Best of 2012 - National Geographic Magazine Photos of the Year

Featured photographers include Martin Schoeller, Mitch Dobrowner, Lynn Johnson, Aaron Huey (2),Stephanie Sinclair, Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky, Paolo Pellegrin, Paul Nicklen, Michael “Nick” Nichols 

Paul Nicklen

Penguins | November 2012

Emperor penguins can bolt away for any number of reasons, as photographer Paul Nicklen discovered when he spooked this group. "A tenth of a second after I took this picture, all I could see were bubbles."

Martin Schoeller

Twins | January 2012

Six-year-old Johanna Gill puts a protective hand on her sister, Eva. The twins both have mild autism, a disorder linked to genetic inheritance.

Mitch Dobrowner

Epic Storms | July 2012

A dying tornado like this one is said to be in the "roping out" phase.

Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns discuss his picks in a video from the December digital edition of National Geographic.

Lynn Johnson

Vanishing Languages | July 2012

Aidyng Kyrgys caresses his newborn baby girl, whom he refers to using a Tuvan term of endearment: anayim, or "my little goat." There are only 235,000 Tuvan speakers in Russia

Aaron Huey

Pine Ridge | August 2012

Stanley Good Voice Elk, a heyoka on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, burns sage to ritually purify his surroundings. In Oglala spirituality, heyokas are recipients of sacred visions who employ clownish speech and behavior to provoke spiritual awareness and "keep balance," says Good Voice Elk. Through his mask, he channels the power of an inherited spirit, which transforms him into Spider Respects Nothing.

Aaron Huey

Pine Ridge | August 2012

A passenger barely has room for the journey home as a car is loaded with used clothing donated by a Colorado-based Native American charity. Contrary to popular myth, Native Americans do not automatically receive a monthly federal check and are not exempt from taxes. The Oglala Lakota and other Sioux tribes have refused a monetary settlement for the U.S.'s illegal seizure of the Black Hills, their spiritual home.

See more here

Behind the Scenes with Photographer Martin Schoeller’s Cover Shoot with Swimmer Ryan Lochte

“He was very nice and very nice-looking, almost like a model,” Schoeller says. “But he is also obviously an incredible athlete—to watch him swim back and forth, turn at the edge and create those ripples in the pool made for a great photo.”

“I’m not even a big sports person, but athletes’ bodies are mesmerizing,” Schoeller says. “They’re constantly putting themselves in pose and doing something interesting with the physical expressions, and I love to photograph them because they’re natural performers at heart.”

Martin Schoeller is a New York City–based photographer.
 See more of his work here.

Behind the scenes video ( rather small unfortunately)

Fascinating Identical Twins Portraits ~ By Martin Schoeller for National Geographic

They have the same piercing eyes. The same color hair. One may be shy, while the other loves meeting new people. Discovering why identical twins differ—despite having the same DNA—could reveal a great deal about all of us. [via NationalGeographic]

Photographs by Martin Schoeller


*click on images for a larger view*

Martin Schoeller

Close Up by Photographer Martin Schoeller

Update: September 26th 2011

I was asked by Martin Scoeller's agent to take down the images from this post. Sorry folks. I did give him credit and was only trying to exhibit the works of a photographer I admire and introduce this series to an audience that may not be aware of his work. Too bad because this was one of the more popular posts on my humble blog. I am pretty sure this post would have inspired people to buy his book.

To see his Close-Up photographs please check out his work at this link here.

"The greatest challenge in taking these images lies in the attempt to arrest the subtle moment that flickers between expressions, movements of which the subject is unaware. Like most portrait photographers, I aim to record the instant the subject is not thinking about being photographed"  Martin Schoeller

"A photographic close-up is perhaps the purest form of portraiture, creating a confrontation between the viewer and the subject that daily interaction makes impossible, or at least impolite. In a close-up, the impact stems solely from the static subject’s expression or apparent lack thereof, so the viewer is challenged to read a face without the benefit of the environmental cues we naturally use to form our interpersonal reactions." ~ Martin Schoeller

Behind the Scenes of Martin Schoeller's Commissioned Portraits for TIME 100

Martin Schoeller Behind The Scenes Photo Shoot With Female Bodybuilder.... Man is He Fast With The 8x10 Film Holders!