Italian Photog Says Leibovitz Stole His Pics

(NEWSER) - A financial firm is suing Vanity Fair photographer Annie Leibovitz for failing to cooperate to repay a $24 million loan, reports the Telegraph. Leibovitz last year put up her photographs and two homes as collateral for the money to pay off debts. But now Art Capital Group said the 59-year-old photographer is engaging in "boldly deceptive" conduct to dodge selling some of that property to begin repaying the debt. More»

(NEWSER) - Photographer to the stars Annie Leibovitz is in a widely reported financial pickle, but it really comes as no surprise to those close to her, New York reports. Leibovitz is now engaged in baroque legal wrangling over her catalog, but her troubles started earlier. Insiders say a suspected “contract for life” with Vanity Fair and a $250,000 day rate are hogwash, and that she has simply lived above her means for quite some time. “She wanted her life to be like a magazine spread,” an associate says. More»

Filmmaker used iconic pic without permission

(NEWSER) - Michael Moore may have gone too far this time: Prize-winning photographer Michael Yon is readying a lawsuit against the filmmaker for using one of his iconic photos from Iraq without permission, the New York Post reports. The image of an American soldier carrying the bloody body of an Iraqi child was voted the top photo of 2005 by Time readers. Moore posted it on his website last year. More»

Historic Henry Peter Bosse images show river in 1880s

(NEWSER) - Few have heard of Henry Peter Bosse, but his 19th-century photographs have earned a home in a federal vault—and a single album is worth $4.5 million. Sotheby's recently appraised the album, which illustrates the changing Mississippi River in the 1880s, and its value had quadrupled over 20 years. But the album's history isn't so illustrious: It spent more than 50 years on a dredge vessel where it appears to have been barely noticed, the Star Tribune reports. More»

... there's just one catch

(NEWSER) - It's hard to truly capture the weirdness of this lawsuit recounted by the New York Times . Is it because a Manhattan groom is suing a photography studio over what he says are lousy wedding photos? Not at all. Because he waited six years to file the suit? Nope. Because he insists that the studio pay for the entire wedding to be recreated so it can be photographed again? Getting warmer now, but no. More»