Author: Krista Rossow

On Newsstands: Cape Town in National Geographic Traveler

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Artists Dani Le Roy (left) and Laura Summs (right) work on one of their signature crochet rugs in the studio of Moonbasket. They create pendant lights, stiffened bowls, jewelry, and motif carpets using crochet and they hire and empower women from the Khayalitsha township to produce the bulk of their materials.

Last November while I was visiting Cape Town, I was given a short assignment by my friend and former colleague Carol Enquist to photograph the Woodstock neighborhood of Cape Town for National Geographic Traveler magazine. With Cape Town being named World Design Capital for 2014, it was the perfect time to explore Woodstock, a neighborhood filled with designers, artists, and innovation tucked at the foot of Devils Peak. I roamed the colorful streets and popped into old warehouses turned new, looking for subjects for my lens, falling more in love with this South African city by the minute. Along the way I was also lucky enough to get to meet up with the writer of the piece, the talented Sarah Khan who is now living in Cape Town.

Go grab the April 2014 issue of National Geographic Traveler off of newsstands and stay tuned here for a blog post of some outtakes from the shoot. Then be prepared to want to book a one-way ticket to the Mother City.

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The article on Woodstock ran in National Geographic Traveler‘s Best of the World section and a photo from the artist DALeast‘s studio at Side Street Studios ran on the contents pages of the April 2014 issue.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

My, what a year 2013 was. An update is long overdue. In 2013 I made my annual pilgrimage to New Orleans to don not one, not two, but four costumes and photograph one of the greatest festivals on earth, Mardi Gras. My San Francisco feature story photos hit the press and came out in the April issue of National Geographic Traveler. I worked with Dan Westergren and Mark Thiessen teaching weekend photo workshops in DC and explored the city through the eyes of curious photography students. I was inspired and rejuvenated at the annual National Geographic Magazine Photo Seminar in January and at the Look3 festival in June. In August I bid adieu to my office and colleagues at National Geographic Traveler after seven wonderful years of photo editing. I packed up my DC apartment and hopped a plane to Africa to explore eight different countries. I survived a hippo-riddled canoe ride on the Zambezi River, marvels at the wonder of Victoria Falls, and fell in love with leopards. I spent an entire month in the gorgeous city of Cape Town before heading back to my home state of Oregon. Thousands of photos later, it is 2014 and I’ve repacked my bags for the next big thing. Today I’m boarding a ship which I’ll call home for 114 days while working as photographer for the Institute for Shipboard Education’s program, Semester at Sea. Follow along at my travel blog or through the Spring 2014 voyage blog where I’ll be contributing. Then in June and October I’ll be on a ship again, cruising through the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions as a photography Expert and instructor. With almost a third of 2014 being spent on a ship, I best find my sea legs. I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite photos from Africa in 2013.

Learn How to Photograph Boobies (the Blue-Footed Kind)

Krista giving feedback during a one-on-one critique with a workshop participant in Washington, DC.

Krista giving feedback during a one-on-one critique with a workshop participant in Washington, DC. Video still by Steve Pickard.

Now that I’ve got your attention, no blue-footed booby picture here yet, but read on for a chance to learn how to photograph these unique birds with me in the Galápagos Islands.

A student photographs the Lincoln Memorial during a sunrise shoot on a weekend photo workshop Krista taught with Dan Westergren.

A student photographs the Lincoln Memorial during a sunrise shoot on a weekend photo workshop Krista taught with Dan Westergren.

For the last few years I’ve been working as an instructor on National Geographic Expeditions’ weekend photo workshops in New Orleans and Washington, DC. I’ve not only been able to share my love for these two fabulous cities, but also share my knowledge of photography and photo editing. It is honestly a delight to be surrounded by people eager to learn and immerse themselves in photography for four days. Recently we had a videographer join one of the DC workshops led by Mark Thiessen to put together a taste of what the workshops are like. Check out the video put together by Steve Pickard.

Also, I’m so delighted to share news that I’ll be working as a National Geographic Expert with National Geographic Expeditions on their Galápagos Photo Expeditions in 2014. From June 13th through 22nd we will be photographing the diverse wildlife and gorgeous scenery of the islands and spending time back on the National Geographic Endeavor ship delving deeper into learning photography. The next week I’ll be serving as a photo instructor with Expert Annie Griffiths and in October/November with Expert Rich Reid. Check out the full schedule here.

I’m looking forward to exploring the Galápagos with students, new and old. I hope to photograph blue-footed boobies with you there!

It’s Bawlmer, Hon!

A young girl sports a beehive hairdo complete with pipe-cleaner bees.

