A picture is worth a thousand words, and over its long publishing history, National Geographic has told many amazing stories through photographs that have sometimes become iconic images of their time, such as Steve McCurry’s “Afghan Girl.”
To celebrate the magazine’s 125 years, an exhibition “50 Greatest Photographs of National Geographic” has been touring around the world and can now be seen in Singapore at the ArtScience Museum.
As fascinating as the photographs are, the stories behind them and how they came to be produced are equally interesting as these famous images happen sometimes by accident and sometimes with great planning. For the exhibition, each photograph is therefore presented with a “Behind the photograph” short description, presenting insightful details on how they came to be.
“What is it that makes these photographs great? They show a connection. Photography is a medium that really connects people, whether it’s through the frame of the camera, or the relationship that takes place behind the camera, and that’s something that we wanted to convey here,” explains Julia Vasko, project officer at ArtScience Museum.
The exhibition first “introduces” viewers to planet earth and its diversity, and then explores how we are connecting to it, positively and negatively. It also includes some technical insights on the photographs and how the right framing can completely transform the intensity of an image. Six ‘Zoom In’ interactive spaces explain in-depth the “science” behind a good photograph through the themes of light, color, lens, composition, film, and digital processes.
The museum plans to organize several exhibition-related workshops for adults and children.
Click on the slideshow to see some of these great photographs.
The exhibition will run until October 27 at the Art Science Museum, Singapore.
As first published on BlouinArtinfo.com