thanks very much for such a detailed reply. your time, energy and perspective is greatly appreciated.
it’s a wonderful thing that we can be scattered across this planet and yet all sit together here on burn.

palimpsest……didn’t know it…love it….perfect use by you…to become perfectly used by me…thank you

all digital….either Nikon D700 or Panasonic GF1…hmmm, let me think, yes all pictures you see in these layouts, all three leads were i think shot with the GF1…wave and fish shot for sure, but perhaps the surfboard shot with the Nikon…in any case, i mostly shoot with advanced amateur cameras…so that means, if one of these is the final choice, that the lead picture for NatGeo article will have been shot with a camera costing about 600 bucks..

HARRY

as you can see from Sarah’s comment , the photographers (not just me) are more involved with the story idea, the overall coverage, and the final layout as in no other publication ever ever ever…that does not mean i will get 100% exactly what i might want, mostly due to the realities of print..SPACE ALLOCATION…however, i will usually get 99.5% what i want…after all Harry, the editors have chosen my idea, given me the commission to shoot it, brought me to the office to work on it..they are working with me, collaborating, working to make it right for the readers, for the magazine, and for me…they are NOT in a adversarial mode…quite the opposite…….i would submit that is as close as one can get to perfection for publication in an international magazine…

and happy MARTINL.KING day to ALLLL

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
Martin Luther
thank you…I will be out …planting an olive tree.

Here’s a great talk with Anders Peterson addressing this:
http://vimeo.com/34125446
“I put my brain under the pillow when I shoot” :)

Many thanks for chiming in.. “I use my brain to keep me on track journalistically but I try trust my heart and guts about the photography.”… a woman after my own heart :)

Thank you for that detailed post! lots of info there.
I loved what you said here:

“But I always try to make decisions from a place somewhere in the center of my body that responds almost physically to an image I like. I use my brain to keep me on track journalistically but I try trust my heart and guts about the photography.”

All the best for tomorrow….must be a bit nerve wrecking.

And Sarah, thanks for the post! Very informative.

Of course. I was just throwing that one out there because this is… BURN! On further thought I could see why you wouldn’t want such a dramatic shot about the weather as an opener – too “Nat Geo” as others have said (though not really – as you have responded, just what is too “too”?). Editing and sequencing is just about the most difficult part of the whole process in my estimation. And the most rewarding as you see the images come to life by how they relate to other images. Fun, very personal, and I’m jealous!

Best,

CP

Got MLK???