Young woman in Fatehpur Sikri, India submitted to the assignment ‘Beautiful Destinations’ on National Geographic.
See the National Geographic photo assignments that Kristian Bertel has participated in – Read the story about his photographs here…
Kristian Bertel has contributed to the National Geographic Your Shot photo community with an assignment called ‘Beautiful Destinations‘. For this assignment curated by Monica C. Corcoran, the director at Your Shot and Matt Adams, an associate photo editor at National Geographic wants us to photograph a beautiful destination. You may have heard the phrase, “It’s about the journey, not the destination”. Well for this assignment Nat Geo are flipping that sentiment around and having it be all about the destination. For some, the summer season is when we spend time with our friends in familiar places that we come back to year after year. For others, its a time for new locations and faces, the undiscovered places. Whichever it may be, the two editors want us to share your beautiful destinations with Nat Geo.
As Monica is saying it: ”- When you have finally arrived, unpacked your bags, and kicked off your shoes—what do you see? Where are you? Don’t send us a photo that looks like a postcard. We want to see your unique vision of that destination. Why is it that you spent the time, money, and effort to get there? What is it that draws you to this place? Is it everything you dreamed of and more? Look for the little details that give a sense of place and make us want to pack our bags and join you”, she says.
About the submitted photograph
The photographer chose to submit a photograph of a beautiful young woman he has photographed in India. Beauty is a characteristic of an animal, idea, object, person or place that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, culture, social psychology and sociology. An ‘ideal beauty’ is an entity which is admired, or possesses features widely attributed to beauty in a particular culture, for perfection. The experience of ‘beauty’ often involves an interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being. Because this can be a subjective experience, it is often said that ‘beauty’ is in the eye of the beholder’.
What is the definition of beauty?
The characterization of a person as ‘beautiful’, whether on an individual basis or by community consensus, is often based on some combination of inner beauty, which includes psychological factors such as personality, intelligence, grace, politeness, charisma, integrity, congruence and elegance, and outer beauty which includes physical attributes which are valued on an aesthetic basis. Standards of beauty have changed over time, based on changing cultural values. Historically, paintings show a wide range of different standards for beauty. However, humans who are relatively young, with smooth skin, well-proportioned bodies and regular features, have traditionally been considered the most beautiful throughout history.
”- A strong indicator of physical beauty is ‘averageness’. When images of human faces are averaged together to form a composite image, they become progressively closer to the ‘ideal’ image and are perceived as more attractive. There is also evidence that a preference for beautiful faces emerges early in infancy, and is probably innate and that the rules by which attractiveness is established are similar across different genders and culture”, the photographer Kristian Bertel says.
You might also like:
Assignments and Stories — National Geographic Your Shot »
Nat Geo Assignment: Your Outdoor Adventure »
Your Shot Photo Community — National Geographic »
Kristian Bertel’s entire gallery on Your Shot »
Showcase of Kristian Bertel’s Your Shot »
Kristian Bertel’s website »
Tags: #india #travel #portraits