Exclusive Dinner-Dialogue with Cory Richards

It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to get up close, dine and chat with a multi-award-winning photographer from the National Geographic. The thing about famous photographers is that they usually let their pictures do the talking. You may have seen their awesome spell-binding pictures but you don’t really know the artist behind it, unless you do your research. 

So when I won a contest organized by Canon EOS World Singapore recently (in conjunction with National Geographic 125th Anniversary), with the prize being an exclusive dinner-dialogue with Cory Richards, I was over the moon. As an avid hobby photographer myself, it was a once-a-lifetime event for me!

And that’s no exaggeration, we are are talking National Geographic here. It’s really Epic with a capital letter E! During conversation with Cory, I picked up nuggets of gold that transformed my mindset. I hope my readers will benefit from some excerpts of the dinner that I share in this journal.

Cory Richards – Adventurer, Climber, Photographer.

“An intrepid climber, visual storyteller and photographer, Cory Richards was named National Geographic Adventurer of the year 2012. His work takes him to some of our planet’s most remote places and he has carved a niche as a leading editorial and expedition photographer.

Cory’s camera have transported him from the controlled environment of a studio to the wild remote areas of Africa, Asia, Pakistan and the South Pacific- all in the attempt not only to capture the soul of adventure and exploration but also the beauty of our modern society.

Cory’s photography have been featured in National Geographic, Outside, New York Times and many others. His film work have appeared in nearly every major adventure film festival including the grand prize at Banff Mountain Film Festival. ” (source- National Geographic)

Our Dialogue with Cory Richards….

Question: “Cory, how did you get to join National Geographic?”

Cory: “It was through a friend’s recommendation. After many submissions, the NatGeo editor called me with the “bad” news.” We are sorry, Cory. I am afraid you have to catch a flight here. We are featuring your work in the next edition.” The rest was history.

“It took me 13 years just to get a foot into National Geographic. Yes. 13 years.”

(I was speechless here, can you imagine the persistence and determination? That explains the consistently high standard that are hallmarks of National Geographic. The effort and hard work in gathering those absolutely amazing pictures are certainly of super human proportion).

Question – “How do you get to be so good at your work ?”

Cory: “I make lots of mistakes. Lots of it. I still do.”

(I totally respect this cool guy for his sincerity and humbleness. Despite all his accomplishments, he’s still firmly rooted in terra firma. This I feel is one of the ingredients that distinguishes successful people. They have walked with “kings and queens”, yet never lose the “common touch”- Rudyard Kipling.)

Question – “Cory, what’s the biggest mistake you made ?” (this was my question)

Cory – “I shot a whole series of pics in JPEG !” (OMG! JPEG !!! this must have send shiver down his spin ! LOL. For readers not sure what RAW or JPEG file, you might like to check it out here)

Question – “Cory, for landscape photography, what 3 tips you can give us to improve?” 

Cory: “

1. You have to know the location well. The local weather, the season, local knowledge… for instance, if you want to shoot dramatic thunderstorm with lightnings among storm clouds in the Colorado dessert. If you go in winter, you are just going to get clean blue skies.That’s the wrong timing.
   
2. Check out the place you want to shoot in advance. Get a feel of the lighting, the angles, have an intimate feel of the place, then return another day. In short, you need to do your homework and groundwork. (Got it, no shortcuts)
3. Filters – the use of filters can greatly enhance the pictures. Graduated filters, ND, Lees filters, etc can helped plenty. But don’t overdo it. “

Question: “Cory, what cameras do you used for your shoots?”

Cory: ” I uses the Canon EOS 1Dx, the 5DIII and sometimes the compact G1X. Yes, the compact G1X. The pic quality it gives is stunning”.

Question – “Do you have kids yet ?” (this was my question).

Cory – ” Not yet. My job takes me out of the country 9 months in a year.”

(Cory, by the way, is married to Olivia Hsu Richards, a Taiwanese. She is a yoga teacher and practitioner. Cory met her on one of his photographic assignment, where she’s a model. Wonder if it was “love at 1st click? (^_^). And no, Cory does not speak Mandarin. But he’s awesome with his chopsticks….LOL)

Question: “Cory, I saw many of your amazing portraits of indigenous tribal people. How do you communicate with them ? body language? Gestures? (this was my question)

Cory: ” I do have translators sometimes to help out. But more important, it’s laughter. A smile goes a long way. It warms up your subjects, however exotic the location may be. You have to get your subjects comfortable with you 1st.

Question – “How’s your experience with National Geographic? What it takes to be at the top?”

Cory – “It’s been an awesome experience, being with NatGeo. But you have to know your stuff well. NatGeo is not in the business of publishing excuses. Like “Oh, we should have did but…or we should have done that, however,…”. 

(Yes, of course, to be at the top of the game, you have to be on top of  things. It’s that simple. And no resting on laurels, of course). 

Question: – “Cory, where’s your next assignment taking you to ?” (this was my question)

Cory: “Borneo. I will be covering the birdnest caves in the Gomantong Caves..”

(Gorgeous! I can’t wait see more epic pictures from him. This caves with it’s rickety rattan ladders and ropes up the 100m+ rocky walls are definitely not for the faint hearted. Bird-nest harvesters literally put their own life on the rope. Pardon the pun.)

Our Dinner with Cory Richards

The man and his tool- Cory’s camera- well traveled, well used,….just look at the worn out parts. I took this angle as I shared with Cory…”this is your trademark, Cory”..  (^___^)

An icon among us… chatting, sharing, joking… really a surreal moment. Priceless, I would say.

Cory listening intently and answering his fans’ question… We’re sorry that his dinner got cold and his beer less fizzy… But we were short on time. He was in town only for 2.5 days and after dinner, catching the 1am flight to Denver. Talk about jet-setting lifestyle. 

Cory checking out his memento from Canon EOS World Singapore…

Cory checking out his “new camera”….looks like the latest model…LOL

Sharing tips and insights with his fans at his picture section…the pictures exhibition is held in conjunction with National Geographic 125th Anniversary at Vivocity, East Court, Ground Floor. The details can be viewed here.  

Pixels is nothing without passion…and Cory exudes passion. Loads of it. 

  Cory’s famed portrait… you might have chanced upon on the net.

One of Cory’s work in the exhibit. Can you feel the eyes following you ? I shot it at an oblique angle to convey the unique property of this shot.

Another of Cory’s work. There’s this X-factor feel that marked his work. And that’s the beauty…

The exhibition that is currently now on-going, till the 3rd Nov ,11pm (Sunday) East Court, at Vivocity.

Yours truly, with Cory, one for the album. Thanks for the memory, Cory. I can’t thank you enough…Please come back to Singapore sometime soon. We have two mountains for you to climb- Mount Faber and Bt Timah Hill. (^O^) LOL….

N.B- all pictures shot in this article are copyrighted to Jensen Chua and all rights reserved.