The soon-to-launch royalty-free portal BrightQube.com is starting to make viral circles around the blogosphere. Though promises of revolutionizing image search no longer impress industry insiders, BrightQube's search interface is a new, techno-savvy and time-efficient twist on the industry-standard engine. Plus, the company is headed by experienced executives, has secured funding and will service both pros and amateurs.

The innovation here is technological: an Ajax-based interface that does not require wading through multiple pages to find the desired image. Instead, the search engine displays what BrightQube has termed a Dynamic Mosaic. It allows the image buyer to see hundreds of small thumbnails at the same time, in much the same way one reviews contact sheets or slide collections. The first click on the thumbnail enlarges it slightly; the second brings up a new dynamic layer with a larger image and more information. In short, the entire shopping session is conducted on one page, instead of dozens or hundreds, as is the case at other stock-image Web sites.

In addition to the time saved for image buyers, BrightQube attempts to address the current industry climate by borrowing from both traditional and new operational structures. The engine will launch with more than 2 million images, including premium royalty-free brands, such as Corbis RF and ImageSource, and micro-payment images from Dreamstime. As other community-based Web sites, BrightQube allows individual photographers to upload images, rounding off the larger brands it represents.

BrightQube was founded by Lee Corkran, a longtime professional photographer. Corkran has held senior positions at Yahoo! Photos, Adobe, Kodak and, most recently, Digital Railroad. Others on the team also hail from Kodak and Digital Railroad, SuperStock and the Web design firm HUGE. The official unveiling of BrightQube is expected later this month.