I got started in photography kind of by
accident I was in a journalism program
and got a camera and decided I’d take a
class just to learn how to use the
camera and two weeks later I changed my
major my whole life I thought I’d be a
writer and and there was something about
being in that class going into a dark
room watching you know being that kind
of dark wonderful place watching images
come up that touched me and I realized
that’s that’s what I wanted to do the
first camera I had was a Canon FTB and I
had been dating a guy who was a
photographer in the Navy and I had some
money and he picked up that camera for
me when he was over in Japan at that
time you know you could get your cameras
much more cheaply if you actually went
to Japan so he brought it back and I
took a class to learn how to use it in
voilá
Bob Kalka was the legendary and beloved
and visionary director of photography
for National Geographic for about thirty
five years I was in the darkroom of this
little paper in southern Minnesota and
mr. gillich I knew that it was a great
paper and in those days he was very
hands-on he knew what his editors were
looking for and they were looking for a
really strong hale picture so when he
read that there’d been a devastating
hailstorm in that area he just picked up
the phone called the paper I was in the
darkroom I answered the call and said
yes sir I can go get a picture of that
for you and that was the first picture I
ever had published in National
Geographic and it’s so funny because I
had not seen that picture in over 30
years
until last week and they found it in the
archive and sent it to me
and it wasn’t too bad it was pretty good
picture in my career I’ve been fortunate
enough to work for many different
publications and and different kinds of
projects and assignments but the the
constant thread through my life has been
National Geographic it’s it’s been my my
you know my home for 30 years now and
and I feel lucky that in addition to
just taking pictures I’ve been able to
do projects with the geographic and
exhibits books articles just so many
different things work with the kids
magazine and the outreach programs it’s
just been fantastic
our kids have traveled to every
continent except Antarctica more
importantly when we travel they’ve lived
in communities we never stayed in hotels
and so they were always in little
communities where they were hanging out
with kids and sometimes they had
language in common and many times they
did not and they’ve learned how to have
fun the way those kids had fun and
they’re very confident travelers our
daughter you know has she’s 18 now and
she has no problem hopping on a plane
and going overseas and it is not a
stressful thing for her she really is
excited about it and and remembers all
of our trips with you know enthusiasm
and memory great memories so and I think
they also are kids I think I kids also
understand that people all over the
world are different that you don’t
assume that that they are going to be
the same as we are but that if you go
into each culture open and and look
people in the eye and observe and listen
you’re going to make connections that
are well beyond what most travelers get
to see and I think what I’ve learned
from my kids is how delightful
flexibility is and how naturally
flexible most kids are as long as
they’ve got the basics you know food and
sleep and little something to keep them
entertained they pretty much can set up
camp anywhere
almost everything’s been photographed
and so the real challenge for a
photographer is to bring her or his own
unique vision to that subject matter and
in the case of the work that I do on
assignment is primarily telling a story
that is compelling enough where you know
the photograph is compelling enough to
get people interested in reading the
captions or what’s going on and
hopefully that will lead them into a
more in-depth written piece it’s a it’s
a wonderful terrible job because you get
this opportunity to go out and do it but
then you’re supposed to do it better
than it’s ever been done before and and
that’s the only way I’ve worked I’m
going to work that way for so many years
that I don’t even think about it anymore
except that I definitely get panicked at
the beginning of every project because I
figured this is the one where I’m going
to bomb this is the one where I’m I’m
going to fall on my face and I think
that’s that’s out of respect for my
colleagues that’s out of a deep
knowledge of how talented my colleagues
are and how hard they work so it turns
you into your own worst boss you end up
pushing yourself harder than any any
boss you have ever had because you want
to bring back exactly what you’ve been
sent for
what what traveling has taught me is
that once you you know you step into
another culture and you allow yourself
to really immerse yourself in another
culture and be available to them
communication happens very quickly and
it doesn’t require perfect language
skills
it doesn’t require introductions it
really it’s really something that
happens when you you are your honest
self when you recognize that you’re a
guest in another culture and that you
really need to listen to people on a
different level and abide by their way
of doing things that’s the best part of
travel for me in fact it’s kind of
spoiled regular travel for me because
the camera it has always given me an
opportunity to walk up to people and
spend time with them and even go home
with them
I think one of the most inspirational
parts of about photography is that
you’re you’re never done you’re always
growing and when you travel you’re
always learning so to have a career
where I’m I get to be creative I’m
immersed in really interesting
situations and I continue to grow
artistically what’s better than that
