The Western Publications Association has honored PhotoMedia with a 2010 Maggie Award as the Best Semi-Annual or Three-Times-Per-Year Trade Publication for its Summer 2009 issue on nature and wildlife photography. The magazine was also nominated in two other categories: Best Interview or Profile/Trade for a story on Mark Moffett (Summer 2009 issue); and Best Single Editorial Photo/Trade for one of Moffett’s macro images of a praying mantis.

PhotoMedia has been nominated for Maggie Awards 23 times over the last 11 years and has won six awards. Now in its 59th year, the Maggie Awards, which honor magazine and electronic publishing excellence, are among the most prestigious and coveted industry awards for American publications operating west of the Mississippi River.

By Hermon Joyner

From the air, Daniel Beltrá records a dramatic Greenpeace protest about deforestation in Para State, Brazil. The activists occupied this deforested area and unfurled a huge banner with the words “100% crime.” Soon after the picture was taken, the angry landowner drove over the banner and destroyed it with his truck. © Daniel Beltrá

If you talk to someone as deeply enmeshed in environmental conservation issues as Seattle-based photographer Daniel Beltrá and ask something like “Does global warming exist?”, you might expect an angry, exasperated response. But you’d probably be surprised.

It’s earnestness that you hear in Beltrá’s voice, seasoned with passion and tempered with patience. He explains that the last time he was visiting the Inuit people of the Arctic, they told him they could no longer store their food in the ground, as they had been doing for countless generations. The permafrost is gone now, so their food would rot in the ground if stored there. This has never happened before, and now their way of life has changed. Perhaps forever.

Beltrá is working to change things in the only way he knows how. He is making photographs of the places and people most affected by climate change. Instead of scare tactics and guilt trips, he offers what he has seen and experienced. Beltrá leaves it up to us to decide what to make of it. He sums it up like this: “I try to translate the science into images.”

Like many photographers who use images as tools for change in the world, Daniel Beltrá makes photographs that combine beauty and horror, grace and devastation. It is this juxtaposition of opposites that drives him onward. It is the tantalizing glimmer of hope for change that keeps him going. But how he got his start as a photographer is an interesting story all by itself.

An iceberg floats in the Ross Sea near Antarctica. “I went with Greenpeace to document the whaling by the Japanese,” Beltrá says. “I ended up having the chance to document the area from our small Hughes 500 helicopter. Flying without doors was beautiful and incredibly cold!”© Daniel Beltrá

Starting with a bang

“As a kid, I always liked photography,” Beltrá says. Growing up in his native Spain, he always had cameras with him wherever he went.

“I had two main interests: One was a passion for nature and the outdoors — I was in the Boy Scouts, going camping and spending a lot of time outdoors — and the other was photography,” he says. “But I never put those two together in my mind as a profession.” That is, until he was much older. He was also a member of Greenpeace France and frequently gave money to the World Wildlife Fund.

One morning in 1989, as he was getting ready to attend classes at Complutense University of Madrid, Beltrá was listening to the radio. It was around 7 a.m., and the DJ was talking about a huge explosion that had just happened near the station. Beltrá grabbed his cameras and immediately drove there. “I was one of the first on the scene,” he recalls. He shot several photographs of the bombing, which was the work of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), the Basque separatist group that was notorious for committing terrorist acts across Spain.

After he finished shooting, Beltrá drove to the Spanish News Agency, EFE, which is a wire service much like the Associated Press. Arriving at around 7:30, he ran in and flagged down the nearest person he could find. He told this editor that he had some pictures they might want to see. “But she told me, ‘Oh, I’ve already sent out our photographers. I’m not interested,’” Beltrá says. “She didn’t even want to process the film.”

In the middle of the Brazilian Amazon, Serra dos Carajás, the largest open-pit iron mine in the world, stains the earth red. “It’s a very big development, with train tracks and lots of buildings,” Beltrá says. “Really, it’s a city in the middle of the rainforest.” © Daniel Beltrá

Beltrá thought his effort — and his big chance at a career — was wasted. “So I was leaving when a guy called out to me, ‘Hey kid, kid! What were you saying?’” he continues. “I said, ‘I just took some photos of the bombing.’ He was the lab technician. He said, ‘Give me that. I’m going to process them for you.’”

The lab tech processed the film, took one look at the negatives and called the director of photography. On the spot, they offered him a job. “That’s when I started as a stringer for them, and soon I had a contract,” Beltrá says. “From no real background, I started working as a photojournalist.”

The EFE years

EFE didn’t waste any time. They immediately sent Beltrá out on assignments, and he hit the ground running. “I just started full-time,” he says. “From one day to the next, I found myself with a full camera kit and I was working. They sent me on small stories, like a press conference here and there, or a minor sports event. If there was the opportunity, they would pair me with one of the older guys who knew what they were doing, and send me on bigger stories. That’s how I did it. I learned a lot, of course.”

For a while, Beltrá tried to combine work and school, but his job with EFE started to include more and more travel. Between the hours and the travel, he had to make a decision. He decided to leave college before getting his degree in biology. He hasn’t looked back.

This image of a thirsty mule searching desperately for water in Brazil’s Curuai lakebed during a terrible 2005 drought in the Amazon was part of the photo series that earned Beltrá his first World Press Photo award. © Daniel Beltrá

It was during his time at EFE that Beltrá made an important discovery about being a photographer. “It’s a first-row ticket to life,” he explains. “With a camera, you can go and do anything you want. You can join the next expedition to Everest, or you can visit an aircraft carrier, or you can go into a surgery room, or you can be in the front row at a rugby match. It’s the perfect excuse to do anything.”

And it was because of EFE that Beltrá was able to connect with Greenpeace and change the course of both his career and his life.

The Greenpeace connection

It wasn’t long after joining EFE that Beltrá knew he wanted to do a story on Greenpeace. He had belonged to the organization since he was a child, and he thought this would be a good way to get a firsthand look at what they do. He contacted Greenpeace in 1990, and they invited him to photograph a Mediterranean survey of marine mammals. The ship was leaving in three days.

At first, his editor at EFE turned him down, but Beltrá tried negotiating. “Let’s make a deal,” he told the editor. “If I take two weeks of holidays and produce a good story, will you send it out on the wire?” His editor agreed, so Beltrá did a story on the Greenpeace mission and the editor kept his word. “That really opened the doors for me with Greenpeace,” Beltrá says.

For the next two years Greenpeace repeatedly approached Beltrá with more assignments, and he became increasingly frustrated because he couldn’t accept them. “I was stuck in EFE, and I couldn’t take outside work like that,” he says. So he decided to make some changes. “I ended up quitting EFE and I became a correspondent for Gamma, a French agency in Spain,” he says. “Because I was on a freelance basis, this allowed me to work with Greenpeace.” It turned out to be the ideal relationship.

Right: While flying in a Greenpeace Cessna, Beltrá spotted this forlorn “island” of rainforest amid a vast soybean field in Brazil. “I shot only four frames,” he says. “I call this ‘drive-by shooting.’ I wonder why they left that area untouched.” © Daniel Beltrá

In the air, on the ground

The pace ever since has been fierce but rewarding for Beltrá, who is on the road up to nine months of the year. It’s also allowed him to explore new ways of taking pictures, especially when it comes to aerial imagery. “I never tried to be an aerial photographer,” Beltrá says. “It just happened by chance.”

Once, Beltrá was on a Greenpeace ship that was equipped with a small helicopter. He decided to catch a ride in the whirlybird, and when he started to shoot, he thought, Well, this is interesting. Photographing from the air gave everything a new perspective. “Something clicked in my brain, and since then I’ve done it a lot,” he says.

Beltrá has a few suggestions for getting great images. “I shoot handheld,” he offers. “I keep my body away from contacting the parts of the plane, except where I’m sitting. I try to shoot at higher shutter speeds, and I shoot a lot. In that sense, digital photography has helped tremendously. You can shoot so much more, and you get better results.”

To compare, when Beltrá shoots on the ground, he’ll take between 100 and 300 images a day, but when he is in the air, he might capture 3,000 to 4,000 images in the same amount of time.

This creates its own problems of image management, such as the substantial time needed to download, caption and back up. “Especially if it’s a long day, I have three to five hours of work to do after shooting,” Beltrá says. Using Mac laptops with Photo Mechanic and Adobe Lightroom, he downloads and backs up his images to sometimes two or three portable hard drives. Each drive is stored in a different case or piece of luggage, and sometimes Beltrá keeps one with him at all times. It may sound like overkill, but it doesn’t pay to take chances with once-in-a-lifetime images when you are in remote, possibly dangerous locations.

Though he is known mostly for his aerial images of nature under attack, Beltrá also takes more intimate closeups of some subjects. Here, the purple flowers of the jambo tree in Belterra, Brazil, brighten the ground around its roots. © Daniel Beltrá

Aerial photography has an aesthetic all its own, and Beltrá is totally entranced by it. “If you look at a burned area with some fallen trees once you are on the ground, you don’t get any idea of the scale,” he explains. “Once you get up in the air, it’s very easy to see the scale and it’s easy to see the contrast. I like to work in those borders between the pristine forests and what we cut and burn, or a mining operation and the trees. It’s simple and direct, but it’s also a different way of looking at things. I think we respond well to still images, and from the air things can be both beautiful and shocking. Sometimes presenting something that is terrible in a more interesting and artistic way can make the difference in getting people to look at it or getting it published.”

