Assignment: Uplifted | National Geographic

National Geographic and Mazda started Assignment Inspiration, three quests to challenge photographers to test their ability to tell a compelling visual story and to capture inspiring imagery.

Beth, Nina, Sam, congratulations to each of you. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete for a chance to photograph for National Geographic Travel.

Just to be able to represent both National Geographic and Mazda, I feel like I've been validated. So I'm bringin' my A game.

It's a big opportunity that lays ahead. I think I'm one step closer to being a Nat Geo photographer.

It would be wonderful to win because what that means is that someone saw the potential in me.

This quest is about capturing images that define what it means to uplift humanity. This, for me, really is about the emotional connection that you make between the people that you photograph and the way that you convey those emotions.

What's inspiring you to click that shutter? The challenge is to capture that emotion and convey it through your photographs so we can be inspired as well.

You will have only three hours to photograph your subjects. It's gonna be tough. And in the end, you're gonna bring back your five best images from each place.

And we're providing each of you with a Mazda CX 30, which we hope will inspire you to inspire us, to inspire everyone else who sees your amazing photos.

When I meet a young photographer who wants to do what I've been lucky enough to do, I can't help but want to be a part of that and help welcome them into this amazing life that I feel I have been lucky to live. (upbeat music)

At Mazda, we craft our cars to inspire our drivers. Every interaction with the Mazda brand, we hope to uplift. It's what inspired Assignment Inspiration.

When I was thinking about things that are uplifting, I thought back to when I started volunteering at a local nursing home as a high school student. It left a lasting impression on me, changing the course of my life.

That's how I decided to go into medicine. We're at a memory care home to capture some nice moments with Kids for Peace students that are working on activities with the residents here.

Here we go. Kids for Peace, they feel that through acts of kindness that can spread peace. That connection between a younger person, who doesn't know that much about life yet but filled with so much curiosity, and someone who has lived with this wonderful perspective, getting those fresh interactions, that's when it's the most genuine.

I need to be ready. The name of the game is flexibility, keeping my eyes open. Some of it's hard with angles. I want to be down more on their level, and I'll go to take a shot, but then an arm comes in. That has been a challenge, but it's fun to push yourself. (laughing)

For me, being outdoors in nature, it's like a reset button. (upbeat music) It kind of puts me at peace. For Uplifted, I'm choosing to focus on human and animal interaction as it pertains to conservation.

Hey Sam, welcome!

[Sam] Hey, how are y'all?

Good to meet to you, finally.

Great to meet you.

Hi, I'm Denise. Welcome to Sky Falconry.

[Sam] Yeah, thank you so much. I chose Sky Falconry Ranch, a place where people can come and interact with birds of prey in a respectful and natural sort of way. The emotional aspect of the uplifted challenge is incredibly captivating.

[Denise] If you can capture how we feel every day, then I think you're in the right place.

She could jump off at any second, and there she goes (laughs).

[Sam] But I'm worried about what that's gonna look like, especially having an entire crew around me while I'm doing photography. (upbeat music)

If I'm connected, then people are going to see that. They're gonna feel that connection and hopefully be inspired by my work.

A National Geographic photographer needs to be curious, curious about the world, compassionate. When you're intimately invested, you tell stories that are richer and deeper. It comes from the heart.

We are at Ride On Horse Therapy Center. What they do here is work with special needs children and teach them horseback riding, motor skills, and how to connect with animals.

[Trainer] You wanna pet her? There ya go.

I have two children that have special needs, so for me to be able to come out here today and document this is a really incredible experience. And I'm just in heaven.

[Woman] One, two, three.

Yeah, so what was really beautiful is just that these kids get to come out here and just get to be kids for a moment. Time is flyin' by because I'm havin' a great time, and there's all this action, and there's just never a dull moment.

I'm trying to capture them goin' around, and it's a little bit challenging. It's interesting she's riding backwards. Not quite sure where I should position myself. Just when I think I have it figured out which way they're gonna go, the horses are like, oop, oop, oop.

The X factor in photography is often about that moment that reveals how humans have the power to uplift and be uplifted.

Children are inherently inspirational to me. That energy that children bring can be really healing. I mean, it just fills your heart. Being able to witness connections that people are making, it's pretty sweet.

Whoa! She is in massive hunting mode right now.

Oh.

What was that (laughing)?

She sneezed.

I didn't know birds could sneeze. Lots of action with these animals, so really trying to capture their movements. They're really unpredictable.

If you don't have that good working relationship, it's hasta la vista, bud.

It's such a rare opportunity to interact with birds of prey, and it is such a gift when they actually choose to come to you, and especially when they choose to come to our guests.

We at Sky Falconry hold a special permit that allows non-licensed falconers the opportunity of flying one of our birds of prey.

[Sam] I get that sort of adrenaline rush that you get when you know that something's happening and it's a fleeting moment.

[Denise] Beautiful.

As this woman holds a hawk for the first time, her face lights up. This is the moment that I've been looking for throughout the shoot. It's not something I can ask her to recreate.

That look on their face, the sheer joy they got is, for me, the definition of uplifting. (soothing music)

I'd love if my kids could do something like this. How fun. All these volunteers out here, it's amazing. Really neat to watch all the different things that they do with the different kids. They really have it tailored to their needs.

So I wanna be far enough back so that the children and horses' reactions are natural, but I do wanna make sure that I'm able to capture those uplifting moments and not miss a thing. Such a great smile.

Oh my goodness, thank you.

They were givin' them so much smile and love when they were walkin' around.

There were so many different moments of connection. I don't know if I was snapping the photos fast enough to really convey that in the photos. But, I felt uplifted the whole entire time.

How'd it go?

I think it went well. Yes, definitely gives me all the feels (laughs).

Really excited about the shots I got and what I got to witness today. I put so much of myself into these photos, but I don't ultimately have control of what someone's gonna take away from it, and that's part of the vulnerability of any art form.

I'm excited to go home and see what I got. I know I'm gonna have my work cut out for me. Picking five favorites is gonna be a really hard task. Just to watch these children get an experience, you know, to come out and do this thing that they might not otherwise get to do, to just be kids.

I could just see how happy they were and how much it meant to them. It was really powerful and heartwarming.