Take a journey with two National Geographic photographers as they capture the magic of two unique cities with the NX10. Discover the natural beauty of Chengdu, China, with Tyrone Turner then experience the fiery culture of Barcelona, Spain, with Landon Nordeman. Their photos will inspire you to see the world through the NX10. See Slideshow
The world is getting smaller.
Thanks to expanding airline routes, improving global infrastructures and the tremendous research capabilities of the Internet, there’s practically nowhere on Earth you can’t reach in a day.
Technology is getting smaller too.
The NX10 from Samsung packs all the power of a robust SLR camera into a form so compact that you can pack it wherever you go on our ever shrinking planet— and be ready to capture the beauty and diversity of its people, the grandeur of its landscapes and the inspiration of its man-made treasures.
In fact, two of today’s most accomplished National Geographic photographers did just that. Tyrone Turner brought the Samsung NX10 to the city and mountains of Chengdu, China, where he found it perfectly suited to shoot dramatic landscapes in often misty lighting conditions. Landon Nordeman took the NX10 to Barcelona where the compact size allowed him to take candid portraits that provide a glimpse into the heart of a fiery culture.
Here we present twenty of the best shots created as a result of a wonderful partnership—the talent of the photographers teamed with the technology of the NX10. The captions describe the magic of the moments in the photographer’s own words. We hope you enjoy the journey…
We were walking through a park in Chengdu and from a distance I saw people feeding the swans. I approached in order to explore further and saw that the swans and the fish were competing for the food. It was a beautiful sight, with the colorful fish in a mass and the dark swan gingerly swimming through them. I shot a lot of images, trying to get one where the swan and the fish looked the best.
This is the scene in the dressing room of actors preparing for their performance in one of the Sichuan Operas of Chengdu. The vibrant colors and the subdued light really looked beautiful, and the 30 mm f2 lens performed so well in these low-light conditions. I was able to catch a moment of quiet thoughtfulness as the actors put on their costumes
On Mt. Emei, one of the four sacred mountains in China, I saw a lot of life, from plants and animals to smaller insects. This beetle with its large pincers caught my eye, and I was moved to take this photo—especially since the branch on which the bug sits has such rich color and texture.
The location is a small pagoda near the QingYin Monastery on Mt. Emei. I just loved the timeless look of the scene, with the pagoda almost being swallowed by lush green vegetation, and the two streams flowing by. I was pleased that the camera kept the beautiful richness of the color tones of the scene, without it becoming too green nor too flat.
This was at the top of Mt. Emei, at the Golden Summit Temple. The area is very misty and foggy, with the sun rarely breaking through. At the temple, there are racks where pilgrims and visitors place their candles—their prayers are supposed to travel with the smoke of the candles up to the heavens. It made for such a wonderfully mysterious scene, with the Chinese temple architecture shrouded in mist, and the candles’ flames adding just a touch of light in the greyness.
The giant pandas are such beautiful creatures, and I was inspired by their normal routines, playing, walking, eating. I saw these two munching on bamboo and knew it would make a great shot.
When I saw the candles lit in front of the statue of the Buddha on the top of Mt. Emei, I thought that a low angle, with the smoke from the candles partially obscuring the background, would make a powerful picture.
There were a number of waterfalls on Mt. Emei, but none quite as dramatic as this one. To get to this angle I had to take off my shoes, roll up my pants, and wade into the very cold water. I think it was worth it.
These candles at one of the monasteries on Mt. Emei give the feeling of spirituality and warmth. The sharp focus and light in the foreground contrasts nicely with the softer focus and glow found deeper in. The reflective surfaces of the oil and brass cups themselves make the light even more visible in the photo.
Pilgrims visit the monasteries on the mountain in order to pray and receive blessings. As well, people will buy these locks and ribbons for good luck and put them on the chain railings around the monastery—they have brief sayings on them that represent their wishes. There was this overcast, misty feel on the mountain so you get this kind of diffuse light coming through the ribbons. As a result, the color becomes a lot more saturated as opposed to what it would be like in harsh sunlight. It really is quite a nice condition for rich colors.
In this image I was drawn to the light beaming into the windows of this bus and the deep brown color of the seats. I used the repetition of form of the seats to help this woman stand out. The ability to zoom to 55mm allowed me to react quickly to the situation, and I used the lens not to capture action, but to zoom and crop out of the frame any unnecessary elements that would have distracted from the lone woman.
