This morning’s super blue blood moon drew admiring crowds up and down the East Coast. Plenty of folks headed to Compo Beach.
Many took pictures.
You or I would have posted them to our own Instagram account.
Famed Westport photographer Stephen Wilkes sent his to National Geographic.
They’ve got a lot more followers.
Which is why millions of people around the world now can share in Westport’s wonderful morning.
(Hat tip: Julie Rosemarin)
Posted in Environment, Media, People
Tagged Natgeo instagram, National Geographic, Stephen Wilkes, super blue blood moon
Stephen Wilkes has a thing for Compo Beach.
And National Geographic has a thing for Stephen Wilkes.
In June, the magazine’s very popular Instagram feed featured the talented Westport photographer’s shot of some amazing clouds — framed by a lifeguard stand — after a storm.
In a matter of hours, it gained hundreds of thousands of likes — and admiring comments in dozens of languages.
Yesterday, the Natgeo Instagram feed included Wilkes’ lovely shot of Sunday night’s fantastic eclipse.
Copyright/Stephen Wilkes
Wilkes wrote:
A view we won’t have again until 2033. In many parts of the US, clouds obstructed this incredible phenomenon. In my case, I drove a few miles from my home to a local beach and was very excited to find a clear sky, allowing me to take an unobstructed photo of the #bloodmooneclipse.
Once again, “06880” is where Westport meets the world — as well as the moon, the sky and the stars.
(Hat tip: Kathie Motes Bennewitz)
Posted in Arts, Beach, Environment, Media, People
Tagged Blood moon eclipse, Instagram, National Geographic, Stephen Wilkes
Tuesday’s post-storm clouds sent a lot of Westporters scurrying for their cameras.
Most photos ended up on Facebook or Twitter.
Stephen Wilkes’ found its way to National Geographic — and then to the magazine’s very popular Instagram feed.
(Photo/Stephen Wilkes)
Alert “06880” reader Danielle Dobin spotted it, and sent it to “06880.”
“Natgeo” included Wilkes’ comment: “I was fortunate to see this remarkable sunset from Compo beach, after days of summer storms.” It included the hashtags iPhoneonly, CompoBeach, Connecticut, surreal, clouds, color — and skyporn.
In just 2 hours it’s garnered 167,000 likes, and over 1,150 comments. Most are along the lines of “awesome.” One person called it “weird.” Another said, “where we got married!!”
A woman wrote, “I want to go there.”
The comments came from around the globe. One person said “Lijkt beetje op jouw lucht,” which Google Translate changed from Dutch to “Seems little air on you.”
That’s not as weird as this comment — 刚刚在他家买了一只沛纳海 很牛逼 大家要买表找他，最靠谱的卖家 朋友圈都有标价 — which Google Translate believes says “He just bought a house very fast hardware you buy a Panerai watch to find him, the most likely price the seller has a circle of friends.”
On the other hand, “06880” readers don’t need a translator to look at Stephen Wilkes’ image and say, “that’s our Compo!”
Posted in Arts, Beach, Environment, Media, People
Tagged Compo Beach, Instagram, National Geographic, Stephen Wilkes
Lynsey Addario — the MacArthur “Genius Grant”-winning/world famous photographer/Staples graduate — is one of the 1st people to get “Proof.”
“Proof” is National Geographic’s new online photography experience. Its aim is to start intriguing conversations about photography, art and journalism. It features selections from the magazine and other publications, books, and galleries, plus behind-the-scenes looks at the National Geographic storytelling process.
Lynsey Addario
In a compelling video interview, Lynsey talks about what it is like to take photos during war, as “the life drains out” of someone.
“It’s easy to live in your own world or shell, and be very comfortable” she says. “I like to make people feel uncomfortable every so often, and realize what they have.”
She describes 20-hour days, “coming back 10 times to get the right frame.”
She’s “alone a lot,” she says, “doing stuff you don’t want to do.”
But, she knows, “I have a voice.” She speaks for others.
And, she concludes, “I can do this for the rest of my life.”
(For the full “Proof” video interview, click here.)
It’s very rare that a Westerner can photograph an Afghan wedding. Lynsey Addario had that opportunity. (Photo/Lynsey Addario for National Geographic)
Lynsey Addario
Proud Westporters know Lynsey Addario as a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times photographer. Her haunting images from the world’s hot spots bring disaster, disease and deprivation into our comfortable homes.
Now she’s featured in National Geographic.
Elizabeth Rubin’s story in the December issue — “Veiled Rebellion” — is lavishly illustrated by the Staples grad.
The subhead reads: “Afghan women suffer under the constraints of tribalism, poverty, and war. Now they are starting to fight for a just life.”
Lynsey’s photos are intimate looks into seldom-seen sights: two women on the side of a mountain, unaccompanied by a man.
Two women on an Afghan mountain. (Photo by Lynsey Addario for National Geographic)
A strong woman driving a car — her face, hair and arms in full view.
A young woman who set herself on fire, for reasons no one knows.
Last year, Lynsey won a $500,000 MacArthur “genius grant.”
Now National Geographic readers around the world know why.
(Lynsey’s next project: a story from Iraq, also for National Geographic.)
Posted in People, Staples HS
Tagged Lynsey Addario, MacArthur genius grant, National Geographic
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