In the world of publishing, surviving two years is an accomplishment – lasting 20 is something of a miracle!

To celebrate entering our 20th year, we wanted to make this a very special issue of PhotoMedia (PM). This is our most ambitious edition ever – a lot more pages (76), photos and in-depth features.

You’ll notice we have a new look, including a more contemporary PM logo and improved design throughout, thanks to our new creative director, Rich Huston.

It’s been a while since our last issue (Spring 2007). Skipping an issue (Summer) allowed us time to make some operational improvements and staff changes. Meanwhile, it’s been an incredible year so far...

Ray Pfortner has been selected as the new director of education for Seattle's Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW). He is responsible for all aspects of the development and implementation of PCNW's fine-art curriculum and faculty concerns.

A previous faculty member himself, the 30-year veteran has been a photography instructor since 2001 and serves as a consultant to photographers on business practices and book publishing.

The Associated Press has released a new book, "Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered War, Peace and Everything Else," which looks at the past 160 years of national and international news. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters and illustrated with unforgettable photos, the book gives behind-the-scenes accounts of recent history.

The book presents well-known news events as seen through the eyes of the journalists who were on the ground, covering topics such as World War I, aviation, civil rights and sports. The book also includes a foreword by the late David Halberstam. An exhibit highlighting photographs and text from the book will visit major cities...

The second title of Software Cinema's interactive training line for Adobe Photoshop CS3 has been scheduled. The new interactive series is designed specifically for serious amateur and professional photographers.

Recently inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame, digital artist Eddie Tapp teaches the series via broadband connection through Software Cinema's unique Workshops-on-Demand service or a Product-on-Disc DVD. Tapp teaches about the digital process and new effects that have been updated for the new CS3.

The series is a two-disc set titled "Classic Pro Techniques," and focuses on setup palettes for working spaces, and how to work in Adobe Bridge with the processing interface for RAW, JPEGs and more. It also teaches creative and advanced techniques...

YouSendIt has announced a new plug-in for Adobe's Photoshop. The YouSendIt plug-in allows designers to efficiently send files of any size directly from Photoshop. The plug-in is available for Photoshop CS2 and CS3 for Windows.
Eliminating the need for photographers and designers to struggle with FTP transfers, the plug-in lets the user burn a CD to mail to an overnight courier and eliminates e-mail bounce-backs from attachments that are larger than recipient networks usually allow.

Files sent through YouSendIt are secure and can be tracked with assured delivery and a receipt. The plug-in can be conveniently downloaded directly from the YouSendIt web site. Previously, YouSendIt released a direct-delivery plug-in for Apple Aperture. YouSendIt also offers beta versions of plug-ins that allow a user to send files directly from Microsoft Outlook and CorelDRAW.

James Balog, of Boulder, Colo., has been named the 2008 Outstanding Photographer of the Year by the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA).

The organization will honor Balog for two decades of groundbreaking nature photography. NANPA will present the award at its 14th Annual Summit on March 1, 2008, in Destin, Fla., which will feature a presentation from Balog about his "Extreme Ice Survey" project.

Adobe Systems is offering an update to the free Photoshop Camera RAW plug-in. The Camera RAW 4.1 update incorporates features such as noise reduction, sharpening tools and RAW file support for 13 additional camera models and camera backs. The update also builds on the RAW file support integrated in the Photoshop products.

The Camera RAW 4.1 plug-in supports the same functionality for TIFF and JPEG files, and lets professionals import and manipulate RAW data. Additionally, the plug-in supports 13 digital cameras, including cameras from Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus, Olympus, Sigma, Phase One H 20, H 25, H 30 and Phase One P 45. Camera RAW 4.1 also adds support to camera backs...

HindSight has announced the arrival of a new software product called METAmachine. The simplified browsing utility program streamlines the process of adding keywords, licenses and other metadata to individual or packaged images. The program reads and writes XMP-formatted metadata in TIFF, JPEG, PSD and DNG images.

METAmachine can be used to write a complete set of the IPTC standard metadata into images or to add copyright and contact information or licensing terms, leaving unaltered all other metadata already present in the images. The software is compatible with XPM-compliant DAM software. To write metadata, users can drag images from the Desktop or from a compatible program...

Photographer, curator and writer John Szarkowski, best known for bringing awareness and appreciation to the discipline as director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, passed away on July 7 at the age of 81. He died from complications related to a stroke.

Early in his career, Szarkowski won two Guggenheim grants for his photography, but focused most of his attention on...

VisibleDust and Calumet Photographic introduce a new DSLR sensor-cleaning service in six locations throughout the United States. Calumet now offers Certified VisibleDust Cleaning Centers in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Boston and Chicago.

The one-hour cleaning session, which includes service to the exterior camera body, LCD, viewfinder, chamber area, focusing screen, mirror complex and the imaging sensor, is $60.