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#1
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
I wrote to National Geographic asking them whether they would consider
hiring good quality wildlife photographers, and this is the response I received.... ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:49 PM Dear Mr. Graham: Thank you for your email to the National Geographic Society. Photography jobs on staff are very rare. National Geographic does use freelance photographers, but to be frank, it is extremely difficult to obtain a first assignment for the magazine. The magazine does not accept any unsolicited submissions. The editors meet regularly to discuss possible story ideas. If an idea is decided upon, the article is then assigned, usually to someone with whom we've worked before or to someone with many years of outstanding work in the field of journalism. Because there is a large investment behind each National Geographic article, we are conservative in choosing writers and photographers, opting for those with well-established reputations. At this time we have many more freelance photographers than we do assignments. If this all sounds negative, we apologize. It is, however, a response dictated by a rather precise goal for the style of the magazine, coupled with the limited number of stories we are able to publish each year. I am sorry that we could not offer more encouraging news regarding your friend, but we appreciate your thinking of us. Sincerely, CL Stroud Communications National Geographic Society |
#2
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
On Aug 11, 6:19 pm, "William Graham" wrote:
I wrote to National Geographic asking them whether they would consider hiring good quality wildlife photographers, and this is the response I received....----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:49 PM Dear Mr. Graham: Thank you for your email to the National Geographic Society. Photography jobs on staff are very rare. National Geographic does use freelance photographers, but to be frank, it is extremely difficult to obtain a first assignment for the magazine. The magazine does not accept any unsolicited submissions. The editors meet regularly to discuss possible story ideas. If an idea is decided upon, the article is then assigned, usually to someone with whom we've worked before or to someone with many years of outstanding work in the field of journalism. Because there is a large investment behind each National Geographic article, we are conservative in choosing writers and photographers, opting for those with well-established reputations. At this time we have many more freelance photographers than we do assignments. If this all sounds negative, we apologize. It is, however, a response dictated by a rather precise goal for the style of the magazine, coupled with the limited number of stories we are able to publish each year. I am sorry that we could not offer more encouraging news regarding your friend, but we appreciate your thinking of us. Sincerely, CL Stroud Communications National Geographic Society Bill, your letter to NG is highly commendable. I salute you sir! I am certain I know who you are talking about and I couldn't agree more. In my opinion it's their loss. Helen |
#3
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
"Rita Ä Berkowitz" ritaberk2O04 @aol.com wrote in message ... William Graham wrote: I wrote to National Geographic asking them whether they would consider hiring good quality wildlife photographers, and this is the response I received.... What makes you think that NG is actually going to hire anyone for on-staff when there are so many ways for them to get cheap images? There are lots of great wildlife photos in stock agencies as well as on other photo hosting sites on the internet that can be had for pennies. Plus, NG wants real photos not some Photoshop creations that scream painted in fakeness. Well, here is my answer to that, and my answer to the NG answer, too..... If you were a brick contractor, and I asked you if you needed any more bricklayers, and you replied: We're sorry, but NG only lays 100,000 bricks every year, and we already have 152 bricklayers, which is more than enough to lay all those bricks, so we are not accepting any applications at this time....Then I would understand your answer perfectly. But, in fact, we are not talking about bricklayers here....We are talking about artists. So, what I want you to understand is that it doesn't really matter how many photographers you have already on your staff, or waiting in the wings. - The fact is, I know one who is better than all those 152 (or howevermany) that you have........(some unimportant details deleted) IOW, I tried to get the guy to understand that we are not talking about just work output here. (Tons of coal shipped out to Moscow every month, or whatever) We (or, at least I) was talking about artistic talent, and this is a different thing entirely.... |
#4
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
