Become A Better Photographer And Human: Watch TED Videos
January 5, 2009
I recently stumbled upon a wealth of YouTube TEDtalks lecture videos (TED website + YouTube Channel) which are intellectually refreshing and stimulating gems perhaps best way I could describe them as superfood for thought.
TED calls them “Inspired talks by the world’s leading thinkers and doers”.
In this post I will be recommending videos that involve photos and photography just to stay somewhat on topic for this blog but TED’s wide variety of subject matter has something for everyone with wanderlust.
I have been also watching clips about: a Spanish goose liver farmer, mind boggling origami, Chinese food that is not Chinese, global warming, lifelike robots, architecture, evolution and human origins, nutrition, creativity, happiness, human mind, string theory, One Laptop Per Child and much more.
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design, est: 1984) is an annual conference where the most curious and brightest minds get 18 minutes to share their knowledge and passion. Since 2007 hundreds of videos have been made available to the public.
James Nachtwey: one of the World’s best photojournalists and war photographers, recipient of the 2007 TED Prize. See his incredible photos, hear his thoughts on how the power of photography can make a difference.
A shorter video from James Nachtwey raising awareness about the possibly pandemic XDR-TB, extremely drug-resistent tuberculosis illustrated with powerful documentary photograph.
National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis gives probably the most passionate, eloquent and information rich lecture in “Cultures at the far edge of the world” about the rapid extinction of the the world’s most precious cultures and languages illustrated by photos from the most exotic corners of the globe.
Related to the above video: “The worldwide web of belief and ritual” also by Wade Davis:
Time Magazine photographer Rick Smolan tells the touching and heroic adoption story of a young Amerasian girl from Korea. A fantastic example of a photographer making a difference.
It’s truly amazing how Jonathan Harris searches for most basic human stories while trying to create a composite of the emotional world of the Web. His unique photo collection along with his words puts feelings of humanity in a fascinating context.
Documentary photographer Kristen Ashburn who quit her New York fashion photography job shares unforgettable images of the human tragedy of AIDS in Africa.
An excellent lecture from photographer and storyteller Phil Borges shows rarely seen images of people from the mountains of Dharamsala, India, the jungles of the Ecuadorean Amazon and other places where he documents disappearing cultures and languages.
One of the most interesting side projects has is giving cameras to indigenous peoples to see their world through their eyes. See more at BridgesWeb.org
2005 TED Prize winner, calendar landscape photographer Edward Burtynsky turned documentary photographer dramatically illustrates the effects of large industrial companies on natural landscape, the scars of global industrialization, the dehumanization of cities and the rural migration towards the more prosperous urban living.
