I've just had my first article published in one of this month's mags. That came about after chatting to the magazine's staff at a fly-in and asking if they'd be interested in a trip I was about to do.
They said yes, as long as there were lots of usable photos to go with it. As KCDW says, pictures do seem to be vital; leaden prose can always be edited, but it's harder to conjure pictures out of thin air.