Five years. Not such a long time if you really think about it. But in the life of an artist, it can equal a generation of achievement.

Consider this: in five years’ time, from 1966 through 1970, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr churned out Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be. Over the course of five years, from 1508 through 1512, Michelangelo Buonarroti lay uncomfortably on scaffolding, painting the vault of the Sistine Chapel. And, in a mere five years, from 1596 through 1600, William Shakespeare produced some of his most triumphant plays, including The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Henry V and Hamlet.

Starting in May of 1999 and running through this March 2003 issue, Photo District News, along with Nikon and Kodak, annually featured and promoted the careers and imagery of some of the most talented young photographers in the business in our PDN‘s 30 issue. Five years ago, photographers Phil Poynter, Norman Jean Roy, Jason Fulford, Jeff Riedel, Guy Aroch, Yto Barrada, Justine Parsons and Taryn Simon, along with 22 others, graced our pages in what was mainly a plunge into the unknown. It turned out to be a momentous leap.

The creations and stories of those ambitious 30, inspired, influenced and impressed art directors, photo editors, art buyers and fellow photographers. The careers of many that were selected for the initial 30 erupted. While clearly not comparable to Michelangelo or Shakespeare, their accomplishments over the past five years are impressive. The work of Jeff Riedel blanketed the editorial world. Jason Fulford started his own publishing company. Taryn Simon’s images spurred dozens of imitators.

Over the next few issues, as the competitiveness began to increase and the submission level began to overwhelm, we celebrated names such as Elinor Carucci, Justine Kurland, Clang, Coliena Rentmeester, Brian Finke, Lynsey Addario, Jonas Bendiksen and Gillian Laub. Hundreds of images continued to hypnotize, including startling photographs of decaying spaceships, sprawling Trinidadian seascapes and mischievous, jump-roping nuns. The PDN 30 issue became more than a monthly installment. It turned into a reference guide of artists who were shaping the look and direction of the industry.

One hundred twenty photographers later, we present you with a new set of faces and visions. From Narelle Autio’s sweeping coverage of the coastline (and roadkill) of Australia to Angela Moore’s playful still-lifes of motorized rabbits from the dog tracks of London, this year’s group of 30 represents an impressive finale to what has been a moving five-year odyssey.

The long and winding road to 2008 has just begun.

— Anthony LaSala, PDN‘s 30 editor

DAVID S. ALLEE

Age: 33 | Born: NYC | Residence: New York City | Education: Undergraduate: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; School of Visual Arts, NYC | Clients: Details, Time Out New York, Metropolis, Esquire

NATHAN IAN ANDERSON

Age: 27 | Born: Martha’s Vineyard, MA | Residence: Brooklyn | Education: Parsons School of Design, NYC | Exhibits: Staton-Greenberg Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA; Sotheby’s Photography Auction, Swann Galleries, NYC; Cube Gallery, Alberta, Canada

MICHELE ASSELIN

Age: 30 | Born: NYC | Residence: New York City | Education: University of Wisconsin | Clients: Time, Vibe, Fast Company, The New York Times Magazine, Fortune, Wired

NARELLE AUTIO

Age: 33 | Born: Adelaide, Australia | Residence: Sydney | Education: University of South Australia | Awards: Joop Swart Masterclass, Picture of the Year, World Press, Leica Oskar Barnack | Exhibits: Stills Gallery, Sydney; Australian Centre of Photography; Maritime Museum of New South Wales, and others

ONDREA BARBE

Age: 32 | Born: Santa Cruz, CA | Residence: NYC | Education: Self-taught | Clients: Men’s Health, Real Simple, Fitness, Hilton Hotels, Chase Manhattan Bank, Steve Madden

PEP BONET

Age: 28 | Born: Colònia de Sant Jordi, Balearic Islands, Spain | Residence: Amsterdam and Mallorca, Spain | Education: Fotogram Amsterdam | Awards: Second prize, Sala d’Art Jove, 2000, and third prize, Sala d’Art Jove, 2001 | Clients: The Observer, Man, Our World

YONI BROOK

Age: 20 | Born: Washington, D.C. | Residence: New York City | Education: Junior at New York University, NYC | Awards: First Place, 2002 Best of Photojournalism Contest, NPPA; Two-time College Photographer of the Year, University of Missouri  | Clients: The Washington Post, Getty, USA Today

KATE BROOKS

Age: 25 | Born: Syracuse, NY | Residence: Islamabad, Pakistan | Education: George Washington University, University of Westminster | Awards: Ian Perry Award | Clients: Time, People, Newsweek, New York Times Magazine, British Marie Claire, The Gaurdian

KAREN COLLINS

Age: 35 | Born: Detroit, Michigan | Residence: New York City | Education: University of Michigan; University of Aix-en-Provence, France | Clients: Numero, British Vogue, The Face, Pop, Emmanuel Ungaro, Nina Ricci

REUBEN COX

Age: 30 | Born: Highlands, NC | Residence: NYC | Education: Cooper Union, NYC | Clients: The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Details, Newsweek, DoubleTake

