IN THE LOUPE: Tim Fitzharris
Studio location and staff: Santa Fe, N.M. His wife, Joy Fitzharris, is his office manager. He also employs a computer systems manager and an image librarian.
Latest projects: Fitzharris' new coffee-table book of landscape photos, "Seasons Across America," from Firefly Books, will debut in 2010. He is also planning another book, tentatively called "Hummingbirds of the World."
Advice to aspiring nature photographers: "Think long term and build a solid collection. I'm still selling pics I took 25 years ago," he says. "Also, anticipate the movement or behavior of your [wildlife] subject; get into position for the best light, background and angle on the action. Then wait for it to happen."
Website: timfitzharris.com
IN THE LOUPE: Mark Moffett
Home and office location: Greenport, N.Y., on Long Island, but he‚ not there for very long stretches. "Home is where you store stuff," Moffett says.
Most memorable assignment: Photographing Phyllobates terribilis, the world‚ deadliest poison dart frog, in a remote valley in Colombia when the frog decided to leap at him. A single frog, which is lethal to the touch, could kill 400 to 500 people.
Advice for nature photographers: "Know the science behind what is being photographed," he says. "Look for the new and be a storyteller. The fact is, I believe life is all about telling stories."
Website: MarkMoffett.com
IN THE LOUPE: Chris Rainier
Home and studio: Telluride, Colo., and upstate New York.
Clients: National Geographic Publications, Time, Life, The New York Times, Smithsonian, The New Yorker, the International Red Cross, Amnesty International, the United Nations.
Personal Projects: He has two book projects in the works, one that deals with capturing the meaning of the word "sacred" and the other on ancient Asia. Visit chrisrainier.com for details.
Advice for aspiring travel photographers: "You have to be driven by passion. You have to be driven by a love of telling the story. And if that's not there, something's missing.
Website:chrisrainier.com
IN THE LOUPE: Kate Turning
Studio locations: The Los Angeles area. Turning rents studios as needed, including motion-picture soundstages for her larger-scale projects. She once had her own shooting space, but it has been converted into a postproduction studio.
Favorite cameras: Hasselblad film cameras with Phase One P 45 backs and Hasselblad H2 digital cameras. "I use large-format, up to 8x10, when it is called for and it suits the assignment," she says. "You can't beat the aesthetics of large format, working deliberately and slowly. That is close to my heart."
Photographic heroes/inspirations: Painters in a wide range of styles, from the Old Masters to pop art. "The best ones really teach you how to see and control light: Delacroix, Maxfield Parrish, Francisco Clemente," she says.
On being a woman in a male-dominated business: "To me, it's been a nonissue. My work speaks for itself."
Website: For more of her work and rep contacts, see turningpix.com.
IN THE LOUPE: Stan Musilek
Home and studio locations: San Francisco and Paris, France.
Preferred equipment: Horseman SW and Silvestri Flexicam medium-format view cameras; Rodenstock and Schneider digital lenses; Phase One and Leaf digital backs; Broncolor lights for still-life and Briese lights for people.
Personal projects: Photographing the great, classic bars of the world. He hopes to publish the collection as a book one day.
Advice to aspiring studio photographers:"Eliminate things [from] the photo that don't need to be there," he says. "Figure out the minimum amount of elements to tell a story." He also recommends learning photography on a view camera.
Website: musilek.com
IN THE LOUPE: John Fielder
Gallery locations: Denver and Breckenridge, Colo.
Favorite gear: The Linhof Master Technika 4 x 5 view camera and Fujichrome Velvia 100 film. "I used other field cameras while working my way up financially, and the Linhof Master Technika is the most durable for wilderness work, and the most flexible with movements," Fielder says. "I've destroyed several cameras, including Linhofs. The Master Technika is made of metal alloys, and it is the least destroyable field camera I've used..."
IN THE LOUPE: Frank Ockenfels 3
Location: Encino, Calif. He turned his family room into an office/art studio.
Preferred shooting studios: Industria in New York and Smashbox in Los Angeles.Major awards: "I have won awards," he admits, "but since I don't enter the call for entries much, I'm not really sure what."
Advice for aspiring celebrity photographers: "Don't do the obvious," Ockenfels cautions. "Find your own voice. Being a portrait or ‘celebrity' photographer is about the opportunity and what you do with it."
Website: FrankOckenfels3.com
IN THE LOUPE: Joe Buissink
Location: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Popular wedding destinations: Venice and the Amalfi Coast in Italy; Mexico; The Bahamas; New York City; Napa Valley, Calif.; the south of France; Miami; and Aspen, Colo.
Accolades: Buissink has received numerous International Grand Awards for his work from the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. In February 2007, American Photo nominated him as one of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World. Kodak hired Buissink to shoot its ad campaign for the Portra film line in 2003. He was also selected in 2005 to be Apple's spokesperson for the wedding industry for the release of the Aperture suite.
Website: JoeBuissink.com
IN THE LOUPE: Peter Menzel
Staff: Most of the time, Menzel has four employees who handle the nuts and bolts of his Napa, Calif.-based operation. He also works with his wife and co-author, Faith D'Aluisio, mainly on book projects.
Favorite gear: Canon EOS 5D, featuring a 35mm-sized sensor...
IN THE LOUPE: Ken Ross
Location: Scottsdale, Ariz. Ross has a 300-square-foot studio in his home, for portraits and still-life photography.
Latest assignment: "Last year I did a number of books, or partial books, for Fodor's "Travel Guides,' including a month in Costa Rica."
Favorite assignment: "They're all great. I am living my dream life by traveling around the world and using my camera to meet peoples I would not otherwise talk to."
Advice for aspiring travel photographers: "Stay diverse. Shoot many subjects to pay for the bills, especially when you are starting out. Portraits, corporate, weddings, your neighbor's dog - whatever."
Website: kenrossphotography.com...
