Tea for Creatives Goes Behind the Camera with National Geographic Photographer Todd Gipstein
How do you sustain the creative mojo for a 30 year career photographing the world for National Geographic, producing digital media, writing novels, and saving a lighthouse on the Long Island Sound? We’re going behind the camera lens with Todd Gipstein to find out!
Todd Gipstein has been a writer, photographer, lecturer and media producer for almost 50 years and more than half of them for National Geographic. He has traveled the world taking pictures. His documentaries have covered an incredible range of topics about history, culture, nature, photography, and life. A graduate of Harvard University, Todd has written two novels, Legacy of the Light and Magician’s Choice and is hard at work on a third. He is also a magician. Currently, he is giving photography seminars for National Geographic, spearheading the restoration of Ledge Lighthouse, and creating several documentary films. He and his wife Marcia, a partner in everything he does, travel extensively in the pursuit of compelling photographs and the magic of life.
Todd’s insights on creative process–whether for photography, writing or any other art, are sure to inspire you. With Halloween just around the corner, we think Ledge Lighthouse (which has the eerie ambiance of the Amityville house) and it’s resident ghost, Ernie, will surely intrigue you!
Enjoy the the videos and download the free chapters from one of Todd’s books!
What unexpected directions has creativity/ being creative taken your life or career?
I never thought I would work for National Geographic, but the media shows I created that featured storytelling and powerful photography led them to me. I have been working with them for almost 30 years. And it was on assignment for National Geographic that I met my wife — something unexpected and life-changing!
Fiji Girl. © Todd Gipstein. All Rights Reserved.
Your work reflects many subjects—people, history, nature, politics—and takes many forms. Take us through the essential steps in your creative process, from beginning to end of a creative work.
Research. Lots of thought about style and story. Long hours of writing. Travel and photography. After long hours at the computer editing images and music. A lot of creative process is p laying–trying new things and seeing if they work. What I love about making shows digitally is it so easy to play, to explore and get immediate feedback.Every media show is a journey, and though the process is similar, there are always new challenges. After all these years, it is still a lot of fun and something I love to do.
Do you have any superstitions about or rituals for your creative process?
Not really. I can be creative anytime and anywhere. I work on something and then push it to my subconscious for a while and let it steep. My subconscious works away and then new ideas and solutions bubble up into my consciousness. Sometimes, the best way to deal with a creative problem is to “ignore” it a while and see what happens. For me, it helps to balance intense attention with purposeful inattention.
How did you happen to get inspired to restore and renovate Ledge Lighthouse on the Long Island Sound? And, have you seen Ernie’s ghost?
I grew up sailing and fishing by Ledge Lighthouse a mile out to sea from New London, CT. When life took me back to live in the area, my wife and I went on a tour and we were shocked at the state of the place: A dilapidated mess. Empty rooms and no exhibits. When we got on the lighthouse foundation board we resolved to get the restoration and preservation work going and to create a museum inside the lighthouse. Five years later, with a lot of help from dedicated volunteers, that vision has been realized. It is ongoing. I haven’t had any encounters with “Ernie,” though I have created a very spooky mannequin of him for an exhibit. And he will be featured in my next novel about Ledge Lighthouse, due out next spring.
Of all the work you’ve done for National Geographic, which project most challenged your creative limits—took you far outside where you thought you’d ever go?
A show I did titled “Cultures: The Tapestry of Life.” It was a huge topic — the human condition as expressed around the world. I looked through about 70,000 photos. I told the story without words — just sequences of photographs and music. It was a difficult show that ended up being one of my most popular and successful for the Geographic.
What similarities and differences do you find in the creative process for photography versus writing a novel?
When I take pictures, I have to go someplace and shoot reality. It is more reactive than creative. When I write a novel, I can sit in a chair at home with a nice warm cup of tea and travel anywhere and everywhere in my imagination. It is truly creative — I am inventing the world of my story. You can’t invent photographs.
You are hosting a tea party, you can invite two guests, living or deceased—who do you invite and why? And, what tea will you serve?
Leonardo DaVinci and Thomas Jefferson. Two towering intellects who defined their times and had incredibly wide-ranging interests and skills. I would show them my iPhone to get the conversation started and serve them Constant Comment to keep it going.
Describe your favorite teacup.
A commemorative cup we had made for the 100th anniversary of New London Ledge Lighthouse. The cup represents a lot of what we have been doing the past 6 years and rekindles my pride at our achievements every time I fill it up.
Bora Bora. © Todd Gipstein. All Rights Reserved
Final words of wisdom about creativity and life?
For creativity: Find something you are passionate about and do it. Life is short and you might as well be fulfilled in your work. I was lucky that a hobby and a passion became a career. You don’t want to look back at your life and have regrets. As for life: Treasure what you have. You never know how long you will have it.
What Could You do with 1 Mile, 1 Year & 1 Camera Lens?
You don’t have to travel the world to find inspiration. In this video, Todd shows how the most interesting images can be found close to home. In this case, the mile of shoreline from his home to a lighthouse down the coast in Groton, CT.
Your Turn!
Where you would go with 1 Year and 1 Lens and 1 Mile to capture in pictures and video? Share in the comments.
Free Download!
Read the opening chapters from Todd’s Book Legacy of the Light
Get Social with Todd: Gipstein Books
Follow the Light on Facebook: NewLondonLedgeLighthouseFoundation
Watch more of Todd’s videos on YouTube
Tags: Creating Outside the Lines, creative minds, creative process, creativity, inspiration, photographer, photography, photography creative process, Possibiliteas, tea for creatives
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