Photo Researchers
Encyclopedia
Photo Researchers, Inc. is a stock photo agency that began in 1957, as many agencies did back then, by building a library from the outtakes of professional photographers.
Photo Researchers has since become one of the leading sources of medical & science imagery. Still located in midtown Manhattan
, they are now expanding into the field of medical & scientific video.
The company was founded by Peter Schultz in his apartment on Manhattan's East 57th Street. At first running the business from his home, Mr. Schultz amassed one of the largest collections of travel photography, covering many rare and exotic locations and cultures. To this day, if you pick up a book on geography or cultural anthropology or an atlas published between the 1950's and 1970's you are pretty much guaranteed to see Photo Researchers as a major photo source.
The picture agency is still located in New York City
, a few blocks from the Empire State Building
. Currently it archives over a half-million science and nature photos and illustrations. Over half of this material can be located in a searchable, online database, which is also available through 38 other picture libraries around the world. Four thousand images are added to the digital db archive every month.
The agency represents thousands of scientific and natural history photographers, and specializes in researching, locating, acquiring and licensing nature, science and bio-medical imagery. Photo Researchers' Science Source contains thousands of images taken by light microscope, Transmission Electron Microscope, and Scanning Electron Microscope
. Nature Source consists of the original image collection of the National Audubon Society
and also represents hundreds of international nature photographers. Andy Warhol
referenced photos from this archive for his 1983 series on endangered species.
Photo Researchers' images are widely used by technical and textbook publishers, newspapers and magazines, as well as broadcast and internet media. They are a resource for commercial art buyers, hospitals and HMOs, scientists, physicians, educators, and students. They also provide material to universities (e.g. MIT, Harvard University
and Johns Hopkins
) and museums (e.g. The American Museum of Natural History
, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Field Museum of Natural History
).
The website can be used for research, and to license images for personal or commercial use.
Photo Researchers has since become one of the leading sources of medical & science imagery. Still located in midtown Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, they are now expanding into the field of medical & scientific video.
The company was founded by Peter Schultz in his apartment on Manhattan's East 57th Street. At first running the business from his home, Mr. Schultz amassed one of the largest collections of travel photography, covering many rare and exotic locations and cultures. To this day, if you pick up a book on geography or cultural anthropology or an atlas published between the 1950's and 1970's you are pretty much guaranteed to see Photo Researchers as a major photo source.
The picture agency is still located in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, a few blocks from the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
. Currently it archives over a half-million science and nature photos and illustrations. Over half of this material can be located in a searchable, online database, which is also available through 38 other picture libraries around the world. Four thousand images are added to the digital db archive every month.
The agency represents thousands of scientific and natural history photographers, and specializes in researching, locating, acquiring and licensing nature, science and bio-medical imagery. Photo Researchers' Science Source contains thousands of images taken by light microscope, Transmission Electron Microscope, and Scanning Electron Microscope
Scanning electron microscope
A scanning electron microscope is a type of electron microscope that images a sample by scanning it with a high-energy beam of electrons in a raster scan pattern...
. Nature Source consists of the original image collection of the National Audubon Society
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
and also represents hundreds of international nature photographers. Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
referenced photos from this archive for his 1983 series on endangered species.
Photo Researchers' images are widely used by technical and textbook publishers, newspapers and magazines, as well as broadcast and internet media. They are a resource for commercial art buyers, hospitals and HMOs, scientists, physicians, educators, and students. They also provide material to universities (e.g. MIT, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
) and museums (e.g. The American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Field Museum of Natural History
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago...
).
The website can be used for research, and to license images for personal or commercial use.