Even on the ground, Beltrá regularly finds himself working in extreme conditions. Two of his biggest challenges are dust and humidity. To deal with dust, he finds that he often uses zoom lenses, like the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L and the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS lenses. He carries three or four camera bodies — the Canon 5D Mark II is his current favorite — so he can mount a lens on a body in less dusty conditions and leave it on during the shoot, minimizing the risk of dust on the image sensor.

Humidity is another matter. In the tropical rainforests he visits frequently, such as the Amazon, condensation is a constant concern. It can get inside the cameras and lenses and really create problems. To counter this, at night Beltrá stores all his camera gear in either Think Tank roller bags or Pelican cases with lots of silica gel to absorb any moisture and condensation.

“At night, I try to make all the gear really dry so at least I start the next day with completely dry gear,” he says. “Humidity is definitely a big problem, but I’ve been very lucky with my Canon cameras. I’ve never had a problem in the field.”

The major league

As his collection of images grew, Beltrá began looking for new venues through which he could distribute his work and spread his messages of conservation. In 2005, he noticed the creation of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), which was formed by Cristina Mittermeier during the 8th World Wilderness Congress in Anchorage, Alaska.

Mittermeier, who is a professional photographer and trained marine biologist, saw that there was a shortage of high-quality, relevant images related to the loss of natural habitat, and felt that there was a need for a coalition of like-minded photographers.

Today, the ILCP includes such world-renowned photographers as Art Wolfe, Jim Brandenburg, Franz Lanting and Robert Glenn Ketchum, who work together to spread the word about endangered places around the world.

“I contacted one of their photographers, inquiring how to become a member, but he told me you can only join ILCP by invitation, so good luck,” Beltrá says. However, it wasn’t long before he got a call from Mittermeier asking him to submit his portfolio. After being invited to audition into the group, Beltrá started out as an associate and then worked his way up to becoming an ILCP fellow.

“It’s really been very interesting because these people are the top photographers in my specialty on the planet,” Beltrá says. “So for me, it was really quite humbling and exciting to be part of this group. Many of us are trying to do the same thing: improving and promoting conservation through our art, through our images. It’s exciting.”

Beltrá found it difficult to capture these jagged Chilean marble formations from a boat. “They are really more like islands of marble on a lake of fresh water — the wind and waves carve them,” he says. “Next time I will use a tripod in the not-so-deep water.” © Daniel Beltrá

A meaningful life

In his book “The Gift,” poet and essayist Lewis Hyde talked about the difference between labor and work. In basic terms, he wrote that work is what we get paid for and labor is how and why we live.

For his part, Daniel Beltrá has done an excellent job of harmonizing both work and labor in his life. He has structured his life so that he can labor for the causes he believes in and make the world a better place for everyone to treasure.

He’s even getting rewarded for his efforts. Last year Beltrá was given the Prince’s Rainforests Project Award, sponsored by Prince Charles of England, in recognition of 20-plus years of recording the effects of deforestation and environmental devastation around the world, most notably in the Amazon. As part of the award, a limited-edition book of his images was published and given to world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Beltrá wanted to shoot this belching Riau Andalan paper facility on the island of Sumatra, but had trouble dodging the plant’s intense security detail. “I ended up renting the police helicopter,” he says. “When I asked if we could go photograph the plant, they said, ‘We can go anywhere — we’re the police.’” © Daniel Beltrá

Some photographers find it difficult to balance married life and work, especially when that work involves traveling so many months out of the year. But for Beltrá and his wife, Shoshana, this is everyday life.

“When we’re together, we’re very happy. When we’re not together, we miss each other, but life goes on,” he says. “Like me, she’s not afraid of being alone. She met me when I was already traveling the world, and I haven’t changed what I’ve been doing. She believes in what I do, and she’s very supportive.”

In recent years, the distances between Daniel and Shoshana have been easier to bridge because of improved communication technology. In 2007, the last time he did an extended tour of the Southern Oceans and Antarctica on a Greenpeace ship, he had internet access 24/7. “It’s way better now,” he adds. “Rarely do I have a week without being able to say hello.”

From his home in Seattle, Daniel Beltrá can look back on what he has accomplished and look forward to his next challenges. Although he has garnered successes that other photographers can only dream of, he has a hard time seeing that success.

“The forests are disappearing very rapidly. Almost 20 percent of the Amazon is already gone,” Beltrá says of this aerial image showing the main culprits: a farmer, a tractor and an endless soy field. “It’s hard to believe that this was pristine rainforest just a couple years ago.” © Daniel Beltrá

“I’m just another guy with a camera,” he insists. “I don’t think I’m successful. I think it’s very important to be humble and to work hard. I think I’ve just been lucky, and I need to keep working hard. As a photographer, especially for photojournalists, the majority of us are trying to raise awareness and fight for important issues. So I find myself in the position where I can have an impact. It makes me work even harder because I feel a bigger responsibility.”

Beltrá pauses briefly and adds, “It’s really scary what’s happening in our world. If I can help with my images, that’s what I want to do.”

Hermon Joyner is a writer and photographer based in Portland, Ore. To view his work and read his blog posts on various subjects, visit hermonjoyner.com.

Daniel Beltrá © Gary Halpern

IN THE LOUPE: Daniel Beltrá

Home: Seattle (danielbeltra.com)

Books: “Rainforests: Lifebelt for an Endangered Planet.” Working on an upcoming monograph.

Recent awards: The Prince’s Rainforests Project Award (2009), ILCP Photographer of the Month (February 2010), ABC News Person of the Week (November 2009), Global Vision Award from the Pictures of the Year International Competition (2008), World Press Photo award-winning images (2006, 2007).

Preferred equipment: Canon 5D Mark II (“Smaller cameras are nice,” Beltrá says). Lenses: 24-70mm f/2.8 L, 500mm f/4 L and 24mm f/2.8 TSE. Mac computers. Think Tank roller bags.

Personal projects: “I don’t have time for personal projects,” he says. “I want to be working on conservation projects.”

Pet peeves: So-called “wildlife” photographers using game-farm animals as models. “I think that’s so wrong,” he says. “It’s wrong for the animals. It’s wrong for all the other photographers actually working in the wild. It’s an exploitation of the animal.”

Hobbies: Hiking, being outdoors, bird watching.

Inspiration and influences: Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Edward Burtinsky, Sebastião Salgado, Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Advice to aspiring landscape photographers: “Forget about equipment. Forget about traveling to remote places. Find stories that are near your house and don’t require spending a lot of money to reach, but where you can be comfortable enough to go back several times. Shoot it a lot, edit it a lot and be tough with editing yourself.”

By Adam Crawford

Jeremy Kidd spent parts of five separate days to record the tumult of New York City’s Times Square in various lighting conditions. “I discovered, as night wore on, that Times Square emptied of people,” he notes. “At 4 a.m., many of the lights were turned off.” © Jeremy Kidd

It takes more than a single snapshot to appreciate the intricacies of a place. The artist Jeremy Kidd, who is perhaps better known in Los Angeles as a painter and sculptor, discovered this fact a few years ago when he decided to pick up a camera as a new artistic tool.

His inspiration was, of all things, a Sylvia Plath poem. Eve Wood, a curator for the Cirrus Gallery, one of the most prestigious galleries in Los Angeles, asked Kidd to read Plath’s poem “Ariel” and create a piece for the gallery. He was traveling in Desert Hot Springs, Calif., when he saw a landscape that reminded him of Plath’s imagery and stopped to take a photograph. But he came to realize that just one photograph could not fully represent the experience he was having. What he needed was a full panorama showing the combination of all the elements he saw — what he calls a “fictional reality.”

Kidd went back to visit the same spot three times, photographing it at midnight, at sunset and at midday, and then combining those images into a single, Photoshopped landscape. “That represented ‘Ariel’ for me,” he explains. “I felt that it was quite a shift from my earlier work, that [it] was a strong concept of uniting lots of photographs together to build up an experience of being in a place, the same way we build up an experience of being in a place and spending time there, looking at different features.”

From this experiment, Kidd launched his “Fictional Realities” series, a body of work made from hundreds of two-minute exposures stitched together in Photoshop. “These pieces are as much about what traditional photography is not, exploring movement, time, multiple viewpoints, and the subjectivity of experience,” he says.

“I feel the best way to convey the experience of one’s vista is to take multiple images of the entire scene and reassemble them,” Kidd says. “It seems unrealistic to expect a single photographic shot, a single moment in time, to convey the human experience of seeing. We visually explore our environment in the third and fourth dimensions as we build up our personal visual journey, and I aim to present something of this experience.”

Kidd's work, seen at the "Hyper Architectural Typologies" exhibition in 2007 © Jeremy Kidd at the California Museum of Photography in Riverside, Calif.

Painterly origins

Before he turned to photographic pixels, the British-born Kidd mainly used a paintbrush to realize his artistic visions. It’s a calling that runs in the family; Kidd comes from a long line of fine-art painters and sculptors in England. His great-grandfather, William Nicholson, was a portraitist for the British aristocracy. His grandmother, Barbara Hepworth, was a renowned sculptor and his grandfather, Ben Nicholson, was arguably the first abstract painter in the U.K. All were heavily motivated by the British landscape.

Kidd carried on the tradition, starting his career as a sculptor and painter after earning a bachelor of arts degree at De Monfort University in Leicester, England, in 1984. Although painting and sculpture were his primary media, Kidd got his first taste of photography at art school, when his professor assigned the class to take a walk and document it with photos. For Kidd, the task turned into a topographical map of where he had been, sowing the seeds for future photographic endeavors.

As Kidd found acclaim in the art world, his expansion into photography was a natural progression. When photography was first introduced as an artistic medium, he says, the need to paint arguably became obsolete, because photography represents a more faithful and truthful representation.

