You’ve stored thousands of digital images, but can you find the right one when you need it?

The hottest topic in digital photography today isn’t the newest digital SLR announcements, how many megapixels can fit onto a new chip or even how many images a blue laser DVD can hold. No, the latest, greatest and hottest acronym in the digital industry is DAM: digital asset management.

And DAM, there are a lot of products trying to get a piece of this exploding market. Even Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are trying to get a foothold in this area. Just look at Microsoft Plus Digital Media Edition or Apple’s iPhoto to see what I mean. So, how do photographers, professional or amateur, sift through all the tools out there and figure out what they need?..

David Richard Metz, director of professional products at Canon USA, is one of two recipients of the 2003 Joseph A. Sprague Lifetime Achievement Award for Photojournalism, presented during the 58th annual National Press Photographers Association convention in Chicago. Joseph Elbert, assistant managing photo editor at The Washington Post, also was honored with the award for his contribution to photojournalism.

Established in 1949, the Sprague Award was named in honor of the press technical representative for Graflex, who is credited with the design of Big Bertha, Magic Eye and Combat Camera, as well as refinements to the Speed Graphic. Each year, the award is presented to a working photojournalist, as well as an individual who has made considerable contributions to the field of photojournalism. Previous recipients include William Randolph Hearst, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Eddie Adams, Cornell Capa and Marion Post Wolcott.

The 2003 Professional Photographer of Washington Awards were handed out earlier this year in Yakima, Wash. Overall awards were given in four categories: Susan Marsidi won the Russ Clift Trophy for Diversified Aggregate and the Lee Merrill Trophy -- PPW People's Choice for her "Bridge to Paradise"; Kevin Swett took the Alma Grey Trophy for First-Time Entry Highest Aggregate; and Best of Show -- Jurors' Choice went to Judy Horn's "Winter Flight."

The Seattle chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists honored freelance writer Beth Luce at an awards ceremony earlier this year. Luce, who contributes regularly to PhotoMedia was awarded third place for her story on PhotoMedia's Photography Person of the Year, "Gary Braasch: Thinking Globally" (Spring 2002). Other recent credits include two cover stories for Seattle magazine and articles for several regional magazines and university magazines across the country.

In 2001, Seattle-based photojournalist Melina Mara began photographing the 13 female senators who held office that year. More than 35 of her black-and-white documentary photographs were exhibited recently at the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building.

"Changing the Face of Power: Women in the U.S. Senate," on view from May 22 through Sept. 7, presented images of 15 women senators at work on...

Dean Johnson was elected president of the Professional Photographers of Washington at the 51st Educational Conference and Print Competition held earlier this year. Other members of the group's executive committee include Dave Mandelas, vice president; Gary Jentoff, executive manager; Nichelle Price, treasurer; Renee Crist, secretary; and Rob Behm, immediate past president.

Chase Jarvis has joined the Corbis roster of photographers. Images by the Seattle-based action sports photographer have been featured on the covers of Freeskier, Bike and Horizon magazines, as well as in marketing and advertising campaigns.

Mark Hooper, a photographer based in Portland, Ore., recently took third place in the Fourth Polaroid International Photography Awards. Hooper's series of images depict close-ups of a white-gloved magician performing tricks. The images were created with Polaroid's Cross Tone process, which produces chocolate-brown tones with suppressed highlights, similar to old albumen prints.

PhotoMedia salutes the entrants in this spring's World in Focus Photo Contest.

In June of this year, PhotoMedia presented World in Focus, a multifaceted three-day event with an exciting mission: "To promote the awareness of the critical need to preserve and protect the beauty and diversity of our natural world and its cultures through the visual messages of photographers."

The event, held in Seattle, included inspiring seminars with some of the foremost nature, environmental and endangered-cultures photographers in the industry.

It was with much trepidation that we prepared for our biannual fall photojournalism issue of PhotoMedia. We've somehow had rather uncanny timing these past few years, coming out with the issue in the midst of some of the biggest news stories of our day, which have served to illustrate our positions effectively.

In 1997, the passing of Princess Diana and the resulting focus on the behavior of the paparazzi provided the controversy. In 1999, the shootings at Columbine High School was the big story, shifting our attention to local communities and the potential for tragedy in everyday situations...