If there’s one comment we hear regularly about the magazine, it’s that the pictures are so wonderful. Many consider them our hallmark. We like to think that’s because we editors and art designers have such good taste. But it really begins with photographers who have a set of photographic styles and standards that they won’t compromise.

The images of our profiled photographer Tom Buchkoe that you’ll find starting on page 26 are the usual excellent quality that we have come to expect from Tom. In fact, we like Tom’s work so much, it is probably displayed in the magazine more than anyone else. Tom isn’t the only “regular” freelance photographer that you’ll find in Lake Superior Magazine. But he does represent the quality we always strive for. He knows what he wants and is never happy with anything less than the quality he demands. That’s important to us, because the photos will never get better than the way the photographer presents them to us.

We continually try to provide not only pleasing images to our readers but also photographers who have a style. The French say, “Vive la différence.” As with writers, without the difference there would be no variety, and we wouldn’t be able to see that our favorite subject - Lake Superior - has so many faces. We rely on our photographers to discover those faces.

We have found that this discovery thing is sometimes catching. The photos sent to us for entry in our annual photo contest are showing remarkable creativity. They aren’t always “just snapshots.” Many times, we’ve had to seriously wonder whether these amateur photographers weren’t out there making a fortune off their images. (By the way, if you haven’t entered, you have until October 3 to get your entries mailed).

We are amazed at just how many ways this wondrous lake can be portrayed on film. We recently completed the selection of the pictures for our annual calendar, which required careful examination of thousands of images. We finally brought it down to just 12 to represent Lake Superior for a year, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how we were able to do it.

We admire people like Tom Buchkoe who do not compromise on their standards. He, for one, has been able to build it into a full-time profession. But even those photographers who only occasionally are able to venture into the “wilderness” of Lake Superior can be particular enough to demand the best from their studies - waiting for the perfect light, shooting three times the number of frames to find just the right mood. Is it easy? Not always. Is it worth it? We always let you be the judge.

Paul L. Hayden
Editor

Address e-mail to plh@lakesuperior.com