“There is much beauty in the everyday detritus of construction,” Kidd says. And few places on earth showcase more construction than the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Here, Kidd provides a unique perspectives of the growing city: the monumental authority of the Dubai International Financial Center. © Jeremy Kidd

Many of his early paintings of buildings resembled altered photographic forms. Further along in his career, in the late 1980s, Kidd began using actual photographs in his paintings. In many of his works, he would paint brightly colored “primal forms” resembling single-celled organisms on the surfaces of outdoor landscapes. For some installations, he would pair these paintings with sculptural representations of the organic blobs, making them appear to crawl off the image and onto the floors and walls.

From many come one

Despite the editing work involved, Kidd describes his images as products of happenstance. Sometimes his work comes by way of commissions, or he is moved by a new place he sees, or he wants to shoot a place he has long romanticized. His emotional connection to a particular location usually dictates his subject matter.

The edges of Kidd’s landscapes are uneven and have an abstract quality to them, similar to David Hockney’s photo-collage work from the 1980s. Kidd chooses not to make the edges straight and symmetrical in order to give the images an uneven profile. Were he to make the landscapes rectangular, he says, he would lose a lot of important information.

“As a sculptor, I like a certain truth to my process; I like there to be a story about how I got to where I got to,” Kidd says. By leaving the profiles of the original images that appear as a result of the overlapping photos, he is “honoring the process of how these things were made,” he adds. “Also, because I’m a sculptor, I like to reference a sculptural activity of how these things are made. I had to cut them out like this because of the sculptural nature of the piece. I talk about the drama of a place and the light, but because I think of my sculptural background, I’m always trying to convey the physicality of the place.”

“There is much beauty in the everyday detritus of construction,” Kidd says. And few places on earth showcase more construction than the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Here, Kidd provides a unique perspectives of the growing city: the monumental authority of the Dubai International Financial Center and the activity and scaffolding in the area surrounding the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai.© Jeremy Kidd

By using repeated elements and warping the three-dimensional architectural forms to fit the 2-D format of his cityscapes, Kidd deconstructs iconic locations — Times Square, the Chrysler Building, the London waterfront — flattening them and splaying them out until they are almost unrecognizable.

One of his favorite landscapes is “Crystal City 2,” which depicts part of the Houston skyline framed by a curved entryway that seemingly encircles the viewer. To Kidd, the former Enron building seen in the background appears to be both “taking off and landing.”

The sprawling cityscape of Dubai is another vision that came to life for Kidd, allowing him to show a complete picture of the urban landscape at night. With scaffolding everywhere in the rapidly growing city, and the world’s tallest structure, the Burj Dubai, rising in the background, these inanimate buildings appear to breathe. “Two-thirds of the world’s cranes were operating in Dubai during my trip,” he says. “There seemed to be more dust in the air than on the ground.”

Above: Kidd tackles a more classic landscape theme with this view of Lions Bay, British Columbia, shot from different angles and during both day and night. “The logs have conflicting lighting directions and have become the primary focus rather than the more obvious geographic features,” he says.© Jeremy Kidd

The madness of method

To create some of his downtown skylines, Kidd will take hundreds of images and later piece them together in Photoshop. He likes shooting at night because he feels that buildings and skyscrapers take on a life of their own, almost as though they have souls, as they emit light from their windows. If he shot these structures during the day, he says, they would be overshadowed by the human interaction going on around them, so he prefers shooting at night and the early morning.

Flirting with disaster is part of the game when you’re out alone on the streets of L.A.’s skid row armed only with a camera and a tripod, or lost on the Southwest’s 100-mile-long Lake Powell on a WaveRunner with no cell phone reception and no idea where the houseboat was moored. While shooting New York City’s Chrysler Building, Kidd sat on a 40-foot ladder atop the Allied Irish Bank building for three days, capturing hundreds of images while suffering terribly from vertigo.

“Crystal City 2” is one of Kidd’s personal favorites. The former Enron building in the center “has acquired an almost transcendental presence,” he says. “As a viewer, I feel both encircled and drawn into this piece.” © Jeremy Kidd

But Kidd’s results speak volumes; he creates anamorphic and surreal urban cityscapes with amazing detail. His sensational images capture not only the visuals but also the feelings evoked by the places he photographs.

The cutting edge

Painting a canvas is a lengthy process that takes years to master, but it’s a talent Kidd had already acquired. Now that he has embraced digital photography, he takes the vast number of images from his adventures and “paints” them together into provocative and beautiful compositions.

His tools are a Canon E0S-5D, a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM wide-angle lens, Apple Aperture to organize his images, and Photoshop. While he is out in the field he takes hundreds of photos, mostly two-minute exposures either handheld or on a tripod, of every detail and square inch of the landscape in front of him.

Kidd’s camera focuses on the minutest of details, from the scaffolding surrounding a construction site to a close-up of a wall or other element that he finds pertinent.

“I give these elements an equal amount of attention in a piece, so photographing the texture of a floor, or a paper bag, or a trash can, or a parking cone is as interesting as the world’s tallest building or the Superdome,” he says. “I like to balance the attention to those different kinds of detail — in other words, giving an importance to all of them — so I can say that they are just as important as each other, or that beauty can be found in areas you might not expect. So in that case I play with distance and length.”

Using either aperture priority or timing priority — depending on whether he wants to show the movement of traffic on a freeway, for instance, or isolate an object by playing with depth of field — Kidd uses many techniques to create the whole.

“This piece is a 360-degree panoramic, but also a 180-degree arc from the street to the top of the Chrysler Building,” Kidd says of this New York rooftop scene. After spending nearly three days atop a 27-story building to capture the image, he says that his “vertigo was lost to the concentration of getting the perfect shots.”© Jeremy Kidd

He isn’t bogged down by the technique of photography, believing that “happy accidents,” such as a frame out of focus, can often add a new dynamic to the image. These areas often start to look surreal or fictional, and they are what gave him the idea for his current series, “Fictional Realities.”

Kidd may shoot up to 800 images of one subject, so just wading through them to find all of the ones he likes can be a daunting task. After he does so, reducing the total to about 60 images, he pieces them together over a two- to six-month period, adding layers and stitching the images together as seamlessly as possible. Eventually, he creates a massive finished image that can be up to four gigabytes in size.

“I’ve come to find that over the years the process is, I am presented with a question, and the first one usually is: What images am I going to use?” he says. “I then look at all the images. I make a selection of some very strong, dramatic, attractive images that just pull me. There is a possible metaphysical aspect to that process of choosing the images or, one could argue, an unconscious selection process that takes place. Once I’ve asked the questions and gone over it, I’ve actually viewed all the images. … It’s definitely otherworldly to be working with 600-plus layers, [which] can be quite daunting as well on me and my computer.”

An artist and a salesman

Kidd will be the first to tell you that he is less infatuated with the business side of photography than with creating his body of work, although he finds marketing a necessary process.

His background is as an artist showing in galleries, so he uses this experience as his platform to sell his work. His panoramas range from 60 inches all the way up to 120 inches in length, with three different sizes.

Kidd exhibits his work in galleries and museums throughout the world. He has just started doing commercial photography, for clients such as Red Bull, and recently acquired professional representation to help him sell his work. He also does commissions, and was recently asked if he wanted to explore Jerusalem to do a piece.

Jeremy captures both space and time in this warped view of the Thames River waterfront in London. "The left-hand side starts in early afternoon," he says. "By the time we reach the right it is late evening." © Jeremy Kidd

“It’s tough surviving as an artist,” he says. “You have to have a strong entrepreneurial side to yourself, and you have to keep working. … It has been important for me to come up with a philosophy that included marketing the work as part of its completion.”

What the future holds

With about 24 complete pieces in the “Fictional Realities” series, Kidd plans to forge ahead with creating more landscapes. He is currently working on a New Orleans piece with the Superdome; a piece on Lions Bay, Vancouver, B.C.; and a near-future piece based in Sydney, Australia.

He’s also looking to expand his work to be more interactive in the future. He wants to develop a tool with a mouse and a target that allows the viewer to zoom in on his works to see the details of the landscapes.

Kidd’s compositions, which require months of work to edit and put together, reveal his own personal view of the world. His “Fictional Realities” landscapes are a testament to an artist studiously crafting pieces that evoke complex emotions in viewers, creating a surreal world that viewers can see through his work.

“I want to create a visceral experience of where I was, or at least move people with the drama of these places and of these objects,” Kidd says. “I want people to be excited by these objects, to be inspired and excited.”

Adam Crawford is a photographer and writer residing in Venice, Calif. He recently became associate editor of Rangefinder and AfterCapture magazines.

© David Fahey

IN THE LOUPE: Jeremy Kidd

Home and Studio: Venice, Calif., or wherever his pictures take him (jeremykidd.com).

Hobbies: Lots, including surfing and guitar playing. “I write songs, [do some] martial arts, soccer,” he says. “[I’ve] skated a little.”

Equipment: A Canon 5D and “any tripod that I have handy,” Kidd says. “I love my Epson 3800 printer. I love Photoshop.” But, he adds, “I feel that people get too caught up in the technology of the equipment; ultimately it is the quality and vision of the piece that determines its success.”

Best time to shoot: “After dusk, when there’s still some ambient ultraviolet light but it ap-
pears to be pretty dark to the naked eye.”

Recent exhibitions: Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Conn.; the Orange County Museum of Art in Los Angeles; the Irvine Fine Arts Center in Irvine, Calif.; Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, Calif.; and the Deutsche Bank in London.

