Here at Santa Monica College we all look forward to each and every issue. It always has the best of just about all things photo, and I share it with everyone with pride and confidence in its being a quality product with lots to offer. The insides and outsides of the photo industry are always of interest to all 900 students, and your magazine is better than good in bringing that right to the doorstep. Please continue your hard work, and thank you times 900.

Paul Harris
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, Calif.

The more I speak with photographers, my clients, and other colleagues and friends, the more one thing becomes increasingly clear: Careers aren't what they used to be.

Not long ago, you could get educated, choose a field and expect to work in that field until you retired. Now, as business models change much more rapidly due to technological advancements, you're lucky if a career lasts 10 years. Remember back in the '70s, when cameras would effectively last for 30+ years? Today, in the digital age, you're compelled to replace them every five years or less. As a result, reinvention has become the key to one's survival and success. And as many have experienced, it's tough to make it in the photo business...

On the cover: Travel photographer Felix Hug's image of a woman snorkeling off Kurumba Island, North Male Atoll, Maldives

© Felix Hug/Lonely Planet Images and Eyesonasia.net