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This Is Where Nat Geo Hacks Their Cameras To Do More

Dec 9, 2014 by Udi Tirosh 4 Comments

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National Geographic is known for capturing unbelievable photographs. For some of their stories they have cameras diving into the deep oceans, hand on trees, or left behind for weeks to capture a rare mating in a desolated jungle.

While Nat Geo also uses stock Nikon Cameras, they do modify them sometimes in what could only be dubbed the heavens of camera hackery labs. The lab, led by Kenji Yamaguchi – Nat Geo Chief Maker, converts cameras, lenses and strobes for specific needs. Nat Geo’s Proof did a full story and video on Kenji, giving a glimpse into the wonderful world of Nat Geo’s camera hackery.

… Kenji builds contraptions that can’t be bought. When a photographer needs to fasten a camera onto a thirty-foot pole to capture a bird in her nest, or build a wide-angle macro lense to identify pollen on a flower with mountains in the background, he’ll call Kenji

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An example of such a device is the one enabling photographer David Doubilet to capture gorgeous half submerged photo at Suruga Bay, Japan below. Or photographer Steve Winters to get extreme close ups of big cats.

Photograph By David Doubilet / national geographic

Photograph By David Doubilet / national geographic

Kenji has held this job for 32 years. I think I would too.

[The Magic Starts Here: Kenji’s Workshop of Camera Wizardry | Proof via gizmodo]

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Filed Under: news Tagged With: camera hacks, Kenji Yamaguchi, National Geographic

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

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Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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