Can we just talk about how gorgeous AFAR Magazine is? I was stuck at the airport for a couple of hours and flipped through as many magazines as I could. I'm a little late chiming in on the lovefest (it's been named the best travel magazine by pretty much everyone) but I am smitten. AFAR really stands out on the newsstand. Photo editor Tara Guertin uses photojournalistic travel photography to convey a true sense of what it's like to immerse oneself in another culture. Destinations still appear pretty and desirable, but they seem real and approachable. And unlike a lot of other travel photojournalism, there were none of those visual cliches that clutter the genre (wide eyed children gaping at the camera, abandoned buildings, etc). They even use stock photography in a way that makes the images seem fresh and new (a grid of bridges around the world comes to mind).

Here are some of my favorite images from the March/April 2011 issue:

The "Postcards" section in the front also features great images on the photojournalism end of the spectrum.

Interested in contributing to AFAR? These writer's guidelines should be helpful to photographers too.