Nat Geo's Camera Wizard - Kenji Yamaguchi

 

 

Image Source: http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/04/the-magic-starts-here-kenjis-workshop-of-camera-wizardry/

 

Here's a rare look inside the genius behind some of the National Geographic images that make you think

 

"How in the world did they do that? How do you rig a camera to capture a bat flying over the water surface in complete darkness and achieve perfect focus?"

 

Sometimes it's purely a result of technique. Let's face it, those Nat Geo photographers know what they're doing. Other times, it's a matter of physically tweaking or even designing and building new equipment.

 

Kenji Yamaguchi was sent from Nikon Japan over 30 years ago to help Nat Geo customize and fabricate photographic tools to enable the amazing pictures the publication is famous for.

 

(Click Here) to read more about this camera wiz on Nat Geo's site, and watch the 3 minute video.

 

For a camera geek and photographer like me, this is right up my alley. Add in the fact that he's a Nikon guy, born and trained in Japan, and now I'm really interested. I'd love to meet Kenji and see his workshop in DC. Hmm. I wonder how I might pull that off?

 

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Photographers Go To Inhospitable Environments To Get the Shot

 

Cactus, Joshua Tree, California, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 20mm f1.7 Lens

iso 160, f4.5, 1/500 sec

 

National Geographic (and other) photographers regularly put themselves into inhospitable environments, and even harm's way, just to get the shot.

 

Most of us know of famous war photographers killed in action, including Robert Capa. (Click Here) for a list of ten famous photographers killed in action.

 

Not all of the dangers are that glamorous. I found this page on the Photo Society's website which lists the hazards that National Geographic photographers have experienced in their duties.

 

(Click Here) to read them on photosociety.org

 

Lots of amoebic dysentery, plenty of hypothermia (frostbite listed separately, which has happened 29 times, 23 for the same photographer). How about two attacks by a Florida Panther - that's two attacks on two different photographers on different assignments - same panther. Spitting cobra attack, anyone?

 

So why did I select the Joshua Tree picture for this post? I actually took a step off-trail into a ravine on this highly-traveled short loop trail and ended up miles off-course. By the time I crossed a road in the desert and convinced someone to pick me up (several drivers refused to even look at me as they drove past), I was on my last ~.25 liter of water. I don't think I would've died out there, so close to civilization and along a road. But, dry and sunburnt in just a couple of extra hours in the desert, it reminded me that the risks are real, especially if we do something dumb like go off-trail in the desert.

 

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Candid Portraits - "Commonality of Humanity"

 

Harlem Barber Shop Owner, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D AF Lens

iso 640, f2, 1/500 sec

 
If you don't know who Steve McCurry is, you probably know his most famous image - one of an Afghani girl on the cover of National Geographic magazine.
 
(Click Here) to see the picture(s) and read the story.
 
In this 7 minute video on Petapixel, McCurry and photographers Bruce Davidson and Miru Kim discuss how people photography reflects basics of human nature.
 
(Click Here) for the video on Petapixel.
 
One image critic comments how more than one photographer has commented that they're simply "taking self-portraits," no matter who they're photographing. For Miru Kim, it's literal. She shoots images of herself. For most others, they're saying that people pictures reflect as much of the personality of the photographer as of the subject.
 
In the video, Steve McCurry shares some of his favorite slides (on an old-fashioned light table, surrounded by filing cabinets with paper folders, no less!). He comments on the "commonality of humanity" being reflected in the subject's face, when they're not pulling a pose or wearing a mask for the camera. Interestingly, in his outing during the video, he shoots a Nikon DSLR, with a single, small, prime lens (a Nikkor 35mm f2, I believe).
 
McCurry also describes walking the city, exploring, being completely "in the moment." This is a very common expression in Buddhism and other forms of meditation. It really is great to be able to focus on the moment, and not worry about the past or future. This is what photography does for me.
 
Here's to now, this moment.
 
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National Geographic Photographer Ed Kashi Shares His Experience of 30 Years in Global Photography

 
Photographer Ed Kashi
Image Source:
http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/speakers/2012/04/17/changing-face-marseille/
 
On Tuesday, April 17, I once again took advantage of living reasonably close to the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC, and attended a talk by photographer Ed Kashi. The topic of the talk was his recent Nat Geo project, on the life of Muslims in Marseille, France. Ed also shared a lot of insight from his years of experience on long-term assignments overseas and away from his family.
 
 
(Click Here) to go to the National Geographic Live description of the event.
 
 
Marseille is the oldest city in France. Approximately 20% of the one million inhabitants are Muslim. The government there is very secular, which may be part of the reason that the city integrates so many cultures so effectively. Other cultures with major populations in Marseille include Jewish, Tunisian, and Roma.
 
