Don’t take us to task for the name of our final Editor’s Choice category. We’re not suggesting that photographers must have every product it contains. But while Imaging Essentials is a catch-all — the place we put products that don’t fit anywhere else — some of these items are specialized and specific enough in their purpose that one or more may well be essential to some photographers. Need to record your subject vocally as well as photographically? Check out the Olympus LS-10 digital recorder. Need to recharge camera batteries in the wilderness? Have a look at the Brunton SolarRoll. (In fact, several of this year’s choices will help you be greener.) Want to add some style to the convenience of flash drive storage? You’ll get a kick start out of SanDisk’s Ducati Edition flash drive.

X-Rite ColorMunki Photo

It looks like an oversized tape measure, but this ingenious product is really the Swiss Army Knife of color management — offering display-to-print matching with a single device. As is typical, to calibrate your monitor you plug the unit in via USB and suspend it over a target area displayed on your screen by the supplied software; the ColorMunki then runs through an automatic sequence of color and black and white patches. (Simple and advanced modes are both available.) It can even take ambient light into account like its consumer-level cousin, the Pantone Huey. (X-Rite recently acquired color authority Pantone.)

You use the software to output a sheet containing five bands of color patches, and then comes the monkeying. Rotate the ColorMunki’s multi-position dial to its print profiling position, then simply slide the device over those bands one by one as if you were ironing the sheet. (There’s even a timer in the unit that ticks off the print’s drying time before you start.) The device can even profile a digital projector. Equally clever, to send images to color-conscious clients and art directors, you can put them into the ColorMunki software’s “Digital Pouch,” zip it up, and when they arrive at the receiving computer a self-executing program runs itself to check the accuracy of the monitor profile, displaying your photographs in the same application-viewing screen. About $450.

SanDisk Extreme Ducati Edition Flash Drive and CF cards

Few brands say speed and performance like Ducati, which is why SanDisk is co-branding its top-of-the-line Extreme-series flash memory products with the cult-status Italian motorcycle maker. The connection is more than a matter of style, though. In addition to its trademark Ducati red, the Extreme 8GB Ducati Edition CompactFlash card features a league-leading read/write speed of 45MB/second, slightly higher even than SanDisk’s regular 8GB Extreme CF card. (You can also get a Ducati Edition CF card in a 4GB version, as well as a 4GB Ducati Edition Secure Digital card.) But here’s the irresistible part, and the most direct motorcycle reference: The 4GB Extreme USB Ducati Edition Flash Drive (at 20MB/second, also fast for its class) is shaped like a Ducati gas tank, complete with logo and a tail light that’s actually an operating indicator — glowing when you’re plugged in, and blinking not for a turn but when data is being saved or transferred. About $240 (8GB card); $100 (flash drive).

Olympus LS-10 digital recorder

It doesn’t take pictures, but for many photographers the new Olympus LS-10 recorder will be no less valuable for that. If you’re one of the growing number of shooters who support their work with sound and text, a subject’s oral history, for example, this tiny digital recorder is a must-have. Though not much bigger than a typical voice recorder — it’s just a little taller, narrower, and thicker than a classic iPod — the sound quality it produces is phenomenal, with a presence you wouldn’t expect from such a small, unassuming unit.

Powered by two AA batteries, the aluminum-bodied LS-10 incorporates a pair of stereo microphones. Though close together they’re angled out, and let alone the clarity they really seem to separate sound. We used the LS-10 to record the song of a particularly tuneful bird to play back so a bird maven could identify it for us; when we downloaded (via USB) the .WAV file and played back through good computer speakers, it was as if the bird was in the room. We also used the LS-10 to record the very fine Olympus corporate band, Peripheral Vision (whose core members include lead guitarist Joe Badalamente, bass guitarist John Saggese, rhythm guitarist Steve Hayes, saxophonist Ken Kanzler, lead singer Jon Weikel, and the inimitable Dave “Sticks” Willard on drums), and when set for automatic levels control it kept their powerful sound balanced and undistorted.

The LS-10 has 2GB of built-in memory, ample when it comes to digital sound, but there’s a slot for Secure Digital memory cards if you need more. And the recorder can save files in any of three formats: Linear PCM (a 24-bit uncompressed file with the extension .WAV), MP3 (the universal, compressed file used for most music playback), and WMA (the even more compressed Windows Media Audio file). This will give you a sense of relative file sizes: in Linear PCM, the total maximum recording time permitted by the 2GB internal memory is up to three hours and ten minutes; in MP3, up to 35 hours 35 minutes; and in WMA, up to 69 hours 35 minutes.

Files are organized using an easy-to-navigate folder system displayed on the LS-10’s 1.8-inch monochrome screen, which also shows levels and other data. Overall, the LS-10’s controls — buttons and a four-way rocker — are very straightforward. It even manages to squeeze in a pair of small stereo speakers. Though really too weak for shared playback, these are of very good quality and very useful for checking what you’ve recorded without the awkwardness of plugging in headphones. About $350.

Pinnacle Dazzle Video Converter for Mac

Before this unit appeared, we were searching high and low (and mostly low) for an easy, affordable way to transfer old Hi-8 videotapes to an aging Mac. Pinnacle’s practically plug-and-play device turned out to be the solution. You just connect it to the computer’s USB port; plug a camcorder, VCR, or other analog video source into its composite (or S-) video inputs; and use the supplied software’s wizard to convert your footage to digital form. It’s imported specifically as an MPEG-4, hardware-compressed file that goes directly into your iTunes library. From there you can view it onscreen with a click, or, if you’re up to date, transfer it to your video iPod. About $50.

Smartparts OptiPix SP3200 Digital Picture Frame

Until now, digital picture frames have struck us largely as a soccer mom’s appliance. But this 32-inch, wall-mounted model from Smartparts should appeal to any serious photographer wanting to showcase his or her work, and not just by virtue of its biggest-ever size. The huge LCD has HDTV-style high-def resolution of 1366×768 pixels to complement its 16:9 wide-screen aspect ratio. Made of dark-stained wood with a compatibly beige inset mat, the SP3200 has slots for most types of memory card, but a USB connection also lets you load pictures directly to it from a computer running the supplied software. The frame’s internal memory holds up to 1,500 shots.

The software can also automatically locate and prepare images for display, resizing and resampling them, and even upload PDFs, PowerPoint slides, and other graphics file types, making it useful in a photo studio environment as well. Slide show options include a choice of speeds and transitions, but according to the company you can keep a single image displayed for an extended period without any burn-in. And once you’re set to go, you can run the frame with its remote control. About $800.

Rodenstock HR Ultra Slim Polarizer

The reputation of Rodenstock lenses precedes this new filter, and as any outdoor color photographer will tell you, a polarizer is the only reliable way to darken clear sky. Of course it can also increase color saturation (differently than what you get from a Photoshop slider) and eliminate unwanted reflections (its main purpose, though often overdone because reflections may be needed to define a scene’s surfaces). Polarizing filters tend to have thick rims, however, because of their dual-glass construction, and this increases the chance that the rim may create a vignette (corner darkening) with the wide-angle lenses we all like to use for landscapes. To lessen that possibility this new Rodenstock circular polarizer has an especially thin rim — a design permitted by thinner optical glass, which in turn makes for sharper results. (You need a circular rather than traditional linear polarizer for proper autofocus function.) The filter’s rim is made of brass rather than aluminum, for better glass alignment, and has a water-shedding outer coating. From $100.

