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Work by National Geographic’s top ten photographers: a selection of images that conjure up amazement, emotion, admiration and awe. ‘Masters of Photography’ is also a ten-part series published by National Geographic.

The beauty of the moment

Annie Griffiths began her career relatively close to home. She photographed her own

hometown Minneapolis and then reported on other North American cities and landscapes.

Her photographs often radiate a serenity that evokes the atmosphere of the old America.

The turning point came just when it seemed she had found her set subject matter. Around

1990 she received the assignment to put together a number of photo reports in the Middle

East, including in Israel and Jordan. Meanwhile she has taken photographs for National

Geographic in more than 100 countries.

1

The Papai inhabit an infertile region on the Baja peninsula in Mexico. Teresa Castro and her

grandson Miguel scour the wilderness for wood to light a fire and roast agave in a pit oven,

which they eat every day. ‘It’s not easy getting food from cactuses,’ she says. ‘But we work

hard and God gives us just enough to survive.’ 1998.

2

Zambia. The Victoria Falls are 103 meters high. The swimmer is standing on the edge of a

hidden, 2 meters deep swimming pool, in the rocky riverbed and only accessible when the

water in the Zambezi is low.

3

This group of dressed up Californians is on its way to the Old City of Jerusalem. Like Jesus

did, they will then follow the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross), towards the Church of the

Holy Sepulchre. Every year on Good Friday thousands of Christians, deep believers as well

as tourists, flock to Jerusalem in order to follow the footsteps of Christ. 1995.

4

In a Hutterite colony in Forest River, North Dakota, these children say a prayer of thanks in

German after dinner. The colony consists of a number of poultry-farmers and dairy-cattle

breeders. Hutterites stand for selflessness and community spirit. ‘There is no place for hard

individualism,’ the teacher Tony Waldner (left) says. 1986.

Lifelong travel

Michael Yamashita (1949) has traveled the entire world, but his many photographs of

Asia betray his greatest passion. His work falls into three categories: current Asian issues,

nature and history. Thus he photographed various aspects of Japanese culture, China’s

renewed control of Hong Kong and the tense situation in the Korean demilitarized zone.

He distinguishes himself notably by linking contemporary images with history and historical

characters in a subtle manner.

5

In the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Korea, Yamashita photographed soldiers in the firing

line. These South Korean soldiers defend the DMZ against attacks from the north. Because

of the escalating tension, the troops are in a constant high state of preparedness. As is the

soldier in camouflage gear at the border of the DMZ. 2003.

6

The timeless delights of a playground. Family entertainment at the ruins of Samara, the

ninth-century capital of the Abbasside Caliphate, which ruled over Iraq during 500 years.

Since 2007 the archaeological remains in Samara are on the Unesco World Heritage List.

1999.

7

Adorned with a Kalashnikov. This Kurdish wedding guest wants to protect her family and

friends, should an argument between various clans present run out of hand. The peace is

kept, however, reason enough to fire a few shots of rejoicing. Iraq, 1999.

8

In Takachiho, dancers wearing ceremonial white robes await the launch of a re-enactment

of the creation myths. Shinto, the indigenous religion of the country, teaches that on

Kyushu (the most southwestern of the four main islands of Japan) a few gods turned into

mortals: the Japanese people were created in this manner. 1992.

9

Japan. Anyone can become a samurai. Rent a costume and show up with it in public.

2003.

10

Yamashita experienced in Afghanistan that the ‘heroic’ fighting spirit Marco Polo came

across here still exists. In 2000, Yamashita took this photograph of Ahmed Shah Massoud,

of the Northern Alliance, leading the officers in prayer and in combat against the Taliban.

On 9 September 2001 Massoud was assassinated, just before the complex history of

Afghanistan was to take a new, bitter turn. 2001.

11

Brunei. The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan, at dawn. On his

journey through the world, the legendary Chinese admiral Zheng He (c.1371 – c.1433)

allegedly found a spiritual retreat.

12

An adventurous tourist approaches Hainan (the southernmost tip of China), traditionally

regarded as ‘the end of the world.’ China means ‘land of the middle’, therefore the ornate

stone marks the southernmost point from Beijing, the centre of the civilized world.

A moment later the woman had to pay for her venture with wet feet. 1998.

