iStockphoto Announces Winners of its International Punctum Day Awards with $45,000 in Prizes given to Top Contributing Artists

CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 19, 2009 – iStockphoto, the world’s leading royalty-free stock destination, today announced the nine winners of its Punctum Day competition, now in its third year. Punctum Day celebrates creative excellence and the profound emotional impact a truly great work of art can have on its audience. Finalists were chosen by the user-generated community of more than 6 million iStock members and the winners were determined by an international panel of judges.

This year’s categories included best photo, vector, video, Flash™ and design of the year with audio included for the first time. The top 10 finalists from each category were selected from a pool of more than 1.75 million entries. The panel of judges included Chris and Trish Meyer, founders of Crish Design; Russell Brown, senior creative director at Adobe Systems; and Scott Kelby, publisher and co-founder of Photoshop User Magazine, editor-in-chief of Layers magazine and host of Photoshop User TV. Each winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000.

iStockphoto Punctum Day Winners:
Photo of the year – Vladimir Piskunov (member name: piskunov), Russia, Full Moon Calling

Video of the year – David Baumber (member name: multifocus), United Kingdom, Busy Office Frozen in Time

Vector of the year – Brian Smith (member name: scargut), United States, The Vlad Supper

Audio of the year – Alexander Maas (member name: -MUX-), Germany, Siberia

Flash of the year – Holger Bogen (member name: holgerbogen), Germany, Computer Hacker

Design of the Year – Adrian Foster (member name: vsdesign), United Kingdom, Jonathan Trumbull & Hatters homepage design

The iStockphoto inspection team named Kurt Paris (member name: paris), United Kingdom, as the most improved contributor and Luis Sandoval Mandujano (member name: erlucho), Chile, as the most deserving of new equipment. Paris will receive a USD $5,000 cash prize and Mandujano will receive $5,000 in new equipment. Jamie Carroll, (member name: jc_design) was named winner of the “Steel Cage – 2009 Battle Royale” competition and will also take home $5,000.

Hall of Fame:
The iStockphoto Hall of Fame spotlights members who have left an indelible stamp on the history of the company. iStock founder, Bruce Livingstone, left the organization earlier this year. His ideas, passion and commitment created more than just a company – they created an industry. His commitment to the iStock community provided the foundation on which the company continues to grow. It is only fitting that Bruce be given a position of honor in the iStockphoto hall of fame.

About iStock
iStockphoto offers affordable inspiration with royalty-free photos, illustrations, video, audio and Flash® files. Using the most accurate search in the business, customers download a file at least every second from a collection of more than five million files for business, marketing and personal projects.

iStockphoto started in 2000, pioneering the micropayment photography business model, and has become one of the most successful and profitable user-generated content sites in the world. iStockphoto pays out approximately $1.2 million weekly in artist royalties.

iStockphoto is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Getty Images.