A Night With National Geographic

Talent. Planning. Flexibility.

When I arrived at my first Iris Nights Seminar at the Annenberg Center, these were three of the first words to come up during the presentation of taking amazing photos. They are not surprising words; in fact, I'd wager you could hear any photographer worth his salt giving out such advice in regards to taking a great photo. However, these words held special weight for me and the packed room in attendance, as this was not any photographer speaking in front of us. this was David Griffin, previously the Director of Photography for National Geographic Magazine. And while he has since moved onto to new online development for the society, we still clung to his words as children often cling to their grandfather's tales.

In the photography world, everyone wants to shoot for National Geographic. The standards they have set in the world of photojournalism are so solidified into our artistic field that it is a dream that is nearly impossible to avoid having. Whether shooting portraits, landscapes, underwater, or any variety of fields, the Society has been there, done it, and made it appear amazing. As someone beginning to enter the professional realm of travel and photography, this was a one-time chance to start out learning from someone that just had a hand in bringing those images out, but practically hand-picked most of the images that started my passion to begin with. The seminar was the first chance I had to really get a feel for what this career would be like.

The whole night started rather intimidating. Here I was, a lanky guy with jeans a t-shirt that didn't even bring in his camera surrounded by huge players in the LA photography scene. the chain went all the way up to Annenberg herself, who I did not find out until later was in attendance that night. The experience was almost straight out of the movies that were my only image of this surreal scene: art everywhere, fancy dress, people discussing the deeper meaning of specific pieces. And here I was with a notepad, sitting bright-eyed in the second row nervous as all Hell.

In the end, however, most of the advice was surprisingly simple and the presentation fun. The reason for Mr. Griffin's seminar was as an end-cap to their Water presentation. He was there to speak about how National Geographic makes the images they do. There was practical advice, interesting stories (especially one involving a photographer's sea lion friend), and amazing images displayed on their showroom screens. The overall experience was informative and greatly entertaining. As the night wore on, I found myself taking fewer nights and relaxing quickly (to no surprise, the same could be said of the student who sat next to me with her own notepad). His words had time to soak in and really take on some meaning.

Most of the advice was fairly straightforward and less surprising than I expected. It was reiterated several times that NG is, first and foremost, a scientific journal that applies to all the rules of good photojournalism. It is because of that reputation that they are allowed great access around the world and also within the industry. David gave a fairly thorough idea of what really makes the photography and writing at the magazine such a trendsetter: the idea that it's accessible to so many audiences. Their photos tell stories and give the viewers a sense of place. I immediately thought to all of the images of far-away lands and seemingly exotic places found in their pages and realized he was just putting into words what so many people simply felt all along. There was also a few more technical elements, such as the time it takes for a story to go from concept to print, how the different mediums of text and photography are merged into one story, etc. Probably the most intimidating was the shot count on most stories - 30-40,000. I could only think of the artist blocks lasting months only to culminate in a couple hundred photos on my hard drive.

After the seminar, I had a chance to listen in on a few conversations he was having with audience members staying behind. I even had the chance to give him my card and invite him to visit Warner Bros., which was a good experience for someone so new to the field. And, walking away, I had a renewed sense of hope for my career in photography. Talent, planning, and flexibility were only vague concepts before, but then I had a true motivation to find their meaning. Perhaps that will lead into the pages of National Geographic one day.