125 Years Of Capturing The World's Attention...One From The Power Mag Vault

By : Daily Mail Reporter
Published :  26 September, 2013
Follow Daily Mail On Twitter : https://twitter.com/MailOnline

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2432914/125-years-iconic-images-National-Geographic-magazine-commemorates-history-anniversary-issue-celebrating-power-photography.html

National Geographic Magazine is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a special October issue devoted to what the storied institution has done so incredibly well all these years: photography.

The best of the magazine’s award-winning photojournalism is showcased in the anniversary issue, which serves as both a celebration of the magazine’s great work in the past and an introduction to what the National Geographic Society’s future holds.

The issue tells a visual story of the medium that National Geographic has helped to shape, and how it can impact our lives by bearing witness and giving insight to history.

Breathtaking: 2010, Dzitnup, Mexico - Stalactites dangle above a swimmer spotlit by a single sunbeam in the Xkeken cenote, a natural well in the Yucatán thought by the Maya to lead to the underworld.

‘Photography is a powerful tool and form of self-expression,’ said Chris Johns, editor in chief of National Geographic magazine. ‘Sharing what you see and experience through the camera allows you to connect, move and inspire people around the world.’

As part of their 125th anniversary, National Geographic is also giving voice to the readers and viewers who’ve helped drive make the society such an important force in conservation and photojournalism.

On October 1, all photo enthusiasts will be invited to submit photos and participate in a digital assignment for the magazine, as part of a newly designed, photosharing platform called Your Shot. The inaugural Your Shot assignment will be loosely organized around the theme of the October 2013 anniversary issue.

Yee haw! Texas, 1939. A cowgirl dropped a nickel in a parking meter to hitch her pony. When this photo was taken El Paso was still a highly horse-conscious town with many cattle-ranch residents.

Chilling: China, 2011 - Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner checks the ropes the team has spent weeks fixing along the entire route, amounting to 9,000 feet of rope in all.

Humanity: Mumbai, India, 2011 - Seeking to capture the throng in Churchgate Station, Randy Olson coached a local assistant through the laborious process needed to get this shot, because the perfect vantage point was closed to foreigners.

Heartbreaking: Afghanistan, 2010 - Noor Nisa, about 18, was pregnant, and her water had just broken. Her husband was determined to get her to the hospital, but his car broke down, and he went to find another vehicle. The photographer ended up taking Noor Nisa, her mother and her husband to the hospital.

The stunning photos presented here represent some of the best in NGS’s 125 year history.

The essential National Geographic photo, of a young Afghan girl in a Pakistan refugee camp, made the cover of the anniversary issue. It is a fitting choice. It graced the June 1985 cover and became the most famous, iconic cover to date.

A photo of a captive chimp reaching out to touch the forehead of famed primatologist Jane Goodall is both touching and wrenching. A 3,200-year-old sequoia in California inspires awe. A shot of camels foraging while backlit by fires lit oil fields set alight during the Gulf War illuminates the environmental costs of war.

These photos and more give fitting tribute to the legendary National Geographic magazine as it celebrates 125 years.

Desperation: Kuwait, 1991 - Lit by burning oil fields during the Gulf War, camels forage desperately for shrubs and water in southern Kuwait. Front-line photographs of regions ravaged by human strife can also illuminate war's environmental cost.

Connection: Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, 1990 - Jou Jou, a captive chimpanzee, reaches out it's hand to the head of legendary primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall

Cloaked in the snows of California’s Sierra Nevada, the 3,200-year-old giant sequoia called the President rises 247 feet (left) meanshile Steve McCurry's iconic photograph of a young Afghan girl in a Pakistan refugee camp in 1985 became the most famous cover image in the magazine's history

King of the jungle: UGANDA, 2011 - A lion climbs a tree to sleep, in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth Park as a photographer interrupts his slumber with a light.