Wondrous underwater world

The American photographer David Doubilet (1946) is the master of the underwater world

with his camera. Doubilet’s greatest innovation is his use of lighting. In his photographs, he

highlights the underwater world as one large natural spectacle. Reefs, species of fish and

food chains are threatened due to overfishing and destructive fishing techniques. He hopes

that his photographs will make people aware of the endangered marine life. His vision can

be summed up by means of one of his most well-known images: a diver surrounded by

a school of barracudas. David brings the sea, sky and the human being together in this

picture, reminding us that everything is related.

13

A Tomato Clownfish (Amphiprion frenatus) attends to a field of his maturing eggs as a

gardener. The caring father provides the eggs with oxygen by fanning water over them with

his pectoral fins while removing dead embryos. 2009.

14

Spotted jellyfish float quietly but purposefully through a lagoon on the islands of Palau in

the Pacific. The lakes of Palau pulse with three different specimens of spotted jellyfish,

which have evolved independently. For unknown reasons the jelly fish migrate once a day

back and forth between the shores of the lakes. 2000.

15

A defensive formation of barracudas circle a diver in a world without corners, borders

or end. The central figure of this magical dance, the naturalist Dinah Halstead, was

surrounded by this slow ballet near the island of Lavongai in Papua New Guinea. 1987.

16

The turtle’s struggle for survival has lead David Doubilet to exotic regions, such as the

Marutea Atoll in French Polynesia and Sipadan Island in Malaysia. The waters surrounding

Sipadan are an arena of death and love for green sea turtles. They mate all year round, but

many animals die in the fight for a partner and a safe breeding-ground.

Fragile nature

The American photographer Michael Nichols (1956) is one of the world’s best

photographers of nature. He is fully committed to the protection of nature. His involvement

is clearly visible in the photographs he took during his long treks through the last

undeveloped areas of Central Africa and his photographs of the difficult situation in which

great apes live. Nichols was also known for illuminating the darkest caves. All in all, he has

photographed twenty-five reports for National Geographic. His most recent series dates

from 2009 and deals with the management of the redwood forests in California.

17

In August, severe thunderstorms pass through the Grand Canyon. ‘I’ve always wanted to

photograph lightning, to immerse myself in light,’ Nichols says. When lightning struck near

him on Point Sublime, and knocked him off his feet, he came awfully close.

18

The early work of the photographer Michael Nichols caught nature’s eerie beauty: from

impressive depths up to dizzying heights. In New Mexico, he illuminated the Lechuguilla,

the deepest cave in America. That cave had just been discovered and named the

underground Grand Canyon, full of rare and fantastic shapes. 1989.

19

While poachers slaughter the last elephants in Central Africa for the ivory, Zakouma

National Park is a safe area. At the end of the dry season, there are but a few water holes,

and about five hundred elephants come together at this pool. In June the park is swept by

heavy rains and the herds then move off in search of better food. 2006.

20

Tourists in the Democratic Republic of Congo come dangerously close to a gorilla - the

adult male is accustomed to visitors, but runs the risk of infection with human diseases.

The researcher Dian Fossey changed the hitherto opinions on largest primates and showed

that the animals are gentle, with a complex set of emotions and behaviour. 1990.

21

Bangha the gorilla looks back towards the photographer and pauses for a short moment

on a path in the Tchimpounga reservation in Congo. There orphaned gorillas are taken

care of and reared in groups. Most of them are ‘meat orphans’: their mothers are killed and

slaughtered and their meat is transported to towns and villages. 2008.

22

Apes were once found all around the Equator in Africa and Southeast Asia, now only a

few small areas. In 1980 Nichols started to portray their plight by means of a story on the

Virunga gorillas, which Dian Fossey was studying. A raging chimpanzee, driven to insanity

through years of solitary confinement and desperate for contact, eventually responds to

the calming gestures of the primatologist Jane Goodall who submissively bows before him.

1990.

23

Activist Amy Arcuri demonstrates her love of Spooner, a woodland giant that she says

is almost two thousand years old. The tree was once earmarked for timber, but is now

officially protected.

Power of nature

The Dutch photographer of nature Frans Lanting (1951) works in various parts of the

world. In his photographs Lanting records the majesty and fragility of the natural world.

He is fascinated by remote and inaccessible regions often rich in a diversity of life forms.

Lanting: ‘When balancing in a tree when there is a thunderstorm or being attacked by

a swarm of wasps, I’m in my element.’ Lanting took the World Press Photo on three

occasions.

24

Eyebrow Albatrosses gather at a breeding colony on the Falkland Islands. They build small

mud pillars that serve as a nest: there they raise the next generation. A pair can produce

only a single egg each breeding season: a declining birth rate that the population cannot

make good. Growing numbers of predators and pollution play a role, but a long line and

trawl fisheries are the main threat. 2006.

