Sunday Stills: Capturing Chaos

READ: Emotion Is Not the Enemy of Reason View in web browser. Sunday Stills ISSUE 25 Sunday, September 28, 2014 NEWS Fleeing ISIS: Photographer John Stanmeyer Captures the Chaos Photograph by John Stanmeyer Turkey has received more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees since the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which erupted in spring 2011 and quickly morphed into a vicious civil war that spawned multiple extremist groups, including the Islamic State. National Geographic contributing photographer John Stanmeyer has been in Turkey for the last three weeks documenting the plight of refugees there. “The bizarreness of it all is that this was an influx of many middle class people wandering in wearing slacks and dresses and jackets, even carrying elegant handbags,” Stanmeyer recounts. “It’s clearly a group of people that have not migrated like this before ... Seeing them, I feel like I’m photographing myself, I’m witnessing the reality that can befall ... any one of us.” READ THE STORY. Your Shot Time Capsule PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBIN C. For a Your Shot assignment called Time Capsule, photo editor Janna Dotschkal asked for pictures that transcend time, images taken today that, if we didn’t know better, could have been taken at any time. Your Shot member Robin C. delivered. “I always think of the future when I look at this photo of my grandmother celebrating her 90th birthday. She was very proper—not one to tell her age—but on that occasion, she said there was little point in trying to hide it any longer. I imagine her thinking about her long life and looking forward to what was yet to come.” SEE THE PUBLISHED STORY. Video ‘Here’s What We Did. We Don’t Want to Do It Again.’ Near Tucson, Arizona, is the U.S.’s last remaining Titan II missile. It was one of dozens of U.S. nuclear missiles at the height of the Cold War, ready to launch in 58 seconds. Now a national historic landmark, the Titan Missile Museum gives an insider’s look at what might have happened if the Cold War had turned into World War III. WATCH THE VIDEO. PROOF A Frenchman on a Nomad’s Diet PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHIEU PALEY The origins of photographer Matthieu Paley’s documentation of food and culture for National Geographic began in the Pamir Mountains, 14,000 feet above sea level in an area known as the Bam-e Dunya. “Being French, all we ever talk about at the family dinner table, through delicious mouthfuls, is what we have eaten, what we are eating, and what we will be eating,” Paley writes. “For me, food is inseparable from culture, so when I began photographing in Afghanistan’s Pamir Mountains, including this aspect of life felt important. Granted, this is not a place known for its haute cuisine. But that’s exactly the point. We seem to only care about the high end of the culinary chain, the nicely prepared dishes with fancy titles. What interests me here are the eating habits, developed over centuries.” READ THE STORY. PROOF The National Geographic Assignment That Inspired the Movie Tracks In 1977 photographer Rick Smolan was traveling in Australia when he encountered an angry woman in the small town of Alice Springs. The woman was Robyn Davidson—the so-called Camel Lady who undertook a 1,700-mile trek from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean on foot with four camels and a dog as her companions. Tracks—the movie version of her epic journey and evolving relationship with Smolan—opened last week. “[The movie makes] her coldness and nastiness, and my goofiness, very extreme, but I think they did a good job capturing the friendship. When you go through something like that with someone—something that is so emotionally intense—a friendship lasts a really long time,” Smolan says. “She asked me whether I wondered what would’ve happened if we’d stayed together—and I said we’d probably be divorced and hate each other now.” READ THE STORY. Show Your Support: SHOP DONATE SUBSCRIBE TRAVEL BECOME A MEMBER You are receiving this email because bpi.hgmp.jusgein@blogger.com is signed up to receive National Geographic communications. If you prefer not to receive emails from us, please unsubscribe. To ensure that you receive your National Geographic emails, please add ngs@e.nationalgeographic.com to your address book now. Learn how. Contact Us | Privacy Policy | About Us | Customer Service National Geographic | 1145 17th Street N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036 Copyright © 2014 National Geographic Society. All Rights Reserved.