National Geographic: 'Why it Took Me Eight Years to Photograph My Own Backyard'
Please visit original article HERE. Article only partially published in this post.
BY VINCENT J. MUSI for NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
PUBLISHED
Photographer Vincent J. Musi spent more than eight years working on a photo story about the ACE Basin—which is currently featured in the November issue of National Geographic Magazine. Emails from his editor, Elizabeth Krist, help tell the saga of why it took so long to photograph his own backyard:
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From: Elizabeth Krist
Subject: ACE
Date: 2/4/12
Any inspiration? I just keep thinking: we’ve set loose an obsessive perfectionist in the middle of a swamp…
E
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Sometimes you just can’t get there from here.
I’ve worked around the world for National Geographic magazine but the most elusive assignment for me has been just 50 miles from my home.
In the summer of 2006 I was commissioned to create a portfolio celebrating South Carolina’s ACE Basin. It’s a special place where three rivers and a community came together to preserve one of the last great watersheds.
At eight years from original proposal to final publication in the November issue, the project should hold the all-time record for the longest time on the schedule at the magazine.
Now don’t blame me entirely, some things came up. I’ve been pulled away for at least six other stories deemed by the editors to be more important. Still, in an attempt to understand why it took so long, I retraced the last eight years in emails from Senior Photo Editor Elizabeth Krist. What follows is a very one-sided account, edited for brevity and to make me look good. ...
