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PROOF: An Inspirational Photo Blog from National Geographic

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If you feel like you've been lacking for inspiration lately, you're about to strike the photographic gold mine. In celebration of their 125th anniversary, National Geographic is launching PROOF, a photography blog all their own that is already full of great content -- and it's only been running for 2 days.

Photographing Serengeti Lions Up Close Using Infrared, Robots and Drones

National Geographic photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols has spent the last few years in the Serengeti capturing NatGeo-worthy, one-of-a-kind photos of lions. The amazing photos that illustrate the story Serengeti Lions in this month's issue of the magazine were all taken by Nichols, and in the video above we get a tiny peek at how he managed to get such unbelievable views.

Photog Documents the Illegal Hunting of Songbirds Along the Mediterranean

AP Photographer David Guttenfelder is a conflict photographer. He's spent much of his photographic career capturing war through the lens of his camera. One thing he certainly never considered himself was a bird photographer.

But when he was sent on an assignment to illustrate a National Geographic piece on the illegal hunting of songbirds, he became one. And it slowly dawned on him that he wasn't just doing a documentary, environmental, or conservation piece -- this was simply another form of conflict photography.

BTS: Shooting James Cameron in a Water Tank for the Cover of National Geographic

The June cover of National Geographic features a photo of explorer and director James Cameron comfortably posing underwater in front of what looks to be his submarine. Obviously a composite (and a bit of a deviation from Nat Geo's typical style) photographer Marco Grob uses the above behind the scenes video to explain both the how and the why behind this awesome photo shoot.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the 10 Best National Geographic Photos of 2009

National Geographic photographers snapped over 1 million images over the course of 2009. Only about 1000 of those photos were selected and published by the famous yellow-bordered journal.

Of these 1000 published photos, National Geographic selected the 10 best images and created a 50-minute film that offers a behind-the-scenes look at how they were made.

Nat Geo Photographer Talks About What it Takes to Lead ‘a Photographer’s Life’

Here's a short inspirational video by photographer Joel Sartore in which he talks about shooting for National Geographic and living "a photographer's life." He talks about what it takes to be that kind of photographer, and even though his list includes everything from a palate that can handle strange foods to a Type A personality, it seems that the quality Sartore has in spades is a healthy sense of humor.

Nat Geo Photographer on Storytelling and Striving for Authenticity

National Geographic's Stephen Alvarez is part photographer, part filmmaker and part explorer. That triad makes his photography great because while some photographers take pictures, Alvarez has learned to tell stories -- and as the years have gone by and his gear has improved, his stories have continued to get more compelling.

In this short video, Alvarez talks about some of his best work, revealing little behind the scenes tidbits while simultaneously sharing his motivation and drive.

Storytelling Made Easy: How to Capture Photos that Tell a Compelling Story

Even before the digital age, National Geographic's photographers, on average, took about 1,933 photos for every one photo published. And it's this dedication to showing the world only the very best of what they manage to capture that makes these photographers some of the best in the world.

In this B&H Event Space seminar, seasoned photographer Marcus Donner explains the necessity of quantity, and shares some lessons on how to go from taking pictures, to telling stories.

Nat Geo Launches New Tumblr to Breathe New Life into Forgotten Photos

In celebration of its 125th birthday, National Geographic has launched a new Tumblr focused entirely on sharing long-lost photos buried deep within its archives. The brain-child of Nat Geo's photo archive curator William Bonner, "Found" already features 13 photos that may never have seen the light of day had it not been for this website -- with many more to come.

Deal: Snag the Complete Nat Geo Digital Collection and 200K Photos for $25

If you're constantly on the prowl for new sources of photographic inspiration, there's a pretty sweet deal going on over at National Geographic. The magazine has long been praised for its focus on delivering high quality photography showing all kinds of subjects in all kinds of locations around the world, and now it's offering its complete collection of issues between 1888 and 2011 for just $25. The set of 7 DVDs normally costs $80, so it's a savings of almost 70%.

Crop Don’t ‘Shop: How One Photog Had His Winning Nat Geo Contest Photo DQed

Winning the 2012 National Geographic Photo Contest is a pretty incredible feeling. Being disqualified 72-hours later for a minor editing decision... that one doesn't feel quite as good. But that's what happened to photographer Harry Fisch who, for a few glorious days, was living every Travel Photographer's dream -- shortly followed by their worst nightmare.

Amazing Full Moon Highline Walk Shot from Over a Mile Away

Getting the perfect shot, from the perfect angle, with the perfect perspective, is an obsession of great photographers and videographers. This is because, although there may not be any one perfect angle from which to capture a moment, a few of them are leaps and bounds more impressive than the others.

