Taking my shot at National Geographic

In pulling together my presentation for my Fundamentals of Digital Journalism class a few weeks ago, I looked more deeply into the National Geographic Photography website. As mentioned previously, I have always been enamored with the photography included in the print edition of National Geographic Magazine and was thrilled to see the same incredible level of images in the online edition and throughout the site.

One excellent feature of the NatGeo photography site is its “Assignments,” an opportunity for readers to submit their own shots for consideration in this monthly piece. A recent assignment centered around macro photography, which I’ve always found fascinating.

As National Geographic photographer and submissions judge Anand Varma in his blog post highlighting his favorite entries, “The wonderful thing about macro photography is its power to transport us into tiny new worlds.” That certainly was evident in the 17 amazing photos that Varma selected as the best. But there were literally thousands of great photos entered by readers and photographers from around the globe.

Here’s a look at the “winners.” Scroll to the bottom of the page to view some of the more than 15,800 other entries.

Here were mine:

Droplet – Photo by Steve Daly

Raindrops in the fog – Photo by Steve Daly

Thorny – Photo by Steve Daly

A week later I came across a feature showcasing black and white photos, another of my favorite categories. I decided to upload a few of my favorites:

Stairs – by Steve Daly

A Touch of Snow – Photo by Steve Daly

It’s been great getting feedback on my shots – and seeing people select them among their favorites – but it’s even more valuable to see the way others compose their photos. It has certainly opened my eyes to news ways of envisioning a shot.

 

 

Class presentation: Top photography sites

Much as I did with the sports section of The Boston Globe nearly every morning when I was a kid, the monthly delivery of National Geographic magazine inevitably ended up within my grasp long before my father – the actual subscriber – had a chance to look at it. Even if it was dogeared and creased by the time my dad got around to looking through it, the beauty of the photography was still clear – and breathtaking. It represented the best collection of photography you could find in the pre-Internet dark days.

Today, with National Geographic’s Photography website, it’s like having every issue ever printed right at your fingertips. The stunning shots are taken to a new level, however, thanks to high-definition laptop screens and computer monitors.

The home page includes a rotating introductory section of its top three features followed by a Photo of the Day section and a Best Of collection from the previous months. An Editor’s Pick section highlights galleries that are chosen by the magazine’s editorial staff and include everything from a collection of overhead drone shots to a picture story on a three-legged canine war hero.

It’s most engaging and interactive area of the site is the reader-submission “Your Shot” section. Each month, NatGeo hosts a three-week “assignment” in which reader-photographers post shots following certain criteria. The submissions are curated by editors and photographers, who also elaborate on why they chose certain photographs. The recent “Unexpected Discoveries” feature – highlighting surprising images found in your photographs – featured more than 15,500 submissions and thousands more “love/favorite” and comments.

Additionally, there’s a Your Shot blog, and the Your Shot Community features portfolios and work from new and longtime members.

Readers can also view sections on photo tips, NatGeo photographer biographies and the Proof blog, which covers a variety of photography-related issues. There are also opportunities to purchase prints, view galleries and download wallpaper.

The interactivity is phenomenal, with comments on virtually every photo as well as an opportunity to share on Facebook and Twitter. Commenting is activated via a Facebook login or by registering on the NatGeo site.

It was hard to find something I didn’t really like about the site, but the fact that the 2014 Photo Contest is still a prominent piece on the home page – despite the entry deadline having passed on Oct. 31 – was a bit strange. You can’t really “Submit Your Best Shot Today” if it’s no longer eligible.

That being said, National Geographic’s Photography site stands apart from the other two sites I chose to examine.

The recently upgraded The Big Picture has moved from Boston.com to BostonGlobe.com, and that’s a great thing. The photos are much larger than in their previous incarnation and beautifully displayed against a black background. Each of the 16 images currently on the home page leads to galleries that range from 10 to 31 related photographs. Each gallery can be shared on social media and via email but there are no counters to indicate how often that occurs. Additionally – and very surprisingly – there are virtually no comments on the photos.

Another surprise: when you click on the link to the archive, any galleries posted prior to the Oct. 9 migration to the Globe site are still in the old format. Still great photos, just in a far less appealing package.

Rare Historical Photos satiates two of my biggest interests in one site: photographs and history. Each of the iconic photos is accompanied by a back story as well as comments from the photographer who took the shot. Many of the photographs also include a related “interesting fact” related to the photo or an element of the story.

There are opportunities to share photos on social media and there is a fairly active comment section for many of the photos, accessible via Facebook login, but the site’s design is a huge drawback. The images on both the home and category pages are little more than thumbnail-sized and the text accompanying each image is simply the first few sentences of the post on the landing page.