Jobo PhotoGPS

The Nikon D3 and a few other new digital SLRs have built-in GPS technology, which relies on satellites to keep track of where you take your pictures. For those that don’t, Jobo’s long-delayed PhotoGPS is the next best thing. Considerably downsized and streamlined since its announcement and display in early 2007, it slips into your camera’s hotshoe just like a flash unit, staying there while you shoot to record GPS data for every picture you take. (It syncs through the hotshoe’s center contact.) Back at your computer — provided you haven’t gotten lost in the wilderness, a problem this device can’t solve — you import your pictures and the GPS data using supplied software, which time-syncs the two and links up with an online database to retrieve country, city (if any), street (if any), and nearest point of interest for every photograph. That information is then automatically written into the image file’s metadata fields — which means you can search for pictures by location. About $150.

Moixa USBCell

Going green means using rechargeable batteries rather than one-shot cells that clog landfills and contaminate groundwater. The problem is that if you’re on the road for any length of time, you have to take along a dedicated charger — and find someplace with AC power to plug it in. Moixa Energy’s ingenious Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) AA cell eliminates the need for either: Flip open its top to reveal a standard USB plug, and slip it into your laptop’s USB port for a quick charge. (At home you can use a standard NiMH charger.) Most laptops have at least a couple of USB ports, so you should be able to charge two cells at once. Talk about power sharing. What’s more, a fully-charged USBCell actually outlasts a standard alkaline battery in digital devices. About $20 for two. usbcell.com

Brunton SolarRoll

What if your laptop runs out of power far from an AC source? Roll out this flexible, waterproof solar panel and plug it into your computer with the supplied cord. Though direct sun works quicker, the SolarRoll’s photovoltaic cells are able to gather energy even in low light levels. Choose the SolarRoll 14, which measures 12×57 inches and puts out 14 watts, if you want one to charge your laptop. If you just want to charge your digital camera’s battery, in-camera or with a charger, you can get away with the SolarRoll 9, which measures 12×40 inches and puts out nine watts. (You can connect up to three SolarRolls of the same wattage for extra juice.) From $200.

Scott eVest with solar panel

Technology enabled clothing is how this company describes its wired outerwear. A “personal area network” of zippered, variable-size adjustable pockets and conduits built into its garments lets you carry lots of electronic devices — cellphone, PDA, iPod, and of course a compact camera — without looking like a bloated geek. The original Scott eVest hides and manages cables, headphone wires, and earbuds so you stay connected to your gadgets. The jacket even keeps your stuff running when you can’t plug into the grid with an optional, coordinated solar panel that attaches to the back of the jacket and charges a small battery pack in an inside pocket. About $270.

By Jonathan Barkey / American Photo

Best Buy: Samsung GX-20

Electronics heavyweight Samsung has partnered with Pentax on camera technology since 2005, and the latest and best example of that collaboration is this impressive, advanced-level D-SLR. Its Samsung-developed 14.6-megapixel CMOS chip is, in fact, the highest-resolution image sensor ever in an APS-C format camera. Of course, the GX-20 shares that sensor with Pentax’s own K20D, as well as a nearly identical body, with ruggedized construction and best-in-class weather sealing. The same goes for its superb, oversized pentaprism finder; in-body, sensor-shifting optical image stabilization, which works with every K-mount lens in existence); 2.7-inch, 230,000-pixel live view LCD; and built-in dust-removal system, augmented by onscreen dust-mapping, to aid manual cleaning. Other shared assets include a built-in interval timer, AF fine-tuning, and in-camera RAW developing. But the GX-20’s menu system is organized differently and has (in our opinion) a nicer looking, white-on-blue design scheme. About $1,300 (with 18-55mm Schneider D-Xenon kit lens).

Nikon D60

A modest upgrade to Nikon’s existing D40X, this compact, entry-level D-SLR retains the latter’s 10.2-megapixel CCD sensor, solid construction, and a well-proportioned front grip. It actually feels bigger than it really is, offering what we think is the best handling in its class. Like the D40X, the D60 has an ample viewfinder; simple but fast three-point AF; a 420-segment matrix meter; sensitivity from ISO 100 to ISO 3200; unlimited 3fps JPEG shooting; a 2.5-inch color screen; beautifully designed menus and status panel; and textual Help instructions. New, however, are its “Airflow” dust removal system and self-cleaning sensor; self-orientating onscreen display, which features eye-sensor shutoff; and EXPEED image processing. Also notable are its Active D-Lighting tone compensation (with dedicated button) and in-camera JPEG retouching and RAW developing. The D60 lacks live view but does come bundled with a new image-stabilized 18-55mm kit lens. Its coolest feature: being able to assemble stop-action movies from up to 100 separate stills. About $650 (with kit lens).

Olympus E-520

As the smallest, lightest D-SLR on the market, the Olympus E-420 is one of our favorite carry-around cameras. But anyone with larger hands will appreciate its bigger brother, the new E-520, which comes with a more substantial front grip, ampler dimensions and heft, a higher capacity battery — and, best of all, built-in image stabilization (which the E-420 lacks). It also shares the same 10.1-megapixel Four Thirds Sensor (with image quality similar to the top-drawer E-3’s), 2.7-inch LCD with three live-view focusing modes, 3.5fps capture rate, selective shadow enhancement, and supersonic wave filter sensor-cleaning. Best of all is the E-520’s pro-grade wireless multi-flash, which manages up to three strobe groups on its LCD control panel, and triggers them with its pop-up flash. About $600.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

Canon’s Digital Rebel XSi, a pint-sized 12.2-megapixel D-SLR with pro-grade specs, deservedly won Camera of the Year honors in our Entry Level D-SLRs category. Now, in response to lower-priced competitors, comes the 10.1-megapixel Digital Rebel XS, which has most of the XSi’s virtues but costs substantially less. Inherited from the XSi are the same body design and CMOS image sensor technology; DIGIC III image processing; dual-mode Live View AF; ultrasonic sensor-dust removal; Auto Lighting Optimizer (but not highlight tone priority); and SD/SDHC card storage. The XS viewfinder (0.81X) and LCD screen (2.5 inches) are a bit smaller, but its excellent status panel and menu system are nearly identical. Changes from the XSi include seven AF points instead of nine; slightly slower shooting (3fps unlimited JPEG, 1.5fps RAW); 12-bit RAW instead of 14-bit; and no spot meter. Given those modest trade-offs, its price tag is a bargain. About $600.

By Russell Hart / American Photo

Epson Stylus Pro 4880

This model’s biggest brother — the Epson Stylus Pro 11880, our Printer of the Year — has the longed-for ninth cartridge slot lacking in the -880 series’s smaller models. That difference allows SP11880 users (few though they may be) to switch at will from glossy to matte paper and back rather than having to go through time-consuming, expensive cartridge-swapping. But just like that huge, 64-inch machine, the Stylus Pro 4880 uses Epson’s UltraChrome K3 inkset with its new “Vivid Magenta,” which in our experience — both with this model and the Stylus Photo R1900 (see Fine-Art Printers) — really does seem to improve color gamut and, in particular, the rendition of skin tones.

