Assignment: Inspiration | National Geographic

We're in Los Angeles for this amazing project called Assignment Inspiration. National Geographic and Mazda made a call out for photographers' most inspiring work. Congratulations! Out of thousands of entries, it was your work that inspired us. One of you will be selected to go on assignment with National Geographic Travel.

I think I'm starting to get a little nervous because I'm like, "Oh my gosh, this is National Geographic!" I've been reading National Geographic magazines since I was a little kid. Being confirmed as a finalist, nothing like this has ever happened to me before in my life. National Geographic is known around the world for its iconic photography.

Now we're asking you to inspire us with images you take over the next three days, and we're providing each of you with a Mazda CX-30 to inspire you out on the road. Get those quests! Assignment Inspiration is about understanding the world around you and capturing that as a photographer, and having it resonate and inspire people.

For this assignment, you will be judged on your ability to photograph images that convey three different ideas. These quests were really inspired by my trip to Hiroshima. I was able to take away what amounted to some really life-changing concepts. These are big ideas, and they came from simple interactions that I had with the people in the natural environment.

I met craftsmen who embodied the Japanese tradition of Takumi. Takumi means, in Japanese, a master craftsman. But it is so much more than that; it's not just a job, it's a passion. It's a total dedication to a single skill. Just like the Takumi in Japan that helps shape and design our cars, it's not something that can be trained in weeks, months, or years—it's decades in the making.

It's really about pouring all of your own life experience and emotion into your work so that when people who you share your work with see it, they really can feel what you felt. You guys ready? All right, good luck!

These quests are not easy. We're looking for our five images from each quest. They can only choose one location per quest. They only have three hours in each location. They have no idea what they're gonna find until they get there. And on top of that, they have camera crews all around them all the time.

"Hi, I'm Beth."
"Hi, how's it going?"
"I'm Kazuki, nice to meet you!"

Today I am shooting a glass artist. I was trying to think creatively about what would look really cool for light. I love that they use fire, and you know there's a lot of motions because they spin. So I want to be able to play with motion. I think this is really cool. I'm fascinated! Is this too close for this?
"No, you're good as long as you're not feeling the heat."

I think what I'm most interested in exploring is the process. I definitely feel the spirit of Takumi here. The goal here is to stretch it across the studio. I think he's putting his soul into his art so that people can see that it shines through.

We're looking for our three photographers to capture images that of course have incredible composition and beautiful color. But there's a second layer to any image, and the real root of that is inspiration. We're trying to capture not just technical mastery, but spirit and soul.

Today we're at Jetson Studios, home of some really cool stained glass craftsmen. One thing that's really cool about this place is it's been around for generations, so they've really had time to perfect their work.

"Hey, Sam Tippits, Dave Johnson, good to see you!"
"Nice to meet you, thanks for coming!"

You all been around since the '57, 1890s? The company was started by my great-great-grandfather. What I've seen is that each generation has its own kind of mark on the process. The reason I really chose this place was other people that work here, but I knew that this studio was kind of renowned. I knew that everyone working here had to be really dedicated.

I'm really interested in capturing their passions. A big part of what I think is going to show in my photography are certain traditions that uphold and it kind of connects to our ancestors.

"And how long have you been working with stained glass?"
"35 years."
"Longer than I've been alive."

We are at El Matador State Beach. I'm going to be meeting Ashley Polsky, a miniature landscape artist.

"Oh my goodness! I feel like I'm like nervous tonight; you're like a celebrity to me!"

So I've been following Ashley Polsky on Instagram for a while, putting her artwork inside of a mint tin. You see not only the landscape but the palette that she used, and it's really cool to have both the destination and the journey.

"I feel very connected to you because of your connection with medicine."

She is a medical student, and I am a medical doctor. There's the similarity between us. I can understand the need to find something outside of medicine that can re-energize you, ground you, balance you.

She is very thoughtful, methodical each brush stroke. I'm seeing her essence. I feel like I'm witnessing a master at work!

Takumi, in the case of photography, it's not only about the technical mastery of photography, it's about connecting with the person that's in the photograph so that when you share it and people see it, they'll feel everything that you felt in the moment when you made that photograph.

"I like it! How long have you been doing it?"
"I've been blowing glass for about 14 years."

I made a point of looking to find somebody that had a message behind their art; that's really important to me. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and that kind of makes me who I am and feeds into my creativity.

I've struggled with mental health since I can remember. I was 13 when I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I love that he's trying to bring awareness to it; it's really cool.

"In the dark, yeah."
"Photography is my therapy. It definitely keeps me balanced. It's my time where I can just kind of clear my head and still be artistic."

In darkness, there is beauty. I think you're able to put that into your work. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these photographers. This is a moment they have to embrace, and my hope is that these challenges push them in new ways.

"Excuse me, can I just scoot on that side of you, or like, and have you over here?"
"Yeah, you're perfect!"

I think time management's a little bit of a struggle. I tend to get kind of sucked into one shot. If I'm really interested, I want to push myself a lot, and I'm definitely feeling that pressure.

I'm taking photos really quickly because I feel like I'm super rushed. Even though I have three hours, I really want to get a shot of the miniature right on top of the actual landscape that she's painting.

I'm getting so excited, and then it never fails—there's a person that walks right into the arch and messes up the light.

"Yeah, this lady is... it's for the gram!"

It's a beautiful scene. I don't begrudge people for wanting to experience it as well. I never tell someone to move; I don't have it in me.

I feel frustrated.
"Oh, now I have to go talk to them and I feel uncomfortable."

"I can do this!"
"Excuse me, I'm sorry, is it okay if I get a clear shot? I'm so sorry, guys!"

Oh, that was so painful!

[Applause]

I think this is gonna be a good one. My goal always is to reflect what I saw and to do that scene justice. I really hope that the photos I took do that.

I had no idea how much went into this. Wow, that makes for some really cool pictures. You see it?

"Yeah, I think I nailed today's assignment! I got some really great light off the heat sources."

I got really excited to go through the pictures. I wouldn't say that I'm interested in getting the prettiest photos; I want people to see my photos, and I want them to say, "I want to know more about what's going on."

Her arms sort of mirror the painting she's doing. It's life imitates art, or does art imitate life?

So everything, it's definitely going to be a challenge to choose my images. I want it to be a cohesive set of photos. I want it to feel like a story.

[Applause]