Karen Moskowitz uses intense colors to light the inner moods of her subjects

Proofs of models, rock stars, dot.com CEOs, and a Denver-to-L.A. airplane ticket stub clutter the light table of Karen Moskowitz this Saturday morning as she sips black coffee in her downtown Seattle loft studio.

In the 5,000-square-foot space she’s both lived and worked in since 1990, she’s using a rare quiet moment in mid-December to take stock of one of the busiest years of her life...

Home: Seattle

Favorite Gear: "I use Dyna-Lites, because I can travel with them," Karen Moskowitz says. "I use a Mamiya RZ. I don’t have a 35mm camera right now. It got stolen a couple of years ago, so now I just rent. I’m a big renter. I keep the minimum amount of gear, and rent stuff locally if I need extra firepower. I don’t use digital cameras. When speed is of the essence, I’ll scan my proof sheets and e-mail them to editors in New York. I’ve e-mailed high-res images to Germany for...

This issue started out with a focus on travel and location photography. As we began talking to location and travel photographers to research stories, we learned that many are focusing on portrait photography on location.

Technically, portraiture overlaps into several of our general themes, including location and studio photography. But more and more, portraiture offers location photographers a new source of income. And, more and more portrait photographers are facing new demands to photograph subjects out of the studio, on their subjects' home turf. To explore this trend, we've focused this issue on people and places. We hope you'll enjoy what's in store...