Advice for aspiring photographers: “Keep working; you have to keep being out there,” he says. “Keep pushing; keep showing your work around.”

© Matt Freedman & Chef Tiberio Simone

The old saying “you are what you eat” takes on new meaning in this nude study by Seattle photographer Matt Freedman. Shot for a proposed book project, “Citrus” is part of an ongoing series of images created jointly by Freedman and James Beard Award-winning chef Tiberio Simone, owner of Seattle’s La Figa Catering.

Called “La Figa: Visions of Food and Form,” (lafigaproject.com), the photo series is a collection of posed nudes that are adorned — in some cases, totally covered — in painstakingly arranged gourmet ingredients. Here, a model is speckled with lemon, lime and orange slices. Others are painted with chocolate, sprinkled with seeds or buried in berries.

In nearly all of the poses, the sumptuous food brings a heightened sense of eroticism. “Tiberio has had this vision of food and bodies for years,” Freedman says of his collaborator. “He’s a very sensual and sexual person, and he has this philosophy of how a person needs to have both food and touch to survive.”

Freedman and Simone like to use only food ingredients on their models, which led to some creative solutions for using edible substances for adhesives. For “Citrus,” shot a couple of years ago, Simone used carrageenan, a gelatinous substance extracted from seaweed, to keep the fruit slices in place. In other shoots, he used olive oil to hold lighter foods, such as seeds.

Since 2007, Freedman and Simone have done dozens of shoots, and made 40 to 50 images in this series. “I do the photography, Tiberio does the food, but we collaborate closely on all the poses,” Freedman says. “It’s best to work out the poses first before you add the food. It can be a long process, especially if you’re using two models at once.”

For this shot, Freedman used a Nikon D300 with a 17-55mm f/2.8 lens, a black velvet backdrop and SB-800 Speedlights, although most of the shots are produced in his Seattle studio using strobes. As the project has progressed, he has moved to a wide variety of indoor and outdoor locations.

This summer, Freedman says, the “La Figa” project will be ready to shop around to book publishers. The finished book will also include some “food and form” essays by Simone, photos of individual food arrangements and a few “making of” photos, showing how some of the images were art directed.

For more information on the book project and on Freedman’s work, visit silentcolor.com.

By Richard A. Huston

© Richard A. Huston

My Facebook page is filled with new comments: “Wow, that is a great photo!” “I can’t believe you still have a Holga!” “You’re still shooting slides?” “Where do you get Polaroid film?” “You have a darkroom?”
Well, not exactly.

My photographer friends’ comments are a testament to something we have all lost in the digital age: the magic of an imperfect photograph. Like many professionals today, I started with film and toy cameras and developed my photographs in a darkroom. Many of my most cherished images had a magical quality, brought about by plastic lenses, light leaks, cross processing, slides, chemicals, and other tricks and imperfections of film photography. In the digital age, razor-sharp, light-balanced, crisp-edged photos are the norm. Those magical, happy accidents of film are all but lost today.

My Facebook photography friends are universally disappointed to find out that the photos (seen here, at right) are from an iPhone, but are nostalgically appreciative nonetheless. Perhaps it’s because I always have it on me, but my iPhone has become my de facto camera for almost everything (besides professional shoots). A few months ago I started exploring the camera apps on iTunes, and have delighted the Facebook choir and myself with the ability of certain apps to capture the experimental feel of yesterday.

Most of these effects can be obtained with a little knowledge of Photoshop. But it’s hard to beat the immediacy of these apps, which give you the ability to turn your shot of the beach into something timeless or a picture of your dog into art. These are a few of my favorite iPhone camera apps.

Lo-Mob

If you are a fan of the “retro” look, Aestesis’ Lo-Mob (lo-mob.com, $2) is an encyclopedia of vintage film and camera effects. It boasts more than 30 settings and takes only a few taps to reproduce the physical look of color slides, through-the-viewfinder (TTV) experimentation, contact prints, various emulsions, wide formats (6 x 6, 6 x 9), medium formats, photo cards, instant film and other techniques that took darkroom dinosaurs hours to create. These rich effects mimic changes of saturation, focus and tint, as well as the individual quirks of various camera formats. For added realism, artifacts and imperfections, such as dust, scratches, vignetting and frames are selectively added to the photos.

© Richard A. Huston

Like many of my favorite apps, Lo-Mob gives you the option to shoot a photo or recall one from your library, and then quickly generates multiple preprocessed thumbnails from which to choose. Additionally, Lo-Mob gives you a choice of selectively adding and subtracting slide borders, instant-film borders and the vintage filter itself for a wealth of retro choices. Images can be saved in full resolution or quickly converted to web-friendly formats for Facebook, Twitter or e-mail.

Hipstamatic

As is true of many photographers, my first camera was a cheap plastic one, but that toy helped me develop a lifelong love of photography. When you open Synthetic’s Hipstamatic (hipstamaticapp.com; $2), you quickly forget you are holding an iPhone. At launch, the display rotates horizontally and becomes the back of a toy camera — suddenly you’re 10 years old again. A 1:1 square viewfinder appears in the middle of the screen, along with a shutter release, an analog camera flash slide and even a small window to display your “film” selection.

Hipstamatic not only reproduces the look and feel of a simpler past, but also paints beautifully unpredictable photographs with its use of oversaturation, discoloring, blurring and vignetting. Photos easily become artistic accidents that never cease to surprise.

Hipstamatic comes with a quirky “Standard Equipment” pack consisting of three lenses (John S, Jimmy, Kaimal Mark II) and three film styles (Ina’s 1969, Kodot Verichrome, Blanko) for a variety of borders and colors and a dreamy Dreampop Flash. Additional packs of effects are available in the unique in-app Hipstamart store to add more individuality to your photos. Like Lo-Mob, images can be uploaded directly to Facebook and Flickr, or they can be e-mailed.

© Richard A. Huston

Dash of Color

My shaky hands and lack of patience always made hand-coloring black-and-white photographs by brush a difficult task, but it was an effect I adored. Thinking Drone’s Dash of Color (freetheapps.com) is a free iPhone app that allows selective coloring of a photo with your fingertips. Choose an image from your library, and Dash of Color will convert it to grayscale. From there, simply finger-paint the areas you want to resaturate with color. If you make a mistake, simply paint with black and white to take out the color. This simple app makes for some surprisingly good images, especially if combined with other camera app effects.

CrossProcess

If you ever “accidentally” put your color slide film through the C-41 processor in the hopes of creating stunning color, then GoBanana-Apps’ CrossProcess (crossprocessapp.com; $1) might be the app for you. It uses red, green and blue filters to emulate different film stocks and processes. The delicious array of filter effects makes your images unique in color and contrast.

ShakeItPhoto

Though rather silly, the “fauxlaroid” app called ShakeItPhoto (shakeitphoto.com; $1), which mimics an old-school instant camera, turns out to be a lot of fun. You shoot a picture with the normal iPhone camera interface; then a Polaroid image comes sliding onto the screen as if it were rolling out of your vintage Polaroid SX-70. To add to the fun, you shake the iPhone for faster Polaroid development (cue Outkast’s “Hey Ya” breakdown). Once it’s developed, you are left with surprisingly retro-realistic, 1,040 x 1,016-pixel framed images that will remind you of your favorite ’70s family photo album.

© Richard A. Huston

Format 126

Named after Kodak’s cartridge-based film format of the ’60s and ’70s, Chris Cornair’s Format 126 (flickr.com/groups/format126/; free) converts your iPhone images into Instamatic-like 28mm-square, low-end, point-and-shoot snapshots. The app offers three monochrome-film filters to mimic the super-fast films of the era, four subtle color emulations (ColorPlus is particularly pleasing, adding a small amount of contrast and saturation), and all the vignetting, bordering and square formatting from the old Kodak 126 days. Settings are easily switched off and on, allowing you to mix and match formats with film options.

CameraBag

I’ve often been seen carrying around my SLR and an assortment of vintage cameras. Of course, this isn’t the best for your back (or your wallet), but to the rescue comes the travel-friendly CameraBag (nevercenter.com/camerabag; $2). This app uses 12 filters to simulate vintage cameras (such as the Helga, Lolo and Fisheye) and various historical film styles (instant, magazine, mono, color cross, cinema, 1862, silver and infrared). Images are shot within the application or selected from your iPhone library; it is very easy to flick between filter previews and image outputs and save to a customizable range of 600 to 1,200 pixels.

These are just a few of the literally hundreds of camera apps for the iPhone, each with its own ability to add a little fun, playfulness and retro magic. Now if someone would just make a Fisher-Price PXL2000 emulator for the iPhone video camera, I might never stop smiling.

Richard A. Huston is a professional photo-grapher, writer and surf bum with a unique enthusiasm for the simplicity of the iPhone camera.

Canon’s T2i Enhanced with More Video Controls

Canon has upgraded the EOS Rebel with the T2i, an 18-megapixel, 30-fps, full HD video DSLR. The camera has a 3-inch LCD monitor and shoots in a 3:2 aspect ratio format. New to this camera is more HD video control. With up to 1080p shooting capabilities, users can manually adjust exposure and frame rate in video mode.

Users can shoot video at 720 HD or 480 SD resolution, zoom up to 7x magnification and use the continuous autofocusing option, not previously available with the T1i. Other enhancements include 3.7-fps shooting, an ISO range of 100 to 6400 and a 63-zone dual-layer metering system. The T2i also has an expanded ± 5 EV exposure compensation range, allowing for greater versatility in extremely bright or dark settings.

The Canon EOS Rebel T2i Digital SLR camera is sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated retail price of $799 or in a kit version with Canon’s EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom at an estimated retail price of $899.