wrote in message oups.com... On Aug 11, 6:19 pm, "William Graham" wrote: I wrote to National Geographic asking them whether they would consider hiring good quality wildlife photographers, and this is the response I received....----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:49 PM Dear Mr. Graham: Thank you for your email to the National Geographic Society. Photography jobs on staff are very rare. National Geographic does use freelance photographers, but to be frank, it is extremely difficult to obtain a first assignment for the magazine. The magazine does not accept any unsolicited submissions. The editors meet regularly to discuss possible story ideas. If an idea is decided upon, the article is then assigned, usually to someone with whom we've worked before or to someone with many years of outstanding work in the field of journalism. Because there is a large investment behind each National Geographic article, we are conservative in choosing writers and photographers, opting for those with well-established reputations. At this time we have many more freelance photographers than we do assignments. If this all sounds negative, we apologize. It is, however, a response dictated by a rather precise goal for the style of the magazine, coupled with the limited number of stories we are able to publish each year. I am sorry that we could not offer more encouraging news regarding your friend, but we appreciate your thinking of us. Sincerely, CL Stroud Communications National Geographic Society Bill, your letter to NG is highly commendable. I salute you sir! I am certain I know who you are talking about and I couldn't agree more. In my opinion it's their loss. Helen Well, to me it's interesting (and a bit distressing) that the guy talks about the photography like it was only a matter of work output, and not an artistic endeavor, or even a highly skilled trade.....You know...."Sorry, but we already have too many bricklayers....Try again next year." So I tried to tell him that I know one who lays his bricks a little better than the ones on the NG buildings that I have seen......I doubt that it will make any difference, or that he will understand that, but it is true, in any case..... |
#5
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
On Aug 11, 7:43 pm, "William Graham" wrote:
wrote in message oups.com... On Aug 11, 6:19 pm, "William Graham" wrote: I wrote to National Geographic asking them whether they would consider hiring good quality wildlife photographers, and this is the response I received....----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:49 PM Dear Mr. Graham: Thank you for your email to the National Geographic Society. Photography jobs on staff are very rare. National Geographic does use freelance photographers, but to be frank, it is extremely difficult to obtain a first assignment for the magazine. The magazine does not accept any unsolicited submissions. The editors meet regularly to discuss possible story ideas. If an idea is decided upon, the article is then assigned, usually to someone with whom we've worked before or to someone with many years of outstanding work in the field of journalism. Because there is a large investment behind each National Geographic article, we are conservative in choosing writers and photographers, opting for those with well-established reputations. At this time we have many more freelance photographers than we do assignments. If this all sounds negative, we apologize. It is, however, a response dictated by a rather precise goal for the style of the magazine, coupled with the limited number of stories we are able to publish each year. I am sorry that we could not offer more encouraging news regarding your friend, but we appreciate your thinking of us. Sincerely, CL Stroud Communications National Geographic Society Bill, your letter to NG is highly commendable. I salute you sir! I am certain I know who you are talking about and I couldn't agree more. In my opinion it's their loss. Helen Well, to me it's interesting (and a bit distressing) that the guy talks about the photography like it was only a matter of work output, and not an artistic endeavor, or even a highly skilled trade.....You know...."Sorry, but we already have too many bricklayers....Try again next year." So I tried to tell him that I know one who lays his bricks a little better than the ones on the NG buildings that I have seen......I doubt that it will make any difference, or that he will understand that, but it is true, in any case.....- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Bill, I'm cooking dinner for you one night. You certainly deserve at least that! I agree with you 100%. Thanks Bill. Helen |
#6
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
"William Graham" wrote in message . .. Well, to me it's interesting (and a bit distressing) that the guy talks about the photography like it was only a matter of work output, and not an artistic endeavor, or even a highly skilled trade.....You know...."Sorry, but we already have too many bricklayers....Try again next year." So I tried to tell him that I know one who lays his bricks a little better than the ones on the NG buildings that I have seen......I doubt that it will make any difference, or that he will understand that, but it is true, in any case..... My sister worked there for five years as a reseacher, and I can tell you first hand photography is a commodity and not an artistic endeavor at NG. They want images that can sell, period. And yes, they only hire shooter with a deep and proven body of work. I think Nichols is the only "big assignment" shooter left there. |
#7
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
