In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits
- Author: Forward by Chris Johns
- Publisher: National Geographic
I have more than a passing interest in Photography as my family well know. So for Christmas I was given a copy of ‘In Focus: National Geographic Portraits’ by my dear parents. I sat down and demolished the book in two sittings and decided to write the book review straight away!
Shameless plug: For those that are interested I sell a number of photos through a stock photography site called iStock. Please check out my portfolio.
As you would expect this book’s 503 pages are filled with beautiful and inspirational portrait photography. Each of which is well captioned with the photographer, date and description. And of course it’s the photos that take pride of place. However, each of the major periods of time are introduced by a different photographer.
These introductions not only add spice to the photos, but also gives you a really good insight into the way National Geographic approaches human stories, as well as how to photograph them.
These introductions are written by: (All photographers in their own right who’s work happily appears in the book.)
- Chris Johns
- Leah Bendavid-Val
- Stuart Franklin
- Sam Abell
- Jodi Cobb
- William Albert Allard
- David Allan Harvey
As I mentioned earlier the book is split into different periods of time which mean you get to treat yourself to photos from 1920′s to present day. Some of my favourites include:
And that last photo lead to this interesting story:
A taxi had come tearing down the road and hammered through the sheep, brutally flinging half of them off the road… The driver never even stopped. But we did. As the boy looked up at me with his shattered face, I made a few pictures because I had to… More than $6,000 in contributions came in from readers from all over America. They wanted to help. The Geographic contacted CARE, and that organization was able to locate Eduardo. His family’s sheep were replaced, a water pump was provided for the village.
So it sounds like it’s all good and nothing should stop you buying it. Well no. I have an issue with the format. The books less than typical size means a lot of the picture stretch across the inside spine. Because the book is thick this really does affect the display of some of the photos, particularly those that stretch 1 1/3 of the book. As you get the spine then only a small part of the photo.
All that said, I would still buy this if you’re interested in photography. It inspired me and after my first sitting I was out with the camera for the first time in a good few weeks. And you really can’t ask for more than than that in my book….
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2 Responses to ‘In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits’
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I love looking through the varied photographs from National Geographic. This book is very interesting and includes some interesting text about some of the images. However, I was not as impressed by the selection of images as I was for another similar National Geographic book, “Through the Lens”. The portrait collection of photographs just doesn’t have the same consistent impact throughout. Still worth a look though and excellent value for money considering the size of the book.
I’ve not had a look at ‘Through the Lens’ but I wonder if the format of the book is what lets the photos down as I mentioned in the review? Rather than intrinsic issues with the photos themselves?