We were blown away, however, by the smoothness the SP4880 imparts to color gradation, from a hue’s palest to its deepest values. The new model’s dot-distribution algorithms are said to be similar to, but even better than, the impressive Stylus Pro 3800, 2007’s Editor’s Choice Best Buy in the Fine-Art Printer of the Year category (a model that shares the SP11880’s extra slot). We can’t claim to see the difference, but both models produced some of the best inkjet prints we’ve ever made, in color or black and white.

The SP4880 carries on with Epson’s trio of black inks, black, light black, and light light black, which makes for beautifully long-toned black-and-white output. (Wonder if either of the light blacks is actually 18 percent gray…) That plus the ease of the dedicated black-and-white mode in the printer’s driver, which lets you “tone” an image with virtually any color and to any degree without messing up your original file, makes this a super black-and-white printer too. Yes, you will have to manually swap photo black for matte black, as mentioned. But for us this wasn’t a big deal, since we generally favor (in contrast to our silver halide days) matte-surfaced papers. Under $2,000.

Epson Stylus Photo R2880

Successor to the esteemed but ink-hungry Stylus Photo R2400, this 13-inch pigment-based model takes its name from the -880 series “Pro” line because it shares many assets with those larger printers. Not least of these is the “Vivid Magenta” feature of their shared UltraChrome K3 inkset, which gives the R2880 smoother, more faithful color and even deeper blacks. It inherits the bigger models’ printhead, too, incorporating automatic checking for both clogs and correct alignment.

Like all the -880 models except the top-of-the-line SP11880, photo black and matte black must be manually swapped when you want to change paper surfaces, but Epson says the R2880 is less wasteful of ink in the process — and of course its cartridges have lower volume and a lower price. We confess we haven’t tested this model ourselves, but include it here on the basis of examples we’ve seen of its output, which look at least as good as what we’re used to getting from the Stylus Photo R2400. When you add that superb quality to the ink-related advantages of the Stylus Photo R2880, you have a worthy if incrementally improved successor. About $800.

Green Photo Product of the Year: HP Deskjet D2545

You can’t really use this letter-sized inkjet model to make exhibition-quality photographic prints. That said, on decent paper its four inks (in one black and one tricolor cartridge) produce surprisingly good image quality. This is the result, says HP, of a dual-dot ink distribution system that makes up for the lack of light cyan and light magenta (typically found in photo-quality printers) by means of pointillism — simply by using smaller dots of the full-blown colors. What’s more, the archival life of the new printer’s output, though dye-based, has been rated at 60-plus years by permanence guru Henry Wilhelm. But frankly, those aren’t really the reasons we’ve included the HP Deskjet D2545 in this sidebar to the models in our Fine-Art Printers category. It’s here because it represents an impressive green-mindedness on its maker’s part: Its plastic body is made of 83 percent (by weight) recycled plastic. This isn’t entirely new for HP, which has been climbing the curve of eco-responsibility more aggressively than most manufacturers. HP’s recycling program allows you to call in to get an unwanted printer picked up, whereupon it is either donated to charities if it still works or ground up to make more printers, a process that even separates pure plastic from circuit boards. HP cartridges come with a postage paid?? return envelope, and are also ground up for recycling; HP60 black cartridges are three-quarters recycled plastic. Whatever you return for recycling, you get points for credit toward future purchases of HP products. As for the D2545, it has a remarkably small footprint; uses way less energy than its predecessors when not in use or in sleep mode; and outputs color at 20 pages-per-minute, text at 26 pages-per-minute — not too shabby for a sub-$50 printer. And it comes in recyclable packaging, no hateful styrofoam. Under $50.

By Jonathan Barkey and Russell Hart / American Photo

onOne FocalPoint

Plug-ins for Photoshop just keep getting more and more sophisticated. Nik’s Viveza gives you a new level of local control, while this impressive Photoshop and Photoshop Elements plug-in from onOne (which also makes the classic Genuine Fractals and PhotoTune, below) brings new ease and precision to the selective addition of blur. Using a “box blur” algorithm said to be optically truer than Photoshop’s traditional Gaussian blur, FocalPoint lets you select the exact point in the image where you want the sharpest focus, then pull out a radial “antenna” to control “defocus.” Amount and feathering are easily and precisely controlled with pop-up sliders.

The blur mask is automatically created on a separate layer, to which you can click for quick examination of shape and opacity. What’s more, any follow-up adjustments and effects — corner vignetting, for example — conform to the contours of the blurred area. The software even has a control that simulates the dramatic defocus obtained by tilting or swinging a view camera’s standards. Especially clever: Since blur softens or eliminates any “grain” in the image (whether conventional or digital), you can add grain back in — and it only affects the blurred area, proportionally of course. About $150.

Silkypix Developer Studio 3.0

This powerful RAW converter from Japan gets raves for its superb color reproduction. It has a full-fledged browser, batch editing and tagging, and film simulations for Fuji, Agfa, Kodak, and Polaroid emulsions — plus quirky presets including “Red Enhancer, “Nostalgic Toy Camera” and more. About $150.

ACDSee Pro 2

This pro-grade, Windows-based image manager swiftly filters, groups, and sorts thousands of photos with ease. It’s equally adept at fine-editing RAW files, with adjustments for shadow/highlight, lens distortion, and noise — plus a selection tool, batch correction and file conversion, and upload to Flickr. About $130.

Vertus Fluid Mask 3

This super-smart masking app offers the fastest way to extract a complex subject (including hair and smoke) from its background, with intelligent edge detection and blending tools delivering seamless results. It’s available stand-alone or as a plug-in for Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, and Quark. About $240.

RealViz Stitcher Express 2.5

Potent yet affordable, Stitcher Express can seamlessly merge unlimited separate images into everything from 2D ultrawide panoramas to immersive 360-degree QuickTime VR movies. It includes a 3D interactive workspace, drag-and-drop assembly, defect excision, and automatic light equalization to keep density more consistent across the image. About $80.

onOne PhotoTune 2.2

This intelligent Photoshop plug-in corrects color and tone in an easygoing sequential process: The user simply chooses the preferred variation from six successive image pairs. PhotoTune also includes version snapshots, manual fine-tuning, and a SkinTune module that features five complexion profiles. About $130.

By Theano Nikitas

It has been another banner year for inkjet printing media. Baryta-type papers are still big news, offering the traditional look and feel of glossy silver paper — not the mirror finish of ferrotyped fiber-based or resin-coated prints, but the softer sheen produced by air drying. Our inkjet paper of the year, from printer maker Epson, is one of these. It’s more evidence that many digital photographers still use traditional silver papers as a reference point for digital media.

Yet independent paper makers are pushing the inkjet envelope, offering a brave new world of substrates for photographers to experiment with. Our top choices for 2008 are made from bamboo, mulberry fiber, and metal. There’s even a decal-like image-transfer material. You can hardly call them papers anymore.

Inkjet Paper of the Year: Epson Exhibition Fiber
The result of several years’ development, Exhibition Fiber produces equally stunning prints in color or black and white. The lustrous surface of this heavyweight (325 gsm and 13mil thick), fiber-based paper is one of the closest we’ve seen to that of air-dried glossy silver paper. It has just the slightest hint of texture — so subtle, in fact, that we had to use a magnifying glass to be sure — but that adds a nice dimension to the paper.

