NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION

WASHINGTON (Oct. 2, 2009)—In a landmark publishing event, National Geographic presents its most expansive and sumptuous photography book ever, showcasing 120 years of world history, natural history and culture chronicled and preserved in the Society's unique archive of more than 11.5 million images. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION (National Geographic Focal Point; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0503-3; Oct. 6, 2009; $50; hardcover) is the largest single volume of world-renowned National Geographic photographs published by the organization that has set the gold standard for photographic coverage of the world.

Photography excellence is one of the foundations on which National Geographic is built, and its image collection, fittingly housed beneath the Society's headquarters building in Washington, D.C., is one of the finest, most extensive graphic resources on Earth.

The 500-page NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION allows readers for the first time to plumb the fascinating depths of this immense and ever-growing archive, from the earliest photographs collected in the 19th century to the cutting-edge work of today. Both iconic and never-before-seen images from virtually every corner of the globe, an array of wildlife and people, and amazing achievements in exploration, adventure, science and more are placed in historic, artistic, technical and journalistic context.

Spanning 12 decades of world events and photographic evolution, the book covers a cornucopia of subjects. From mountaineering in the Alps in the 1890s to Hiram Bingham's 1913 images of Machu Picchu to images of Alexander Graham Bell and Albert Einstein to the first aerial, flash, night, underwater and space photographs, this volume is a must for everyone who loves history or photography or has been captivated by National Geographic magazine.

"We are one of the few repositories that document the entire 20th century and the beginnings of the 21st century," says Maura Mulvihill, vice president, National Geographic Image Collection. "Our photographers focus not only on newsworthy events, but also on social documentation of the whole world and all its inhabitants. We have always made images of the things that people do in day-to-day life, the life that goes on outside of giant events. These images have a unique social and cultural value."

The work of 204 of the finest and most celebrated photographers in the world is included — from Maynard Owen Williams, Volkmar Wentzel and Luis Marden to James Stanfield, Sam Abell, Steve McCurry and Annie Griffiths Belt. Some 400 of their finest color and black-and-white images are presented, divided into four themes: Exploration, Wildlife, People & Culture, and Science & Climate Change.

Following the lavish visual journey through more than a century of photographic highlights is a behind-the-scenes profile of the entire Image Collection, including the delicate Autochromes, of which there are nearly 15,000 — one of the finest assemblages of these glass color transparencies in the world; the nearly 500,000 black-and-white prints, only a fraction of which have ever been published; the color transparencies, which played a central role in the evolution of National Geographic photography; and digital, which has opened new vistas for the photographers and which is growing rapidly every day.

There is also a listing of the artists, including N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth, whose fine maps, drawings, paintings, engravings and illustrations have graced the pages of National Geographic publications over the past 120 years. Finally, profiles of the 204 photographers represented in the book are a fitting tribute to those without whose tireless and brilliant efforts National Geographic's Image Collection would not exist.

In her introductory essay, Michelle Delaney, curator of the photographic history collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, provides a historical perspective of the National Geographic Image Collection, an archive she calls "a hidden treasure — millions of photographs that are rarely if ever seen, but are preserved with meticulous care for future research and publication."

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m., in a lecture presented by National Geographic Live and Kodak at National Geographic headquarters, National Geographic magazine editor in chief and wildlife photographer Chris Johns, "National Geographic Image Collection" editor Leah Bendavid-Val and Image Collection vice president Maura Mulvihill will be joined by photographers David Doubilet, Maria Stenzel, Michael Yamashita and Kodak digital photography pioneer Steve Sasson for an inside look at National Geographic's remarkable photography trove.

Also sponsored by Kodak, a major exhibition of nearly 90 images featured in the book will be held at National Geographic from Oct. 1, 2009, to April 12, 2010. For more than a century, National Geographic and Kodak have shared in breakthroughs in every sphere of traditional and digital photography. Kodak technology has made many of the pictures in the book possible, and the book itself was produced using Kodak digital prepress technology, including software, computer-to-plate machines and digital printing plates.

AN AMERICAN FAMILY: Three Decades with the McGarveys

WASHINGTON (Oct. 1, 2009)--In 1977 photojournalist Pam Spaulding set out to record the unscripted, everyday life of the McGarvey family of Louisville, Ky. They had just had their first baby, and the project -- to document the lives of new parents -- was supposed to last one year. Thirty years, two more children and one wedding later, the project finally came to an end. The result is the richest photographic record of a single family ever made. This unique, revealing and engaging group portrait is showcased in a new book from National Geographic, AN AMERICAN FAMILY: Three Decades with the McGarveys (National Geographic Focal Point; Oct. 20, 2009; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0504-0; $35; hardcover).

Whether you think of it as the ultimate in time-lapse photography or a reality show begun decades before its time, this intimate, 30-year look at one middle-class family is Americana at its most evocative. The remarkable collection of images peers into every aspect of the McGarvey family's life to produce an album that is instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever shared the American experience.

From listening to a bedtime story to decorating the Christmas tree, from playing a card game around the kitchen table to marching in a Fourth of July parade, and from fishing with a grandparent to buying a prom gown to mourning the death of a family pet, Spaulding captures scenes of everyday life that are deeply personal, yet familiar to us all. Her thoughtful, sensitive black-and-white photographs, taken from a unique "fly-on-the wall" perspective, eloquently embody the experiences of our era and preserve a tableau of American 20th-century life for posterity.

Many of Spaulding's images of John and Judy McGarvey and their children, David, Morgan and Sara, have never before been published and most were unseen by the family members until they were interviewed for this book. Indeed, in her three decades of documenting the family, Spaulding was so unobtrusive and she blended into the background so well that when the McGarveys saw the photographs for the first time, they all said in almost identical words, "I had no idea Pam was there and took that photograph."