25

An albatross expresses his passion and tries to seduce a female with a ritual dance, a

complex sequence of movements and song. Often 2 years of courtship precedes the

mating, but the subsequent commitment is indeed for life. ‘It’s important for them to make

the right choice, because they reach the same age as human beings,’ Lanting explains.

‘I took photographs at such close range I almost had to dance with the bird: I had to

anticipate his next turn and be prepared for the climax of the ritual - when he suddenly

spreads his wings - to leave him sufficient room for maneuvering. With a downpour on

the way the light was very poor that day, even if it seems the bird is thanking the heavens.

2006.

26

From a towering scaffolding in Peru, Frans Lanting was able to take a photograph of a

young yellow Lara in full flight. 1994

27

Madagascar. Adapted to an environment where it rains only 4 months a year, baobab trees

suck themselves of with water in order to survive during the dry season. Their sponge-

like trunks may reach a diameter of 10 meters. Although considered a tree of the African

continent, only one species grows there, while Madagascar can take pride in six species.

1985.

28

In India women of the Kuruba tribal people interrupt their daily work just to make place for

a young mahout and his elephant. The Moyar rivier flows through the Mudumalai Wildlife

Sanctuary. Taking photographs in such protected places has its own challenges: ’Working

with animals is easier than making your way through the bureaucracy in India,’ Lanting says.

2002

29

Botswana. Apparently having fallen into their own trap, Mbukushu women return home

with the woven nets they use to catch fish in the Okavango River. Fishing is a collective

enterprise. 1990.

Last wilderness

From Alaska to Africa, the American photographer Chris Johns (1951) has taken

photographs for National Geographic in the most diverse places. Although his

photographs depicting nature are the best known, Johns can strikingly record people in

their own world. For example, in one of his first assignments for National Geographic, he

incorporated the determination of the people of British Columbia in Canada. Johns: ‘I am

now no longer a photographer and am often asked if I can live without it’. I then say: ‘Sure.

I used to think that taking photographs for National Geographic was the best job in the

world, but as the magazine’s chief editor, I now have the opportunity to give photographers

the time they need to draw nearer to their subject matters.’

30

Route 93, which covers 3000 kilometers between Phoenix (Arizona) and Jasper (Alberta),

is the example of the American legend of the lonesome highway. In Nevada, the desolate

landscape presents the cowboy with an opportunity to look for entertainment in a bar-cum-

brothel in Ely. 1992.

31

In Dunster at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, John Adams and his mother Josie try to

improve the reception of a TV picture in the motor-body of an old car, on top of the hill.

1984.

32

On their way to a game, these football players prepare themselves for the match.

The ensuing loss was their eighth and final game without victory. Leaving empty-handed is

a familiar feeling for many on Route 93 that runs through Las Vegas. 1991.

33

Severe drought expelled Martha and Kirby Houston from their farm in Oklahoma, but they

came back again. They live modestly, grow their own food, spend almost nothing and save

everything. Kirby plays the violin whenever he wishes. 1982.

34

San (Bushmen) dressed in skins and armed with bow and arrow cross a salt plain in the

Nyae Nyae Conservancy in Namibia during the hunt. John: ‘My favourite movie scene is

the one in which the horseman in Lawrence of Arabia emerges from a mirage. When these

men ran off, I saw the same effect in the vibrating heat. I used a 1200mm lens and placed

my camera on a bag of beans. Their legs thereby seemed to be stretched, reminiscent of

the extended limbs in the art of the San.’ 2001.

35

Because the hunting grounds of the San (Bushmen) are decreasing, they turn to tourism.

A group of San, who entertain busloads of tourists, inhabits Intu Africa, a private hunting

reserve in Namibia. Small chance that the traditions will further exist by these means and, in

this way, they hardly earn anything. 2001.

36

Recently circumcised boys are being prepared for their adulthood and a life of fishing and

farming. They greet the dawn with traditional songs and with the sounding of drums in

Lukulu, Zambia. 1997.

Fascination with distant cultures

The American photographer Steve McCurry (1950) brought the war in Afghanistan into

our living rooms. His 1984 portrait of the Afghan girl, the refugee, has become an icon

- not only for National Geographic, but also for the human race trying to survive in the

harshest conditions. McCurry hopes that his photographs inspire empathy, compassion

and tolerance for the many cultures and religions in the world. His striking portraits

and dramatic landscapes make him one of the most famous National Geographic

photographers.

