Updated 5:50 p.m. ET

Time director of photography MaryAnne Golon is leaving her job after just over a year as the newsweekly's top photo editor.

Alice Gabriner, Golon's deputy, has been promoted to the new position of chief picture editor and will serve as acting director of photography, according to a memo issued Tuesday by Time managing editor Richard Stengel.

Speaking to PDN Tuesday, Golon said she is taking the summer off and is "ready for a change."

"It's all good. It's amicable. There's no rancor. I wish I had a good story for you," she said. "The headline is, I'm happy and the magazine is happy."

Stengel's memo offers no explanation for Golon's departure and says she will remain associated with the magazine as a contributing editor.

"It is with mixed emotions that I announce that MaryAnne Golon is ending her remarkable tenure as Time's director of photography," Stengel writes in the memo. "MaryAnne told me that she is determined to have a 'second act,' and while I am sad that she will no longer be running the photo department, I'm happy to say that as part of her second act, she will continue her role as an ambassador for the magazine to the international photo community."

Golon joined the newsweekly as an intern in 1982 and worked closely for many years with former Time DOP Michele Stephenson. Golon took over when Stephenson retired in January 2007.

Golon will continue to represent Time on juries and at events such as the Visa Pour L'Image festival in Perpignan, France this September.

Golon oversaw the Time photo department during a sweeping redesign last year, which streamlined the magazine's look. Like most print publications, Time is directing more resources toward its online content, including slide shows by Time photographers.

On PDNPulse
Memo from Time managing editor Richard Stengel

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Dec. 29, 2006: Time's Michele Stephenson Announces Retirement