Editor's Notes

In this issue we feature images from the last roll of Kodachrome film ever processed. Steve McCurry’s work has always been admirable, but here the photographs have a special poignancy because they will be irrevocably tied to the end of an era in photography. These iconic images now reside in the Eastman House in Rochester, a fitting setting for them among the daguerreotypes, albumen prints, kallitypes, and other images created by processes that have become part of history. True, you can emulate the “look” of these processes with software, and even recreate some of the old paper print processes using custom-mix chemicals and old formulae, but I doubt very much that anyone is going to attempt to set up the massive machinery and chemical soups required to allow Kodachrome to be processed ever again.

In this issue we feature the TIPA Awards for products in 40 different categories and I thought you might like to know how the finalists were chosen. TIPA, the Technical Image Press Association, is composed of representatives from photographic magazines around the world, editors, who go through the process of first nominating products by a Technical Committee and then voting on what they consider the best or most innovative products in their respective categories. Editors are from pro, advanced amateur, and amateur photo magazines, including those from Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from which Shutterbug is the sole member.

Photography and travel have always been intertwined. Ever since photography was invented photographers have been exploring the world, both locally and globally, with images. The camera becomes motivator and instigator, witness and commentator, of the social, natural, and wondrous sites that surround us. And while many of the articles and images in this issue deal with particular projects undertaken by a wide range of photographers, there’s no reason to think you have to travel far and wide to discover what that magical combination of camera and travel can do for you.

Throughout the years we have paid close attention to the business side of photography, featuring tips and words of wisdom from working pros in Maria Piscopo’s Business Trends column, Jack Neubart’s Pro’s Choice column, and numerous articles on wedding, portrait, stock, event, and other venues in which photographers, both full- and part-time, share their experiences on how they...

Every photo you take with a digital camera is RGB but that hasn’t stopped anyone from exploring the rich field of black-and-white imagery. True, a few years back the “conversion” to black and white was not so simple. You had to explore Channels or desaturate the image to create the foundation file, which left you with a fairly good black-and-white rendition, but something that...

When the barbarians sacked an ancient city they often used the library as kindling, wiping out ancient knowledge and ages of historical texts and pretty much bringing on the Dark Ages. To hear some folks tell it, all a barbarian would need today is a powerful magnet applied to servers and hard drives. This would hardly seem to sate the appetite for pillage any good barbarian would practice, but...

Those who have labored long and hard to create a many-layered workflow may find a certain sense of exasperation when confronting the latest software that’s come and is coming down the pike. If it’s ease of use you are after, and a certain push-button path to myriad results, much of the new crop is just for you. Yes, you have to know where you’re going, but more and more that...