Exhibition Fiber is designed to work with Epson’s UltraChrome K3 inks, the inkset used by printers such as the Epson Stylus Photo R2400 and new R2880, both 13-inch models, and larger Stylus Pro models such as the 17-inch SP4880. (Pixel Genius has developed ICC profiles for the paper, available for free at the Epson Website.) We tested it on the R2400, with which it produced a high level of sharpness and some of the richest blacks and cleanest highlights we’ve ever seen in monochrome inkjet prints — a measure of both the brightness of its base and the high D-Max that can be obtained on it. Exhibition Fiber does incorporate optical brightening agents, but Epson has opted for ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) bleaching, which reduces environmentally damaging by-products.

Epson’s new paper is a little pricey and is available only in sheets from 8.5x 11 to 24×30 — no problem for darkroom grads who never knew the convenience of roll paper. The prints it yields, though, are decidedly “exhibition” quality. www.epson.com

Booksmart Fine Art Metals
Art-minded photographers have run some pretty unusual materials through their inkjet printers — fabrics, wood veneer, and sheet metal. (Even tortillas, a true story.) It’s an iffy business, but Booksmart Studio has removed the uncertainties of printing on metal, at least, with its Fine Art Metals inkjet media. Specially coated for proper, even adhesion of pigment- and dye-based inks, these aluminum sheets are available in Brushed Silver, Matte Silver, Satin Silver, Satin White, and Satin Gold finishes.

We think the most appealing of the five finishes is the Satin Silver. Its reflective surface gives images an almost three-dimensional look that Booksmart compares to classic Ilfochrome (formerly Cibachrome) Type R color printing paper. Though the Satin Silver works very well with color, its effect is ideal for black-and-white images. Brushed Silver, as its name suggests, has a more textured surface that gives the image a grainy appearance, while Matte Silver is better suited to rendering fine detail. If you want the closest thing to a traditional ink-on-white-paper look (only on metal), go for the Satin White. The Satin Gold tended to mute the hues in our flower photos, and can look a little muddy with color in general, so it’s probably best used for monochrome printing.

The Fine Art Metals are available in sheets from 8.5 x 11 up to 20 x 80, depending on finish; some can be had with an adhesive backing. Thickness also varies from one finish to another, ranging from 0.012 to 0.020 inches. That heft requires a printer with straight feed path and possibly an adjustable platen. The silver and white metals are offered in a thinner (0.005 inches) foil, which should work in printers using a J-Curve feed. Be prepared to clear-coat or laminate the prints for best longevity.

ICC profiles for the Fine Art Metals are available for free on the Booksmart Studio Website. As of June 2008, profiles were available only for pigment printers from Canon and Epson, though HP profiles are in the works.

Printing on metal doesn’t come cheap: A sheet costs several times more than a sheet of regular paper, around nine dollars for an 8.5×11. Try out a sample pack of 8.5×11 media to see which surface you like best before you invest in larger sizes and quantities. www.booksmartstudio.com

Hahnemuhle Bamboo 290
Fast-growing, sustainable bamboo has become one of the world’s hottest green products, used for everything from construction to clothing. Now it’s in inkjet paper. Hahnemuhle Bamboo 290 is made of 90 percent bamboo fiber and 10 percent cotton. Like the bamboo socks we received last Christmas, it’s surprisingly soft to the touch; at 290gsm (grams per square meter) and half a millimeter thick, it has a nice heft without being too stiff.

With a fairly smooth, very slightly textured surface, Bamboo 290 contains no optical brightening agents, which accounts partly for its being more cream-colored than white. This in turn produces both warmer color and, with monochrome images, a pale yellowish undertone most visible in lighter tones and highlights. While this may not suit everyone’s aesthetic, nor every image, we loved the warmth of our test prints. (Free ICC profiles can be downloaded from the Hahnemuhle site.)

Bamboo is available in sheets from 8.5×11- to 17×22 inches, and in 39-foot rolls that are 17-, 24-, 36- or 44 inches wide. Hahnemuhle is supporting a number of environmental projects (visit www.green-rooster.com) with a portion of sales from specially-marked papers. www.hahnemuhle.com.

Harman Gloss FB AI Warmtone
It might just be the inkjet world’s answer to Portriga Rapid, Agfa’s legendary warm-tone, cream-based silver printing paper. Harman’s new Gloss FB AI Warmtone achieves its warm base in part by forgoing the optical brighteners found in the existing Gloss FB AI paper. This glossy-surfaced paper has a nice heft to it at 320gsm (grams per square meter) and 14mil (14/1000th of an inch) thickness.

Like the Harman family’s other papers, which also come in matte-surfaced regular and Warmtone versions, Gloss FB AI Warmtone has a fiber-based substrate with a Baryta coating. It’s compatible with both dye- and pigment-based printers and comes in sheets from 8.5×11- to 17×25 inches, as well as in 17-, 24-, and 44-inch rolls. (Five-sheet sample packs are available for testing.) www.harman-inkjet.com

Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk
Lovely is the best word to describe the smooth, lustrous surface of Ilford’s new paper. Like other Baryta papers, Galerie Gold Fibre Silk is fiber-based and coated with a layer of barium sulphate, both of which give it the look and feel of traditional darkroom papers. At 310gsm, a sheet of it feels as substantial as heavyweight silver halide paper, but with a little more stiffness.

Although Galerie Gold Fibre Silk has a hint of warmth, its tint falls closer to the bright white of Epson Exhibition Fiber paper than the yellow of Hahnemuhle’s Bamboo. It gave us good results with both color and monochrome prints, especially when we took Ilford’s suggestion to experiment with Photoshop toning.

Ilford Galerie Gold Fiber Silk is available in sheets from 8.5×11- to 17×22 inches, as well as in 40-foot rolls up to 50 inches wide. Free ICC profiles can be downloaded from the Ilford site. www.ilford.com

Lazertran Waterslide Decal
This unusual printing material is actually a transfer decal rather than a paper, but it has great potential for photographers who want to experiment with the look and feel of their prints. Lazertran Waterslide Decal works something like the Polaroid Emulsion Lift process. After you print on it, you soak the sheet in water to lift the decal from the backing paper. The back of the decal itself is coated with an adhesive that lets you apply it to just about any surface including metal, wood, and glass. Because the decal base is clear, controlled layering of multiple images is possible. If you need convincing that this substrate lends itself to creative effects that can’t be achieved with standard inkjet papers, visit the Lazertran Website and click on “Artist’s Inspiration.” While you’re there, check out the company’s new inkjet-compatible metallic foils. Lazertran Waterslide Decal Paper is available in 8.5 x 11 and 11 x 17-inch sheets as well as 24-inch-wide rolls that are 60 feet long. www.lazertran.com

Moab by Legion Moenkapi Washi
Anyone who’s tried her hand at making paper — and attempted, with mixed results, to use that paper in an inkjet printer — may fall in love with Moab’s Moenkapi Washi papers. Though Moenkapi is a Native American name for a type of layered clay rock common around Moab, Utah, Washi is a type of Japanese paper made from Kozo (mulberry) fibers.