BENJAMIN DONALDSON

Age: 33 | Born: Hanover, NH | Residence: Brooklyn | Education: Massachusetts College of Art, Yale | Exhibits: Wallspace, Pierogi Gallery | Clients: Details, Nylon, The New Yorker, The Guardian, Jane

LAUREN FLEISHMAN

Age: 24 | Born: Brooklyn | Residence: Brooklyn | Education: School of Visual Arts, NYC| Clients: Fortune, The New York Times Magazine, The Village Voice, W, Women’s Wear Daily

DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN

Age: 30 | Born: New York City | Residence: New York City | Education: Occidental College, CA | Assisted: Richard Avedon, Terry Richardson, Norman Jean Roy, Mario Testino | Clients: Condé Nast Traveler, Food and Travel, Marie Claire Maison, Martha Stewart Living, Spoon

ZIYAH GAFIC

Age: 23 | Born: Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina | Residence: Sarajevo | Education: University of Sarajevo | Awards: 2001 World Press Photo Award, Ian Parry | Scholarship: Joop Swart Masterclass; 2002 Kodak Prize

ANDREW HETHERINGTON

Age: 33 | Born: Dublin, Ireland | Residence: New York City | Education: Dun Laoghaire School of Art, Dublin | Assisted: Perry Ogden, Peter Robathan, Platon Ilan Rubin | Clients: Newsweek, Q, Mademoiselle

MISTY KEASLER

Age: 24 | Born: Houston, TX | Residence: Richardson, TX | Education: Columbia College, Chicago | Assisted: Prabuddha das Gupta | Clients: Nest, DoubleTake, Texas Monthly, Tokion

LISA KERESZI

Age: 29 | Born: Chester, PA | Residence: Brooklyn | Education: Bard; Yale | Awards: Art Directors Club Distinctive Merit Award, 2001; Ward Cheney Memorial Award (Yale) | Assisted: Nan Goldin | Clients: The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Details, Flaunt, Wallpaper, IBM, Capitol Records

FREDERIC LAGRANGE

Age: 32 | Born: Versailles, France | Residence: Brooklyn | Education: University of Toulouse | Assisted: Prabiddha das Gupta | Clients: Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Wallpaper*, Real Simple, Vogue Japan, Destinations

AMANDA MARSALIS

Age: 25 | Born: San Francisco, CA | Residence: Oakland, CA | Education: California College of Arts and Crafts | Assisted: Todd Hido | Clients: Gravis Footwear, Sub Pop Records, Nixon Watches, Palm, Inc., Vibe, U.S. News & World Report

ANGELA MOORE

Age: 33 | Born: London | Residence: London | Education: Plymouth College of Art and Design, Goldsmiths College, England | Assisted: Sandra Lane | Clients: The Face, Esquire, Maxim, Rank, Nigel Slater cookbooks, Habitat

LORENZO PESCE

Age: 29 | Born: Rome | Residence: Rome | Education: Art Center College of Design, California | Assisted: Catherine Lettner, Paul Jasmin, James Fee | Clients: Seventeen, The Face, Los Angeles Magazine, Travel + Leisure

GUS POWELL

Age: 28 | Born: New York City | Residence: Brooklyn | Education: Oberlin College, OH | Clients: The New Yorker, Big, Worth, DoubleTake, New York

ANDY RYAN

Age: 28 | Born: Phoenix, AZ | Residence: Brooklyn | Education: Northern Arizona University

MOHAMMAD SADJADPOUR

Age: 27 | Born: Tehran | Residence: Richardson, TX | Education: Baylor University, TX | Clients: The Dallas Morning News, MSNBC.com, the International Mission Board, Southern Methodist University

AVIGAIL SCHIMMEL

Age: 32 | Born: Israel | Residence: New York City | Education: Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, Jerusalem | Exhibits: Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NYC; Museum of Israel Art

CATHERINE SERVEL

Age: 29 | Born: Vannes, France | Residence: NYC | Education: School of Visual Arts, NYC | Assisted: Prabuddha das Gupta | Clients: Nike, Bank of America, American Express, Nylon, *Surface, Dazed & Confused

JOSEPH SYWENKYJ

Age: 24 | Born: Willimantic, Connecticut | Residence: New York City | Education: School of Visual Arts, NYC | Clients: U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Fortune, Information Week, Guitar World, Children of Chernobyl Relief Fund, Svoboda, Ukrainian Weekly

ANN WEATHERSBY

Age: 33 | Born: New Orleans, LA | Residence: New York City & New Haven, CT | Education: University of Texas; Yale | Assisted: Sandra Lane | Exhibits: Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris

JESSICA WYNNE

Age: 30 | Born: Waterbury, Connecticut | Residence: New York City | Education: M.F.A., Yale | Clients: The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Details, Newsweek

YANGTAN

Age: 31 | Born: Singapore | Residence: New York City | Education: School of Visual Arts, NYC | Clients: *Surface, Details, Flux, BEople, SOMA, Timberland