This image uses silhouette, color, and stop-motion as well as an interplay between foreground and background to complete the effect. Because of the unique shape of the juggling pins, I knew that I could silhouette these two gentlemen. You can see that they’re juggling without identifying either one of them. The thing I like about the picture is the added layer of information the viewer receives from looking around the frame and into the background.
This foam party provided a unique environment in which to shoot. Unique environments are something I always search for because I want my photographs to show people something they’ve never seen before. It looks like we’re in a giant bathtub, or washing machine, or who knows what. Because the NX10 is small and lightweight, I could easily maneuver, shoot spontaneously, and keep the camera from getting soaked, while still working hard to find a perfect moment like this.
The key moment here is in this man’s gesture of looking over his shoulder down the street at something that caught his eye. It seems to me that he is waiting for something, and that sense of anticipation is what makes the photo work. It gives it a sense of mystery. The camera performed well here by capturing the subtle variance in colors and, most importantly, by being small and unobtrusive so that even though I was close to him, I could take the picture without being observed.
What is immediately evident here is the combination of shape and layering in this Antoni Gaudí buidling. It works because there are important visual elements in the foreground, middle ground, and background. This allows your eye to travel around the frame and find areas of interest everywhere. The bonus, or surprise part of this image, is that it also shows La Sagrada Familia (another Gaudí building) in the distance. Two Gaudi buildings in one photograph—a big accomplishment with a small camera!
This image of the flamenco dancer putting on makeup backstage demonstrates creative framing with the use of a mirror. The round shape of the mirror isolates the subject, while also serving as a compositional element of a semicircle within the rectangular photograph. The camera performed well because it’s small and lightweight, which meant I could be very close to her without disturbing her process.
The color and movement leap from the frame here, in a photo that’s a good example of selective framing. In other words, you don’t need to see the entire flamenco dancer to understand what is going on here. The gesture and movement of her dress make this picture work. The three musicians provide context and another layer of information. Additionally, because the musicians are all dressed in black, the red dress worn by the star of the performance (and of the image) is all the more striking.
When the sun sets and the light is beautiful, every photographer looks for an interesting subject. In this case, I was lucky to find a young couple enjoying a quiet conversation near the Barceloneta coast. The setting sun is reflected in the eyes of the young woman and provides just a hint of light to elevate the focus onto her gaze. The camera recorded the subtle color of the amber light on the girl’s face, while still maintaining the detail in the background.
It’s an age-old dilemma. Cameras designed for the true professional are usually bulky and difficult to use, while simpler point-and-shoots lack robust features. Thanks to the NX10 from Samsung, that is all set to change.
This innovatively designed camera is small and light enough to carry around in everyday life and features a fast and precise auto-focus function that lets you capture the right shot at the right time. It is equipped with superlarge APS-C-size CMOS sensor that reproduces rich and natural colors and excels at reducing noise—even in low-light conditions. Five different lenses tailored for different environments help you be as creative as you want in any situation. In addition, the unique supersonic dust-removing function removes dust from the sensor by vibrating 60,000 times per second, so that no matter how often you change the lenses, you’ll get crisp and clear images.
Speaking of crisp and clear, the camera’s AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode), display is thinner, brighter, faster in response time, and excellent in terms of color reproduction. It can be seen even in bright sunlight, allowing you to view your photos in vibrant colors.
The NX10 also utilizes an advanced contrast AF system for fast and precise auto-focusing, so that you can capture those fleeting moments the instant they happen. When it’s time to capture more than just a single image, the NX10 can create HD movies at an impressive 720p resolution with H.264 advanced video compression, which is double the rate of MPEG-4.
In short, the Samsung NX10 packs a lot of camera into a compact and convenient form that makes it easy for you to get a perfect shot every time. Now everyone—from designers to landscapers—can unleash their creativity and take professional-looking photos thanks to the unlimited possibilities of this extraordinary camera.
TYRONE TURNERTyrone Turner is a photojournalist based in Arlington, Virginia. His assignments have taken him from Brazil to Baghdad to the bayous of Louisiana with his camera in hand. In addition to his work for National Geographic, Turner has produced award-winning photographs for national and international publications such as Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, and the Los Angeles Times.
LANDON NORDEMAN Landon Nordeman is a photographer based in New York City. His assignments have taken him from Austria to Australia, Buenos Aires to Budapest, Nebraska to New Zealand. In addition to his work for National Geographic, Nordeman has produced awardwinning photographs for national and international publications such as the New Yorker, Smithsonian, the Atlantic Monthly, Sports Illustrated and Saveur. His photographs have been recognized by Communication Arts, Pictures of the Year International, the Best of Photojournalism, American Photography and Photo District News among others.