Pam captured every facet of the McGarveys' lives. From proud young parents to their kids squabbling in the back seat of the car to the next generation of newlyweds, it's all here -- love, humor, intimacy, sadness, joy, loyalty.

Complementing the 175 images is text by author Claude Cookman, who profiles each of the family members. "The McGarveys have made an extraordinary gift," he writes. "Through Pam's photographs, they have opened their lives without reservation to the readers of this book. Viewers will find their own experiences confirmed in photograph after photograph.

"However special the McGarvey family is, Pam Spaulding's project is equally unique. It seems unlikely a document of this scope, duration, and subtlety will ever be duplicated. ... Her photographs rise to the level of art, because her wisdom, her sensitivity, and her photographic vision shaped the reality in front of her camera to match her conception of a family living the American dream."

Photographer Sam Abell, who encouraged and mentored Pam during the project, echoes those sentiments in his "Appreciation" of Spaulding at the end of the book. "The project required a unique, trusting relationship between a family and a photographer. The result is one they can both be proud of. For as surely as this book is a vivid portrait of the McGarveys, it is also, more subtly, a portrait of Pam. Quietly and thoughtfully, only she was present when each of these photographs was made," Abell writes.

Spaulding, who lives in Louisville, Ky., has been a photojournalist at the Louisville Courier-Journal for 37 years and has won numerous awards for her work. In 1972 she was the first woman to win the Hearst Award for Photojournalism. She contributed to the photography that won the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of court-ordered busing in Jefferson County, Ky. In 1984-85 she was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.

Note: To arrange an interview with Pam Spaulding or members of the McGarvey family, contact Penelope Dackis at (202) 857-7335 or pdackis@ngs.org.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION

WASHINGTON (Oct. 2, 2009)—In a landmark publishing event, National Geographic presents its most expansive and sumptuous photography book ever, showcasing 120 years of world history, natural history and culture chronicled and preserved in the Society's unique archive of more than 11.5 million images. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION (National Geographic Focal Point; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0503-3; Oct. 6, 2009; $50; hardcover) is the largest single volume of world-renowned National Geographic photographs published by the organization that has set the gold standard for photographic coverage of the world.

Photography excellence is one of the foundations on which National Geographic is built, and its image collection, fittingly housed beneath the Society's headquarters building in Washington, D.C., is one of the finest, most extensive graphic resources on Earth.

The 500-page NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION allows readers for the first time to plumb the fascinating depths of this immense and ever-growing archive, from the earliest photographs collected in the 19th century to the cutting-edge work of today. Both iconic and never-before-seen images from virtually every corner of the globe, an array of wildlife and people, and amazing achievements in exploration, adventure, science and more are placed in historic, artistic, technical and journalistic context.

Spanning 12 decades of world events and photographic evolution, the book covers a cornucopia of subjects. From mountaineering in the Alps in the 1890s to Hiram Bingham's 1913 images of Machu Picchu to images of Alexander Graham Bell and Albert Einstein to the first aerial, flash, night, underwater and space photographs, this volume is a must for everyone who loves history or photography or has been captivated by National Geographic magazine.

"We are one of the few repositories that document the entire 20th century and the beginnings of the 21st century," says Maura Mulvihill, vice president, National Geographic Image Collection. "Our photographers focus not only on newsworthy events, but also on social documentation of the whole world and all its inhabitants. We have always made images of the things that people do in day-to-day life, the life that goes on outside of giant events. These images have a unique social and cultural value."

The work of 204 of the finest and most celebrated photographers in the world is included — from Maynard Owen Williams, Volkmar Wentzel and Luis Marden to James Stanfield, Sam Abell, Steve McCurry and Annie Griffiths Belt. Some 400 of their finest color and black-and-white images are presented, divided into four themes: Exploration, Wildlife, People & Culture, and Science & Climate Change.

Following the lavish visual journey through more than a century of photographic highlights is a behind-the-scenes profile of the entire Image Collection, including the delicate Autochromes, of which there are nearly 15,000 — one of the finest assemblages of these glass color transparencies in the world; the nearly 500,000 black-and-white prints, only a fraction of which have ever been published; the color transparencies, which played a central role in the evolution of National Geographic photography; and digital, which has opened new vistas for the photographers and which is growing rapidly every day.

There is also a listing of the artists, including N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth, whose fine maps, drawings, paintings, engravings and illustrations have graced the pages of National Geographic publications over the past 120 years. Finally, profiles of the 204 photographers represented in the book are a fitting tribute to those without whose tireless and brilliant efforts National Geographic's Image Collection would not exist.

In her introductory essay, Michelle Delaney, curator of the photographic history collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, provides a historical perspective of the National Geographic Image Collection, an archive she calls "a hidden treasure — millions of photographs that are rarely if ever seen, but are preserved with meticulous care for future research and publication."

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m., in a lecture presented by National Geographic Live and Kodak at National Geographic headquarters, National Geographic magazine editor in chief and wildlife photographer Chris Johns, "National Geographic Image Collection" editor Leah Bendavid-Val and Image Collection vice president Maura Mulvihill will be joined by photographers David Doubilet, Maria Stenzel, Michael Yamashita and Kodak digital photography pioneer Steve Sasson for an inside look at National Geographic's remarkable photography trove.

Also sponsored by Kodak, a major exhibition of nearly 90 images featured in the book will be held at National Geographic from Oct. 1, 2009, to April 12, 2010. For more than a century, National Geographic and Kodak have shared in breakthroughs in every sphere of traditional and digital photography. Kodak technology has made many of the pictures in the book possible, and the book itself was produced using Kodak digital prepress technology, including software, computer-to-plate machines and digital printing plates.
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  • Photography and Art