Lindsay Hebberd's new book challenges the public perception of "Sin City" and reveals Vegas as the cultural heart of America.

Enigma, excitement, energy: Las Vegas is a great many things to many people. But as Lindsay Hebberd's new book attests, the city that never sleeps — and never stops growing or gambling, either — continues to inspire the world's imagination.

"Las Vegas ~ Imagination to Reality" is a big book, both literally and figuratively. Following the success of her previous works that showcased cultural life in India and Indonesia, Hebberd made a radical subject shift by moving to Las Vegas nearly six years ago. There, she embarked on a book project that got her intimately involved with the heart, mind and soul of this eclectic and dynamic city.

"I've worked in over 50 countries, and Las Vegas is one of the happiest...

Destinations: Mount St. Helens, Roddy Scheer captures the volcano’s explosive beauty. As I rounded the curve in my van, there before me, in all her majesty, stood Mount St. Helens, aglow in the golden morning light. I pulled into the Bear Meadow turnout, parked and walked over to the spot where unemployed taxi driver and amateur photographer Gary Rosenquist had risked life and limb 25 years before to shoot those famous time-lapse photographs of the mountain in mid-eruption.

We were recently invited to sit in on a friend's travel writing seminar. He began with a warning to the audience: "Stop! Get out while there's still time — that is, unless you already have a good retirement income or you're a trust-fund baby."

Acquaintances tell us what a thrilling career we've chosen, that they, too, love to travel, can write well and have taken some nice shots with their digital cameras. They want to know how to make money by writing about their travels.

As all professional travel writers and photographers know, although our jobs may appear to be glamorous, they're not all fun and games. By now, we've developed a standard response...

Intrepid outdoor photographer Yvette Cardozo provides tips for those readers planning on lugging their cameras into sub-zero Arctic climes this winter

It was supposed to be the world’s best tripod for ultra-cold weather, made of some space-age, super-stable, shatterproof material. I bought the thing from a guy who had a reputation for taking lots of midwinter photos in ridiculous conditions.

The only problem was, it was utterly useless for me. The legs were controlled by rings and, at 30 below, I couldn’t feel the rings, much less turn them. I returned the tripod, eventually getting one with levers that I could trip with my knuckles when necessary — which all goes to prove that what works for me may not work for others...

Influenced equally by American, Spanish and native Pueblo culture, New Mexico is packed with architectural and historical treasures.

Long before U.S. expansion reached New Mexico, the native people of the region, known as the Pueblo Indians, had many encounters with the Spanish, who shaped their culture almost as dramatically as the American settlers did. The mountainous northern areas of New Mexico are some of the best places for today's photographers to document how Pueblo culture has been altered by Spanish and American influences. Missions, ruins and thriving...

Photographer Dave Waag takes you on a tour of the Northwest’s nerve center for outdoor recreation. Perhaps best known as a windsurfing mecca and home to Oregon’s largest pear orchards, the Hood River Valley is also a growing hub for recreation junkies. Located in the heart of the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area, Hood River and the surrounding peaks of Mount Hood and Mount Adams are a worthy photographic destination.

Destinations: Yoho’s Awe and Wonder — Photographer Linda Moore guides you through Canada’s Yoho National Park, a land of soaring waterfalls and panoramic vistas.

Yoho National Park is a special place on the western slope of the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia. Wedged between Banff National Park to the east and Kootenay National Park to the southeast, Yoho — which takes its name, aptly, from a Cree word for "awe and wonder" — offers photographers a concentration of jaw-dropping mountain scenery that few North American parks can equal.

Powerful erosional forces by glaciers and rivers have carved Yoho’s landscape, creating dozens of valleys, lakes and waterfalls...

Don't want to hassle with airport security? Travel shooter Doug Wilson shows us how a rail journey from Seattle To Alberta can be its own destination

If you don’t plan carefully, you might miss the train. We’re not only talking about going on a trip; we’re talking about getting the image on film. With today’s concerns about air travel, train travel may offer an alternative way to get where you’re going. It may even be your next destination assignment. I’ve been fortunate to provide photographs for three train articles for the New York Times Sunday travel section in the past year...

Crater Lake National Park is the jewel of southern Oregon's Cascade Mountains, but the beauty found at this magical place rivals just about any other natural wonder found in North America.

In the early morning, fog often can be seen pouring over the crater rim like a slow-motion waterfall. On calm afternoons, the placid lake surface, reflecting the clear skies above, produces some of the most intensely blue hues found in nature. And at sunset, the lake perfectly mirrors and intensifies the oranges and reds streaking across the sky.

Many times I remember trying to capture such spectacular sights...

Streaks of silver moonlight dance on the water. The setting sun purples the sky. It's a compelling scene, made more so by the fact that the moon is rising over the Pacific.

We're camped on Third Beach. 
In the morning, the tide drains the beach. It’s as if a mischievous god has pulled the plug on the sea. We wander among boulders plastered with sea stars, anemones and barnacles. Raccoons scurry about, crunching crabs. Black-tailed deer sample the kelp. The screams of oystercatchers break...