accident I was in a journalism program
and got a camera and decided I’d take a
class just to learn how to use the
camera and two weeks later I changed my
major my whole life I thought I’d be a
writer and and there was something about
being in that class going into a dark
room watching you know being that kind
of dark wonderful place watching images
come up that touched me and I realized
that’s that’s what I wanted to do the
first camera I had was a Canon FTB and I
had been dating a guy who was a
photographer in the Navy and I had some
money and he picked up that camera for
me when he was over in Japan at that
time you know you could get your cameras
much more cheaply if you actually went
to Japan so he brought it back and I
took a class to learn how to use it in
voilá
Bob Kalka was the legendary and beloved
and visionary director of photography
for National Geographic for about thirty
five years I was in the darkroom of this
little paper in southern Minnesota and
mr. gillich I knew that it was a great
paper and in those days he was very
hands-on he knew what his editors were
looking for and they were looking for a
really strong hale picture so when he
read that there’d been a devastating
hailstorm in that area he just picked up
the phone called the paper I was in the
darkroom I answered the call and said
yes sir I can go get a picture of that
for you and that was the first picture I
ever had published in National
Geographic and it’s so funny because I
had not seen that picture in over 30
years
until last week and they found it in the
archive and sent it to me
and it wasn’t too bad it was pretty good
picture in my career I’ve been fortunate
enough to work for many different
publications and and different kinds of
projects and assignments but the the
constant thread through my life has been
National Geographic it’s it’s been my my
you know my home for 30 years now and
and I feel lucky that in addition to
just taking pictures I’ve been able to
do projects with the geographic and
exhibits books articles just so many
different things work with the kids
magazine and the outreach programs it’s
just been fantastic
our kids have traveled to every
continent except Antarctica more
importantly when we travel they’ve lived
in communities we never stayed in hotels
and so they were always in little
communities where they were hanging out
with kids and sometimes they had
language in common and many times they
did not and they’ve learned how to have
fun the way those kids had fun and
they’re very confident travelers our
daughter you know has she’s 18 now and
she has no problem hopping on a plane
and going overseas and it is not a
stressful thing for her she really is
excited about it and and remembers all
of our trips with you know enthusiasm
and memory great memories so and I think
they also are kids I think I kids also
understand that people all over the
world are different that you don’t
assume that that they are going to be
the same as we are but that if you go
into each culture open and and look
people in the eye and observe and listen
you’re going to make connections that
are well beyond what most travelers get
to see and I think what I’ve learned
from my kids is how delightful
flexibility is and how naturally
flexible most kids are as long as
they’ve got the basics you know food and
sleep and little something to keep them
entertained they pretty much can set up
camp anywhere
almost everything’s been photographed
and so the real challenge for a
photographer is to bring her or his own
unique vision to that subject matter and
in the case of the work that I do on
assignment is primarily telling a story
that is compelling enough where you know
the photograph is compelling enough to
get people interested in reading the
captions or what’s going on and
hopefully that will lead them into a
more in-depth written piece it’s a it’s
a wonderful terrible job because you get
this opportunity to go out and do it but
then you’re supposed to do it better
than it’s ever been done before and and
that’s the only way I’ve worked I’m
going to work that way for so many years
that I don’t even think about it anymore
except that I definitely get panicked at
the beginning of every project because I
figured this is the one where I’m going
to bomb this is the one where I’m I’m
going to fall on my face and I think
that’s that’s out of respect for my
colleagues that’s out of a deep
knowledge of how talented my colleagues
are and how hard they work so it turns
you into your own worst boss you end up
pushing yourself harder than any any
boss you have ever had because you want
to bring back exactly what you’ve been
sent for
what what traveling has taught me is
that once you you know you step into
another culture and you allow yourself
to really immerse yourself in another
culture and be available to them
communication happens very quickly and
it doesn’t require perfect language
skills
it doesn’t require introductions it
really it’s really something that
happens when you you are your honest
self when you recognize that you’re a
guest in another culture and that you
really need to listen to people on a
different level and abide by their way
of doing things that’s the best part of
travel for me in fact it’s kind of
spoiled regular travel for me because
the camera it has always given me an
opportunity to walk up to people and
spend time with them and even go home
with them
I think one of the most inspirational
parts of about photography is that
you’re you’re never done you’re always
growing and when you travel you’re
always learning so to have a career
where I’m I get to be creative I’m
immersed in really interesting
situations and I continue to grow
artistically what’s better than that
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