In 2008, almost every business PDN covers was hurt in some way by the recession. The year opened with the news that Getty Images, the world’s biggest photo licensor, was for sale. As the months progressed, we reported on hard times for stock agencies, newspapers and magazines, fine art, and advertising. Free digital content became increasingly popular – a positive development in so many ways, yet one that has yielded alarming few opportunities for photo licensing.

As December closed, our look back at the year left us feeling depressed. But when we crunched the numbers to see which stories were most popular among PDN’s Internet readers in 2008, we were pleasantly surprised. You sought out stories about the latest gear and new technology. You spent a lot of time with articles that could help improve your workflow and learn new skills. And you were drawn into spirited debates about the substance of photographs, especially about the impact of political images in this historic election year.

Here we present, in the tradition of Casey Kasem, a countdown of the Top 40 most popular stories on PDN in 2008.

40. Photokina Day 3: Hands-On Impressions of the Leica S2 (September 26)

PDN’s Dan Havlik got to see, touch and smell an early model of Leica’s new DSLR/Medium-Format camera at the Photokina trade show.

39. Tim Hetherington Wins World Press Photo Of The Year (February 8)

British photographer Tim Hetherington won the 51st World Press Photo of the Year award for a shot of a tired U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. The image recalled the look of Vietnam War photography, making it the subject of some debate over the future of photojournalism.
Related: See the picture on PDNPulse.
Watch PDN’s video interview with Tim Hetherington.

38. Object of Desire: Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF 5.0 (April 9)

Rolleiflex released a super cool miniature digital version of its twin reflex camera.
 
37. Nikon Announces Capture NX 2 Photo Editing Software (June 3)

We were impressed with the range of features added to the Nikon Capture NX 2 software.

36. Photokina 2008: Leica Unveils 37.5MP S2 digital SLR (September 23)

This was our breaking news announcement of the Leica S2 DSLR, which was big news and a total surprise to many camera buffs.

35. Editing And Impact In "Big" Photography Blogs (November 24)

Wide-format photo blogs caught fire in 2008, and PDN interviewed the editors of some of the first ones. Not long after this story, PDN launched its own big photo blog, the PDN Photo of the Day.

34. Review: Nikon 15mm f/5.6 LENS (June 2)

Ken Rockwell tested the Nikon 15mm f/5.6 lens with the newest Nikon D3 camera.

33. Adobe Releases Free Photoshop CS4 Download 'Configurator' (November 20)

PDN readers took note when Adobe made its Photoshop CS4 Configurator available for a free download. Two weeks later, Adobe announced 600 job cuts, citing slow demand for its CS4 software.

32. Hands on with the Female-Friendly Camera Bags (March 11)

Theano Nikitas reviewed a couple of camera bags designed with female photographers in mind.

31. The Sartorialist's Street Style (February 12)

PDN spoke to street fashion photographer Scott Schuman, who goes by the name The Sartorialist, about the success of his blog.



30. Ryan McGinley's Disturbing New Wrangler Ads (August 13)

On our PDNPulse blog, we examined McGinley’s campaign for Wrangler jeans, which resembled a creepy wildlife documentary.

29. Photographer Takes on the Iron Man in Lawsuit (June 18)

Los Angeles photographer Ronnie Adams sued the makers the Iron Man blockbuster for allegedly using one of his photos in the film. Update: In September, lawyers for Paramount and Marvel filed a motion arguing that Adams didn’t have enforceable copyright to the photo, since they own the rights to the Iron Man character. The case is still pending.

28. Hands on with the Wacom Cintiq 12WX (February 18)

Theano Nikitas reviewed the latest touchscreen tablet from Wacom, finding it small, lightweight and affordable.

27. $14 Million Baby Photos Break Record; Photographer Gets No Credit (August 4)

As far as we know, these photographs of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's newborn twins are the most expensive photographs ever. The anonymous Getty Images photographer was never named officially, but the smart money was on Brent Stirton. Related: Watch a video interview with Stirton on PDNPulse.

26. Same Stock Trader Keeps Getting Himself Photographed (October 17)

Shortly after we published this PDNPulse post about an oddly photogenic stock trader, we heard through the grapevine that the trader was displeased and was trying to get in touch with us. We never heard from him.

25. Martin Parr: Why Photojournalism Must "Get Modern" (July 31)

PDN interviewed British photographer Martin Parr about his argument that photojournalism “has to get modern” to regain the attention and support of readers and publications.

24. Canon Unveils Anxiously-Awaited 21.1-megapixel EOS 5D Mark II (September 17)

This was PDN’s first report on Canon’s potentially game-changing new professional DSLR.

23. A Day in the Life of Maxim.com Photo Editor Kelly Stuart (August 27, 2008)

Among other details, this story included a reference to something called “Hometown Hotties,” which may account for its runaway popularity on our site.
 
22. Canon Ups the Ante with Pro-Level G10 Compact Camera (September 16)

Reviewer David Schloss was impressed by the pro-friendly features of Canon’s new compact camera.

21. Tim Kent's Brave New World of Car Lighting (August 2)

British photographer Tim Kent continues to break the rules—and break new ground—in the once-conservative world of car photography.



