Microsoft targets the digital image crowd

Microsoft has recently been attempting to appeal to a crowd it traditionally hasn't focused on: digital photographers.

The software behemoth has never been known as a leader in the creative side of software manufacturing -- that title arguably goes to Apple or Adobe. But Microsoft is trying to change that image in anticipation of its Vista operating system, particularly in the field of digital photography.

Thursday marked its first Pro Photo Summit, featuring the launch of a program called Icons of Imaging, designed to showcase the work of leaders and innovators in photography -- and the announcement of the winners of a Future Pro Photographer Contest.

The inaugural summit introduced the first six 'icons', an array of photographers whose specialties range from nature to celebrities to weddings. A panel of judges selected an overall winner and three runners-up in the Future Pro contest, which Microsoft says had 13,000 entries from 92 countries. The grand prize went to a Romanian entrant, while all the runners-up were American.

Hosting a high-profile photographers' event isn't the only thing Microsoft has been doing to boost its stance among digital-photography enthusiasts. Earlier this week, the software company purchased iView Multimedia, a British start-up that specialises in digital photo organisation, as a potential rival to Adobe's Lightroom and Apple's Aperture.

Microsoft is also working on Windows Media Photo, a format designed to rival the popular JPEG digital-photo format. Handling digital media, including photos, is one of the key features Microsoft plans to tout with Windows Vista, the successor to Windows XP that is set for mainstream launch in January.

But whether Microsoft will actually be able to lure photo aficionados, largely grounded in Adobe Photoshop and Aperture on a Mac, is unclear.

CNET News.com's Ina Fried contributed to this report.