"Rita Ä Berkowitz" ritaberk2O04 @aol.com wrote in message ... William Graham wrote: Well, to me it's interesting (and a bit distressing) that the guy talks about the photography like it was only a matter of work output, and not an artistic endeavor, or even a highly skilled trade.....You know...."Sorry, but we already have too many bricklayers....Try again next year." So I tried to tell him that I know one who lays his bricks a little better than the ones on the NG buildings that I have seen......I doubt that it will make any difference, or that he will understand that, but it is true, in any case..... Welcome to the harsh reality in the world of professional photography. It seems pros are a dime a dozen. Always has been the case. It's a very desireable job, and the competition has driven incomes down to the point where if you don't do it for love, you have no other reason. Unless you're one of the top tier shooters, you'll starve. |
#8
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
"Kinon O'Cann" wrote in message news:Yatvi.9353$eb4.5464@trndny08... "Rita Ä Berkowitz" ritaberk2O04 @aol.com wrote in message ... William Graham wrote: Well, to me it's interesting (and a bit distressing) that the guy talks about the photography like it was only a matter of work output, and not an artistic endeavor, or even a highly skilled trade.....You know...."Sorry, but we already have too many bricklayers....Try again next year." So I tried to tell him that I know one who lays his bricks a little better than the ones on the NG buildings that I have seen......I doubt that it will make any difference, or that he will understand that, but it is true, in any case..... Welcome to the harsh reality in the world of professional photography. It seems pros are a dime a dozen. Always has been the case. It's a very desireable job, and the competition has driven incomes down to the point where if you don't do it for love, you have no other reason. Unless you're one of the top tier shooters, you'll starve. I think that's the case with any art. It certainly is true with painting and music.....They aren't looking for artists....They are looking for pushy salesmen who can push harder than everyone else......Or, at least, that's who they hire, so that's the bottom line...... |
#9
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
"William Graham" wrote in message . .. I wrote to National Geographic asking them whether they would consider hiring good quality wildlife photographers, and this is the response I received.... ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:49 PM Dear Mr. Graham: Thank you for your email to the National Geographic Society. Photography jobs on staff are very rare. National Geographic does use freelance photographers, but to be frank, it is extremely difficult to obtain a first assignment for the magazine. The magazine does not accept any unsolicited submissions. The editors meet regularly to discuss possible story ideas. If an idea is decided upon, the article is then assigned, usually to someone with whom we've worked before or to someone with many years of outstanding work in the field of journalism. Because there is a large investment behind each National Geographic article, we are conservative in choosing writers and photographers, opting for those with well-established reputations. At this time we have many more freelance photographers than we do assignments. If this all sounds negative, we apologize. It is, however, a response dictated by a rather precise goal for the style of the magazine, coupled with the limited number of stories we are able to publish each year. I am sorry that we could not offer more encouraging news regarding your friend, but we appreciate your thinking of us. Sincerely, CL Stroud Communications National Geographic Society Then again, there's something to be said for honesty... |
#10
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Hard to break into National Geographic's staff.
sorry what is NG? I need them....?
wrote in message oups.com... On Aug 11, 6:19 pm, "William Graham" wrote: I wrote to National Geographic asking them whether they would consider hiring good quality wildlife photographers, and this is the response I received....----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:49 PM Dear Mr. Graham: Thank you for your email to the National Geographic Society. Photography jobs on staff are very rare. National Geographic does use freelance photographers, but to be frank, it is extremely difficult to obtain a first assignment for the magazine. The magazine does not accept any unsolicited submissions. The editors meet regularly to discuss possible story ideas. If an idea is decided upon, the article is then assigned, usually to someone with whom we've worked before or to someone with many years of outstanding work in the field of journalism. Because there is a large investment behind each National Geographic article, we are conservative in choosing writers and photographers, opting for those with well-established reputations. At this time we have many more freelance photographers than we do assignments. If this all sounds negative, we apologize. It is, however, a response dictated by a rather precise goal for the style of the magazine, coupled with the limited number of stories we are able to publish each year. I am sorry that we could not offer more encouraging news regarding your friend, but we appreciate your thinking of us. Sincerely, CL Stroud Communications National Geographic Society Bill, your letter to NG is highly commendable. I salute you sir! I am certain I know who you are talking about and I couldn't agree more. In my opinion it's their loss. Helen |
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