When accessorizing your digital darkroom, remember that a few basic items are better than the flashy gizmos.

When I was in high school, I decided to set up a darkroom in the attic. I started by getting a Jobo “two-banger” tank to develop my film and later added an enlarger to do the really cool part of printing my images. One thing I remember from that experience was that I continually spent money on accessories, all the things that “every good darkroom should not be without.” It seemed that there was always some new tool that I needed to make my darkroom look professional and my prints look better, but I found that the latest and greatest new gizmo didn’t make me a better photographer...

Home: Los Angeles and Mendocino, Calif.

Fine-Art representation: Fahey/Klein Gallery, L.A.

Favorite subjects: Bette Midler, Djimon Hounsou, Bette Davis, Leonardo DiCaprio and actor/model Tony Ward. "I like working with those who are willing to experiment; those who will take chances and be creative, regardless of other people's expectations."

Advice to new photographers: "A lot of kids today are not clear on the importance of establishing an identity," he says. "They keep varying their imagery and style according to the flavor of the month. Develop and showcase your own style, and get an assignment that reflects where you want to go. Don't be afraid to be original."

Website: gormanphotography.com

An uncluttered style and a willingness to work closely with his famous subjects has made Greg Gorman one of the most in-demand celebrity portraitist in the business.

The actor leans against a cement wall. He tosses back his shoulder-length hair and lets out a yell. He crouches on the ground and glares. Next, he is doing a handstand. With every movement, a camera shutter clicks.

It's 1994, and a relative newcomer on the Hollywood scene named Antonio Banderas is cavorting shirtless around a Los Angeles rooftop for celebrity photographer Greg Gorman. A few hours earlier, they were downstairs in Gorman's studio, shooting some poster stills for one of Banderas' upcoming movies. But neither of them was satisfied....

Francesco Scavullo died on Jan. 6, at the age of 82. Scavullo was known for enamel on canvas photo silkscreens, portraits and still lifes. One of the dominant photographic influences on American fashion, he photographed the covers of Cosmopolitan for 30 years.

His celebrity photographs also appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone, Life...

Leni Riefenstahl died on Sept. 8, 2003, in Poecking, Germany, a few weeks after her 101st birthday. Following a knee injury that ended her career as a dancer, Riefenstahl turned to film, gaining fame as an actress, director, producer and reporter. Her documentary "Triumph des Willens," named after the 1934 Reich Party Congress in Nuremberg, garnered her gold medals in Venice in 1935 and at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937. In subsequent years, however, the film was widely condemned...

Helmut Newton died in a car crash in Hollywood on Jan. 23, at the age of 83. Newton was known for his black-and-white nudes and his fashion photography, which appeared in magazines such as Elle and Vogue. Newton's wife June, who works as Alice Springs, accepted the offer of an official grave of honor in Newton's hometown, Berlin.
Newton left Germany in 1938, changed his name from Neustaedter, and took Australian citizenship. After World War II, he became a photographer, eventually settling in...

The International Photography Awards recently announced the recipients of the first-ever Lucie Awards, acknowledging photographers' achievements from around the world in various categories.

Chris Frazer-Smith of the U.K. received honors as IPA's Photographer of the Year, which includes a $10,000 prize. Phil Borges won the Lucie Humanitarian Award and Robert Evans took home the Visionary Award. Henri Cartier-Bresson also was given an award for Lifetime Achievement in Photography.

Other Lucie Award recipients for outstanding achievement in their respective fields include...

Kevin Schafer, a photographer based in Seattle, won the Grand Prize in the 2003 Nature's Best International Photography Awards. His photograph, "Teepee and Aurora Borealis, Northwest Territories, New Year's Eve 2002/3," was included in the Nature's Best exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History last October.

Magnum photographer Elliot Erwitt was presented with the 2003 Leica Lifetime Achievement Award at a photography exhibition in his honor at the Leica Gallery in New York City late last year.

Randy Wells will be teaching a digital travel photography workshop at the George Lepp Institute on the central California coast this September. He recently completed assignments for Sucre Clothing and Journey magazine.