Learn from the best source on the planet how photography, art, and journalism go together

I have just discovered "Proof", National Geographic’s new "online photography experience". It was launched, the editors say, to engage ongoing conversations about photography, art, and journalism. There's more:

In addition to featuring selections from the magazine and other publications, books, and galleries, this site will offer new avenues for our audience to get a behind-the-scenes look at the National Geographic storytelling process.

I can't think of a better way for media students and practitioners to learn how to take pictures and understand what kind of pictures will go with the stories they are working on. Brinda Das, Nikita Sinha (Class of 2015) — remember the conversation we had on this subject a couple of days ago? Check out Proof now.

• I especially recommend "Why it Took Me Eight Years to Photograph My Own Backyard", a masterpiece of story structure (see how the author makes use of the e-mails he exchanged with his editor) and extraordinary photographs of ordinary, everyday scenes.

• ALSO READ: "When you have two hours to shoot ace director James Cameron for a National Geographic magazine cover, how do you do it?"

Even if you are not a dog-lover, it is impossible not to be moved...

...by this powerful cover story in the latest issue of National Geographic.

LOOK AT THAT OPENING LINE:

"Here is Marine Corporal Jose Armenta in his tent on the night before getting blown up in Afghanistan."

Read the piece in its entirety here: "The Dogs of War".

• MORE FROM THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC:

A tribute to an amazing photo editor

Photography buffs will go nuts when they read these tips on the NatGeo website

How to get people to read — and appreciate — your Facebook posts

PLUS: Check out the National Geographic style guide, which comes highly recommended by  Mark Nichol, editor of the Daily Writing Tips blog: "This free online resource from the National Geographic Society doesn’t show up high in search rankings, but it’s an excellent resource. (And, seriously, have you ever seen a clumsy sentence, a grammatical error, or even a typo in National Geographic?) Unusually terse but clear entries are organised alphabetically, and the site includes a directory of new and altered entries and, especially helpful, one of terms and rules that contradict other authoritative resources or are exceptions to the norm."

ON THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WEBSITE, COMMITSCION NATASHA REGO'S VIVID PHOTOGRAPHS

National Geographic — the magazine, the television channels, the website, the society — is, for many, the last word in photography, and, of course, much else concerning long-form journalism. So I was very pleased to discover on the NatGeo website this morning a picture made in Mumbai recently by Commits student Natasha Rego (Class of 2014). You can take a closer look by clicking on this link: "A Beach Backyard". Study the caption, too. As you will know if you are a fan of the NatGeo magazine, the captions written by the staff are works of art. In this case, the caption, which is in its own way very creative, was also provided by Natasha.

I absolutely love "Between Trains", too, for the composition, the creativity, and also the play of light and shade. What do you think?

Natasha Rego, you will go far... if you stay "focused". But you know that.

• ADDITIONAL READING: "When you have two hours to shoot ace director James Cameron for a National Geographic magazine cover, how do you do it?"

UPDATE (August 11, 2013): Natasha and some of the photographs she made when she was in Mumbai were the subject of a "Diary" item in Mumbai's Afternoon Despatch & Courier yesterday:

Read the item here: "Picture Perfect!" (go to Page 3).

Natasha worked as an intern with the Afternoon in April-May this year. Details: "10/10 for a newspaper story written by an intern from Commits".

If you really need a reason to buy this magnificent National Geographic book...

...here it is:

In these pages readers can follow the evolution of the photograph. Techniques aside, some of the earliest photos compare favourably with those today. Why? Because, like the chicken and the egg, imagination and image must go together. It is the photographer, not just his camera, that catches the moment.

~ From the foreword by Gilbert M. Grosvenor, chairman of the board of the National Geographic Society

What a wonderful phrase that is: "Imagination and image must go together." And this is exactly what happens in National Geographic magazine all the time, every time. Not only are the photos uncommon; the captions are also works of art. (By the way, that excerpt from the foreword also contains an example of a sentence that begins with because. I am pointing it out here because every year I am asked in class if it is "correct" to begin a sentence with because. And I respond, "Yes, it is.")

