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Jim Harmer didn’t start out as a travel and nature photographer. He was in law school when the photography bug bit him, and, before he knew it, he was traveling the world, capturing moments in time with his camera.

What makes a great travel photo? Many things, of course, but we’ve found the best images always tell some sort of story. For this assignment, we weren’t simply looking for pretty pictures from a vacation. Beautiful photos are all well and good but they’re a dime a dozen these days. Instead, we were seeking unique travel photos that included some interesting elements in the frame to give a sense of place or context. We wanted to imagine we were standing right beside the photographer, whether they were taking a photo on a dusty street in Marrakesh, or turning their camera toward a vast plain in Montana. While neither of those locales are featured in our 10 favorite images from readers, the places that are presented here look pretty awesome.

I’m way too polite and well-mannered to come right out and say that photographers lie, so instead I’ll repeat some of the things I’ve heard them say and translate their words into language we can all understand, i.e., the truth. For example, when my friend told me, “Very useful blog this week, Jon!” she really meant, “You couldn’t write your way out of a paper bag, you schlub, but I ran out of Nyquil and I had to get to sleep somehow…”

Getting work as a travel photographer has never been easy. Today, factors of the economy and technology have added obstacles that require even more knowledge and planning. The five travel photographers we interviewed work with clients ranging from editorial to corporate and advertising.

Active lifestyle cameras are aimed at photographers who don’t want to worry about their equipment during their adventures, but do want to capture images they can be proud of—even under challenging conditions. All seven cameras on this list are virtually indestructible, high-performance compacts that are perfect for skiing, surfing, taking to the beach, boating, hiking or any other activity where an unprotected DSLR or mirrorless camera could be damaged. 

Macphun has announced an offer you can’t refuse: A free download of their new Filters For Photos app that lets Mac users create striking effects without the complexity of other image-editing programs. The new app can be used as a standalone program or as an extension for the popular Apple Photos application.

Under development for the past few years, ON1 Photo RAW is the first Raw processing software and non-destructive photo editor to be unveiled in over a decade. With support for over 800 cameras and sophisticated editing capabilities, the software utilizes cutting-edge code to make the most of today’s hi-res cameras and high-performance computers.