Canon | 800-828-4040 |

usa.canon.com

Sigma Redesigns SLR with Improved X3 Sensor

Sigma Corp. has introduced a successor to the SD14. The SD15 camera incorporates a 14-megapixel Foveon X3 sensor and a 3-inch, 460k-dot LCD screen.

With the X3 sensor, the SD15 can capture all primary RGB colors at every pixel location. Using three levels of photo detectors, the SD15 is able to more accurately reproduce color and offer a sharper image resolution. Up to 21 frames can be captured continuously in RAW mode, thanks to the camera’s buffer memory size, which is nearly twice as large as the SD14. Contact-view mode makes it easy for users to view nine thumbnails at once on the 3-inch TFT color LCD monitor.

The SD15 can be used with over 45 Sigma lenses and a variety of flash accessories. The body-only configuration retails for $989.

Sigma | 800-896-6858 |

sigmaphoto.com

Panasonic Debuts Camera with Interchangeable Lens

Panasonic has created the LUMIX G2, a 12.1-megapixel, interchangeable lens system camera with a 3-inch, movable LCD touch-control screen.

With a wide-viewing angle that rotates 180 degrees from side to side and tilts 270 degrees up and down, the camera offers an almost 100 percent field of view. The new touch screen also allows for more easily accessible controls with single-touch auto refocusing, image capturing and playback. Image thumbnails can be quickly perused by swiping them across the screen. Once locked on to a subject, the 60-fps live-view sensor allows for easy subject tracking. The sensor has been reformatted to consume less power with each shot.

The G2 shoots 720p HD video and utilizes Dolby Digital Creator for audio pickup. A wind-cut function helps reduce background noise. Video can be shot in seven preset color modes: expressive, retro, pure, elegant, monochrome, dynamic art and silhouette.

The G2 comes equipped with the LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens and is compatible with any interchangeable lens that complies with four-thirds standards via an optional adapter.

The Panasonic LUMIX G2 is available in red, blue and black models and retails for $799.

Panasonic | 800-833-9626 |

panasonic.com

Sony Premieres NEX-5, NEX-3 Mirrorless Cameras

Sony has launched two new mirrorless, interchangeable-lens compacts, the NEX-5 and NEX-3. Both are fitted with 14.2-megapixel sensors, have a 200-12800 ISO range and are compatible with any E-mount lens.

The main differences between the two cameras are size (the NEX-5 is two inches narrower), casing and video options. The NEX-5 is housed in a magnesium alloy case, while the NEX-3 is housed in a polycarbonate case. Both cameras can shoot in HD video mode with continuous AF/AE; in addition, the NEX-5 has full 1080p full-HD capabilities, while the NEX-3 does not.

With larger sensors, the two compact cameras can shoot in lower-light settings without the use of a flash. With the sweep panorama feature, users can press the shutter button and then quickly move the camera over a panoramic scene while the shutter rapidly fires to capture the shots needed to stitch the scene together.

The cameras will be compatible with an 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS lens with an E-mount that will be available for $800 this fall, or with any Sony A-mount DSLR lens or Minolta Maxxum lens with the use of an adapter.The NEX-5 will go on sale for $699 with an 18-55mm lens or for $649 with a 16mm, f/2.8 lens. The NEX-3 will sell for $599 with the 18-55mm lens or $549 with the 16mm lens. Both cameras will be available in July and will be succeeded by an interchangeable HD camcorder available later this fall.

Sony | 800-345-7669 |

sonystyle.com

Leica Unveils V-LUX 20 with GPS Tagging

Leica has introduced the V-LUX 20, equipped with a high-performance lens, a 3-inch TFT display, GPS tagging and HD movie recording capabilities.

The V-LUX comes equipped with a DC-VARIO-ELMAR 4.1–49.2mm f/3.3–4.9 ASPH zoom lens, which offers a focal range of 25–300mm, up to 12x zoom capabilities and integrated image stabilization. For more control, the V-LUX offers manual setting options for shutter speed and aperture. With the V-LUX 20, Leica’s first digital camera to feature GPS tagging, users can track an image’s geographic coordinates and local time. The GPS function also allows users to view up to 500,000 recorded “points of interest” in 73 different countries.

The V-LUX 20 has an estimated price of $699.

Leica | 800-222-0118 |

us.leica-camera.com

Samsung Launches TL500 with Ultra-wide Lens

Samsung has introduced the TL500, a high-end, 10-megapixel compact camera with a 24mm ultra wide-angle Schneider Kreuznach, f/1.8 lens.

With the f/1.8 lens, the TL500 is able to offer a wider range of aperture steps and depth of field than SLR cameras. Users can take better low-light images with an ISO of up to 3200. The lens offers a 24mm, ultra-wide focal length and 3x optical zoom.

Equipped with a 3-inch, swiveling AMOLED screen, the lens enables users to shoot from a variety of angles. The screen also has a higher contrast ratio, making it easier to accurately view images from an angle or in direct sunlight. Also like an SLR, the TL500 can shoot in RAW format and in shutter priority, aperture priority and full manual shooting modes—all of which are synchronized with the camera’s built-in dual image stabilization technology.

The retail price for the Samsung TL500 is $449.

Samsung | 800-726-7864 |

samsungcamera.com

Fujifilm Produces 30x Superzoom Compact

Fujifilm has introduced the FinePix HS10 advanced superzoom camera, which combines a huge 30x (24-720mm equivalent) optical zoom lens with a 10-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor. It includes full HD 1080p video recording and RAW/JPEG capture options. The camera is capable of shooting true wide-angle and extreme telephoto images.

The 30x wide-telezoom lens has a twist-barrel manual zoom control to allow for fine-tuned adjustments, but the lens can also be used in A/S/M shooting modes. The lens also is equipped with triple image stabilization. In addition, the HS10 offers 10-fps full-resolution continuous shooting with AF Tracking, high-speed movie recording at 1000 fps and optimized low-light shooting capabilities.

Best frame capture mode is useful for rapid-movement shots—in this mode, the camera continuously records images from the moment the user focuses, then saves up to seven shots before or after the shutter is released. The 3-inch high-resolution tilt screen is programmed to sync with the eye sensor in the electronic viewfinder to allow for automated switching between the two viewing locations. Motion panorama mode now allows for “one click” sweeping panoramas with rapid-fire image capturing, and motion remover mode eliminates unwanted objects — like tourists or other moving entities — from the shot by taking five sequential images and removing objects that don’t appear in every frame.

The FinePix HS10 has an estimated price of $499.

Fujifilm | 800-755-3854 |

fujifilm.com

Pentax Adds X90 Digital with 26x Optical Zoom

Pentax has announced the X90 superzoom with a 26x optical zoom lens ideal for use in macro mode, a 12.1-megapixel-resolution image-stabilized sensor and 11 fps capability.

Although the X90 is housed in a compact, lightweight body, the internal lens offers a 26mm wide-angle to a 676mm super telephoto equivalent range. For extreme zoom situations, intelligent zoom can be used to reach 162.5x magnification. To assist the zoom feature, Pentax has incorporated a CCD-shift-type SR (shake reduction) to maximize blur-free images. In HD video mode, the X90 shoots in up to 720 HD format at 30 fps. Other features include auto picture mode, auto face detection and a new small face filter mode, which reduces the size of the subject’s face so that it appears smaller in proportion to the body. The camera has a 2.7-inch LCD electronic viewfinder with diopter adjustment, P/A/S/M exposure modes and a longer-lasting lithium ion battery. Functional with the Eye-Fi wireless SD memory card, the lens enables users to more easily transfer photos to a computer or to an online sharing site.

The Pentax X90 retails for $399. Eye-Fi 2 GB cards retail for $45.

Pentax | 800-431-5880 |

pentaximaging.com

Nikon Crafts Latest Coolpix P100 Compact

Nikon has introduced the P100 Coolpix compact digital camera with a 3-inch LCD vari-angle screen, a 10.3-megapixel backside illumination CMOS sensor and 26x, long-range optical zoom range. Full 1080p HD video capabilities have also been inaugurated into this line of cameras.
With advanced flash control, the P100 takes more natural-looking shots in low-light settings. Other Coolpix features include vibration reduction (VR) image stabilization, scene auto selector and night landscape mode, which combines a series of consecutive shots into a single, low-noise image when photographing at night. The P100 can shoot at 10 fps at full resolution. In video mode, high-speed sport continuous mode can be used for shooting up to 120 fps.
The P100 has a suggested retail price of $399.

Nikon | 800-626-4566 |

nikon.com

Canon Introduces SD4000 ELPH Camera

Canon has created a new PowerShot camera — the SD4000 IS Digital ELPH. This is the first ELPH camera to offer the HS System, a high-sensitivity technology that uses a 10-megapixel CMOS sensor, a bright f/2.0 lens and 8.4-fps shooting capabilities.

In conjunction with the f/2.0 lens, Canon’s HS System enhances image quality in low-light situations and reduce noise at high ISO speeds. The SD4000 comes equipped with HD movie-shooting capabilities. Movie footage can be further embellished with the My Color system, which contains creative embellishments such as color swap and color accent. Other features include a 3-inch wide-screen LCD screen, a 3.8x optical zoom range (28mm-105mm equivalent) with optical image stabilization, SDXC and Eye-Fi memory card compatibility, miniature and fish-eye modes, and smart shutter technology.

The new Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS is available in red, black and silver and retails for $349.

