National Geographic Does Big

 Harikrishna Katragadda/Courtesy National Geographic-All Rights Reserved
The National Geographic Society's website been completely rejigged to present what its SVP Rob Covey describes as having a new, super-clean look with high-tech underpinnings.

Using well chozen buzzwords, the website is described as having "high impact visuals with uncluttered typography to provide a new standard in usability". I just love the wordsmithing used here!

What I'm pleased about, and what it really boils down to, is that the National Geographics photography can finally be seen in a large format, and it joins other print media such as the Boston Globe and the WSJ (among others) that have been bringing us larger pictures on their photography blogs for a while.

Here is the National Geographic's new, improved and larger Photo of the Day. The photograph I chose is by Harikrishna Katragadda, a photojournalist at Hindustan Times and a participant in the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (Manali).

The photograph is of 10-year-old Savita holding her little brother, protecting him from rain showers in Uttar Pradesh in India.

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John Stanmeyer: Malaria: NG Award

Photograph © John Stanmeyer-All Rights Reserved
The National Geographic magazine won three National Magazine awards; the general excellence in a publication with over 2 million circulation (the top honor), as well as the awards for reporting and photojournalism. This was more than any other publication, and the most that the magazine has won in a single year.

The awards, presented during a ceremony at New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center, are the industry's most prestigious honor. The general excellence award is based on NGM's June, August and December issues.

The photojournalism award, which honors John Stanmeyer's photographs in the "Bedlam in the Blood: Malaria also names Senior Editor David Griffin, Deputy Director Susan A. Smith, Design Director David C. Whitmore and Senior Photo Editor Sarah Leen. The article ran in the July 2007 NGM.

I'm pleased that John's photographs were recognized with this prestigious award. His work is consistently superb, and he is -in my view- among the best photojournalists/photographers in the industry. I chose the above photograph from the many in the Malaria gallery to highlight John's compositional 'eye'.

There's also a section Field Notes which shares John's best, quirkiest and worst experiences from the Malaria assignment.

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NG Traveler Photography Seminars

Here's an interesting (albeit too short) video teaser of National Geographic Traveler photographers Jim Richardson and Catherine Karnow sharing some of their tips. The video was taken by Traveler's Susanne Hackett at its photo seminar called "A Passion for Travel: Photos that Tell the Story".

A good quote from Richardson: "Great pictures come from great travel experiences"

Check out NG Traveler's Blog Intelligent Travel for schedules of the Photo Seminars, and other travel news.

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Ami Vitale: NGM: Kolkata Rickshaws

Photograph © Ami Vitale-All Rights Reserved
"The strategy of drivers in Kolkata�drivers of private cars and taxis and buses and the enclosed three-wheel scooters used as jitneys and even pedicabs�is simple: Forge ahead while honking. There are no stop signs to speak of." And so starts Calivn Trilin's essay on Kolkata's rickshaws in the April issue of National Geographic.

I thumbed through my fresh-off-the-press National Geographic magazine, and stopped slack-jawed at pages 92-93...a double spread of Ami Vitale's magnificent photograph of a rickshaw puller, S. K. Bikari, who regularly pulls a pair of girls to school in Kolkata, yet rarely sees his own five children back home in the state of Bihar...one of the poorest states in India. Although this photograph may be partially posed, I frankly don't care. I just find all its elements to be just right....yes, even the woman intruding on the scene from the right. The two schoolgirls, in their pristine uniforms, look bored (or uncomfortable) while Bikari is on the verge of overtaking some obstacle on the left. Ami Vitale's is a wonderful photographer, and the rest of her photographs live up to her reputation...but it's this one that I prefer. Naturally it looks better in print form.

I had already posted on TTP on Kolkata's rickshaws, and it seems from the National Geographic article that the city hasn't yet been able to ban them from its streets. Again, the great performance of Om Puri as the rickshaw puller in City of Joy comes to mind whenever I come across such photographs.

The National Geographic did a great job with this subject...however I must say that the video with Ami's narration could be improved upon.