37

Women shopping in a burqa, buying sneakers. In Kabul, the women wear a burqa, a proof

of the return to fundamental Islam in the post-communist era. In the capital many women

wear the burqa, mostly for safety’s sake. That was not always the case: the burqa became

rare in the large towns when women gained suffrage in 1964. 1992.

38/39

A refugee with an intense gaze known as the ‘Afghan girl’. Steve McCurry took her

photograph in 1984 in a refugee camp in Pakistan. When he tracked her down in 2002,

the world finally knew her name: Sharbat Gula. McCurry: ‘I hope Sharbat Gula gets a

better life through my famous photograph. She asked for assistance in providing education

for her daughters and girls throughout Afghanistan. National Geographic set up a fund and

since then, more than $ 1.2 million has been spent on the building of schools, the training

of teachers and educational support.’ 2002.

40

Bangladesh. The high water levels caused by the monsoon, is a blessing for these small

young swimmers but a curse to the railroads. The water under this bridge on the Dhaka-

Chittagong line is falling again, so that the bridge can be inspected for damage. 1982.

41

In Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, a young monk drives around in an electric toy car near the

Potala palace, where once the government was established and where the Dalai Lama

resided. 1999.

42

Under the burning sun in the Wadi Hadramaut, Yemen, women wearing high sun hats

collect clover for cattle. In the background stands a family fortress, built in order to

withstand attacks from enemies. 1997.

43

His glasses and scarf protect this ship dismantler against dust and smoke. At a shipyard in

Mumbai, India, he helps to break up foreign ships that have been written off. The steel from

old trading ships is of importance to the industry of India. 1994.

44

Resembling herons these men dressed in the traditional saram are seated fishing on

the south coast. Due to years of conflict, the development of the country has become

jeopardized and many Sri Lankans work on the land and near the sea as their ancestors

did. 1995

45

In a mosque in Kabul, men and boys perform a self flagellation ritual in honour of Shi’ite

martyrs who died for their faith during the seventh century. The Shi’ites in Afghanistan have

long been a minority, but now the social and political orders are changing dramatically, they

can again profess their faith more openly. 2002.

46

Not hampered by the lethal weaponry Muslim children in Beirut, Lebanon, climb over an

abandoned anti-aircraft artillery. 1982.

Rare images of the everyday

Among the many subjects Joel Sartore (1962) has taken photographs of during his long

career, there is nothing more important to him than the rapid decline of nature. He devotes

much of his time and energy on the plight of endangered plant and animal species.

Sartore’s first assignment was to record the American Gulf Coast within 18 weeks. Since

then he has compiled dozens of commentaries on regional culture and national traditions.

How ever serious his subject matters often are, Sartore always manages to add a light, but

respectful touch of humour.

47

‘For a moment I thought this was a living horse, in full gallop,’ Joel Sartore says. ‘But when

I got closer, I noticed that something was very wrong.’ Indeed, the horse was standing still

forever. Local cattle herders had placed the dried-up corpse in an upright position and had

supported it. Apparently it had to serve as an attraction on the side of a road. 2005.

48

The stuffed inhabitants of an artificial rock-face are dusted down in Cabela’s, a store in

Sidney, Nebraska with an floor-space of 7000 square meters. The proprietor sells fish nets,

rifle scopes, walking shoes, gas burners, bicycle parts, and everything an outdoor sports

enthusiast dreams of. 1995.

49

A century ago there were perhaps one million Attwater’s Prairie Chickens, named after

an English naturalist. They are now threatened with extinction. The last hope for the Texan

Ruffed Grouse could be the chickens born in captivity. This chicken basks in warm light at

the Fossil Rim Wildlife sanctuary, where over a hundred chickens are raised during each

breeding season. 2002.

50

These seasoned residents of South Boston take a daily dive in the cold waters of the

nearby bay. ‘It just feels good,’ Al Binari explains while taking a shower. 1994.

51

On a naval base in Pensacola, Florida, a recruit in violation responds to a shouting drill

sergeant. ’The first day of basic training is called ’‘Hell week’’. With reason,’ Sartore says.

1991.

At the end of the world

From polar bears roaming the northern tundra to leopard seals hunting penguins in the

southern seas: Paul Nicklen (1968) showed us the extreme conditions of worlds only few

of us know of, the Polar Regions. Nicklen, who grew up in an Inuit village in the Arctic, is

ideally suited for telling these stories. He is a former marine biologist who realized that

he and his camera could exert influence on the awareness of climate change and the

protection of animals and their habitats.

