Meeting Sam Abell
On February 22, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting the renowned National Geographic photographer, Sam Abell.
Sam Abell’s Father
Hearing his life story in person was enchanting. He grew up with his father teaching him the ways of photography, working with him in a darkroom in their house. Now he has landed two photos in the “Top 50 National Geographic Photos of All Time”.
In his presentation, he focused greatly on layering. He was very particular about how he positioned everything, so nothing was overlapping. When taking this photo, he had to decide in a split-second whether to include the red bucket or not. As shown, even during this brief window of opportunity when the man was walking through the frame, he made sure it wasn’t blocking anything else in the photograph. He strongly believes that this easily corrupts the layering, wiping out the depth of the photo.
For this photo, he showed his many attempts before he achieved this. He tried getting closer, taking the curtain down, or showing people on the street, but none of them clicked in his head. For this photo in particular, another point greatly accentuated in his speaking was waiting for the perfect moment. He said that this was his off-day, “but photographers don’t ever have an off-day.”
One thing Sam said that intrigued me was when he was talking about his favorite photos. He simply stated that the ones he loved the most were the ones he couldn’t memorize. He had taken two photos of a snake. One was a snake on a wooden paddle. The other was an unpublished photo of a snake slithering into a lake. As much as magazines liked the first one, he expressed his love for the latter, for the emotion and scenery could never be fully engraved in his mind. Another example was when he talked about losing his single lens reflex (SLR) cameras on a canoeing trip. He had lost so many beautiful photos, and went on a walk to ponder his thoughts. He came across a fallen tree that had been hurt by the storm, just like him. He took a picture of the landscape from underneath it, and it became one of his favorite photos.
He shared many other anecdotes with us, like the time he encountered a sloth in his travels, in a location and climate where the chances of that are astronomical. He discovered it was carrying a baby underneath it, and once again waited for that perfect moment. He also shared the story of the time he encountered a bison on one of his explorations.
Sam Abell has published many books, such as The Photographic Life. The cover photo was a picture of Sam and his father decades ago, and he chose it because it was how his photographic life was founded.
After his talk, I finally met him personally, and showed him my favorite photograph I’ve composed.
My little brother crying.
To my delight, he expressed his interest in this photo, especially in the emotion. He gave me great feedback, and told me that there are so many little elements in this photo, as well as any photo, that make it a composition. He had a recurring statement about photography during the entire presentation: “I didn’t take this photo, I made it.” He waits patiently for the moment, he analyzes layers and lines, he incorporates photographic styles, he thinks about the colors in every photo, and looks for every possibility for a great composition.
I realize that I might never be in contact with Sam Abell again, but I would still like to thank him for all that he did for me in just one day. Mr. Abell, you started out as a summer intern for National Geographic, and worked your way up to staff. You were never offered any photography courses like I was, but still prevailed in what you loved to do. Thank you for being a part of my life, you have forever inspired me.
Great post! and congratz on the NPR photo contest
Thanks Nathan!
Oh my! This is so cool!!
As a photographer, we are all trying to bring out an emotion in use. This image does just that. Very Nice Job!
Thanks Kenny. Emotion has such a strong play in life everyday, and I love to bring that out in photography. Hope you come back for more photos soon!
Great post and great lessons! Thanks for sharing! The photo of your younger brother is fantastic – the composition, tone, and emotion are beautiful!
Thanks John! Yes, yes, yes! Those are all the compositional elements I was aiming for, you’re on fire! Thanks for the comment!
great moody portrait
Thank you!
Awww that photo of your brother is so sweet!!
. Jealous that you went to this talk sounds as if it was really interesting!
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Kepp up the good work
Jo
Thanks! Yes, it was a very interesting talk, but don’t worry, he has galleries and talks fairly often in many places, you could catch him!
Amazing story. Many lessons to be learned from this one post. What a great opportunity to meet him. Had not been familiar with his work before – thanks for sharing your talk and his work. I love the shot of your younger brother – you have caught so much in such a simple shot – raises it from photo of kid brother to amazing photographic capture of emotion – begging the viewer to ponder the moment. Exceptional art. Congrats on the contest. Well done.
I agree, just in the one talk he gave, he showed everyone in the room huge lessons and pointers, and shared experiences of the failed photos he had taken before he reached perfection. Thanks for the kind words on my brother, I really enjoy the emotion in the photo as well. You have so much wisdom when it comes to seeing elements in photos! You have truly exquisite eyes, and instead of seeing a photo, you see into it!