Moab offers three Washi papers in its Moenkapi line: Kozo 110, Unryu 55, and Bizan 300. All are cream-colored, made in Japan, and coated for use in both dye- and pigment-based printers. They vary in weight, however: In comparison to other fine-art inkjet papers, Kozo 110 is relatively lightweight, but it still has enough heft and stiffness to feed easily into your printer.

Unryu 55 is, as its gsm-based number 55 implies, an extremely lightweight, delicate paper. Almost translucent, it is inlaid with coarse fibers to add a decorative effect. Although its thinness can make it tricky to run through your printer, this may be our favorite of all the Moenkapi papers because of its uniqueness in the inkjet world.

The Moenkapi line’s third Washi paper, Bizan 300, is special because it’s the only one of the three that’s handmade rather than machine-made. This heavyweight paper has a beautiful feel, and its deckled edges add to the handmade look. Because of its thickness, Bizan is best used in printers with an adjustable platen.

All three papers work well with both color and black and white, but each gives the image a different quality. Kozo is the most forgiving, while Bizan (which produces softer images) and Unryu (because it’s so delicate) require a little more thought when matching images to paper.

Kozo is available in A4 (8.3 x 11.7″) and 13 x 19-inch sheets. Unryu comes in those two sizes and in 44-inch-wide, 45-foot-long rolls. Bizan sheets are available in A4 and A3 (11.7 x 16.5 inches). Because it’s handmade, Bizan is quite expensive — about $13.40 for an A4-sized sheet. (It’s well worth it, we think.) You can get a sample pack of Kozo and Unryu with two sheets of each for $5.95 on the Moab website. www.moabpaper.com

Red River GreenPix
Printing on recycled paper is one way to go green, but for inkjet output it’s problematic. Recycled papers have more surface imperfections than papers made straight from pulverized trees — and they just aren’t very white. Red River’s GreenPix paper is made from 100 percent post-consumer content yet has a high brightness rating of 97. That and a proprietary coating produce rich color and tone on a recycled stock. About $35 (100 sheets). www.redriverpaper.com

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D-SLR image stabilization is a photographic blessing, but there’s still no substitute for a physical support to keep your camera steady. If anything, the technology has broadened the scope of tripods and other kinds of camera supports, as this year’s very mixed group of Editor’s Choice picks demonstrates. It’s important to note, too, that these products reflect still photographers’ increasing interest in and use of video: Many of them will do just as good a job holding a camcorder.

Camera Support of the Year: Manfrotto Modosteady

If you shoot both stills and video, don’t leave home without this ingenious support system. The Modosteady is actually three stabilizing devices in one, including a poor man’s SteadyShot: Mount your camcorder, grab the handle so that the counterweight hangs below it (as shown here), and your tracking shots will be Goodfellas-smooth. If you need a less langorous support (for following fast-moving subjects), just turn and twist a few sections and the Modosteady converts into a gunstock-style shoulder brace. The brace’s mounting platform is set forward from your face, since it’s designed for composition on a camcorder’s flip-out LCD screen, but there’s no reason it can’t steady a D-SLR in live view mode. The device also converts to a tabletop tripod, serving both still and video purposes. About $185.

Other Top Tripods and Camera Supports

Gitzo Traveler 1550T

Crunching a tripod to a reasonable size and weight for footloose travel usually means compromising its stability. This model is the rare exception. Its five leg sections and unique folding design — which permits the head to swing 180 degrees so that it nestles between the legs — reduces its closed length to a remarkable 14 inches. Yet it’s exceptionally stable for its size, safely and securely supporting camera-and-lens combinations up to ten pounds thanks partly to the rigidity of its carbon-fiber composition and Gitzo’s knurled leg-locking collars. (The collars now incorporate an anti-rotation system that allows you to loosen them all at once, for leg extension in one continuous pull.) Carbon fiber also keeps the tripod light, at just over two pounds. The new tripod’s maximum height is 58 inches, and by removing the reversible center column and screwing its removable camera platform straight into the top of the legs, you can spread it wide enough to get your camera less than nine inches from the ground. About $640.

Kirk Fat Bag

It may resemble your grandmother’s overstuffed chair, but this is actually the most versatile beanbag we’ve seen. Like any other beanbag, it can be used to steady a camera on an available surface when there’s no time to set up a tripod. But its unusual shape features an inverted V at the bottom that allows it to sit securely on the sill of an open car window — letting you shoot on the fly without decamping from the car and offloading your gear. A concave, foam-backed leather top surface is the perfect seat for a big telephoto. Despite its dowdy looks, the Fat Bag is made of double-stitched cordura nylon with a water-resistant backing. You can get it empty and stuff it yourself, or Kirk will do it for you — with crushed walnut shells, not beans. About $43.

Gorillapod SLR-Zoom

Call it the Gumby of the tripod world. This quirky tool has three articulated legs, each a series of rubber-ringed ball joints that allow them to be wrapped around almost anything — turning whatever’s convenient, from railings to stop signs to tree branches, into a stabilizing platform. That means you can often dispense with a heavy tripod and still shoot blur-free in lower light than handheld shooting would allow. You could also use a lower ISO setting (and slower shutter speed) for higher image quality and reduced noise; a smaller aperture (and slower shutter speed) for better depth of field; or a slower shutter speed for creative effect (to blur a moving subject but keep its surroundings sharp). There are actually three Gorillapod models, and this latest is the largest, able to support a six-pound combination of D-SLR and lens, yet weighing just half a pound and measuring less than 10 inches long. About $50.

Best Buy: Induro Adventure Series

Induro tripods impressed us with their design, solidity, and craftsmanship when they came onto the market just a couple of years ago. Available in both carbon fiber and aluminum alloy, these pro-quality tripods had a price to match. Induro’s affordable new Adventure tripods are aimed at less capitalized photographers, offering much of the quality and many of the same features as existing Induro models at a moderate price. You can get them in three sizes, with maximum heights of 57, 62, and 66.5 inches: The 57-inch model weighs just under three pounds and folds down to 20.5 inches; the 62-inch model weighs a half pound more and folds down to 26 inches; and the 66.5-inch model weighs four and a half pounds and folds down to 28.5 inches. (The small model has four leg sections, the other two, three sections.)

All three models share the same basic features. These include flip-style leg locking levers, for easier opening and collapsing; a size-matched, single-lock ball head with quick-release system and plate; and a reversible center column, good for getting close to the ground and grooved to prevent unwanted rotation. Whether you’re shooting low or high, each leg’s angle can be individually adjusted (to 24, 55, and 80 degrees) for placement on uneven ground. The low prices even include a carrying bag, something we used to have to buy. From about $135 to $180.

Cullman 4405 Monopod/Tripod

Built-in D-SLR and D-SLR lens image stabilization have changed the way many photographers think about low-light shooting, but the technology doesn’t lessen the value of a tripod — not just for sharp results with long exposures and more precision with composition, but also for effective supertelephoto shooting, or just that extra edge in sharpness that can make your pictures stand out. Image stabilization also arguably makes the monopod an even more versatile tool — a support you can use with shutter speeds too slow for handheld, image-stabilized shooting but that previously would have required a tripod.