In this video from NatGeo's "The Man Who Can Fly" -- a short piece on daredevil adventurer Dean Potter -- filmmaker Bryan Smith and shooter Michael Schaefer found one of those angles, and it only took them a mile away from their subject.

BTS: Documenting Lions in the African Bush For Over Thirty Years

Dereck and Beverly Joubert have spent the past 30 years living among lions in the African country of Botswana, capturing incredible photographs and footage of the majestic creatures that have garnered widespread praise. They are considered two of the world's preeminent experts on the big cats, having created tens of films, books, scientific papers, and articles in National Geographic magazine (along with a list of filmmaking awards, including five Emmys).

CBS' 60 Minutes recently paid a visit to the Joubert's, creating the fascinating video above that shows how the duo live and work, and how they've dedicated their lives to documenting and protecting the cats from human threats.

Capturing the Second Largest Tree in the World in a Single Image

For a recent National Geographic story on giant sequoia trees, photographer Michael “Nick” Nichols was tasked with capturing a photograph showing the sheer size of one of the largest trees in the world. The video above offers a short but interesting glimpse into how Nichols and his team went about doing so.

Tip: Be Careful When Mounting Cameras to the Backs of Sharks

National Geographic photographer and filmmakers do some pretty crazy stuff and use some pretty crazy gear in order to capture the perfect shot. They're the type of people who see a large shark and, instead of fleeing the scene, think to themselves, "we should attach a camera to that thing." And then they actually do it.

Mounting cameras on sharks is risky business, though, and the video above shows just how dangerous it can be. In it, marine biologist Greg Marshall tells of his first attempt at deploying his camera onto the back of a large shark back in 1992. It didn't go according to plan.

Why Photogs in Certain States Can’t Enter Nat Geo’s Photo Contest

Yesterday we reported that Nikon Photo Contest is no longer accepting film photos starting this year. Turns out it's not the only prestigious photo contest with rules that are causing some discussion. Check out what National Geographic Photo Contest 2012 says under the rules section "Who May Enter":

Contest is open only to individuals who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry and who do NOT reside in Cuba, Iran, New Jersey, North Korea, the Province of Quebec, Sudan, Syria or Vermont. Employees of National Geographic Society, and its subsidiaries and affiliates [...] CONTEST IS VOID IN CUBA, IRAN, NEW JERSEY, NORTH KOREA, THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, SUDAN, SYRIA, VERMONT AND WHERE PROHIBITED.

Iran and North Korea? Those are understandable... but New Jersey and Vermont? Turns out there's a pretty simple answer for those states as well: state laws.

This Photo Won the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2012

The photo above is the winning photograph in this year's National Geographic 2012 Traveler Photo Contest. It's a photo by Brooklyn-based photographer Cédric Houin titled "Butterfly", which shows a Kyrgyz mother and daughter using a sewing machine in their dwelling. His caption reads,

This image was shot in the Kyrgyz lands of the Wakhan Corridor. The intimacy of this everyday life moment, shot inside of a family yurt, is in total contrast with the harsh environment these nomadic tribes live in. On the right we notice a television and a sound console. These tribes live weeks away from any village by foot. In spite of being located at an altitude of 4,300 meters in one of the most remote areas of Afghanistan they are equipped with solar panels, satellite dishes and cellphones. Ancestral ways of living, with touches of modernity.

The image was submitted into the category Sense of Place (the other categories were: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, and Spontaneous Moments).

Stunning Underwater Photography

Having just mentioned National Geographic yesterday, it's appropriate that we're featuring a photographer whose work has been used in the magazine many times over. David Doubilet is certainly one of the greatest underwater photographers in the world, and his work in both fresh and salt water, in both black and white and color, really leaves one breathless.

Speeding Up Climate Change Through Time-Lapse Photography

The Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) is a multi-year project by National Geographic photographer James Balog that aims to make show climate change in action through time-lapse imagery of glaciers. Balog has 27 Nikon D200 DSLRs pointed at 18 glaciers around the world snapping 8,000 photographs each year while powered by solar panels. His custom-designed rigs -- created through months of trial and error -- also include heavy duty tripods, waterproof cases, and wind-proof anchors. He has also created a documentary film about his project titled Chasing Ice.

Taking Versus Making a Photograph

Here's an uber-inspiring video in which National Geographic photographer Sam Abell discusses the difference between "taking" and "making" photographs through his experience of shooting one particular photograph for a story on painter Charles M. Russell. He explains that taking an image is shooting a photo as a reaction, without any preparation, while making a photograph is a process.