Really inspiring and also educational post. I have never thought of photography that way. I have to say I often find myself struggling to “take” the picture. Concepts of lighting, exposure, aperture, always muddle me and I find myself obsessing over the settings. But why not just pay attention to what is in the picture?! Sounds silly when I say it, simple really. But simplicity is really what we are trying to achieve. We sometimes just have very complicated ways to get there.
Oh and I really agree with him about your photo. It is amazing! Those are the kind of pictures I want to make!
You have some great thoughts on photography. Yes, like he said, sometimes you only have a window of time to take “the” picture, so instead of focusing on the concepts of photography (which are still very important), focus on being in the MOMENT! I don’t think you sound silly at all, I know where you’re coming from! Sometimes the most intricate pictures are the simplest of them all. Thanks for your words on my photograph. Just keep holding on to your camera and you’ll take the photo you want in no time! It’s all about practice, and learning to see through the viewfinder.
Lucky! The National Geographic photographer I admire and would love to meet one day is Joel Sartori. There was a PBS special on him, and if it ever plays again, you really should check it out. I also love Art Wolf.
Ooh, I hadn’t heard of Joel Sartore, but looked him up and saw some great photos by him! You have good taste in photography! Art Wolfe, I’ve heard of him! I was introduced to him in a photography video my teacher showed me a while ago, and I was hooked! Thanks for commenting, hope you’ll be back soon!
wow, really inspiring!! The emotional quality of your photographs are just magnificent! Hats off to you, Aaron! Well done!
Thanks! I really love emotion, and although it is hard to capture naturally, it’s great when you do.
Dear Aaron,
thank you for a beautiful post on photography. I simply love when people share their meetings with legendary photographers. There is so much to learn from them.
best, Luka
Thanks Luka, I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as I did.
I like the idea of layers, definitely something to work with and draw inspiration from for my photos.
This is a fascinating narrative about a great photographer. YOUR shot of your brother crying is exquisite. Moving. Thank you for posting.
Thanks, I worked hard on this post because the experience meant so much to me. And thanks for the compliment on my photo, it’s one of my favorites for all of the reasons you listed.
looks great! Really nice post! Enjoyed the snake photo
Peace
xandi
Fantastic opportunity, and excellent article!
I can feel how you might have felt while meeting Sam… Even while reading your post I was feeling goosebumps of excitement
I loved your picture too… congrates on NPR photo contest.
Thanks, I was really excited too! Thanks on the NPR bit, it was a very joyous moment when I found out
Great article. Very inspiring.
I enjoyed looking at Sam Abell’s work, but what touched me the most was the photo you took of your brother. He made me remember all the moments that my son cried when he got hurt, or frustrated, or just missed his Mom and Dad…and even if I try not to show my tears, in my heart I was crying because of the sadness on his face. Human emotions are a powerful thing…it can move even the hardest, coldest stone…or heart. Inspiring my friend….
Human emotions are one of the most powerful things in life, mainly because it is hard to overcome them. I know the feeling of seeing someone else in pain, and it’s amazing to hear that one of my photographs has reached out to someone. I remember taking that photo of my brother, we were in the car and he couldn’t stop crying. When he saw me turning my camera on, he told me not to take a picture of him. I pretended to look out the window with my camera, but this is just the one photo I took of him, one where he wasn’t aware of anyone watching him. I talked to Sam Abell about this particular photo, and he told me that I had done the right thing, that the moment was too powerful to disregard. I don’t think this photo will ever leave me, and looking back, I think I knew that the moment after I shot this. But I’m looking forward to even more powerful memories like this in my photographic adventures, and I thank you for sharing yours with me.
wonderful story, very inspiring! =D
“I didn’t take this photo, I made it.” That quote is very inspiring! Thank you for sharing your encounter with Mr. Abell
Thanks, the pleasure is all mine!
Super post. and explanation of how he created his photographs. Love your BW too, very evocative and expressive.
Thank you! It was such a treat to meet him, and I couldn’t help but post about it. Thanks for your kind words on my photo, expect to see more!
Thank you for this really lovely post. You just left a comment on my ‘Sunshine on The Ground’ and I’m so glad to have found your site and this post in particular, which is a beautiful sensitive balance of words and pictures. Sam Abell’s work inspires us all, and your pictures are lovely, especially the one of your brother.
Thank you so much Deborah for your kind words. I am quite inspired by him, and I’m glad other photographers could read my post about him and get the benefit that I did by hearing him speak.