Enter the Cullman 4405, a high-quality black-anodized tripod with a moderate price made even more attractive by the fact that you can slide out its center column and use it as a full-height monopod. Though it weighs less than four pounds due to its metal-alloy construction, the 4405 can hold a camera and lens weighing up to 17 pounds. That sturdiness is aided by center struts and hexagonally-shaped legs, the latter also preventing annoying leg rotation. (While you’re at it check out the biggest tripod in the Cullman line, the new 3150 XXL, which has an extended height of seven feet!) Under $200 (model 4405).

Manfrotto 561B Fluid monopod

A bigger version of Manfrotto’s popular 560B fluid monopod, this new model has a bit of tripod in it — three small retracting legs that extend from the monopod’s foot. They may look odd, but these little projections add to the monopod’s stability and, working with a built-in fluid cartridge, they make panning smoother if and when you shoot video. In fact the 561B is supplied with a head that’s a variation on Manfrotto’s 701RC2 video head. That head brings the total weight of the monopod, which can support almost nine pounds, to a little over four pounds. If that sounds a bit heavy, keep in mind that its four leg sections can extend to an exception height of 79 inches. About $250.

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One legacy of the film-based Advanced Photo System is that it got optical designers thinking about what they could do with a lens if it didn’t have to cover a full 35mm frame. Indeed, the size of the image sensor in most digital SLRs is roughly based on an APS “C” frame, and along with the even smaller Four Thirds-format chip has allowed designers to create lenses that are faster, sharper, and more compact than ever. But even cameras with full-frame sensors will benefit from several lenses in this optical panoply.

Co-SLR Lens of the Year: Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED

Its short focal-length range makes it sound more like a zoom for digital SLRs with a smaller-than-35mm image sensor. In fact, Nikon’s phenomenal 14-24mm f/2.8 zoom covers a full 35mm frame. No, it’s not an unsolicited optical gift for Nikon photographers who use film SLRs, though they’ll benefit from it. Rather, it’s a match made in digital heaven: a constant aperture, ultrawide-angle zoom dedicated to Nikon’s full-frame D3 D-SLR (pending a second full-frame model).

You can use the 14-24mm with other Nikon D-SLRs, on which it will give you the not-too-shabby equivalent of 21-36mm f/2.8. But it’s an awfully big lens for that, and you’d be throwing away the full goodness of its awesome corner-to-corner sharpness. At 14mm the image quality it produces is actually better than Nikon’s very good prime 14mm f/2.8 wide-angle.

The new rectilinear zoom is fully weather-sealed and has internal, SWM-driven AF. The latter contributes to smooth handling and fast focus; constant working distance at any focal length; and closest focusing of under 11 inches at 24mm. It isn’t to keep your polarizing filter from spinning, however. The 14-24mm has no filter thread, nor even a gel filter slot in the back. (The assumption is that you can do it all in Photoshop.) But that’s our only gripe about one of the most impressive lenses we’ve used in years. About $1,600.

Co-SLR Lens of the Year: Olympus Zuiko Digital 7-14mm f/4.0 ED

On the opposite end of the D-SLR chip-size spectrum from Nikon’s new 14-24mm, this spectacular Four Thirds-format zoom delivers roughly the same 35mm-equivalent focal length range: 14-28mm. The extra four millimeters that take you out to 28mm are useful when you don’t want to force perspective too much, and the lens is way smaller in part because its image circle only needs to cover one-quarter the area of the Nikon’s. (Of course its smaller f/4 maximum aperture helps too, but is constant throughout the range.) Another benefit of the smaller chip format is the lens’s remarkable closest focusing distance: four inches at every focal length.

Zooming on the fully rectilinear 7-14mm is nice and firm, with little to no apparent vignetting or barrel distortion throughout. For photographers accustomed to swapping prime wide-angles just to gain or shed a few millimeters, it’s an unfamiliar treat to change focal length so effortlessly in this focal-length range.

Just like the Nikon, with which it shares top honors, this lens has no provision on either end for filters, threaded or gel. Here, though, the thread diameter is smaller and more reasonable than with the Nikon. Perhaps the worry was that a filter’s rim might cause vignetting, though new thin-rimmed filters such as those from Rodenstock mitigate this problem. So we hope our Lens of the Year co-winners are reincarnated with that feature. In the meantime, we’re loving wide-angle again. About $1,600.

Other Top SLR Lenses

Nikon PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5 ED

Nikon photographers who shoot with perspective-control (PC) lenses can finally add tilt to their shift. Unlike all prior Nikon PC optics except the recent 85mm PC macro, the manual-focus 24mm PC-E Nikkor lets you angle the lens up to 8.5 degrees to either side, along with about the same amount of lateral shift that made our old 28mm PC Nikkor so great. This means in addition to keeping the film plane (oops, image sensor) parallel to the subject to prevent the convergence of parallel lines, you can tilt the plane of focus to maximize your front-to-back sharpness. (The lens’s rotating barrel lets you angle the movement in any direction.) The lens still requires manual stop-down except on Nikon’s D3 or D300, but you do so not with the old sliding ring but with a pushbutton. (Push the button again for full-aperture viewing.) Better news is that for the first time, with the D3 or D300, you can use any exposure mode and the lens is automatically stopped down and reopened by the camera, just as with any other lens. Now that’s progress! About $1,850.

Tamron SP AF10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD

This affordable yet high-performance wide-angle zoom stretches Tamron’s current 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 lens on both ends of its focal-length range, producing the equivalent in 35mm of about 15-36mm (for Nikon D-SLRs other than the D3) or 16-38mm (for Canon D-SLRs other than the EOS 5D and EOS 1Ds-series models). Available this Fall, it delivers pretty much the same angles of view, for smaller-chip D-SLRs, that the tried-and-true 16-35mm does for 35mm- or full-frame-digital SLRs. Though it doesn’t have that zoom’s constant f/2.8 maximum aperture, which would make it a bigger, more expensive lens, it improves considerably on its predecessor’s speed, adding a very useful two-thirds stop to both the short and long ends of its range.

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM

With a Four Thirds-format mount that fits Olympus, Panasonic, and Leica Digilux D-SLRs, this 10-element zoom stays compact (about three inches long and wide) but delivers a powerful 20-40mm range (35mm equivalent). It zips from ultrawide-angle to a slightly-wide focal length that can be used with little evident distortion. Packed with high-grade glass, it counts three low-dispersion and three aspherical elements among its total of 14. (This very lens is also available for D-SLRs with the bigger, APS-C-sized sensor, with which it becomes about a 16-30mm.) About $500.

Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-35mm f/2.0 ED SWD

Photographers who’ve done much of their full-frame shooting with a 28-70mm f/2.8 sometimes bemoan that zoom’s speed, even though it’s constant. Prime lenses falling within the same focal-length range often provide an f/2 maximum aperture or wider, making them more versatile in low light. The zoom’s f/2.8 is a compromise — a way both to keep the maximum aperture constant and prevent the lens from getting too big for wieldy handling. No such compromise needed with the Four Thirds-digital format because a lens has to cover only one-quarter the area of a 35mm “full” frame. That’s how Olympus’s new Zuiko 14-35mm f/2.0 zoom provides the angular equivalents of a full-frame 28-70mm yet maintains its f/2 maximum aperture — a full stop faster — throughout the focal-length range. You pay extra for that speed, but when combined with the sensor-based image stabilization in Olympus D-SLRs it lessens the need to ratchet up the ISO, reducing image-degrading noise. About $2,300.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

Built-in image stabilization more than offsets the variable-aperture design of this compact, lightweight lens — a moderate- to supertele UD zoom equivalent to 88-400mm (in 35mm). A new, simpler IS technology both lowers the cost and increases to four the number of stops by which you can safely shoot handheld below the focal length’s reciprocal. At the lens’s highest magnification, for example, you could shoot at 1/30th second and shake would be countered well enough to prevent image blur. We probably wouldn’t trust our own steadiness at such a slow speed; we feel safer at two to three stops slower. Assuming you don’t need to freeze subject movement, though, the image stabilizer makes the lens the equivalent of a nonstabilized f/1.0-1.4 in terms of pure light gathering ability. And when you pan a moving subject, the lens automatically senses the camera movement and stabilizes the image only in the vertical axis. About $280.

