Studio locations:  “I have a studio in Los Angeles as well as New York,”  Laita says. “I’m back and forth so often that sometimes I forget which city I’m in.”

Representation:  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles. Visit marklaita.com

Books:  “Created Equal” (2010). Another is scheduled to be published by the end of 2011...

Home: Seattle

Books: “Rainforests: Lifebelt for an Endangered Planet.” Working on an upcoming monograph.

Recent awards: The Prince’s Rainforests Project Award (2009), ILCP Photographer of the Month (February 2010), ABC News Person of the Week (November 2009), Global Vision Award from the Pictures of the Year International Competition (2008), World Press Photo award-winning images (2006, 2007).

Preferred equipment: Canon 5D Mark II (“Smaller cameras are nice,” Beltrá says). Lenses: 24-70mm f/2.8 L, 500mm f/4 L and 24mm f/2.8 TSE. Mac computers. Think Tank roller bags...

Home and Studio: Venice, Calif., or wherever his pictures take him (jeremykidd.com).

Hobbies: Lots, including surfing and guitar playing. “I write songs, [do some] martial arts, soccer,” he says. “I’ve skated a little.”

Equipment: A Canon 5D and “any tripod that I have handy,” Kidd says. “I love my Epson 3800 printer. I love Photoshop.” But, he adds, “I feel that...

Home and Studio: San Francisco, with a month and a half spent in Norway each year (erikalmas.com).

Selected Clients: Nike, Puma, Pfizer, Neutrogena, Hyatt, Waldorf, Citibank, Toyota, Lantus, Advair, U.S. Postal Service, Adobe, Amtrak, Brides magazine, Golf Pride, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Bristol Myers, Sorel.

Personal Projects: A continuing series of nudes, a series of "Falling Women" images that came from a dream, and working with a series of storytelling images based on books such as Jack Kerouac's "On the Road."

Website: erikalmas.com

Home and Studio: Los Angeles (sokolsky.com). Represented by the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles. After moving his studio to Los Angeles in the 1970s, he found that his work — especially his commercial work — took him all over the world, so he eventually let the studio go. His present studio is in his home, and includes a custom-designed south-facing balcony with the ability to filter and block light.

Family Life: Lives with his wife, Button, married for many years. They have a son, Bing, a respected cinematographer whose credits include "NYPD Blue" and "Numbers."...

Home:  Long Beach, Calif., following what he calls a “three-year stint of homelessness.”

Interests: When he’s not shooting, Loomis says he also enjoys snowboarding, camping, scuba diving, rock climbing, mountain biking and “the company of wonderdog Tikka.”

Pet Peeve: Sometimes people talk about photography instead of doing it. “Don’t talk about it, just do it,” Loomis says. “Go out and do it.”

Main Influences: Dave LaBelle, photo instructor at Western Kentucky University; Michael Williamson of The Washington Post; Gail Fisher, former photo editor at The Los Angeles Times, now at National Geographic; and Alex Webb. Also Sebastião Salgado: “I walked through an exhibit of his when I was in college and I cried before I got to the end,” Loomis says.

Website: loomisphotography.com

Studio location and staff: Santa Fe, N.M. His wife, Joy Fitzharris, is his office manager. He also employs a computer systems manager and an image librarian.

Latest projects: Fitzharris' new coffee-table book of landscape photos, "Seasons Across America," from Firefly Books, will debut in 2010. He is also planning another book, tentatively called "Hummingbirds of the World."

Advice to aspiring nature photographers: "Think long term and build a solid collection. I'm still selling pics I took 25 years ago," he says. "Also, anticipate the movement or behavior of your [wildlife] subject; get into position for the best light, background and angle on the action. Then wait for it to happen."

Website: timfitzharris.com

Home and office location: Greenport, N.Y., on Long Island, but he‚ not there for very long stretches. "Home is where you store stuff," Moffett says. 

Most memorable assignment: Photographing Phyllobates terribilis, the world‚ deadliest poison dart frog, in a remote valley in Colombia when the frog decided to leap at him. A single frog, which is lethal to the touch, could kill 400 to 500 people.

Advice for nature photographers: "Know the science behind what is being photographed," he says. "Look for the new and be a storyteller. The fact is, I believe life is all about telling stories."

Website: MarkMoffett.com