Inside Nat Geo’s ‘Stunning Photographs’

WASHINGTON — For every photograph featured in a print edition of
National Geographic, thousands of mesmerizing images are rejected.

It’s hard to imagine finding faults with these photos — all of them are taken
by the world’s best photographers who spend weeks or even months on
assignment,
often in unfathomably uncomfortable conditions.

Longtime National Geographic shutterbug Annie Griffiths knows how painstaking
the vetting process can become and how many stunning photos are filed away,
never to be seen by anyone on the outside.

Instead of committing these images to some long-forgotten vault, Griffiths set
out to turn them into yet another tabletop book.

The goal behind “Stunning Photographs” is “for people to open any page and be
blown away,” she says.

“For every story, there are thousands of pictures shot, and there can be a
million reasons some of them never get published,” Griffiths explains.

“There is a treasure trove of fantastic imagery. It’s like releasing
butterflies.”

The 10-year National Geographic veteran waxes poetic about the book she
curated. Griffiths handpicked every photo, and says that each one spoke to her
in some way.

Some explode with color; others show emotional connections between people; yet
others tell a story few know.

“Those are my favorite assignments,” she says. “I love illuminating a topic
that people don’t really understand.”

Click through the gallery to see examples of stunning photos that never made
it into Nat Geo. And click here for more information on the book.

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