20. Full-Screen, High-Res Slide Shows: About Time! (August 28)

A short item on PDNPulse, this was our first observation about the sudden popularity of big news photos and slideshows online. “Keep an eye on this,” we said. Lots of people did. We later followed up with the story Editing And Impact In "Big" Photography Blogs, number 35 on this list.

19. Would YOU Have Published This Embarrassing John McCain Photo? (October 16)

Readers answered this question with a resounding "yes." Jim Bourg’s picture of Sen. McCain with his tongue hanging out was an instant hit.

18. Hands-On Test of Nikon Capture NX2 (June 16)

In this review, Theano Nikitas dove into the nitty-gritty details of Nikon’s new editing/processing software.

17. PDN's 2008 Wedding Photographer Survey Results (May 8)

Over 1,000 wedding photographers completed PDN’s survey about how much they earn, how hard they work, and how efficiently they run their businesses.

16. Vincent Laforet's Stealth Weekend with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II (September 18)

As buzz was building over Canon’s new video-capable DSLR, photographer Vincent Laforet shared a sensational short movie video he shot while testing the new camera.

15. Bill Would End Ban on Photos of Returning Military Dead (August 14)

A bill in Congress proposed letting the press, including photographers, cover ceremonies honoring military dead. Update: The bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel and never came up for a vote.

14. Brides Speak Their Minds About Photographers' Web Sites (April 23)

PDN recruited three brides-to-be to critique the web sites of five wedding photographers. Here, we posted their unedited critiques, along with responses from the photographers.

13. Colin Powell Cites Platon Photo In Obama Endorsement (October 19)

As he endorsed Barack Obama on Meet The Press, former Secretary of State Colin Powell mentioned a magazine photograph he saw. We quickly figured out it was a Platon photo published in The New Yorker.

12. Fallout From Jill Greenberg's McCain Images (September 16)

Jill Greenberg caused an outcry when she published unflattering and manipulated outtakes from a photo shoot she did with Sen. John McCain. Here we followed the reaction, which was highly critical of Greenberg.

11. Press Taps MySpace For Photos Of Spitzer Call Girl (March 13)

News outlets eagerly published photos from the MySpace profile of the woman accused of being New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s prostitute. PDN examined whether that was even legal. Update: As far as we know, nobody ever got sued for this.



10. Disembedded: Marines Send a War Photographer Packing (July 17)

PDN spoke to freelance photojournalist Zoriah shortly after he was sent home from his Marine embed in Iraq, after publishing an image of a dead U.S. Marine on his blog. Related: An audio slide show with Zoriah.

9. Seeing Red (October 3)

Given the high interest in the new Red One camera, it’s no surprise readers were drawn to this PDN Gear Guide story about a photographer using one to shoot an ad campaign.

8. Five Photos That Cinched the Election for Barack (November 5)

The day after the election, PDN staff named some pictures we thought were the most influential (not necessarily the best) of the campaign. This post was so popular it got us mentioned on MSNBC’s Hardball.

7. Confusion as Digital Railroad Shuts Down; Sites May Go Dark (October 28)

Even readers outside the photo community were fascinated by the train wreck that was Digital Railroad. Hundreds of photographers had to scramble to save their Web sites and online archives when this technology provider ran out of money and abruptly shut down.

6. Apple Opens Aperture to Outside Plug-Ins with Version 2.1 (March 28)

Apple invited PDN to its headquarters in Cupertino to get a sneak-peak at the new version of Aperture, which opened the program to plug-ins from third-party software developers.

5. Newsweek's Palin Cover is a Six-Year-Old Stock Photo (September 10)

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was among the most fascinating characters of 2008, and Newsweek’s decision to run a photograph of her holding a shotgun caused some controversy. We noticed that the photo was an old stock image.

4. Macbook Air Review (May 22)

It sure looked sexy, but could the super-light MacBook Air hack it as a photo-editing machine? Reviewer David Schloss put one through the paces to find out.

3. Canon 5D Mark II Sample Video Clips (September 17)

The Canon 5D Mark II proved to be the only gear item that attracted more interest this year than any Apple product. This PDNPulse blog post uncovered some sample video shot with the camera – from Korea.

2. Video: Pundit Calls On Newsweek To Do More Retouching (October 8)

As the McCain-Palin ticket lagged in the polls, commentators on Fox News criticized Newsweek for failing to retouch a cover portrait of Sarah Palin. We posted the clip on PDNPulse, launching a conversation about photo ethics and sexism in the media.

1. How Jill Greenberg Really Feels About John McCain (September 12)

When Jill Greenberg wanted to talk about her photographs of John McCain, she called PDN’s David Walker, who broke the story on our blog. Greenberg’s decision to mock Sen. McCain on her Web site after photographing him for The Atlantic catapulted the photographer into a politically charged controversy. Update: While some people predicted this would finish Greenberg’s career, she quickly found new representation and continues to shoot ads, including a recent Sci-Fi Channel campaign. For more, please see our follow-up post: Fallout From Jill Greenberg's McCain Images, which was number 12 on this list.