I’m watching Planet Earth again on Discovery (and such a stunning piece of work that is) and I was thinking how highly paid/qualified the videographers must be. Spending 10 days in an underground cave on a mountain of bat poo. Getting that money shot of the great white shark leaping completely out of the water to grab a seal. Going to the far ends of the earth to film scenes never before seen by most people.
Are NG photogs and camera operators the most skilled in their profession? Or are these mostly free-lance guys who can write their own check?
I have one friend who has shot for National Geographic (the Drying Up of the West issue from last year, I believe). I would say that, yes, the shooters for NG are among the best in the business. A lot of the photographers who work for them (if not most) are freelancers, and Nat Geo is just one of many clients. I don’t know what the current pay scale is, but an assignment usually gets billed as day rate plus expenses. According to this PDF, the day rate in 2002 was “$400 to wouldn’t disclose.” I remember reading the average National Geographic assignment is around 21 days.
The guy who did this article is a friend of a friend ( who assisted just a bit with that article ). My friend was a former professional photographer ( commercial ) who has taught a number of short field courses on macrophotography for a university. He was adament that Moffet was a clear cut or two above him in terms of skill.
The impression I get is that this is the norm. The Nat. Geographic shooters tend to be the best of the best in their particular specialities.