Pentax SMC DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM

A fine match for the impressive Pentax K20D, this razor-sharp, smooth-focusing telephoto becomes a 300mm f/2.8 (in 35mm terms) when you use it on that camera. And the 300mm f/2.8 was always a bread-and-butter optic for 35mm sports and wildlife photographers, available for just about any brand of SLR. That lens was hefty, though, with a barrel length of 10 inches or more, a girth of up to five inches, and weight approaching six pounds. By contrast, the new Pentax 200mm f/2.8 (which meets the same tough weather- and dust-resistance spec as the K20D body) is only half that long, just over three inches in diameter, and several ounces shy of two pounds. This scaling down makes a huge difference in handling — allowing hand-held shooting, with equal magnification, where and when the 300mm f/2.8 was (and is) just too much of a beast for anything but a monopod or tripod. About $1,000.

Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 100mm f/2 ZF

Accurate focus is critical when you’re shooting macro photographs, given the inherently shallow depth of field at such close working distances. This full-metal, manual-focus lens for the Nikon F-mount makes the job easier by giving you a wider maximum aperture — and therefore a brighter viewfinder and more decisive point of focus — than with the f/2.8 of most other macros. (For shooting very close we find autofocus to be more of a hindrance than a help.) We used the new 100mm ZF on our Nikon D3 because it covers a full 35mm frame, but if you mount it on any other Nikon D-SLR you get the equivalent (in 35mm) of a 150mm f/2 lens. That’s fast for such a relatively long focal length and makes for great tight portraits with very shallow depth of field. We shot many closeups with the lens wide open, which created lovely soft-and-sharp effects — pinpoint focus with dramatic yet smooth defocused areas. About $1,600.

Tokina AT-X Pro DX AF 11-16mm f/2.8

Available for Canon (EF-S) and Nikon (DX) D-SLRs, this constant-aperture, wide-angle zoom proves that independent lensmakers can build lenses that are every bit as good as, if not better than, those offered by the SLR makers themselves. We think its optical quality equals or beats that of its closest competitors, which include lenses with 10-20mm, 10-22mm, and 12-24mm ranges. And the Tokina is up to a stop and a third faster, since those competitors start out with a maximum aperture of f/3.5, f/4, or f/4.5. What’s more, it maintains that speed throughout its range while other such wide-angle zooms end up at f/4.5 or even f/5.6 at their long end. In addition to increasing your low-light shooting ability, the wider aperture makes the viewfinder brighter — good for manual focusing, which you do simply by pulling back the ring. (The lens doesn’t autofocus with the Nikon D40/X or D60.) The new zoom does fall short of its competitors on the long end, but we’re not complaining. About $570.

Sony Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA

This zoom’s very wide to moderate-tele range is ideal for a full-frame D-SLR. So why would Sony bring out such a lens, given that the smaller-than-35mm chip in Sony D-SLRs makes it an old-school 35-105mm? To prepare for Sony’s full-frame, 24-megapixel pro D-SLR, which is on the near horizon. The lens and its constant-aperture companion, the Sony Zeiss T* 70-200mm f/2.8 GA, will give the much-anticipated camera a 24-200mm range with a nonvariable aperture. And the new chip’s resolution should be up to maintaining the sharpness that defines Zeiss optics — which you used to have to resort to a prime lens to get. About $1,750.

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A Pulitzer Prize winner, Dickman has shot more than 25 assignments for National Geographic and its sister publications, and his work has appeared in Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, among other magazines. His advertising clients include Nike and Dell Computer. Dickman founded and now runs the highly successful FirstLight Workshop series.

Photojournalist Jay Dickman is inordinately skilled at bringing visual order to chaotic subject matter. The proof of that talent has ranged from his photographs of the civil war in El Salvador to coverage of national political conventions—the former winning him 1983’s Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. Yet when Dickman arrived at the abandoned Arborland tree farm in Milliken, Colorado, he found hundreds of old-growth trees standing row upon row, as if they were expecting him. The photographer knew that light was the key to capturing what he calls the “cathedral effect” of this unlikely forest, so he shot at dusk and early in the morning, when sunlight could stream down the grand corridors formed by the trees.

Situated in the middle of grasslands that fan eastward from the foot of the Rockies, the grove in its maturity has greatly benefitted local wildlife, offering refuge to birds, deer, wild turkey and other deserving creatures. But it stands in the way of urban development along the corridor north of metropolitan Denver, where Dickman himself lives. The grove’s owner has sought a buyer who will develop the site without harming the forest. That’s a tough sell in a business that seems to need a treeless expanse, whether natural or manmade, to create new housing. So the fate of Arborland remains uncertain. Sadly, its doom may be sealed when the U.S. housing market rebounds, unless a tree-loving benefactor comes to its rescue.

Dickman is hoping for such a reprieve. “I talked with a local arborist who described how he would go into the grove just to luxuriate in being in such a beautiful place,” he says. “Above all, I wanted to convey the almost spiritual nature of this place—a place designed by humans.” Indeed, it’s a place only humans can save from themselves. .

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The recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, photography’s most coveted award, Bosworth teaches at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Her prints have been shown at the Princeton Museum and the Addison Gallery of American Art, and she is the author of the 2005 monograph Trees: National Champions (MIT Press).

Barbara Bosworth grew up in Novelty, Ohio, a small town just east of Cleveland and just south of the famous Holden Arboretum. “We would go for walks there as a family when I was young,” says the photographer, “and I still take walks there with my sister’s family.” The specimen Bosworth took on for Every Tree Tells a Story forms a perfect triangle with her hometown and the site of those walks—and sits on a property that originally belonged to the daughter of the Holden’s founder.

The massive black oak (Quercus Velutina) at Katewood, as the property is known, overlooked Lake Erie a lifetime before the adjacent house was built. Its limbs stretch outward so widely that in addition to the cabling that can keep an old tree from splitting apart, a crutch support was installed after a tornado passed by in 1992. But the tree’s horizontal spread was a perfect foil for the panoramic images Bosworth usually creates.

Bosworth doesn’t use a panoramic camera for these images, however. Instead, she shoots with an 8×10-inch view camera, carefully rotating it to construct the image section by section. To capture the Katewood oak to her satisfaction she shot as many as four sheets of 8×10-inch film per panorama. The result of this technique, while surprisingly smooth, isn’t seamless—and that’s the way the photographer wants it. Thin black lines divide the separate frames, and in her Katewood image, branches don’t always align perfectly, as if to echo the way time and the elements have battered the tree.

