PhotoMedia has won one of three prestigious 2012 Maggie Award nominations. The win was for Best Single Editorial Photograph/Trade for the opening photo spread in our Summer 2011 issue story on Charles "Flip" Nicklin. The other two nominations were for Best Interview or Profile/Trade and Best Editorial Layout/Trade, both for...

While preparing for this, our 25th Anniversary issue, we were faced with a daunting challenge. After our previous issue featured Steve McCurry as our cover story, how could we make this one as special, or more so, than that? After all, surviving the last 25 years in the magazine publishing business is a miracle in itself. (And Lord knows there were plenty of opportunities along the way to perish.) We knew our cover profile had to be exceptional, so after much consideration, we made an appeal to New York's...

It seems appropriate that this issue of PhotoMedia is focused on the subject of photojournalism, considering all the recent attention given to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks — perhaps the single most photographed event in history. Since our last issue in June, several other major international news stories have continued to unfold, including the riots in London, the overthrow of Gaddafi's 40-year regime in Libya and a major hurricane wreaking havoc in the northeastern United States — all amid continuing economic stagnation worldwide...

It's hard to believe, but this issue marks the start of our 24th year of publishing PhotoMedia. In all that time, we thought we'd seen everything, newswise. Then, shortly after our Spring issue was distributed, Japan endured one of the worst disasters in history: the earthquake, tsunami and resulting malfunction of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Our hearts go out to the Japanese as they recover from the challenges they face.

Of course, Japan is the heart of the photo industry's manufacturing sector, so the impact of that event on photographers also has been profound, on top of the effect of an already struggling economy on businesses. This issue of...

A week's journey into the pristine bear country of the Alaska Peninsula

For most people, their only encounters with grizzly bears happen during trips to the zoo, where the animals are safely behind enclosures. On the Alaska Peninsula, however, the tables are turned. The few human visitors who pass through the remote region might, themselves, be considered curious zoo exhibits by the much larger bear population.One of the best ways to get up close and personal with these giant creatures in their native habitat is to risk becoming lunch by journeying into the peninsula's Katmai National Park and Preserve. Tucked neatly into the southwestern region of the state, Katmai is a prime location for grizzlies...

For one day last September, it seemed as if the world stopped. And in the subsequent days and weeks, we were all awakened to the realization that every moment of every day is precious, since, as we saw, our own security is but an illusion.

The world will never be the same as a result of those fateful events. Global economics and politics have shifted dramatically, while a country (Afghanistan) has been decimated in order to overthrow a corrupt government and eliminate a terrorist network. These efforts have collectively tapped our courage as a society while...

Travel photography is often perceived by the public as a glamorous profession in which the photographer has the opportunity to experience the world in an atmosphere of spontaneity, curiosity and adventure.

Many of us grew up with National Geographic, and the impressive and dramatic photographs of exotic cultures in distant locations no doubt inspired many to take photography more seriously, and perhaps even enter it as a profession...

On April 20, I had the opportunity to put PhotoMedia's 13 years and my publishing career in perspective when I attended the 50th annual Maggie Awards for publishing excellence in Los Angeles. Last year, PhotoMedia won one of these prestigious statues in the Best Interview or Profile in a Trade Publication category, but I was unable to attend and receive the award in person, as the event's schedule conflicted with production deadlines on our Spring 2000 issue. This year, when we got the word that we had been named a finalist in two categories - including the same category as last year and also Best Overall Design in a Trade Publication...

As it does once every two years, our editorial focus this issue returns to studio photography. As we researched stories focusing on individuals and the industry, it became clear that these photographers, regardless of their specialty, have one thing in common: They make photos rather than just take them.

The photographers we present in these pages are masters of premeditation with an obsession for detail. From concepts to completion, they use time-tested skills as a foundation for cutting-edge lighting, exposure and post-production techniques. Without exception, they inventively capture their clients' desires on film, and often deliver much, much more.

Our thanks to all the featured photographers (and their staffs) who cheerfully cooperated in presenting their work...

This is an issue I’ve been looking forward to since last summer. While on a nature photography road trip from Seattle to Grand Teton National Park, I stumbled on a photo gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyo. It was a Sunday night, so the gallery was closed, but I was transfixed by the photos displayed inside. I was heading back on the road early the next morning, so would not have a chance to enter the gallery, but I grabbed a courtesy catalog from a dispenser outside the door.

Continuing on my trip, the memory of those photos stayed with me. As I looked over the catalog along the way, I knew we had to share those photos—and this photographer—with our readers. One of the highlights of this issue on nature and wildlife photography has been getting to view more...