Now, in National Geographic: The Photographs, the photographers themselves tell us the stories behind their pictures. Here's an excerpt:

Anxiety accompanies Jim Stanfield on every assignment, so he photographs everything he can think of. "I blanket a subject. I maul a story until it's lying on its back like a turtle," he says.

For a piece on Poland, he felt he needed a technology picture. He discovered a self-taught heart surgeon who had read scientific papers about transplants. Stanfield photographed the doctor performing two consecutive (and successful) heart transplants in a marathon that lasted almost 24 hours.

"I kept studying the doctor and watching his eyes," says Stanfield. "He was so focused, he didn't even know I was there."

About 20 hours into the ordeal, Stanfield made a picture of the surgeon that shows the drama and exhaustion.

The photograph is among the many that are part of the collection in the book, so you can study it after you have read about Stanfield's experience. Isn't that a great way to learn more about taking, sorry, making pictures from some of the world's best photographers?

National Geographic: The Photographs was apparently the gift book of the year when it was first published. In my view, it is the gift book of the year, no matter what year it is.

• Also read: "When you have two hours to shoot ace director James Cameron for a National Geographic magazine cover, how do you do it?"
  

When you have two hours to shoot ace director James Cameron...

...for a National Geographic magazine cover, how do you do it?

This is how Marco Grob did it:

Read up on the fascinating details here: "Behind the Cover: June 2013".

• MORE FROM THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC:

A tribute to an amazing photo editor

Photography buffs will go nuts when they read these tips on the NatGeo website

How to get people to read — and appreciate — your Facebook posts

PLUS: Check out the National Geographic style guide, which comes highly recommended by  Mark Nichol, editor of the Daily Writing Tips blog: "This free online resource from the National Geographic Society doesn’t show up high in search rankings, but it’s an excellent resource. (And, seriously, have you ever seen a clumsy sentence, a grammatical error, or even a typo in National Geographic?) Unusually terse but clear entries are organised alphabetically, and the site includes a directory of new and altered entries and, especially helpful, one of terms and rules that contradict other authoritative resources or are exceptions to the norm."

A tribute to an amazing photo editor

The editor of National Geographic has written an appreciation of the magazine's former photo editor about whom he says, "I would not be Editor in Chief of this magazine if I had not worked with him."

Writing in a recent issue, Chris Johns pays handsome tribute to David Arnold who died a few months ago:

DAVID ARNOLD TRAVELLED TO ALASKA FOR A STORY IN OCTOBER 1977.

Photo editors are the behind-the-scenes heroes of a photographer’s work. The editor sees every single frame and picks up on every mistake and missed opportunity. Then he or she uses everything at hand to correct, coach, and inspire.

David L. Arnold was the best of the best. He was not easy to please, but I trusted his judgment, even when his criticism was tough to hear. When he told me I’d made a memorable photograph, I trusted that too.

Arnold had retired from the magazine in 1994 after 27 years of inspiring photographers. But his spirit, writes Johns, can still be seen and felt:

He was a role model for Kathy Moran, who photo edited this month’s story on the Great Barrier Reef. “I learned from David to be honest with photographers at all cost,” she says. “I learned that to edit a story you need to know the subject thoroughly. David always did his homework. He had a Ph.D. in every story he worked on.”

Read the tribute in its entirety here.

• Photo courtesy: National Geographic.

***

PHOTOGRAPHING “SUPERCLIMBERS”

In the same issue of the magazine (May 2011), there are some incredible pictures (and a fascinating story) of a new generation of “superclimbers”. Look at this cover shot:

How did photographer Jimmy Chin manage to capture this extraordinary scene and many more? The biggest challenge of this assignment, writes Chin in the magazine, was in the planning. From figuring out how to get to a spot in the middle of Half Dome and what equipment was needed to get there, to carrying multiple loads of gear to the top of El Capitan, the preparation for one picture “often took several days and many hands”.

Go behind the scenes with Chin in this video and see what it truly takes to make photographs of people constantly living on the edge.

• Also read: Photo tips from the experts at National Geographic.