplied by printing partner myPhotopipe.

Getty Images Photodisc Collaboration Extended
iStock is the only microstock agency that can offer contributors a career path and the possibility of becoming a prestigious Getty Images’ photographer. Several months ago, Diamond-level iStock contributors were offered the opportunity to submit up to five new images a month to Getty’s Photodisc collection. The program has gone so well that it will be expanded to include Gold-level contributors (those with 10,000 downloads) in September.

Pricing
The cost of iStockphoto credits will increase slightly in August, to $1.30 per credit at the base level. Changes are also occurring in the credit structure for Vector and Video files. iStockphoto continues to offer the largest collection of high-quality royalty-free images at the lowest cost, with images available for as low as $0.97 each. Complete details on these changes are available at www.istockphoto.com/pricing2007.

About iStockphoto
iStockphoto, www.istockphoto.com, is the world’s busiest image market, with an image downloaded every 2.5 seconds. iStock pioneered the micropayment phenomenon in this industry, enabling buyers to license images for as little as a dollar. iStockphoto entered the stock video market in September of 2006, selling video for as low as $5 per 30 second clip. In partnership with its members, iStockphoto has turned community into commerce, transforming the digital imagery market by encouraging passionate dialogue and education, while making imagery affordable to businesses that may not have licensed imagery otherwise. iStockphoto is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Getty Images.

iStock™, iStockalypse™ and iStockphoto^® are trademarks of iStockphoto Inc. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.