About Us

Welcome to Travel Photographers Network

Travel Photographers Network (TPN) is the premiere web community for photographers who want to improve their skills and photographic knowledge. If you are one of those people who still gets excited about the prospect of jumping on a plane, train, car, bicycle, skates, or even sneakers (trainers if you are European) to go across the Equator or across the street, and if you can't conceive of doing this without bringing your camera along, then you'll want to join Travel Photographers Network!

All new members to Travel Photographers Network receive full member beneifts for 30 days. After 30 days, pay for an annual subscription and continue to receive full member benefits including personal gallery, biography page, links to your personal and professional website and blogs, etc. Basic members are still able to participate in the forums, contribute and comment on articles, and critique other member photos.

History and Milestones

TPN was born out of the Nature Photographers Network website. NPN Founder Jim Erhardt recognized there was a hole to fill for travel photography and that many of the NPN members also travelled extensively. In late 2003 Jim created the Travel Photographers Network. Somewhere around 2006, Jim Erhardt turned over TPN to one of it's prominent members, Jim White. Jim White served as owner/editor until January 2010 when he turned it over to the current owner/editor Walter Rowe. Some of the important milestones in TPN's history are:

• Number One! - Travel Photographers Network is the number one travel photography website on the Internet. Go to any search engine, plug in Travel Photography, and our site will be first in their search results. We are proud of the fact that we do not pay for this ranking in the search engines. We have achieved this enviable level of recognition solely through the impressive contributions of our members. Through their images, articles, comments and forum discussions our members have made TPN the world's number one travel photography website.
• Member Showcase - Travel Photographers Network takes great pride every week to recognize the best of the photographs posted on a weekly basis by selecting one image from each of our photography categories and from our weekly challenge theme and posting them in a special "Member Showcase" album and tagging them with gold ribbons.
• Photo Book - In 2008 TPN created a photo book called "Around The World With TPN" showcasing more than 100 images from TPN members. You can still purchase the book from Blurb.com. The fee for the book only covers the cost of printing. In an expression of our support for photographer's rights, TPN makes no money from this book. All of the images were contributed voluntarily by TPN members To create the book, TPN members submitted images to a special photo gallery. A select committee of TPN members served as jurors who sorted through all of the submitted images to narrow down the selection. One of our members, Sarah Clarehart, took on the daunting task of designing the book and putting all of the content into it. Click the link above and you will see the beautiful job Sarah did with the book, and feel free to order a copy. Blurb makes nice books.
• Site Evolution - As stated above, TPN was started around 2005. The site was designed exactly the same as its parent site, Nature Photographers Network. In the summer of 2008, a new version of the site was developed and launched (TPN 2.0). This new design was a dramatic departure from the original site. Reviews of the new design were mixed and the software had issues. TPN limped along for a couple of years. In March of 2011, we completely revamped the website again (TPN 3.0). In this version, we attempted to incorporate the best of the features from TPN 2.0 while also moving closer back to where TPN started in layout and format. By this time we have many years of content, much of it stale and outdated. We made a painful, strategic decision to start again from scratch with site content. We have a backup of all our historical data from the previous versions of the website. At some point we may cull through that content and pull out some of the best articles and repost them.

Our Mission

The mission of the Travel Photographers Network is to:

• Improve the quality of travel photography through the exchange of knowledge in a community of amateurs and professionals
• Promote the work of the Travel Photographers Network membership
• Promote awareness of the importance of Travel Photography as a form of expression

Our Community

Travel Photographers Network is just as the name implies. We are a network of like-minded photographers who enjoy combining our love of photography with our love of travel. The TPN website is organized into several sections to provide the best member experience possible.

• The Photography section of TPN is unique in that the comments are offered to members by fellow members. While the membership is diverse from full-time professional to the weekend hobbyist, all critiques are treated equal, every photograph receives the same level of attention, and every photographer is given the same level of respect and honest feedback. TPN continuously receives positive feedback for how its members have helped to improve each to individual's skill and eye for imagery, and for how much enjoyment the community has added to each photographer's experience.
• The Articles section of TPN provides consistly high quality reading material for our members. We provide destination-based articles that highlight all the great photographic opportunities and cultural experiences one can enjoy in locations all over the globe, reviews of photographic equipment and tools that enable you to bring out the best in the photographs you bring home, and we provide how-tos (tips) for how to improve your photographic eye and your skills behind the lens to capture the very best imagery possible.
• The Forums section of TPN provides our members with a place to interact with one another on an equal level, whether they are amateurs seeking the advice of professionals and well-seasoned travelers, or members just sharing experiences with fellow members. TPN prides itself on not distinguishing between different skill levels of our members. Every member of TPN was "just starting out" at some point in their past. We respect that and make every attempt to support our members at every skill level and place in life.

Membership Supported

TPN is supported almost entirely through membership dues. Limited advertising has been introduced to the site to help offset the cost of running it, but the intention is to keep this to a minimum.

Travel Photographers Network
http://www.travelphotographers.net/staticpages/index.php/tpn-about-us