The Power of a Photograph

Behind the Shot - Video · Jan 13, 2022 · 50m

I have the feeling that Sam Abell has more stories than almost any photographer you know. Thirty-four years as a staff and contract photographer at National Geographic tends to have that effect.

Sam is an Ohio based teacher, artist, and photographer. I would argue that his magic is that those three skills merge to create, in Sam, the perfect storyteller. His story started like many of my guests, learning photography from his father.

It was after graduating from the University of Kentucky that Sam went to work for Nat Geo. That in and of itself is an accomplishment. Lots of up-and-coming…