Ami Vitale's Kolkata Rickshaws Photography

Ami Vitale's Video

Calivin Trillin's Kolkata Rickshaws Essay

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Sarah Leen: NGM: POYi

Image © Jonas Bendiksen-All Rights Reserved
The 65th Annual Pictures of the Year International ("POYi") competition which is currently being judged has announced Sarah Leen/National Geographic as the first prize winner in the Magazine Picture Editing Portfolio section, with Jonas Bendiksen's photo essay on Dharavi, a slum called Mumbai's shadow city.

In my view, this is a deserved recognition for the photographer and the magazine. There are two images that I think really stand out in the photo essay...the one above, and the 8th one in the series, which is of a man hunched under an umbrella while a woman in the alley is drenched in the pouring rain, and a priest and a child are arranging a small altar. A moment frozen in time...very well captured by Jonas.

(Note: I erroneously had this photo essay as being by Sarah Leen. However, sharp-eyed Kendrick Kwok, a fellow photographer and Lightstalkers member, kindly pointed out that it was Bendiksen's. A quick search of the National Geographic website confirmed that this was indeed the case. Thank you, Kendrick.)

(Note 2: Another sharp-eyed friend and photographer, Asim Rafiqui, corrected my error in that POYi awarded the Dharavi photo for picture editing, not for the pictures of the essay. The recipient of the award is Sarah Leen, and not Jonas Bendikson, as the category 'Magazine Picture Editing' is reserved for the editors who create the best photo layouts and best use of pictures to tell a story. Many thanks, Asim!)

The photo essay Dharavi, Mumbai's Shadow City

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National Geographic: Annie Griffiths Belt

Image © Annie Griffiths Belt-All Rights Reserved
The National Geographic's website is featuring photographer Annie Griffiths Belt's biography and a short slideshow of her photographs along with her narration. She started her career after graduating in 1976 and began assignment work for the National Geographic Society two years later.

Her work has also appeared in Life, GEO, Smithsonian, Fortune, American Photo, Merian, Stern, and many other publications including dozens of books.

Amongst her many wonderful photographs, I chose this one of Muslim women praying at the mosque of the Dome of the Rock (Mosque of Omar) in Jerusalem. Look for the shadows on the robes of the women in the back!

However further on in the slideshow, at a photograph showing her and Himba tribeswomen in Namibia, Annie Griffiths Belt tells us that she handed them a Polaroid she had made of them. It was received with curiosity, not only because they had never seen a Polaroid image (this I easily believe) before but that they had not seen themselves having never used reflective surfaces! Hard to believe.

Annie Griffiths Belt's A Camera, Two Kids and a Camel

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National Geographic Traveler Seminar

The National Geographic Traveler has four seminars for the Fall 2007-Spring 2008 season that are held in various cities in the United States. These seminars are Travel Photography, Digital Photography, Adventure Photography, and Nature Photography, and are taught by various photographers expert in their fields.

The sessions are $195 each. The Travel Photography seminar in New York City will be held tomorrow, and I see that the online registration is already closed. However, this particular seminar then travels to other cities.

National Geographic Traveler Seminars

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National Geographic: Photography Grant

The National Geographic awards one grant of $50,000 for Photography annually to a professional photojournalist. The money will go directly to funding the production of a photography project, which may be considered for publication in National Geographic magazine and/or the National Geographic magazine website or for possible exhibit at National Geographic headquarters or other venues.

Professional photographers who would like to be considered for the NG Grant must submit a grant application. Details are available here.

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National Geographic: Alexandra Boulat

Image Copyright © Jerome Delay/AP-All Rights Reserved
The National Geographic Magazine is featuring a tribute to Alexandra Boulat who passed away Ocober 5, 2007. Touching eulogies from fellow photographers Alexandra Avakian, Jose Azel, Pascal Maitre, Jodi Cobb and colleague John Stanmeyer as well as many others, underscore and reaffirm how much she will be missed.

Alexandra's tribute includes some galleries of her great work with National Geographic Magazine.

(My thanks to Marilyn Terrell)

NGM's Tribute to Alexandra Boulat

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Ed Kashi's Curse of the Black Gold

Here's an interesting and topical piece of work by Ed Kashi. Purely documentary in nature and an eye opener as to the limitless greed of oil companies, and to the corruption that accompanies oil exploration and production in many parts of the world.
Curse of the Black Gold

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