New Gallery, School, Photo Contests Planned for 2006

Harnessing an impressive amount of inner energy, Wolfe has never been one to rest on his laurels, preferring instead to try something new, rethink the plan, explore another angle.

His newest books — "Vanishing Act" (named one of the best new science books of the year by Discover magazine, and winner of the German Fotobook Award in 2005) and hometown favorite "Seven Summits: The High Peaks of the Pacific Northwest" — are just two in a continuing line of art offerings filled with creative and masterful photographs. Even after his three decades as an award-winning and successful photographer, who has published more than 60...

From commercial advertising images to fantastic album covers, photographer Glen Wexler has never met an idea he couldn't reproduce with his arsenal of high-tech digital tools.

His portfolio could be housed in a Mack truck, with elephants in tutus dancing on the top. Inside, tuxedoed cows would parachute away from erupting volcanoes while winged men would soar gracefully above.

Jet skis would race against wasps. Neckties would spontaneously catch on fire, and kissing couples would suddenly be frozen solid, with icicles hanging from their faces. Heavy metal bands would...

Home life: Lives in the Hollywood hills of California with his wife, Tammy, and his two children: Jenna, 15, and Ian, 13.

Studio space: 2,000 square feet in Hollywood, used primarily for project administration, digital post-production and large-scale printing of fine-art work. "I've outgrown the studio so, on production days, we shoot at rented production facilities, bringing in sets that were built at a set shop," Wexler says.

Camera equipment: "To me, equipment is just a necessity. I don't dwell on that stuff," he says. "I typically shoot sets with a Sinar P2 4x5, and people or animals with a Hasseblad or Mamiya RZ. I often shoot landscapes that I use for backgrounds or fine art prints with a Mamiya 7. I prefer to shoot film for most of my work, but I have started to shoot with a Canon 1DS for situations where I need more immediate feedback, or when the extended depth of field of a 35mm format is required..."

Home & Office: Los Osos, Calif.

Stock agencies: Corbis, Getty, Photo Researchers, AgStock.

Favorite equipment: The Canon EOS 1Ds camera. Also, Singh Ray's new Vari-X neutral-density filter. "It allows a variable ND filter to 10 stops," Lepp says. "I use it for long exposures on water and where I want a long exposure to make moving people and cars disappear."

Favorite place to shoot: Mono Lake, in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

Website: georgelepp.com

He’s one of the best nature shooters around, but he’s more than happy to give away his secrets to the next generation. For that, PhotoMedia salute Lepp with our Photography Person of the Year award.

Even as a little boy, George Lepp got into photography in a big way. As a sixth-grader, he lugged a 4x5 Crown Graphic around, making photos, line negatives and halftones for the school newspaper. "Why they had such a sophisticated paper in a middle school, I have no idea," he said in a recent phone interview. "But it was fun, and it got me out of doing...

Each year, PhotoMedia recognizes a person in the photography industry who has best demonstrated exceptional artistic and business accomplishments, photographic passion, devotion to the industry, inspiration to colleagues and humanitarian achievements in the community.

Each year, PhotoMedia recognizes a person in the photography industry who has best demonstrated "exceptional artistic and business accomplishments, photographic passion, devotion to the industry, inspiration to colleagues and humanitarian achievements in the community." For his dedication to the above ideals and his commitment to the education of the nest generation of digital photographers, PhotoMedia is proud to honor George D, Lepp with our Photography Person of the Year award.

Home: Scottsdale, Ariz.

Equipment: Nikon F3 and F4s; 11 lenses from 20 to 300mm; Nikon SB-25 flashes; and Gitzo tripods. For landscapes, architecture and sometimes festivals, Hebberd is fond of her Fuji GX-617 large-format panoramic camera. She also uses a Toshiba laptop for satellite links and a CD burner.

Other projects: Besides her book projects and stock sales on her website (culturalportraits.com), Hebberd does assignment work, sells custom photos and has worked on collaborative efforts, such as "A Day in the Life of Thailand" and "Thailand: Seven Days in the Kingdom." She also conducts educational workshops — in India, the U.S. and other countries — that encourage children to study her photographs and captions, and create original artwork inspired by what they have learned.

Website: culturalportraits.com

An enormous appetite for learning about other cultures has fueled Lindsay Hebberd's passion for photographing exotic locales, especially in her beloved India and Indonesia.

In a tiny village in the remote Ryukyu Islands of Japan, intrepid travel photographer Lindsay Hebberd is trying to communicate. She is fluent in Spanish and knows several other languages, including a little Japanese. But her attempts to convey through word and gesture that she wants to photograph local culture are met with staid looks from the villagers, who are unaccustomed to such physical expression.

During encounters like these, Hebberd always goes to great lengths to put people at ease and treat them with respect. "It's important to make people comfortable with you and your camera," she says. "You can't steal a good portrait. I always remind myself that I am a guest and, to them, I am a representative...

In the Middle East, photojournalists don Kevlar vests and find back doors into places that do not even have front doors, all to show the world what words alone cannot. It's a risky job.

Journalists have been kidnapped, threatened, jailed and killed. Since the beginning of the year, 22 journalists worldwide — 12 in Iraq alone — have been killed in the line of duty or murdered because of their profession, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In March, American freelance photographer Molly Bingham was imprisoned in Baghdad, accused of spying, held for a week, then released in Jordan...