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With a background in both photography and film, New York–based Bedik has prints in the collections of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the Bibliotheque national de France.

Nestled in a five-acre sanctuary in Washington, DC’s Georgetown neighborhood is a tree that witnessed much of America’s history. A 100-foot tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), it has seen the turmoil of our revolution, the burning of the capital by the British in 1814, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. It has watched and flowered as America evolved from an agrarian society to an industrial one, and from a small nation into the strongest on Earth—all from its peaceful setting on the grounds of what is now the Tudor Place Historic House and Garden.

That lush garden environment, on land once owned by the granddaughter of Martha Washington and her first husband, led to the project’s choice of photographer. Amy Bedik has been shooting formal gardens for many years, most of them with a Diana plastic camera and black-and-white film that combine to give her images a pictorial quality that complements the manicured nature of her subjects. Even though she chose to shoot the tree in color, her technique still plays detail down, turning the tulip poplar’s distinctive four-lobed leaves into flat, translucent shapes. And rather than capture the tree in its massive entirety, Bedik isolated such representative details, including its individual limbs and 60-inch-diameter trunk. “Its breadth formed a shelter from the hot sun that day,” she says. “So I tried to explore the idea of shelter through the photographs.”

The Tudor Place tulip poplar’s garden confines might seem, in turn, to shelter it from the ravages of urban development. While tulip poplars are one of the hardiest and tallest eastern hardwoods, the tree’s advanced age puts it at greater risk from environmental contagions and the changing, destructive weather patterns of the last few years. One big storm could fell it, silencing its many stories.

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Any student of science will tell you that life is untenable without the fresh air furnished by leafy trees. One mature tree is said to dispense enough oxygen during its growing season to keep 10 people breathing. Even the least scientific human enjoys the more obvious contributions of trees, from wood to fruit to shade from the sun. And while there may be few living entities as ecologically important, photographers clearly believe that there are also few as magnificent.

That belief is expressed not just in the innumerable images of trees photographers have created, but also in the fact that a tree’s scale and visual complexity—along with human intrusions into its space—make it a challenging subject. It compelled 19th-century photographer Carleton Watkins to set up his mammoth-plate camera whenever he saw a noble specimen, and more recently led National Geographic photographer Jim Balog to hoist himself up giant redwoods in order to shoot them digitally section by section for stitched vertical panoramas.

Still, the magnificence of trees hasn’t deterred us from cutting down roughly 12 billion of them each year for fuel, farming, building materials and other less necessary purposes. Even trees we take for granted in our own communities are endangered by development, disease, climate change and other threats. To focus our collective attention on great trees in our own midst that may need protecting, American Photo and The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) have partnered to create a traveling exhibition featuring photographs of such specimens. As part of its annual “Landslide” initiative, the foundation chose 12 trees from more than 100 nominees that were solicited from landscape architects, horticulturists and the readers of Bonnier’s Garden Design magazine, one of the project’s sponsors along with AP and TCLF. The exhibition, which will be supplemented with TCLF’s educational signboards for a special opening next spring, is called Every Tree Tells a Story.

We chose the photographers not just for their geographic connections but also for the sympathy toward the natural world displayed in their work. Just as important, though, was the work’s aesthetic excellence, because we wanted these artists to interpret the trees rather than simply record them. Visit the site of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, to learn more about this remarkable project.

Click the links below for more information about each of the photographers and the story behind the trees they shot:

Yong Hee Kim
Dave Jordano
Amy Bedik
Jay Dickman
Bob Hower
Frank Hunter
Juan A. Pons
Barbara Bosworth
James Sheldon
Garie Waltzer
Robert Glenn Ketchum
Larry Nighswander

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Garie Waltzer describes her black-and-white photographs of civic spaces—parks, pools, city streets—as “baroque.” She means that they are packed with active detail, both human and natural. “For me, place is an organism with structure, flow and collective narrative,” she explains. So when Waltzer arrived in East Hampton, New York, to photograph the arching elms (Ulmus americana) that line the streets of eastern Long Island’s famous summer resort, she was faced with a “decidedly quieter” kind of subject matter.

If you know much about trees, you’ll know that American elms—once one of the nation’s favorite “street” trees—have been struggling for years. Dutch elm disease has killed millions of them. In East Hampton, though, the remaining elms are considered so important to the town’s identity that they are regularly inoculated to prolong their lives. In many other places, lack of funding for such programs means that diseased trees are simply cut down.

East Hampton’s elms and their local advocates, foremost among which is the Ladies’ Village Improvement Society, will continue their battle against the destructive fungus carried by the elm bark beetle—an accidental tourist that has slowly but relentlessly traveled across America. “I wanted to highlight the heroic qualities of the trees, their combination of stamina and vulnerability,” says Waltzer, who carried a ladder around town for more elevated views of its sidewalks. “It was important to tell their stories.”

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Sheldon, former curator of photography at the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Massachusetts, is a professor of media arts at Boston’s Emerson College. His work was recently on display at the Tate Modern museum in London.

The tree-lined avenue is an urban archetype, and perhaps no city street in America hews to it like Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue Mall. The nine blocks running from the famous Boston Garden to the Fens (part of the city’s Olmsted-designed “Emerald Necklace” of parks) are walled in by the street’s elegant brownstones, with a wide, grassy median separating inbound and outbound lanes. Trees in the middle and on either side meet to form a canopy through which bits of iconic Boston buildings peek, while the blocks are anchored by statues of American history’s notables ranging from Federalist Alexander Hamilton to abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison.

The mall is a corridor heavily trafficked by pedestrians and cars alike, wear that requires constant maintenance. Jim Sheldon has traveled it for decades, but until this project had never stopped to photograph it in its full expanse. For that task he turned to an elaborate 360-degree panoramic technique involving 24 separate, overlapped frames—12 across by two high—created by careful rotation of his digital SLR on a tripod. Stitched together in the computer in a process that can take Sheldon as long as two days, the results ably capture the immersive experience of walking down the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

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Based in North Carolina, Pons is co-founder of The Digital Photography Experience, an online digital learning center, and leads workshops through his own Wild Nature Tours. His work has been published in Sierra and Audubon magazines.

Late in World War II, the United States undertook a national road-building project to allow faster transport of military personnel. One such road cut through the erstwhile Puerto Rican town of Rio Piedras, skirting a handsome stand of mature Ficus trees (Ficus nekbuda). The canopy formed by three of the remaining trees now arches over several lanes of what has become one of Puerto Rico’s busiest highways.

“I was so taken aback by the sheer size of the canopy that I thought I might have to use large banks of lights to selectively illuminate the trees,” says Juan Pons, a respected nature photographer who hails from San Juan, which now incorporates Rio Piedras. Instead, Pons shot the trees at dusk with long exposures that both turned speeding cars’ taillights into streaks and allowed him to “paint” their foliage with light using repeated bursts from a hand-held flash unit?

Pons’s experience with these vulnerable trees, the bark of which is harmlessly stripped and beaten into cloth in their native Africa, went beyond solving photographic problems. “Just about everyone walking by asked me what I was doing, and proceeded to tell me some personal story about the trees,” Pons recalls. “I realized that these trees were a cherished part of the community.”

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