 
Ed shared the difficulties he encountered on this assignment, even though he's used to working in less-developed places, like North Africa. In Marseille, his first "handler," which is a local contact to help you work in a foreign place, was a nightmare. Ed said that your handler basically has to be a magician - someone who's comfortable escorting you to the Prime Minister's residence, or getting you into the poorest person's home. After an altercation with his first handler, Ed found a perfect substitute, and the project took root.
 
 
Ed now regularly makes a multimedia piece to accompany his still photography projects. At this talk, he showed two - Eye Contact and Photojournalisms.
 
 
Eye Contact is a collection of images that were edited out, throughout his career, because someone in the frame was looking at the camera. While his normal style is to achieve scenes where he is basically "invisible," those with eye contact made for a very interesting set of images.
 
 
Photojournalisms is a more personal piece, and is based on journal entries that Ed writes to his wife and family while he is away for his work. It is a very heartfelt documentary, and shows the tradeoffs that a traveling photographer makes in pursuit of his or her work.
 
 
(Click Here) to go to Ed's website.
 
 
I thoroughly enjoyed Ed's work and commentary. He spent a lot of time answering questions from the crowd, and didn't shy away from any subject.
 
 
I must say, after attending two of these events, that National Geographic photographers really do concede a lot of their personal lives for their work. Ed was clearly sad about the amount of his children's childhood he missed on assignment. Ed now only takes on shorter trips, and is very focused on his family.
 
 
In the first event I attended, by Jodi Cobb, she related some level of regret for the sacrifices she made in her personal life, as well.
 
 
(Click Here) to see my review of the Jodi Cobb event.
 
 
It is great to have the opportunity to listen to the world's best photographers on a regular weekday evening. It takes me about an hour to get into the city, but the trip is always worth it.
 
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 
 

Panasonic Lumix and National Geographic Collaboration Report - Counting Species in India

As I've reported in the past, Panasonic and National Geographic have formed a collaboration, which is super exciting to me. They have just issued a brief report about working with a researcher who studies biodiversity in India's Pakke Tiger Reserve.
 

Image Source: http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/nationalgeographic/earthswitnesses/india/report.html
Hornbills Are One of the Most Important Seed Dispersers in the Indian Rainforest
 

(Click Here) to see the first episode, which includes a link to a four page pdf document.


The Lumix team worked with Dr. Aparajita Datta, who has spent over a decade studying and working to conserve the tropical forests in Northeastern India. Her research focuses on the "phenology" of the forest, which is the flowering and fruit bearing behavior of trees, to understand the baseline patterns of the forest, and detect any changes. The phenology includes study of trees whose seeds are spread by mammals, birds, and wind. Following is a quote from the report:"“Understanding connections and interaction between animals and plants is the part of my work I find most exciting,” Dr. Datta says. The area is home to five different species of hornbills, and Dr. Datta studies their role as seed dispersers. In tropical forests, 80 percent to 90 percent of tree species bear fruits that animals disperse so these birds are critical to the ecosystem. In addition to her scientific work, Dr. Datta has a passion for educating the next generation of engaged citizens. She has co-written two books for children on hornbills and rain forests and produced other educational material to foster a greater awareness and appreciation of Indian wildlife among urban and rural children." In addition to a short video with Dr. Datta, and eleven still photos, the site includes a second gallery of images from India.

I very much look forward to the coming episodes two and three, which promise to include many more exciting images from the collaboration.
 
Working in Science and being an avid photographer (and Lumix fan), I can't imagine a better match-up of my interests.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 
 
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More Bluegrass Concert Shots Made with Lumix DMC-G3

 

Danny Knicely's Big Winter Concert, February 17, 2012

Franklin Park Performing Arts Center, Purcellville, Virginia

By Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, 25mm Pana-Leica Summilux f1.4

iso3200, f4, 1/125 sec

 

I had the distinct pleasure of shooting at a local concert last Friday night. This one was Danny Knicely's Big Winter Concert at the Franklin Park Performing Arts Center in Purcellville, Virginia. Jeff Stern of Franklin Park was nice enough to invite me to shoot backstage for this show. In the image above, left to right, the performers are James Leva on guitar, David Knicely on bass, Danny Knicely mandolin, Tim O'Brien fiddle, and David Via on guitar.

 

While I was shooting, I got the chance to meet Jim Mcwalters, who writes for the live music blog "Cosmic Vibes Live."

 

(Click Here) to go to Cosmic Vibes Live

 

Jim and I are looking forward to working together on future shows. Jim is planning to post a write-up of this show, so I'll leave the musical aspects of the story to him, and focus on the photographic aspects here.

 

I shot with a kit of two DMC-G3s, 14mm f2.5, 25mm f1.4 Summilux, 45mm f2.8 Macro-Elmarit, and 100-300 f4-5.6. I also used a Nikon SB800 for a few flash shots.

