Publisher's Note - July 2014

The oldest surviving camera photograph, from 1826, is displayed on The University of Texas at Austin campus at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center. An estimated 4 trillion photos have been taken since that first one. And thanks to digital cameras, smart phones and social media, an estimated 400 billion more photos are likely to be taken in 2014 alone. But quantity does not mean quality, regardless of how many editing apps and filters you install on your iPhone. The best photos still, for the most part, take time, equipment and expertise. I’m excited to share, in this issue, the winners of our Ninth Annual Buzz Photo Contest. Sometimes brilliance can happen in an instant, as in Michael Porter’s photo of a jumping dog. Other times, it requires time, as in Leina Betzer’s photo of her grandfather shuffling cards. This photo was shot on film, and Leina developed it in a darkroom. I’ll let you be the judge. [email protected]