Beyond the obvious

I found the conversation between National Geographic magazine senior photo editor Elizabeth Krist and Kathryn Keane, National Geographic’s vice president of exhibitions interesting and wanted to share it with you, especially about how the final images are selected for publication. The movie above shows some the images selected and we hear from the photographers themselves. "One of my questions for Elizabeth would be about the editing process. In any given assignment you can get thousands and thousands and thousands of photographs, and only a few appear or are selected to illustrate a story. I don’t think people understand how difficult that is. How does that work?" asks Kathryn Keane, during a conversation recorded on October 4, 2013. Elizabeth Krist answers, "By the time we actually start looking at pictures, we’re so immersed in the story that we have a deep understanding of the research and the themes that we have to convey to the readers. So that by the tim...

Amazing architectural detail in Antwerpen-Centraal Station. I think photographers tend to be slightly obsessive by nature, particularly when it comes to equipment. One regular debate revolves around the sharpness of lenses and photographers spend a fortune on a particular brand’s most expensive, best quality lenses. Is it worth it? The short answer is ‘yes – in a laboratory. But in real life there are a number of other factors to consider. What do you do if you can’t afford a full range of prime lenses; or if you travel a lot by air and need to travel light, or in environments where carrying a selection of heavy lenses is not practical? The answer is to get the best quality possible out of your lens. This applies of course whether you’re using kit lenses or prime lenses. A kit lens, when used at its sharpest aperture, can deliver excellent results that rival far more expensive lenses. The next logical question is what is the sharpest aperture for my lens? Most photograph...

A useful and interesting webinar that covers a lot of ground. Enjoy! Paul www.indigo2photography.co.uk