As we enter our 18th year of publishing PhotoMedia, it is awe-inspiring to consider the more than 160 years of collective experience of our four feature subjects in this issue. It certainly gives us a better appreciation for the meaning of stamina, dedication and commitment, with an eye on excellence.
Our cover story on David Muench is long overdue and about four years in the planning. I first became aware of David while I was just starting out as a photography student at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1972. He already had established himself as an icon in landscape photography and was well on his way to becoming perhaps the world’s foremost living landscape photographer. He has devoted more than 50 years in the field (literally and figuratively), impressively capturing on film virtually all of the most popular, as well as many of the less-familiar, nature destinations in the North America with an emphasis on the Southwest. Whereas Ansel Adams was recognized for his majestic, large-format, black-and-white landscapes, David added dimensions of color and expansive depth-of-field that are his hallmarks.
As I reviewed David’s extensive catalog of photos, I could only imagine the miles and miles that he’s covered in his career. His solitary and pristine images give the impression that he’s the only one anywhere in sight witnessing the play of light on the scene in front of his lens. We are delighted to present a story on David, which offers some insight into this remarkable artist, and a retrospective of some of his most memorable images.
In our other landscape feature, Bruce Barnbaum and Michael Kenna have chosen the more traditional black-and-white medium to express their artistic visions. The maturity of their combined 60-plus years of making evocative photographs, along with their technical mastery of exposure and printmaking, are amply in evidence in our sampling of their work. Although they share much technically, they are two quite different individuals with distinctly different approaches — something of a yin-yang study in personalities.
Finally, we are proud to present Rich Clarkson as our ninth annual PhotoMedia Photography Person of the Year. We might regard this one as a lifetime achievement award if it weren’t for the fact that, after more than 50 years in the business, Rich shows no signs of slowing down. His accomplishments as a widely published sports and news photographer are impressive enough, but throughout his career, he also has held editorial positions with National Geographic and The Denver Post, produced the highly respected Summit series of workshops designed to help serious photographers make the transition to the digital realm, and published notable photo book projects. He is an exceptional and inspirational person who is a role model for anyone involved in photography.
We are also pleased to announce that PhotoMedia recently was nominated for two more Maggie Awards this year (our 10th and 11th in six years), one for Best Tabloid/Trade (the category we won last year), and the other for Best How-To Article/Trade. Although we didn’t win either award this time, it was truly an honor to be acknowledged.
As always, please let our advertisers know that you noticed their ads in PhotoMedia. Their support is largely responsible for our being able to bring you in-depth coverage of the world of photography for free. In this struggling economy, our advertisers need to know, more than ever, that their advertising dollars are being well spent. We welcome your opinions on our coverage and encourage you to share PhotoMedia with others who love photography.
Sincerely,
Gary Halpern, Publisher
