fbpx
Photography Culture

National Geographic Photographer Shares the Secret to His Amazing Work

Michelle Rae Uy
No Comments
01/27/2014
2 Mins read

Last Updated on 01/27/2014 by Chris Gampat

Screen Shot 2014-01-27 at 8.07.40 AM

Photographer William Albert Allard has been shooting for National Geographic for about 50 years now, giving the readers fantastic imagery with his work that’s mostly centered on the wild American West. Allard, who began his career in NatGeo as a lowly intern, has now shot over 40 stories for the publication and has taken many photographs of people and sweeping landscapes throughout the world that have since become iconic to many.

Allard recently shared the secret to success his amazing work in an inspirational video for PROOF, an ongoing blog that features video shorts of Nat Geo photographers sharing their adventures, talking about their work experiences, and giving words of photographic wisdom as part of the magazine’s 125th anniversary celebrations.

In the video, Allard reveals that working for the famed publication is not as easy and glamorous as it looks to outsiders.

“It’s not a normal life. Everybody thinks, oh it’s just the perfect jobâ€Ĥ On one side of the corner, it looks very shiny and attractive but when you turn it over, there’s a lot of stuff underneath that you deal with.”

He says that the passion for the work, which has to come from inside you, is “an absolute necessity.” According to the seasoned photographer, the secret to taking beautiful photographs, while not easily done, is simple – the only way one can do “superior work” is to care.

See his two-minute video short, in which he also talks about needing to be in the middle of his stories, responding to the  moments that come to him, and serendipity, after the jump.

Via PetaPixel

Please Support The Phoblographer

We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our links first and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website.

Also, please follow us on Facebook, Google+, Flickr and Twitter.

You might also like
Screen Shot 2017-08-28 at 12.07.13 PM
Features

Opinion: Please Stop Wearing a Photo Vest if You Don’t Need to Be Wearing a Photo Vest

4 Mins read
07/09/2018

When I got into this industry years ago, one thing really confused me almost as much as how much certain older photographers tend to treat the younger generation of us: photo vests. I’m completely positive that you’ve all seen them: a photographer of a certain distinguishment (or trying to show off without having said distinguishment) wearing their vests that look a lot like safari vests. You know, almost as if they’re going to go out on an African safari at all times without being anywhere near something like a safari. Walking down the streets doing street photography? You’ll see a photo vest. In the studio? Photo vest! Hiking? Yup, A Photo vest!

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Canon EOS R5 product images 1.21-2000s160
News

No, the Canon EOS R5 Isn’t Overheating When Shooting It in Stills Mode

3 Mins read
08/09/2020

We’re clearing up some misinformation we’re seeing in Facebook groups, comments, on Instagram, etc. about the Canon EOS R5. We’ve been seeing a lot of really stupid and wrong comments about the Canon EOS R5 across various platforms. All of it is in regard to overheating. Lots of YouTubers have been discovering the heating issues …

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm X Pro 2 product images review (6 of 12)ISO 4001-30 sec at f - 2.8
Features

My Wishlist: What I Want in the Fujifilm X Pro 3

4 Mins read
06/13/2018

I’ve never found it reasonable to constantly upgrade to the next generation of cameras that come out, and that’s why I’ve been holding out for the Fujifilm X Pro 3. I still own the Fujifilm X Pro 1, and to this day it is in my eyes one of the best cameras ever made in the past 10 years. The image quality still holds up as you can easily make the raw files look like film or have them be really high end. While Sony cameras are what I’d use for most of my work, Fujifilm is what I use for studio projects and for my hobby photography. I’ve always preferred the rangefinder style of cameras as they simply just conform better to my hands.