This summer, photographers David M. Cobb and Jonathan Ley, both based in Portland, Ore., will embark on a 350-mile hike across Iceland. The two plan to traverse the country's volcanic core, beginning in Hraunhafnartangi, capturing images of caribou, Arctic foxes and the abundant birdlife along the Icelandic coast.

Canon has released three new 35x optical zoom camcorder models: the DC230, DC220 and DC210. The trio introduces Canon's longest optical zoom on a camcorder to date, with a 35X optical zoom lens (1,000x digital zoom). The camcorders combine the convenience, versatility and broad capability of DVD recording and playback.

Strategically placed controls allow for one-handed use, and the smooth contours of the model make for...

Mountaineer and aerial photographer Bradford Washburn died of heart failure Jan. 11 in Lexington, Mass.

Washburn was born in 1910 in Cambridge, Mass. In 1933, he graduated from Harvard University and served as an instructor at Harvard's Institute of Geographical Exploration from 1935 until 1942.

Throughout his 60-year career, he traveled extensively, and his aerial images of peaks and glaciers...

Seven students from the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif., were honored in the College Photographer of the Year competition, held at the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Mo., late last year.

The Brooks recipients were Ramsay DeGive (Gold Medal, Spot News); Matthew Williams (Award of Excellence, General News, and...

Olympus has launched the new SP-550 UZ digital camera, boasting an impressive 18x wide-angle, ultra-zoom lens with a 35mm-format equivalent range of 28-504mm. The camera is an all-in-one, allowing the user to shoot telephoto, wide-angle and macro as close as 1cm. Designed to be compact, it offers full manual exposure control and automatic built-in help guides.

With unique features including the near-D-SLR performance, combining sensor-shift image stabilization and...

Bruce Fraser, a pioneer in the field of digital photography, died of lung cancer last December at his home in San Francisco.

Fraser was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1954. He became interested in photography at an early age, and was introduced to a precursor of Photoshop, BarneyScan XP, in the late 1980s. His enthusiasm for the potential of digital photography led him to become involved in...

Hasselblad has released the H3DII-39MS, a new digital SLR that eliminates the need to interpolate images and enables both single- and multi-shot capability. The H3DII-39MS combines the technology offered in the 39-megapixel CF-39MS digital back with the functionality and integration of the H3DII-39.

The H3DII-39MS will feature a new RAW converter and will not be film compatible. It will, however, offer photographers the ability to use the...

Recently I was invited to be a judge for the Costco International Photo Contest. The 24,000 entries received reminded me, once again, how so many people around the world love making pictures. Since the Kodak advances in the late 1800s, photography has been as simple as pressing a button, but only the truly talented can produce an original and inspiring photo.

Surprisingly, judging the qualifying 7,000 shots in the contest wasn’t nearly as time-consuming as one might expect, as the most impressive efforts were quickly recognized and ultimately honored.

Fortunately, we don’t have to look through quite that many photos to identify those we’ll present in each issue of PhotoMedia, since we cover some of the foremost photographers in the business, with archives full of great work.

Fujifilm has announced its release of the FinePix s5 Pro, ideal for portrait and studio work. The camera's Super CCD SR Pro sensor, roughly 400 percent wider than that of a CCD working on a single lens, allows for expanded dynamic range from the double pixel technology (6.17 million S-pixels and 6.17 million R-pixels).

Combining the new Super CCD SR Pro sensor with Fujifilm's new RP Processor Pro results in...

Nikon has a new D40 digital SLR camera designed specifically for higher-quality photographs. The compact camera features in-camera editing and built-in help features. The lightweight, 6.1-effective-megapixel digital camera has a redesigned visually intuitive menu system.

It comes packaged with the new 3x zoom 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6GED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor lens, but is also compatible with Nikon's AF-S or the AF-I Nikkor lens. Ready to shoot...