But despite the substandard design, the site accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: provide background on some of the most recognizable images in history.

Top 10 photo Twitter streams

A few days ago I posted a listing of photography-related websites that I check out pretty regularly, They’re filled with fantastic photos and great advice for aspiring, accomplished and even expert photographers.

Here are the top 10 Twitter accounts that I’ve found useful to my “beat,” in no particular order:

• PetaPixel @petapixel – Some pretty awesome stuff on this feed like a project that traces the Underground Railroad at night and a series of aerial photos of purple salt ponds in San Francisco.
• Life @life – Regularly open the vault to show off some of the most amazing pictures that ran in the weekly magazine between 1883 and 1972, when its publication halted. “Rare Photos from Ellis Island” is just one of its great slideshows.
• AP Images @AP_Images – Breaking news, top-notch feature shots and great daily features like “Rush Hour Around The World.”
• NBC News Pictures @NBCNewsPictures – Whether it’s an aerial shot of 35,000 walrus hitting the beach in Alaska or a breathtaking desert photo of the Milky Way in its “Month in Space PIctures,” this is a steady stream of tremendous images.
• Getty Images @GettyImages – Some of the most moving images you’ll find. Their Editor’s Choice Global News Pictures of the Day is a great feature and they move some fantastic sports photos as well.
• Picture Boston @pictureboston – I’ve followed Boston Herald photographer Mark Garfinkel’s Twitter feed for quite some time, so I was thrilled to hear he’d be a guest speaker in my Fundamentals of Digital Journalism class. Great photos from the Boston area, including a healthy obsession with of moon/airliner shots.
• National Geographic Photography @NatGeoPhotos – This one’s also on my website list, but there’s no wonder why. Different content on both platforms, all spectacular.
• Time Lightbox @timepictures – Another from my list of top photo websites. Like Nat Geo, the shared content is limited and the Twitter feed showcases collections like “Photos of Cool American Road Trips” and the daily “7 Pieces of Must-See Photography” feature.
• DP School @digitalps – Great instructional feed with helpful features like “Seven Tips for Interacting With People for Better Portraits” and “The Ultimate Guide to Learning how to use Your first DSLR.”
• Photojournalism Hub @photojourn – Dozens of links to great photography from outlets like Reuters, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times and many others.

The power of photography

No matter how descriptive your text, no matter how elaborate your explanation, few things can tell a story quite like an incredible photograph.

Whether the photo displays the sheer elation in the moments after a walk-off home run, the gut-wrenching sadness on the faces of pallbearers at a six-year-old’s funeral or the absolute shock in the aftermath of a devastating tornado, a gripping image will often transcend words.

There are hundreds of incredible photography and photojournalism sites on the Internet but, in my opinion, these are three of the best:

• National Geographic Photography: Long before the advent of the Internet, National Geographic Magazine was publishing incredible photography from all over the world. Today, the magazine’s circulation may be dwindling but the photography is still top-notch.
• The Big Picture: This site highlights photography from The Associated Press, Getty Images and the European Pressphoto Agency, as well as the work of Boston Globe photographers. The  images are powerful, bold and beautiful and the site is updated daily.
• Lightbox: This site’s best feature is its roundup of the top photography of the week. The photos are most often shot by Time’s own photographers and the site has a staff of more than a dozen photo editors and digital producers curating the images. Photojournalism Links provides another access point to a daily digest of the work of Times photographers.

The New York Times has a pair of sites among my top 10. Its Multimedia/Pictures page features great individual photographs as well as outstanding multimedia photo essays like The Women of West Point, with powerful black-and-white images, audio recordings, and outstanding writing. Lens is the Times’ photography blog, “a showcase for Times photographers” that also highlights the work of shooters from other media outlets.

The Guardian’s Eyewitness site, as well as an accompanying Tumblr page, provide “a daily, visual reflection of global events.”

Pictory invites users to submit a captioned image to one of several categories and the site’s editor selects the best entries for display. The site is currently on hiatus but houses some great work from professional and amateur shooters.

Rare Historical Photos offers iconic images, including many from the first and second world wars, and provides the stories behind each photos. “The List” is an easily navigable index of the site’s images.

Finally, What Were They Thinking showcases the work of Boston Globe photographer Stan Grossfeld, who asks the subjects of his sports photos to describe their thought process at the time the images were captured. Before he focused on sports, Grossfeld captured incredibly powerful Pulitzer Prize-winning images of the people of Lebanon in 1984, starvation in Ethiopia and illegal aliens along the Mexican border.

Each of these sites will provide a window into the world we live in and, at the very least, provide me with inspiration and ideas as I look to improve my own photography skills.