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TV Interview:
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Susan Roesgen National Geographic Today |
| August 8, 2001 |
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National Geographic Today co-host Susan Roesgen talks to National Geographic Traveler magazine editor-in-chief Keith Bellows on his publication's annual photography contest and a special upcoming issue on "Fifty Places of a Lifetime." Susan: Looking at some of these photos of exotic places, Keith, so many amateur photographers would love to take pictures for the National Geographic Society, and through National Geographic Traveler magazine, they can. Keith : They can, and we have been doing this for almost 15 years. We ask amateurs to give us their best shot. Send us a photograph. This year the photograph must be of an American place, person, event, theme, you name it, and we'll pick the best, and the best wins an all-expense-paid trip for two on a safari in southern Africa. Susan: That's a great grand prize! Keith : Absolutely. The second best gets a Windjammer cruise, and we have a lot of other prizes as well. It's about 12 pictures in all that we pick. We publish it in the January/February 2002 issue. Entrants have to get their pictures in to us by August 15, 2001. Susan : That's soon. Only two weeks. Keith: It is right around the corner. Susan: Well, Keith, we have some photographs here of winners from the past year, and what would you say about these photographs? Keith: Well the real thing about these photographs is that you're seeing an interesting world, a world through the photographer's eyes that you don't usually see. This year it's all about America. We're going to be dealing with things that we think are familiar. It's sort of nice to see what people will find in their own backyard to surprise us. Susan: Well now, there is another reason that you have chosen America for this contest this time. Keith: Yes, in October 2001 we are doing "50 Places of a Lifetime," which is a pretty special issue. It's going to have some great photography. We're focusing on urban places, wild spaces. We're focusing on country unbound, paradise found, and national monuments. In those categories we are looking at 50 places that if you want to say that you've seen the best that America has to offer, these are the places to go and see. Susan: Some of these destinations are a secret, you can't tell me which places have been chosen? Keith: No, I could tell you, but I won't tell you. I can tell you who some of the writers are. We've got Teller of Penn and Teller. We've got Calvin Trillin and Cokie Roberts. We've got a lot of really good writers. We have really interesting writers and interesting surprises of photography. I think the essays that we've got here and the places that we picked are really going to be something that people will want to see. Susan: This isn't the first time that you have done this. Keith: A couple of years ago we did our first "50 Places of a Lifetime," but that was the entire world. That magazine became a huge hit. We sold more copies than we ever sell, and it has become a collector's item. In fact, we have gone back to reprint it. It was special in the sense that it did capture the entire world. This time we are going to look at the red, white, and blue. Susan: It will help people appreciate what we have right here; what we tend to overlook. Keith: It will. It will get down to the smaller, more granular places that we couldn't do in the entire world. Susan: I am looking forward to that issue, and also whom you choose as the winners of the photography contest. Keith: Well, stay tuned. National Geographic Today, airing 7 p.m. ET/PT in the United States, is a daily news magazine show available only on the National Geographic Channel. Click here to request it. |
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