 

 

Danny and David

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 100-300mm f4-5.6 at 108mm

iso3200, f4.1, 1/200 sec

by Reed A. George

 

 

Danny and James

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica 45mm f2.8 Macro-Elmarit

iso3200, f4.5, 1/320 sec

by Reed A. George

 

Tim O'Brien

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica 45mm f2.8 Macro-Elmarit

iso3200, f4, 1/125 sec

by Reed A. George

 

 

Tim O'Brien

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 100-300mm f4-5.6 at 258mm

iso3200, f5.4, 1/100 sec

by Reed A. George

 

 

Final Song

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14mm f2.5

iso1600, f2.8, 1/100 sec

by Reed A. George

Franklin Park has truly excellent stage lighting. The audience seating area is completely dark, however. Since I wanted to include the audience in some of the images, I mounted my Nikon SB800 flash on the G3 hot shoe, set it to full manual power, and pointed at the rather dark, high ceiling. I didn't have much hope of spreading enough light through bouncing off a dark surface, over such a large area. But, it actually worked at some level! I am happy to have caught the clapping hands of the audience during the final song.

I am not quite yet comfortable shooting backstage, but plan to work on getting closer to the artists as I continue to build experience, and get to know them better at the same time. Here's one example from backstage:

David Via, Backstage

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica 25mm f1.4 Summilux

iso800, f2, 1/125 sec

by Reed A. George

 

Let me be clear - my lack of comfort up close was entirely self-inflicted. These guys and their friends and family backstage were very welcoming. Danny's Dad was really engaging, and told me about how he learned to repair and restore string instruments, as well as sharing a story or two about his musical pursuits. Gaining confidence backstage is the area I need to focus on most.

 

 

Franklin Park Performing Arts Center

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14mm f2.5

iso1600, f2.5, 1/60 sec

by Reed A. George

 

Franklin Park is a wonderful place to get out and hear some great music. I look forward to more outstanding shows like this one in the future!

 

 

Danny Knicely's Big Winter Concert, February 17, 2012

Franklin Park Performing Arts Center, Purcellville, Virginia

By Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, 25mm Pana-Leica Summilux f1.4

iso1600, f2.8, 1/60 sec

I found that the two G3 kit, along with 14mm, 25mm, 45mm primes and 100-300 zoom served me very well during the show. I would enjoy a (very) fast zoom to cover the primes' focal lengths, but probably would not leave them at home for a slower zoom. I hear that Panasonic is planning for f2.8 zooms in this range; I'm not sure that's fast enough. Maybe in combination with the Summilux, I could reduce my lens count by two? That would be worthwhile. But, this 2-body, 4-lens kit was pretty darned easy to haul around.

 

As I mentioned, where I need to concentrate is in getting more comfortable close up with the artists. Jodi Cobb, a long-time National Geographic and live music photographer is a great role model for me in this. I posted on her work here on DMC-365 in the past. She has some wonderful candid images of many of the greats. I will review her work more often.

 

(Click Here) to see Jodi's images of musicians and concerts.

 

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National Geographic Photographer Jodi Cobb Speaks About Getting Inside The Story

Tonight I took advantage of living near Washington, D.C., home of National Geographic.  I attended the opening talk of the Nat Geo Live Masters of Photography Series, given by Jodi Cobb.

 

Jodi has worked as a Nat Geo photographer for three decades.  She has always enjoyed getting inside, backstage, behind the scenes.  Her professional photographic work started in a commune in the Ozark Mountains, and led her to the rock and roll scene, where she photographed the iconic performers of the day, including Jethro Tull, Bruce Springsteen, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, and many others.  Many of her images show the human side of these characters, for example:

 

(Click Here) to go to Jodi's site and see Springsteen putting on his socks, the same way you and I do.

 

As her career advanced, Jodi continued to get into settings that most people could never gain entry to, and to work behind the scenes.  Her work has taken her around the world, to photograph such elusive subjects as the lives of Saudi Arabian women, Japanese geisha, European supermodels.  I purchased her lovely book on the Geisha at the event.

 

The project that she says most affected her is on human trafficking in the modern world.  

 

(Click Here) to see her web gallery from the Slavery Project.  

 

In this project, she covered child labor in Indian rug making, prostitution in India, Thailand, Israel, and Los Angeles, and many other facets of this ugly truth of modern life.  She said it was the hardest project to live through, but also the most meaningful.  She said it changed her life, and her attitude regarding prostitution (often called a victimless crime), and buying very inexpensive goods, which promotes slavery.

 

Her latest project was for a National Geographic story on twins, in the latest issue.  This image is from that story:

 

Image Source:  

http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/speakers/2012/02/07/uncovering-hidden-worlds/

by Jodi Cobb

Jodi is now working on a retrospective about her life as a photographer.

I thoroughly enjoyed her presentation, and will think of it often as I try to go a little deeper with my photographic subjects.  She is clearly a master at getting to the inside story.

I recommend you visit her website; there's a lot to learn from her examples.

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