Among the 142 winners of the annual Nature’s Best International Photography Awards were many members of the North American Nature Photography Association. NANPA photographers from the western United States who were recognized include: 

Robert Barber, Colorado, Highly Honored, Creative Digital;

Alice Cahill, California, Winner, Plant Life; ...

Byron Wolfe (byronwolfe.com), a photography instructor at California State University, Chico, has been named the winner of the 2004 Santa Fe Prize for Photography by the Santa Fe Center for Photography. 
Wolfe’s photographic diary, “Everyday: A Poetic Diary with Pictures,” can be seen on his web site, www.byronwolfe.com. The award includes $5,000 and participation in Review Santa Fe.

Howie Garber (wanderlustimages.com) received an award in the 2004 BBC Wildlife Magazine/Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. The Salt Lake City-based photographer was named a winner in the Animals in Their Environment category.

Canadian photographer Alan Ticheler (amtphoto.com/figures) has been honored by Hidden Beach, a Mexican nudist resort, with its prize for Best Artistic Nude Photo. Ticheler’s past projects include work for “Miami Vice,” the musical group Foreigner, and Sony and Universal MCA music.

Phillip E. Abel has been appointed director of Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. Abel’s background in the photographic industry includes sales with Fujifilm and Oriental Photo, photofinishing with the Photo Factory in San Diego and 12 years as a professional photographer with the U.S. Navy. Most recently, he was field marketing manager for Fujifilm.

The Caroline Mytinger Project has selected Jeff Streich, of First Light Films (firstlightfilms.com) in Portland, Ore., to produce and direct the documentary portion of the project.

Streich’s previous television work includes projects for National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, PBS, BBC, MTV and the first season of CBS’s “Survivor.” He also was the recipient of an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft in News and Documentary Programming for...

Randy Harris, a photographer based in Bellevue, Wash., has been named the grand prize winner of the Nature’s Best Magazine National Photo Contest. The winning photograph was a close-up of an Alaskan grizzly bear fishing for silver salmon.

Harris’ work has appeared in magazines, on television and in advertising campaigns. The award-winning photo can be seen at randyharrisphoto.com.

The October 2004 issue of National Geographic features Frans Lanting’s coverage of Hawaii’s volcanoes. Lanting also has included his image collection on his website, lanting.com. The images, which cover landscapes, wildlife, people and environmental issues from around the world, can be browsed and licensed online for editorial and commercial use.