Canon | 800-828-4040 |

usa.canon.com

Samsung Markets TL350 with Dual Capture Mode

Samsung‘s TL350 has been released with 10-megapixel resolution, full HD video capabilities and dual capture mode. A compact camera with full 1080p HD video recording, the TL350 shoots up to 1,000 fps. In dual capture mode, users can take up to 10 full-size digital still images while simultaneously recording HD video. Video footage is further enhanced with panoramic object tracking.

The TL350 also features a 24mm ultra wide-angle Schneider Kreuznach lens with a 5x optical zoom. After shooting, images can be viewed on a 3-inch AMOLED screen with high-contrast image projection. The camera’s intuitive smart auto 2.0 scene recognition technology is available, however, the camera also allows for RAW image capturing and manual settings.

The Samsung TL350 has an estimated selling price of $349.

Samsung | 800-726-7864 |

samsungcamera.com

Canon Improves Auto Modes of Two PowerShots

Canon has launched two new PowerShot digital cameras, the SX210 IS and SD3500 IS. Both cameras have enhanced smart auto modes, as well as newly added scene modes and image effects such as fish-eye and miniature mode.

Smart camera features include a face detection self-timer, a smart shutter scene mode that takes pictures after detecting a smile or a wink. Both cameras can also be set to automatically adjust lighting or movement levels and use Canon’s smart flash exposure function. Low-light mode benefits from a wide ISO range up to 6400. Video is shot in 720p HD mode and has a built-in HDMI mini-connector that allows playback of video and photos on an HDTV. SDXC memory cards can now be used, allowing storage capacity of two terabytes in SDA standard format.

The SX210, which has a 28mm wide-angle lens, 14x optical zoom and 14.1-megapixel resolution, retails for $349. The SD3500, which has a 3.5-inch touch screen, a 24mm wide-angle lens with 5x optical zoom and 14.1-megapixel resolution, retails for $329.

Canon | 800-828-4040 |

usa.canon.com

Olympus Debuts Two Superzooms in SP Line

Olympus’ SP-800UZ and SP-600UZ ultra-zoom cameras have hit the market. With 30x and 15x zoom lenses, respectively, the two cameras are equipped with SD card slots, dual image stabilization, HD video recording and AF tracking lenses.

The SP-600UZ has 1 GB of internal memory, a 2.7-inch LCD screen and a 12-megapixel sensor. Besides the doubled magnification capabilities, the SP-800UZ has 2 GB of internal memory, a 3-inch LCD screen and a 14-megapixel sensor. Internal GPS software can tag faces, places and events to more easily locate images with the photo surfing tool.

Both cameras are available in titanium silver housing. The Olympus SP-800UZ retails for $349, while the SP-600UZ retails for $249.

Olympus | 888-553-4448 |

olympusamerica.com

Hasselblad Offers H4D-40 Medium-format Camera

Hasselblad has launched the H4D-40, a 40-megapixel medium-format camera that incorporates a 33×44mm CCD sensor — nearly twice the size of a full-frame 35mm DSLR sensor.

The HD40 employs a “true focus” AF system that adjusts for the angular velocity movement that occurs when focusing a subject that is not in the center of the shot. To compensate for this shift, which often causes blur, an absolute-position lock processor logs the camera’s exact movement to calculate what focus adjustments need to be made. Other features include low-noise color filters, a high-performance lens and digital lens correction to eliminate distortion.

The H4D-40 kit, with camera body, 80mm lens and viewfinder, is available at a retail price of $19,995 and includes the Hasselblad’s Phocus 2.0 software.

Hasselblad | 800-367-6434 |

hasselblad.com

Mamiya Releases DM40 with 40-megapixel Sensor

Mamiya has added the DM40 to its line of professional large-sensor SLR cameras. The camera has a 40-megapixel sensor and two user-selectable shutter systems: leaf or focal plane.

For bright daylight shots, users can use lenses equipped with leaf shutter planes inside the lens that more quickly sync with the flash and better compensate for ambient light. In this mode, the DM40 is compatible with 55mm, 80mm and 110mm lenses, which deliver a maximum flash sync speed of up to 1/1600 second. For more conventional situations, photographers can choose any one of the other 15 Mamiya optics, ranging from 28mm to 300mm APO, designed for use with the focal-plane shutter system.

The Mamiya DM40 DSLR kit, including the Mamiya 80mm f/2.8 D lens, retails for $21,900, and the digital back retails for $19,990.

Mamiya | 914-347-3300 |

mamiya.com

Pentax Introduces 645D Medium-format Digital

Five years after announcing its development, Pentax has unveiled its 645D medium-format camera. It is the first digital version of the company’s 645 system and features a 40-megapixel, 44×33 CCD sensor and a 921k-dot 3-inch LCD screen. It is compatible with existing 645-system lenses.
The sensor, nearly 1.7x larger than 35mm-format cameras, can produce RAW images as large as 50 MB. With 1/4000 second shutter speed, the 645D can take sharp, detailed action shots. Images can be more accurately captured with this camera’s high-precision, 11-point wide-frame AF sensor and built-in image- and distance-orienting light meter. The camera’s dual SD/SDHC memory card slots can be used to store photos according to file type or to serve as backup.

Initially, the camera will be available only in Japan at a suggested retail price of $9,400.

Pentax | 800-431-5880 |

pentaximaging.com

LENSES

Nikon Introduces Super Telephoto Lens

Nikon has released the AF-S Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II super telephoto lens with a constant maximum aperture of f/4, vibration reduction, a nano-crystal coat and optimized AF modes. With updated image stabilization technology specially engineered for super zoom lenses, this new lens is optimal for still and HD videography. The nano-crystal coat helps reduce ghosting and light flares. Three focus modes are available: manual, manual override and a new A/M mode, which avoids canceling an AF image when the user unintentionally moves the focus ring.

The AF-S Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II lens has an estimated selling price of $6,999.

Nikon | 800-626-4566 |

nikon.com

Tamron Introduces SP 70-300mm USD Telephoto

Tamron has developed a 70-300mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens featuring image stabilization, M/A focusing and an ultrasonic AF drive.

The ultrasonic silent drive (USD) AF motor has full-time manual focus override, allowing for faster and more accurate focusing. Vibration-compensation image stabilization further helps to compensate for even handheld photography. Designed for both full-frame and APS-C digital SLRs, the lens will be initially available for Nikon mounts, followed by Canon and Sony. At press time, the price and release date had not been published.

Tamron | 800-827-8880 |

tamron.com

Samsung Releases Five New Lenses for NX System

Adding to the original three NX lenses already on the market, Samsung will be releasing five new lenses this year to complement the mirrorless NX camera system. These new lenses, all to be unveiled throughout the year, include an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, non-OIS standard zoom lens; a 20-50mm f/3.5-5.6 compact zoom lens; a 20mm f/2.8 wide pancake lens; an 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OIS superzoom lens; and a 60mm f/2.8 macro lens.

Prices for the lenses have not yet been released.

Samsung | 800-726-7864 |

samsungcamera.com

MISCELLANEOUS

GigaPan Unveils EPIC Pro Robotic Camera Mount

GigaPan has debuted the EPIC Pro, a robotic camera mount specifically designed for DSLRs to capture multi-gigapixel panorama shots. The new mount can hold up to 10 pounds. With the PRO mount, users can take the thousands of images needed to stitch together one highly detailed image. Once stitched, the image is uploaded to gigapan.com, where users can zoom and share their panoramic images. GigaPan has also redesigned its EPIC and EPIC 100 models to allow point-and-shoot cameras to also take extreme-panoramic images. Both models have a 360-degree panoramic range of motion, illuminated display and enhanced battery pack for simple installation.

The EPIC Pro retails for $895 and is designed to work with most DSLRs; the EPIC 100 is $449 and has an enhanced interface for large point-and-shoots and small DSLRs. The EPIC is $349 and has an enhanced interface for compact digitals. The new GigaPan Stitch software is also included with every EPIC purchase.

GigaPan Systems |

gigapansystems.com

Porter Case Introduces Line of CART Cases

Porter Case has designed new injection-molded PCi cases with CART technology, ideal for all travel needs. These PCi cases feature a combination lock enabling users to secure cases while still allowing TSA agents to use a passkey for inspection. The full line of cases has 4-inch ball-bearing wheels, single-button extension handle controls, and water- and dust-resistant gaskets. CART technology allows users to turn a case into a flatbed cart capable of carrying up to 150 pounds of baggage. The PCi CART travel line also comes in carry-on sizes.

After recent price reductions for Porter’s CART technology, models now start at $136.

Porter Case | 800-356-8348 |

portercase.com

BenQ Debuts Portable GP1 LED Projector

BenQ has created the Joybee lampless and PC-free GP1 Mini LED Projector, which includes a USB video reader. The device, weighing 1.4 pounds, projects movies, photos, games and home videos. The Joybee can amplify data stored on HD devices such as digital cameras, multimedia players, PDAs, iPods, iPhones and smart phones. Content is displayed in 15- to 80-inch 4:3 native format and is adjustable with digital zoom and Wall Color Correction modes.

The Joybee GP1 has a retail price of $499.

BenQ | 949-255-9500 |

benq.us

Canon Expands Videographer Services

Canon has expanded its Canon Professional Services (CPS) program to qualifying professional video customers. The CPS program, which already supported cinematographers and filmmakers, will continue to offer the same three levels of membership: silver, gold and platinum. New members, and existing CPS members with qualifying video equipment, are now able to sign up and join the expanded CPS program. Expedited two-day and three-day service benefits for video equipment will be available in July. A complimentary silver membership will be offered to qualifying videographers, cinematographers and filmmakers. Memberships range in price from free to $500.

