Shooting for National Geographic Traveler – freelance photographer

At the end of May, I received an inquiry email from an editor at National Geographic Traveler wondering if I would be interested in shooting an assignment for them.

I wonder if anyone ever says no?

After all, it seems like almost every photographer says they want to shoot for National Geographic when they grow up… and I was honored to get the chance to shoot for one of their publications.

I was given the assignment to photograph Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. I was asked to shoot art, galleries, interiors and exteriors of the museum. The trickiest one was the exterior because the museum doesn’t have a grand entrance like one would expect. Ok, it’s grand with the sculpture Yield, by Roxy Paine, but the building sits at the base of a natural ravine in the heart of the Ozarks. You don’t see the series of pavilions that are built around two creek-fed ponds until you ride the elevator down and walk into the museum. It was designed by world-renound architect Moshe Safdie, and saying that it’s a gem in Northwest Arkansas is an understatement. I know that I am supposed to be unbiased as a photojournalist, but as a resident of Northwest Arkansas, I’m grateful to museum founder, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., heiress, Alice Walton. I graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Art, so I’m pretty excited to have a place to take my 7-year-old and hopefully pass along my enthusiasm for art.

My shoot for the magazine was for a new series called, “Best of the World.” I spent a lot of time at the museum waiting for the light to be perfect, and I was lucky enough to have one day with a beautiful blue sky. I’m so thankful for the museum being more than accommodating to my requests to photograph galleries, and photograph the entrance at dawn. I had a lot of fun looking at the architecture and galleries, but I had the best time just being creative. I really enjoyed being me…. over the years I’ve learned that I am most comfortable when I am behind a camera, or when I’m with my son. Through this assignment, I had the best of both worlds when I took my son on the Art Trail and photographed him in Skyspace by artist James Turrell.

I really enjoyed working for National Geographic Traveler, and am looking forward to photographing another “Best of the World” this month.

Head to the archive to see more images from the shoot.