Commemorative Book Showcases Inauguration Celebrations; More than 20,000 User-Generated Photos Submitted Online to Photobucket
San Francisco, Calif. – April 27, 2009 – Photobucket (http://photobucket.com), the Web’s premier standalone photo and video-sharing site, today celebrated President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office by announcing the 12 Photobucket users whose photos were selected for inclusion in the Official Barack Obama 2009 Presidential Inaugural Book. This is the only official book project of the 2009 Inauguration, and was produced with the full support and cooperation of the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee.
In January, Photobucket, Epicenter Communications and the Presidential Inauguration Committee invited everyday Americans to submit photos of their personal celebrations of President Obama’s Inauguration. Of the more than 20,000 photos submitted to Photobucket, 12 users were selected to have their photos included in this large-format coffee table book, which is available today at http://obamaphotobook.com. These amateur, high quality photos will stand proudly alongside images from some of world’s most experienced photographers.
“Photobucket is thrilled to be working with Epicenter Communications on this historic project,” said Alice Lankester, vice president, marketing for Photobucket. “This is the first time photos from the public are included in the official Inauguration book and we saw a tremendous response from our users. Over 20,000 photos were submitted online during the Inauguration – many of them of excellent quality. It was hard to make a choice, and we are delighted by the 12 Photobucket users’ photos that were selected.”
“Every photo tells a story,” said Matthew Naythons, President of Epicenter Communications and an Inaugural Photography Project producer. “These twelve Photobucket users helped us capture this People’s Inaugural in all its magic—at its most familial moment.”
The Photobucket users selected for inclusion in the book are:
• Brian Dozier, Washington, DC
• Christopher Beecroft, Washington, DC
• Alex Pascover, Washington, DC
• Marta Evry, Los Angeles, CA
• Steve Rosenbaum, New York, NY
• Cecilia Costella, Washington, DC
• Shriya Malhotra, New York, NY
• Sandy Choi, Washington, DC
• Paul Loveland, Richmond, VA
• Christor Lukasiewicz, San Francisco, CA
• Ketan Shah, London, UK
• Andy Isaacson, Berkeley, CA
"My Son Murray was 11 years old when I took his picture on the Washington DC Metro just hours after the Inauguration," said Steve Rosenbaum, New York, NY. "To be able to have that picture included in the Official Barack Obama 2009 Presidential Inaugural Book is both an honor and a treasure. Thank you to Photobucket and Epicenter Communications for capturing the experience from so many points of view. Gathering images from those that experienced it reflects the very character of the event, inclusive and embracing US citizens - much like Democracy itself."
To view the Photobucket photos selected for the Inaugural Book, please visit http://photobucket.com/obamaphotos.
In addition to user-submitted pictures, the Official Barack Obama 2009 Presidential Inaugural Book will include images from an elite team of award-winning photojournalists led by David Hume Kennerly -- a Pulitzer Prize® winner who served as official photographer for the Ford White House -- and Bob McNeely, who served as President Clinton’s official photographer.
The Official Barack Obama 2009 Presidential Inaugural Book can be purchased online at http://www.obamaphotobook.com. Users can also create an optional custom book cover with a personal photo and message to commemorate the event. In addition to the coffee-table sized Inaugural Book with a custom cover, Photobucket users can also build a personalized, smaller format book by uploading their own photos in the final pages of the album, alongside the professional photos. This smaller-format album is available for purchase, with a special discount of 20% for Photobucket users, at http://www.obamaphotobook.com/photobucket.
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About Photobucket
Photobucket is the premier standalone photo and video sharing site, with over 55 million monthly unique users* around the world, linking billions of personal photos, graphics, slideshows and videos daily to hundreds of thousands of web sites, including Bebo, Blogger, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, MySpace, Orkut, Xanga and many others. In addition to linking content, Photobucket users share their personal digital media by email, instant messaging and mobile devices. Every day, over 11 million personal photos, graphics and videos are uploaded to Photobucket for sharing with family, friends and the online world. The company actively moderates content to create a safe environment for its users, partners and advertisers. Photobucket has offices in San Francisco, California and Denver, Colorado and is located online at http://photobucket.com. For the latest feature announcements and news, please visit the Photobucket blog at http://blog.photobucket.com.
*comScore Media Metrix, February 2009
About Epicenter Communications
Epicenter Media and its parent company, Epicenter Communications, are pioneers in online interactive media having launched some of the first consumer online communities on the Internet. Their “Clinton: Portrait of Victory” was the first best-selling book to be accompanied by a CD-ROM. In 1992, Epicenter was tapped by the 52nd Presidential Inaugural Committee to produce the Official Presidential Inaugural Book and went on to create much-treasured books for the next three succeeding presidential inaugurations. The Epicenter group has produced more than twenty prestigious books of photography. Leading photojournalists, including David Burnett, David Kennerly, Eddie Adams, Galen Rowell and Mary Ellen Mark, and distinguished writers, including William Styron, Ward Just and Walter Cronkite, have all collaborated on Epicenter projects. For additional info, visit http://www.epicenter.com.
Contact
Betsy Foudy
Edelman for Photobucket
323.202.1068
betsy.foudy@edelman.com
Wish I had known, I have so many pictures of Obama etc when he was in Fl...
Posted by: Patty Brown | April 27, 2009 at 03:28 PM