Canon | 800-828-4040 |

usa.canon.com/cps

Moab Formulates New Inkjet Paper

Moab has announced the addition of Somerset Museum Rag — a 300gsm paper — to the company’s line of coated inkjet paper. The 100 percent cotton, acid-free paper has been designed to produce richer blacks and more vibrant color. Somerset Museum Rag is available in 20-sheet boxes in 8.5×11, 11×17, 13×19 and 17×22 sizes. Seventeen-, 24-, 44- and 60-inch-wide by 50-foot-long rolls will also be offered. Price starts at about $38 for 8.5×11 size boxes.

Moab Paper | 800-727-3716 |

moabpaper.com

SOFTWARE

Apple’s Aperture 3 Includes Enhanced Tagging Features

Apple has developed Aperture 3, the latest version of its raw-conversion and photo management software. It offers faster organization of a large number of images and offers more than 200 new features. Other improvements to this version include a new “faces and places” option that enables face detection and geotagging. Besides using recorded GPS information, the camera allows users to assign locations by dragging and dropping photos onto a map. An improved slideshow feature now combines photos and HD videos, while the brush feature allows users to “paint” effects on images. At the same time, Apple has released a Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update for its Aperture 3 and iPhoto ‘09 software that extends RAW support to Canon PowerShot S90, Leica D-LUX 4, Panasonic DMC-G1, DMC-GH1 and LX3 cameras.

Mac users who already own Aperture will be able to upgrade for $99, while new customers can buy the program for $199. A free 30-day trial also is offered.

Apple | 800-692-7753 |

apple.com

ACDSee Photo Manager 12 Includes Online Options

ACDSee has unveiled its latest version of Photo Manager, emphasizing added social media integration with Facebook. Users can load, organize and store images online. Once uploaded, images can be posted with one click to social media sites. The system also allows for image tagging, FTP transfer capabilities for web design and Microsoft 7 compatibility.

ACDSee Photo Manager 12 is available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase for $69. Previously registered users can also upgrade for $35.

ACDSee | 888-359-8449 |

acdsee.com

WEBSITES

Animoto Expands Customized Theme Options

The video-creation site Animoto has enhanced its customization options with a new set of creative video themes, the Elements Collection. Animoto users can further embellish their projects with a variety of artistic themes that now include the Elements Collection of air, wind, earth and fire designs. Air, which features elegant sun streaks woven between light, wispy clouds, became available this spring; the other themes will follow this summer. Besides the option of enhancing videos with Animoto’s themes, the site offers a cinematic artificial intelligence technology that uses high-quality postproduction software.

Basic subscriptions are free; all-access plans are $30 per year. A $249-per-year “Animoto for Photography” subscription allows users to create an unlimited number of unbranded videos. A three-month trial of the pro line is $99.

Animoto |

animoto.com

BOOKS

Gulick’s ‘Salmon in the Trees’ Released

Braided River has released photographer Amy Gulick’s latest ecosystem photo book, “Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rain Forest.” In the book, Gulick’s images are partnered with essays and research from leading scientists, conservationists and journalists, who pose the question “How long can the biological riches of the Tongass withstand the global demands for timber, seafood, and minerals?” Contributors include Richard Carstensen, Douglas Chadwick, Brad Matsen, Richard Nelson, Carl Safina, John Schoen, John Straley, and Rosita Worl.
The 176-page hardcover, with160 color photos and five color maps, retails for $30 and includes a CD.

Braided River | 206-223-6303 |

braidedriver.org

On June 23, Borges will speak at Museum of History and Industry in Seattle to help with fundraising for Bridges to Understanding. For more information, visit bridges2understanding.org.

Kevin Schafer’s photographs of the threatened silky sifaka lemur of Madagascar were featured in a cover story in the April 2010 Smithsonian magazine. Also from this photo series, two images have been selected for the prestigious “Wildlife As Canon Sees It” feature in National Geographic magazine.

German photographer Florian Schulz’s work has been featured as part of a visual campaign that celebrates the beauty of the Arctic while simultaneously warning of the threats of offshore oil development and industrialization. The campaign, titled “Visions of the Arctic,” was launched in April and is comprised of a series of public presentations by Schulz. A traveling exhibit of the photos opened at the G2 Gallery in Los Angeles on May 7.

Craig Varjabedian, founder of Eloquent Light Photography Workshops, has been awarded the 2010 Outstanding Photography Book Award by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum for his sixth book, “Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby.” Over the past seven years, Varjabedian compiled more than 90 black-and-white landscape images for the book, which focuses on the centuries-old Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.

In March, commercial photographer Doug Walker was recognized by the Professional Photographers of Washington as the 2010 Commercial Photographer of the Year. Walker, an Olympia-based photographer since 1994, also received several other mentions at the award ceremony, including the second annual Kenmore Camera-Canon Honor Award for excellence in image making.

Also this year, Walker earned the Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) designation from the Professional Photographic Certification Commission.

Special Honors

An active member of the J. Paul Getty Museum since 1986, Judith Keller was recently named senior curator of photographs at the Los Angeles-based museum. Keller has been the acting head of the department since January 2009, following the retirement of the department’s founding curator, Weston Naef.

Keller’s achievements at the museum include more than 20 exhibitions and 10 publications, including “William Eggleston and the Color Tradition” (1999), “Strange Days: Photographs by Garry Winogrand, William Eggleston and Diane Arbus” (2003), and “The Goat’s Dance: Photographs by Graciela Iturbide” (2007).

Along with Naef, Keller helped to form the museum’s Photographs Council and was promoted to curator in 2008. Since that time, the department has grown to include more than 900 new works from all over the world, most notably some new prints from China, Japan and Korea.

Robert Glenn Ketchum, a fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, was featured in the March/April issue of American Photo magazine as the fifth photographer to appear in the publication’s Masters Series. To date, Ketchum is the only photographer in the series whose imagery is based mostly on the natural world rather than on people, fashion and pop culture.

At the same time, Ketchum’s recent work to protect the salmon fishery and related habitat of southwest Alaska has also just been acknowledged by a Partnerships in Conservation Award from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

In April, the Frans Lanting Studio included three of Frans Lanting’s images in the gala international Green Auction by Christie’s auction house in New York City. The auction, held on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, donated proceeds to conservation organizations, including Conservation International, Oceana and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Chosen images included “Water Lilies, Botswana 1989,” “Tortoises at Dawn, Galápagos Islands 1984,” and “Twilight of the Giants, Botswana 1989.”

This image of a leaping dancer named Alicia is part of Mel Lindstrom’s series “Dancers,” which won a silver ADDY Award from the American Advertising Federation in February. © Mel Lindstrom

Louie Psihoyos of Boulder, Colo., won a 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary for “The Cove,” a film about efforts to save thousands of dolphins from being brutally slaughtered every year in Taiji, Japan. The film also spotlighted the region’s practice of serving dolphin meat tainted with mercury to schoolchildren.

The Photo Imaging Education Association (PIEA), a Photo Marketing Association member group, has announced that Marcia Rubenstein, of the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif., has assumed the office of PIEA president.

Seattle photographer Art Wolfe has won five Silver Telly Awards recognizing outstanding achievement in video and film production for local, regional and cable television. The award was presented for episodes of the television program “Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge,” produced by Wolfe’s company, Edge of the Earth Productions.

The Worldwide Community of Imaging Associations has named Brian Wood, of PhotoVision in Salem, Ore., as the new Photo Marketing Association (PMA) president for 2010-2011. Prior to his position as president-elect in 2009-2010, Wood served as PMA vice president and treasurer.

Passages

JIM MARSHALL,1936-2010

Photographer Jim Marshall, the man who famously captured Jimi Hendrix as he set his guitar on fire at a live concert, passed away in March at the age of 74.

Throughout his nearly 50-year career as a music photographer, Marshall captured decades of iconic rock images of artists like Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin. Marshall also photographed momentous events in rock ‘n’ roll history, such as the Woodstock Festival in 1969, the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 and the final Beatles concert at Candlestick Park in 1966.

Marshall bought his first camera in high school and his first Leica at 29, when he began documenting the San Francisco jazz scene until he moved to New York.
Besides photographing music events, Marshall created images for more than 500 album covers for bands like the Allman Brothers and the Rolling Stones, and was featured in magazines, such as Life.

He was also known for his books, including “Trust,” a career retrospective; “Not Fade Away,” a photo album of Marshall’s most memorable rock images; and “Jazz,” a collection of early images depicting notable musicians.

A memorial for Marshall was held in May at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

In an attempt to prevent Google from unfairly copying, scanning and displaying copyrighted images, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and other trade groups have filed a class action lawsuit against the Mountain View, Calif.-based search-engine company.

For the past five years, Google has been uploading millions of books and other publications containing copyrighted images and displaying them to the public as part of the Google Library Project — all allegedly without adhering to the rights of the authors.

Brought in April by the ASMP, the Graphic Artists Guild, the North American Nature Photographers Association, the Picture Agency Council of America, the Professional Photographers of America and several independent artists, the lawsuit was filed after the New York federal court denied these media groups the right to join a previous suit filed by text authors against the Library Project.

At this time, Google has digitized only images from books still in print, not from works that are out of print, and has reportedly said that these images were used with the permission of the authors.

The previous suit was filed in 2005 by the Authors Guild to prevent Google from scanning and displaying copyrighted books.

The two sides settled for $125 million in 2008, but are still waiting for final approval from the courts.

Auction House Sales Increasing; Weston Photo Sells for $1 Million

Nautilus Shell © Edward Weston / Courtesy of Sotheby's

Other photographs included a collection of 70 Irving Penn prints from his close friend Patricia McCabe, which sold for $3.8 million, and an Edward Steichen image, “Wheelbarrow with Flower Pots,” which brought $194,000.