52

The light of deliverance welcomed the explorer Ernest Shackleton and five other survivors

of the ship the Endurance when they arrived at a whaling station in South Georgia in 1916.

They had sailed more than 1300 kilometers from Antarctica in a lifeboat. Whalers, such as

the rust-eaten Petrel (left), hunted the huge sea creatures until the 1960s, until there were

almost no more specimens left. 2008.

53/54

The largest concentration of marine mammals come together during the breeding season

in the St. Andrew Bay in South Georgia: the ultimate beach party. When James Cook

discovered the island in 1775, he unleashed a 200 years-long hunt fever that decimated

the populations. South Georgia is now a protected area; the seal and penguin populations

have recovered in a spectacular manner. 2008.

55

The chickens of the Chinstrap Penguin appear to be very small on this glacier in the South

Pole on Antwerp Island, an outpost in the Antarctic. 2008.

56

Tusks of various lengths indicate the age of the walruses during the population peak

- around 2600 - of Spitsbergen in the summer. In c.1900 ivory hunters had almost

annihilated the herds of Norway. 2007.

57

A better way to capture a narwhal has yet to be found, a way that less sink or escape

wounded - and meet with a slow and painful death. 2007.

58

A leopard seal displays threatening behavior, with which he seemingly tries to deter another

leopard seal that approaches the photographer from behind. Having been on the North

Pole for years, Nicklen traveled to the southern seas, where he would get the assignment

of his life: on leopard seals. He also discovered the island of South Georgia, a kingdom of

seals and penguins, that he calls the ‘mecca for underwater photographers’. 2006.

59

The tusk of the narwhal appears in the legend of the unicorn, and this animal has appealed

to the imagination for centuries - with the consequence that it is much hunted. The narwhal

population at Baffin Island (Canada), where these males surface to breathe, is therefore

threatened with extinction. It is assumed that the tusk serves to display, similar to the

antlers of a deer. 2006.

People in their world

Compassion is the driving force behind Jodi Cobb’s most memorable photos.

The American was way ahead of her time with her commentary on women in Saudi Arabia,

published in 1987. She knew how to capture the lives of women in the Islamic world with

integrity and in a penetrating way. Cobb: ‘At National Geographic, I found my true calling

– documenting the reality behind curtains, veils and masks, and that within cultures all

around the world.’ Cobb brought to life themes such as beauty and love of life, but she also

took up delicate issues, such as trafficking, prostitution and slavery.

60

According to an ancient Chinese tradition strapped feet are the pinnacle of female beauty.

This led to millions of parents strapping their daughters’ feet, to fracturing and bending

the instep resulting in a tripping step. Xiao Xou-Xiang, the 79-year-old woman in this

photograph, was among the last group of women to endure this tradition (now prohibited

by law). 1998.

61

Tahitians bringing French tourists ashore after a cruise through the lagoon in a canoe.

The outlying islands in the Pacific traditionally attract Europeans. 1996.

62

This boy in Porto-Novo, Benin, was sent by his parents to a machine work-shop in order

to learn a trade. He works all day long, without a break and without a salary. Present-day

slavery does not exist by virtue of ownership, but by the decisive authority of violence.

2002.

63

These child labourers in Firozabad, India, have been sold to the owner of the work-shop.

They are between 9 and 14 years old, and melt glass bangles together for 10 hours a

day. They are among the 27 million people who have become trapped in the modern slave

trade. 2002.

64

Madras, India. Entire families here toil with loads of bricks in order pay their debts.

Debts sometimes keep families in a grip for generations. Roughly two-thirds of the forced

labourers in the world (15-20 million) consists of debt slaves in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh

and Nepal. 2003.

65

In a cloud of flour this noodle maker in his shop fights against the heat during the final days

of the walled city of Kowloon in Hong Kong. This former Chinese military stronghold turned

into a lawless slum, full of open sewers and waste. In 1994, the district was demolished.

1989.

66

The veil came into vogue among the elite in seventh-century Arabia. The wives of the

Prophet Muhammad were veiled, too. 1987.

67

Young ‘mud men’ of the Asaro parade their clay masks at the annual festival in Papua.

‘Here male beauty is at the centre,’ the anthropologist Nancy Sullivan says. ‘Being a man

means to look good.’ 1998

68

Jodi Cobb created this theatrical reflection on the transience of beauty. Ella Eronen was the

most popular actress of Finland and a heroine during World War II and poses as ‘Madame’,

an actress who imagines herself being lost without a role. 1980.

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