OLD YELLER WAS HERE

BY: Jeff Kida

Horses and riders pass saguaros and prickly pear cactuses on a trail ride into the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix. To learn more about photographer Joanna Pinneo, see page 24. Joanna Pinneo www.joannabpinneo photo.com

OLD YELLER WAS • HERE michael melford What was your first shoot for National Geographic?

I got a call to go to Acadia National Park for a month. The director of photography had called the photo editor at National Geographic Traveler magazine to ask him who he thought was the best landscape photographer, and his reply was Michael Melford. That was what opened the door.

How many photo shoots have you done?

Eighteen for the magazine, plus dozens more for Traveler and book projects.

What was it like walking through those doors for the first time?

To this day, I find it exciting and a little nerve-wracking. They have a backlit wall of all the covers, and I get excited when I see my two covers there.

How intimidating is the photo editing process?

One of the best things about Nat Geo is the fact that the photographer has such input in the editing process. I've always found it fun to see through the eyes of my editors.

What's your most memorable experience there?

After I showed the editors my images from Acadia, my very first assignment, there was a long silence in the room: then, the editor-in-chief stood up and said, "You will be working here quite a bit with us."

Michael Melford www.michaelmelford.com

jim richardson What was your first shoot for National Geographic?

My first story was the flooding of the Great Salt Lake; it was published in 1984.

How many photo shoots have you done?

More than 30 for National Geographic, plus 20 for National Geographic Traveler.

What was it like walking through those doors for the first time?

I first visited the magazine in about 1974, when I was a young documentary photographer looking to crash the big time. Rich Clarkson introduced me to Bill Garrett, the editor at the time. Garrett saw me but never looked at my pictures. I went back to Kansas to study the craft a bit more.

How intimidating is the photo editing process?

It's more mind-numbing than intimidating. Going through 40,000 images in search of 20 takes time and fortitude. It'll wear you down. At times, it's egocrushing; at times, it's exhilarating.

What's your most memorable experience there?

I remember the warm feeling I'd have after a year of research, three months of field photography, two weeks of editing, days agonizing over what to show the editors, hours rehearsing the presentation to a room full of hardened professionals, and then having it all go well and emerging from a room of happy editors who were anxious for me to do it again. I'd get in the taxi to the airport and feel this incredible sense of having pulled it off one more time.

stephen wilkes

Photography, in the traditional sense, is about freezing a moment in time, but your Day to Night project is the opposite of that. Do you see this as a change in still photography?

One of the beauties of photography is that it has always evolved, and the outgrowth of that evolutionis that it's become an art form. Digital photography is a fantastic tool that allows me to tell stories in a way I never could with film. Once digital cameras got really advanced, I began to think outside the box in terms of where I could take photography.

As seen from atop Desert View Watchtower. Are you able to pre-visualize an image like this? I actually do see it [ahead of time]. When you do any type of art form for long enough, and you're passionate and driven and just work and work, you get to a point where you can see the image. Another great thing about digital is that you don't have to define a frame anymore - my work gets defined by what I see, rather than by the dimensions of the film.

What do you like about this image?

The most important thing, for me, is always finding the human narrative. As I watched people climbing down from the pathways, I could see how the Canyon kind of swallows people. Also, seeing light rotate into the Canyon creates this extraordinary feeling of depth.

Were you familiar with the Canyon before this project?

I did a story for Life magazine on the Canyon many years ago. But on that project, it was hard to capture the scale of the Canyon. Once I understood the visual language of the place, it became part of my consciousness when I photographed it.

Would you describe yourself as a fine-art photographer? A storyteller? A historian?

I see myself trying to bring all those things into my orbit, but I'm most interested in being a narrative storyteller. It's most gratifying when someone reacts emotionally to my work.

joanna pinneo

What was your first shoot for National Geographic? It was on the Palestinian people, and it was published in 1992. That assignment took me to Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, London, Tunisia and Michigan.

How many photo shoots have you done? I did eight major stories between 1991 and 2006.

What was it like walking through those doors for the first time? Heady, and a bit scary. But I was hopeful. It was the beginning of an exciting new adventure.

How intimidating is the photo editing process? Invariably, when we were in the meeting and the magazine editor would be in control of the projector clicker, he - or she) would stop on an image I liked, but didn't know a lot about, and would zip right by a photo I had a lot to talk about. I had to support the pictures I presented - why they were important to the story, and so on. You could almost hear the sigh of relief when, at the end of the meeting, the editor said, "Job well done." Luckily, that always happened for me.

What's your most memorable experience there? The picture I'm best known for, of a mother and her children napping, was made in Mali, when I was photographing a nomadic people impacted by climate change. It was an unplanned moment, and I'm grateful to have shared a few days with them.

annie griffiths

What was your first shoot for National Geographic? My first assignment was covering a hailstorm in Southern Minnesota. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

How many photo shoots have you done? Dozens and dozens - and I hope there will be many more.

What was it like walking through those doors for the first time?

It was exciting and very intimidating, but the director of photography, Bob Gilka, was incredibly kind to me. He treated his photographic team like family. Bob was the stern but supportive father figure.

How intimidating is the photo editing process?

I love it, and I learn so much when I work with a great editor. Peeling away the layers of images that lead to the final image is a wonderful process.

What's your most memorable experience there?

My first assignment out of the country sent me to Namibia, where I met the most extraordinary tribal women, many of whom had never seen a Caucasian woman before. They were smart and funny and incredibly resourceful. The experience led me to found Ripple Effect Images, a nonprofit that documents aid programs that empower women and girls in the developing world.

mitch dobrowner

All your photographic work is in black and white. Is this how you see the world creatively? Color work just seems too real and everyday to me. I see it through my eyes all the time. Black-and-white photography interprets reality the way I "see" and feel about the planet. It allows me the freedom to expand and push my imagination.

What intrigues you about the landforms of Northeastern Arizona? The American Southwest is a beautiful, majestic place. The first time I visited Northern Arizona was in my early 20s. I thought I was standing on another planet. I was blown away by the otherworldly landscape. I made this photo in 2005, during a trip when I spent two weeks out there. You made this photo before sunrise, at 4:35 a.m. Why did you choose this time of day?

I had spent a good amount of time doing research and pre-visualizing what I was after. I saw the image in my mind before I headed out, and I knew I wanted to be there at sunrise, with the sun rising behind me. I got there early and just waited until I felt "in touch."

How did National Geographic find you? Most likely, they saw my work in one of my fine art galleries. What was most rewarding was that they contacted me based on the imagery, not because I lobbied them to publish the work. I want the images to do the talking for me. What did it mean to get published in Nat Geo, and what effect did it have on your career?

It was a dream come true. Growing up, I could only dream of someday being published by National Geographic. When that turned into reality, it was a humbling experience. A lot of people who otherwise wouldn't have had the chance to see my work were introduced to it. A

Mitch Dobrowner www.mitchdobrowner.com