Saturday May 29, 2010
Giving their best shot
By Louisa Lim
louisa@thestar.com.my
They’ve lived in harsh, foreign lands and put their lives in danger. But for these guys, getting a good scoop makes it all worthwhile.
Justin Guariglia
How a young photographer by the name of Justin Guariglia gained access into the elusive world of the Shaolin monks is anyone’s guess. But then again, the people behind National Geographic have always been full of surprises.
You never know when they might make history or the headlines.
The story of National Geographic began 122 years ago on January 13, 1888, when 33 explorers and scientists gathered at the Cosmos Club in Washington DC to organize “a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.”
After preparing a constitution and a plan of organisation, they incorporated the National Geographic Society two weeks later.
The society’s first magazine, the National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to just National Geographic, was published nine months after the society was founded as the its official journal.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Nat Geo has remained as relevant and inspiring as it was when it was founded. Whether it is looking into the haunting eyes of the Afghan Girl or watching a lion outsmart its prey, people tend to remember the Nat Geo experience. Behind these great stories, however, are the passionate souls who willingly to put their lives on hold to scour the ****hest reaches of earth for that great story and picture.
But what exactly does it take to become one of them?
Here, two of Nat Geo’s finest photographers shed some light on their profession and accomplishments.
Justin Guariglia, 36
Photographer and contributing editor
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
A: My first assignment was a story on Bali for National Geographic Traveler magazine back in 2000. The story ended up becoming a cover, and was published and arrived on the newsstands two weeks before the horrific Bali bombing. The cover read “BALI: Still Paradise?” and went onto become one of the best-selling issues of the magazine of all time.
Q: What is it about Asia that attracts you? How long have you lived in this part of the world?
A: I first came to Asia in 1996 to study Chinese in Beijing before it was the cool thing to do. I stayed a decade until 2006 when I moved to New York City to publish my two books Shaolin: Temple of Zen by the Aperture Foundation, and Planet Shanghai by Chronicle books.
I just moved back to Asia a few months ago, and now live in Taiwan with my family. I’ve been entranced for years by the energy, cultures and people, the sights, sounds and smells of Asia and, of course, the food!
Q: Tell us about your most interesting assignment to date.
A: Working on my Planet Shanghai book on the dying culture of the LiLong of Shanghai was really interesting. I went out every day trying to find people wearing pyjamas in the streets of Shanghai. It was a difficult project, but very rewarding personally because it was such a challenge to make the photos and produce the book. Every day I’d awake at 6am, and head out onto the streets in the middle of summer in 30+°C weather with 20 pounds of camera, film and lenses.
Two women in pyjamas holding their small dogs in front of a shop in China.
Q: Much has been written about your talent in street photography. How long did it take for you to get to that level?
A: I was inspired early on by Cartier Bresson. I love street photography, and that’s what originally brought me to photography. But as time went on, my style evolved and changed. After 12 years of working professionally, I finally, only now, feel like I’m learning how to use my camera.
Everyone has a camera but the reality is photography is the easiest thing in the world to pick up and use, but it’s one of the most difficult things to master as an art form. That’s why people love photography — it’s so accessible, and yet so elusive to really establish yourself, your look, your vision. Only 1% of the top 1% of photographers reach mastery level, and I — like many others — have not yet achieved such a place. We’re all working on it.
Q: What’s your favourite subject and why?
A: I’ve primarily focused on people or people in their environment my entire career, but I’m beginning to move in the direction of the environment (without people) and quieter, more rural, less urban subjects. I enjoy the sanity of nature after living in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai and New York City.
Q: Do you think being a foreigner helps open doors which are otherwise inaccessible to locals? Why?
A: Being a foreigner gives me a fresh perspective on things. I think it hinders access in many instances, but sometimes it does open doors in Asia. I can sometimes put myself in a situation that a local might find awkward because a local might understand the culture whereas I might not, so I can act more freely and take more revealing photos. Of course, that means I could also unintentionally offend someone but because I’m a foreigner, I’m usually excused. This strangely allows me, and many foreigners, to work more freely.
Q: You are the first photographer to have been allowed access inside the Shaolin Temple. How did you do that?
Guariglia gained rare access to the Shaolin monks.
A: I’m the first foreign photographer allowed to photograph the real Shaolin monks. It was a pretty amazing experience. It took about eight years to win over the trust of the abbot. You see, they have a lot of media pounding at their door every day trying to take photos or video inside, and most people grab their material and leave. But I visited the place for many, many years until they all recognised and knew who I was before the abbot gave me permission to do my project.
While it’s sad to see the commercialisation of the temple, there were still a handful of real monks living and training in the temple when I did my project there, and that was pretty amazing.
Q: What is your biggest achievement to date?
A: So far, figuring out how little I know about photography and the world. It might not sound like much of an accomplishment, but it’s taken me 12 years of working professionally to figure out I know nothing, and that’s making me a better photographer and a better person. When I first started I thought I knew everything, but every day that goes by I realise I know less and less than what I thought I knew.
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: I’m currently working on a new book about Johor, to be published by National Geographic. It’s a very unique project, an oversized photography book featuring aerial views of the landscape and portraits of the people due to be published in the fall/winter of 2010.
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