Assignment: Reflections | National Geographic

[Music] Assignment inspiration is a unique opportunity for free photographers to join National Geographic and seek new adventures. What's exciting is we get to find new talent in three days. One of you will be selected to go on assignment with National Geographic Travel. This is like every photographer's dream, to get out and do something for National Geographic. I still can't believe I'm here to make yourself better, to do better for the world. Those are my first impressions of National Geographic. Just to be in the running for something like this is almost too much to handle.

For this assignment, you've been given three different photographic quests. We developed these quests while I was working in Hiroshima, Japan, with Mazda. Some of the spaces that David took pictures of when he was walking through Hiroshima really helped us craft what these assignments would be. Our second quest is unique reflections. For me, unique reflections can be a literal interpretation of that, how the environment is reflected around you. But it's not only that; see how you can reflect how you feel in the pictures that you're taking. Each one of you has a unique point of view, and we really are excited to see that point of view.

We're providing each of you with a Mazda CX-30 to get you around LA over the course of the next three days. [Music] At Mazda, the inspiration behind unique reflections started with the way we approached our car designs: that reflective base surfacing, sculpting in the side panels. There's a depth there; there are layers to that design, layers to that story.

[Music] I like how light plays off the Mazda panels, and I think I'm gonna try and replicate that in the barbershop club. "Hey, how's it going?" "Welcome, good to see you!" When I think of unique reflections, reflecting on yourselves is the first thing that comes to mind. You're staring at a mirror for a prolonged period of time, and as a result, it forces you to assess who you are. It's not easy to frame an image, it's not easy to know when to take the shot, and it's even harder to know how to use reflection in an image.

I want to learn how to be a better photographer. So far, my voice has probably been landscaping wildlife photography, getting outside my comfort zone to really challenge myself. That's part of this quest. We're heading down to San Diego to the Seaport Village area specifically to photograph the carousel. It's a really joyful experience to ride a carousel; I think it'd be really nice to see reflected back to me smiling faces, joyful faces. I'm excited to shoot this location today.

I'm at the Santa Monica Pier. I chose the pier because it's a really iconic part of California and America for that matter. It's really bright and colorful; there's a lot of motion—things that I really love and try to showcase in my photography. So I'm going to be looking for reflections that tell a story and inspire people. I'm just so excited to be here because it's really different than Minnesota; it's really refreshing.

[Music] Meeting Woody, I'm able to see why he's so successful as a barber. I'm a third-generation barber, so I grew up in a barber shop like this, where a bunch of men gather. This is one of the best places to be—a listening ear and a support for men trying to be true gentlemen of today's time. Some of my interest in people, specifically their faces, is really something I wanted to focus on, and I think that is gonna show in my work because I'm also one of the fastest barbers in town too!

"Man, I'll be done with this in about three minutes." If you don't capture it, there's a lot going on. I'm definitely struggling with the cramped space and maybe even a little bit angled—uh, sorry, the other one. I'm gonna be doing a lot of really up-close shots of some of the chrome; that's another challenge. Can you see yourself in that? No, I'm somewhat concerned about being able to create a diverse set of photos, to try to be creative, getting into situations that I'm not normally taking photos in.

It's so exciting! I do want to capture those really special connections between the parent and their child. I love how precious his face is, but it's a little bit hard to get the position I want. Sometimes I'm hanging off the carousel, hoping I'm not going to hit something as I rotate by. It gets a little disorienting.

[Music] I'm going to go back that way because there was some... I thought that there would be more reflective surfaces here, where I thought that like the rides would have some reflection to them. They didn't, but I'm pushing myself to be the best that I can when I'm out there. The tricky part is not getting myself in this. "Here we go, I'm getting your sunglasses!" "No, leave them on!" "Thank you, can I get a picture of you and your friend after you get your tickets? Maybe you can put your arm around here." "That's awesome!" "Oh, that's so cool!"

"Nailed it!" I really like the image of the couple coming out of the burger joint—reflections on the surface, the Route 66 sign. So it was really kind of an iconic image. Yeah, reflection can also be a tool to convey a piece of yourself. It could be pain, it could be joy, but being in touch with that part of yourself is a powerful tool. How does that image move its audience to action and emotion?

[Music] "Hey, Woody, is it okay if I use this mirror?" "Yes, you may." [Music] So I've got him in the shot and I've got him in the shot again. "I would look straight ahead, Woody. Thank you so much, Amy. Good luck with everything, man, I really appreciate it!"

One thing that is working well is one little girl riding by herself. It did remind me of how I was as a child, but I can see the light is changing, and I'm feeling the pressure like I really need to find the compositions that I want because the light is going to go away. "All right, I can't see my dials." "That looks better."

I was thinking that maybe we go to the parking lot and see if we can get some reflections. The Mazda is really reflective, and so I thought if we were able to park it in a way that we could get the amusement park's lights on it, that it would be really fun to photograph, and it was! I hope that people can see joy and the part of our culture that amusement parks are.

I'm gonna take one more shot. "You get what you needed?" "We'll just—yeah!" "Yeah, I think that there are definitely some shots I feel excited about, shots that I'm proud of. I want people to be moved and inspired. I'm pumped to see some of these shots; there's a couple that I can't wait to get on my laptop. There's going to be a lot to go through and a lot of decision-making.

The quest was about not only the responsibility and hope to reflect the world around you as a photographer but also to convey the very individual personal path that you've taken.