Monday, July 6, 2009

...it's National Geographic week!



Well, sort of. This week at the Institution is sponsored in part by National Geographic. Today, I went to a lecture by Annie Griffiths Belt, a photographer who has worked for NatGeo ever since they came knocking on her door two years after she graduated from the University of Minnesota. Some people have all the luck. But she certainly isn't without talent. Her photographs seem to capture the absolute essence of whoever the subject is. She spent much of her time in the Middle East and had nothing but wonderful things to say about the people, cultures and traditions she encountered.

A wisp of a woman from the Midwest (her Minnesotan accent was endearing and adorable), her stories of swimming at the top of Victoria Falls, backpacking in the desert and imitating a man to sneak into restricted ceremonies awed and inspired me.

I was also completely amazed when she said that she has two kids and brought them along on assignments while they grew up. She and her husband, a writer/editor for the magazine, made the vow to never spend more than two weeks away from them. An impressive feat considering some assignments can last months and months. Here's her book, which I desperately wanted to purchase (and have signed) but refrained from doing so. I suppose I can admire her photography online and save the 40 bucks.

Other speakers this week that I fully intend to see: Donald Johanson (dir., Inst. of Human Origins; discovered "Lucy" fossil), Wade Davis (ethnobotanist, photographer, author, The Serpent and the Rainbow), Kobie Boykins (NASA engineer, Mars Expedition Rovers program) and Mattias Klum, (National Geographic photographer, filmmaker).


(Photos by Annie Griffiths Belt)



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