Overall, the three auction houses totaled more than $18 million in sales.

Leaked Military Footage Shows Deaths of Reuters Photojournalist, Driver

Military footage showing U.S. soldiers shooting Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and his driver, Saeed Chmagh, has been released on an “anti-secret” website, Wikileaks.org. The previously unseen and restricted video has now been viewed by more than 2 million people.

Recorded on July 12, 2007, and published on Wikileaks this April, the video was taken from inside an American helicopter during what the military described as an attack between U.S. troops and Iraqi rebels. The footage shows the two men among a crowd of Iraqis as they are shot by the helicopter’s guns, and then again as several wounded people from the crowd try to crawl away.

Immediately following the incident, Reuters asked the U.S. military to release the footage as part of the investigation into the deaths of the two men, but the news company was denied on the grounds that the soldiers in the helicopter had acted according to the rules of military engagement.
Currently, there are no plans to reopen the case based on the release of the leaked black-and-white footage.

Wikileaks has reportedly said it will also be releasing a formerly encrypted video showing an American air strike in Afghanistan that killed 97 civilians last year.

U. S. Army recruit Ian Fisher (right) was the subject of Craig F. Walker’s Pulitzer-winning photo series. © Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post

2010 Pulitzer Winners in Photography Announced

This year’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photographic works included a series documenting the coming-of-age of a Denver teenager who enlisted in the Iraq War during the height of the insurgency.

Craig F. Walker, a photographer for The Denver Post, won the Feature Photography prize for a series telling the story of a young soldier’s life from enlistment to homecoming. Walker began the project in 2007.

Other finalists for this year’s prizes can be seen at pulitzer.org.

ASMP: Copyright Law in Need of a Makeover

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) held a forum in New York City in April to discuss the future of copyright law. The forum, called “Copyright and the New Economy,” discussed how the rights-managed business model functions in today’s world of easily copied media and how to search for creative ways of fairly selling media services.

The original copyright laws were written in the 1960s, when there were only a few parties that were at risk of violating copyright terms. Today, digital storage makes it possible for virtually anyone to violate copyright.

In 2001, the Creative Commons group was established to create a free and more flexible copyright model that replaced “all rights reserved” with “some rights reserved,” allowing artists to more easily protect their work.

Opinions about the future of copyright law were varied. Lawrence Lessig, a professor at Harvard Law School, argued that pirating penalties needed to be more strongly enforced in order to protect the “incentive to create.”

Others, such as photographer Chase Jarvis, who won a lawsuit against K2 Sports in 2007 for copyright infringement, suggested that the copyright laws need to be adjusted — to protect artists not from amateurs, but from large companies that might violate fair image use practices.

For the moment, current overhaul proposals include using a glossary of licensing terms created by the PLUS (Picture Licensing Universal System) Coalition.

Actor Penn Pleads No Contest in Civil Suit

In a civil lawsuit, actor Sean Penn has pleaded no contest to one count of vandalism and has been sentenced to three years of probation, 300 hours of community service and 36 hours of anger management counseling.

This sentence was delivered after Penn allegedly kicked and punched photographer Jordan Dawes on Oct. 4, 2009. The attack took place when Dawes, as well as several other paparazzi, had a run-in with Penn in Brentwood, Calif.

Another photographer on the scene filmed about 30 seconds of the incident; however, this footage only shows Penn shouting and not any of the alleged preceding physical assault. Dawes has said that he has since had surgery as a result of his injuries.

Although Penn was sentenced for vandalism charges, a civil suit filed by Dawes is still pending.

GigaPan Doubles World Record for Largest Digital Panorama

Using GigaPan’s mega-panoramic EPIC Pro tripod technology, photographer Gerald Donovan has set the world record for the largest digital panoramic photograph.
The 45-gigapixel image of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (left), was taken with a Canon 7D and is comprised of nearly 4,250 images that were taken over three and a half hours. Before this mosaic was created, the previous title-holding panorama was 26 gigapixels, depicting the Paris skyline.

If printed in actual size, this photo — which includes the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai — would be the size of nearly 1,200 billboards.
Donovan’s image, as well as other notable images taken with GigaPan’s EPIC systems can be viewed at gigapan.org.

© Gerald Donovan

Canon Expands Explorers of Light Program with a New Focus on Videography

Canon USA, Inc. has added five cinematographers and one photographer to the Explorers of Light visual media ambassadorship program.

The roster of honored visual media experts includes directors of photography such as Alex Buono of “Saturday Night Live”; Rodney Charters of “24”; Crescenzo Notarile of “The Ghost Whisperer”; Russell Carpenter of “Titanic,” “True Lies” and “Charlie’s Angels”; and Shane Hurlbut of “Terminator: Salvation.”

Sports Illustrated photographer Damian Strohmeyer has also been added to the roster of 62 photographers.

The Explorers of Light program was created in 1992 to establish a community of visual media experts who would share their images and expertise.

Record Photo Donations for Getty Museum’s 25th Anniversary

More than 1,000 photographs were donated this past year to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, making the museum’s 25th year a record-breaking one for donations. The quantity of donations was due in part to a special initiative led in 2009 by Getty Photographs Council member Dan Solomon, who began collecting photographs for the anniversary.

With these new contributions, the museum now possesses works from new artists such as Gilles Peress, Robert Polidori, Liza Ryan, Brian Ulrich, Peter Wagner and Pinar Yolacan, as well as artists already featured in the museum, such as Eileen Cowan, John Divola and Chris Jordan.

These photographs will be featured in one of the Getty’s newest wings, the Center for Photographs, which opened in 2006.

Glazer’s Camera Celebrates 75 Years with Photo Festival

On June 10-12, Seattle-based Glazer’s Camera will celebrate its 75th anniversary by closing the streets surrounding its headquarters for a photo-themed trade show, called Northwest Photo Festival.

At the free community event, Glazer’s will feature more than 35 equipment vendors, including Nikon, Canon, Leica, Adobe, LowePro, Sony, Wescott and ProFoto. The trade show also promises to host a variety of free seminars, speakers and demonstrations on digital imaging, videography and film-processing equipment.

On June 10, award-winning photographer and Photoshop master Vincent Versace, author of “Welcome to Oz: A Cinematic Approach to Digital Still Photography,” is scheduled to speak about his digital still photography techniques. The next day, Rodney Charters, the cinematographer and director for the television series “24,” will discuss the use of digital SLRs in Hollywood.

Glazer’s was founded by Ed Glazer in 1935 on Seattle’s First Avenue and has been operated by the same family ownership for three generations. For more information about the Photo Festival and the 75th anniversary, visit glazers-?camera.com.

Just received mailing of PhotoMedia magazine. Many thanks for the beautifully printed and organized presentation of my work [“A Specific Palette” Spring 2010]. You are the first to reach the water mark promised.

— Melvin Sokolsky, Los Angeles

© Avital Binshtock

It seems timely that this issue focuses on the subject of nature and landscape, allowing us to feature a photographer who has made it his mission to expose mankind’s not-so-kind treatment of the environment and the planetary damage caused by our collective deeds.

In June 2007, I was invited to join a group of seven professional photographers on a trip to Alaska to photograph grizzly bears in the wild, which resulted in a feature story in our Fall 2007 issue. The first day, I was paired with photojournalist Daniel Beltrá in a tiny room on a 10-passenger trawler. Daniel had just won the World Press Photo contest for his pictorials on the rapidly vanishing Amazon rainforest. Throughout that trip, we established a solid friendship. Two years later, I was proud to learn that ABC News had chosen Daniel as its Person of the Week for his work’s influence on policy decisions at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen.

While our story on Daniel was under way, he was assigned to cover the BP oil spill and produced the photo that graces this issue’s cover. That image epitomizes the dedication evident in the photos that comprise our feature on him, along with some words from him on how he discovered his life’s purpose.

Our profile of painter/sculptor/photographer Jeremy Kidd offers a very different perspective, showing how this artist’s digitally assembled panoramas of cityscapes and nature give the viewer an unusual, multidimensional visual experience.

In more personal news, I am pleased to report that PhotoMedia won one of the three 2010 Maggie Awards for which it was nominated, a great honor indeed. At the awards banquet, I was chatting with a woman from a three-year-old magazine when she innocently asked me, “Does it get easier the longer you publish?” My response was, “Easier? No — not if excellence is the goal. More challenging, yes. And definitely more interesting and fulfilling.”

Now more than ever, it’s critical that you let our advertisers know that you noticed their ads in PhotoMedia — our future depends on it. They deserve the utmost appreciation for supporting this publication and enabling us to bring you in-depth coverage of the world of photography for free. We welcome your opinions and encourage you to share PhotoMedia with others who love photography.

Gary Halpern, Publisher

PhotoMedia Wins Sixth Maggie Award

The Western Publications Association has honored PhotoMedia with a 2010 Maggie Award as the Best Semi-Annual or Three-Times-Per-Year Trade Publication for its Summer 2009 issue on nature and wildlife photography. The magazine was also nominated in two other categories: Best Interview or Profile/Trade for a story on Mark Moffett (Summer 2009 issue); and Best Single Editorial Photo/Trade for one of Moffett’s macro images of a praying mantis.

PhotoMedia has been nominated for Maggie Awards 23 times over the last 11 years and has won six awards. Now in its 59th year, the Maggie Awards, which honor magazine and electronic publishing excellence, are among the most prestigious and coveted industry awards for American publications operating west of the Mississippi River.