A young girl sports a beehive hairdo complete with pipe-cleaner bees.

Hon Fest is happening in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood right now! Bawlmer likes to call their working-class ladies “hons,” a term of endearment short for honey, and Hon Fest is a great local festival that honors these sassy ladies! Come for the people watching and stay for getting hair teased and hair-sprayed to defy gravity!

This year I couldn’t get my beehive in ship-shape to get up to Bawlmer, so I pulled a few shots from the archives in honor of the cat-eyed, leopard print wearin’ ladies that are surely busy struttin’ their stuff on 36th Street right now!

Ephemeral Beauty

A dusk shot of the Jefferson Memorial framed by cherry blossoms.

A dusk shot of the Jefferson Memorial framed by cherry blossoms.

And just like that, they’re gone.

The few glorious days when the tidal basin in Washington DC is swathed in a low-lying pink cloud has passed this year. Like thousands of other people, I couldn’t help myself from wandering in awe and snapping shot after shot of blossoms framing monuments. Navigating the crowds, I was trying to follow the advice I had given in a blog post I wrote a few years ago for the Intelligent Travel blog on photographing the cherry blossoms….patience.

If you ever have the opportunity to see the cherry blossoms in DC, I say do it. Despite the hype and the hoards, it is magical and oh so fleeting!

A magical walkway of light pink blossoms in Washington DC.
The Washington Monument framed through cherry blossoms at sunset.
A couple enjoys sunset on the Tidal Basin with the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in the background.
My cherry blossom blog post was featured on the National Geographic home page last weekend.

From the Archives: Spring Dreams

A photograph taken before the Washington National Cathedral was damaged by an earthquake show spring blooms framing a fog-enshrouded tower.

A photograph taken in 2009 (before the Washington National Cathedral was damaged by an earthquake) shows spring blooms framing a fog-enshrouded tower.

I’m busy backing up my photo archives and I came across this shot of the Washington National Cathedral from 2009. Unfortunately the tower is currently covered in scaffolding while repairs are underway to fix damage from the 2011 earthquake, but I love the way the fog made the cathedral look early that spring morning. Although the cherry blossoms get so much attention in Washington DC, there are blooming bushes and trees all over the city that make for lovely springtime photographs. I don’t know if these particular trees are in bloom yet this year, but here is to hoping the city will be bursting with color soon!

On Newsstands: San Francisco Feature

In September of last year I was given the opportunity to photograph a feature story for National Geographic Traveler magazine.  I was thrilled to get out from behind the photo editing desk and head back to my native West Coast to explore San Francisco with camera in hand.  Half a year later, the results of that assignment are hitting newsstands today.

For about a week, I chased sunshine and learned to embrace fog. I drank so much good coffee. I ogled farm-fresh produce and delectable dishes….and sometimes got to eat too! I started (and ended) days in a fleece and stocking cap and was basking in the sun by mid-day. I slept in a live-work warehouse, a cozy inn tucked into the Presidio, and a funky downtown hotel. I photographed in parks, parklets, and on top of gigantic living rooftops. I rode cable cars and rubbed elbows with tourists on Lombard Street, all of us clicking away with our cameras. And on my last night in the City by the Bay, I sat in Corona Heights Park and watched the fog roll over downtown, the sky turn pink, and the city’s lights come on and sparkle.

But what I enjoyed the most during this assignment was the people that I met along the way; like Daniel Scott, the yogi-acrobat-chocolatier I stumbled upon at an Off the Grid food truck round-up (and who ended up full page on the opener of the story), and Chan Quach, a local elementary school teacher who flies his two pet macaws around Mission Dolores Park on occasional evenings.  I talked with crab fishermen while patiently waiting for the tip of the Golden Gate Bridge to emerge from the fog, met a former ballerina stretching in Alamo Square Park, photographed a man taking his grandson on his first cable car ride, learned all about coffee roasting from the master roaster at Sightglass Coffee, and met so many others that I’m grateful to for taking the time to tell me their stories.

San Francisco Feature Spread 2 San Francisco Feature Spread 3 San Francisco Feature Spread 4 San Francisco Feature Spread 5

To read Andrew Nelson’s wanderlust-inspiring story and see these photographs in print, head to newsstands today to pick up the April 2013 issue of National Geographic Traveler. The issue is also available on the iPad and to get my behind-the-lens perspective visit Traveler‘s website to click through an extra photo gallery.

Thanks to Andrew Nelson for taking us all to San Francisco through his words (and for his great taste in cities), to George Stone for his edgy editing, to Dan Westergren for sending me to California, to Leigh Borghesani for yet another beautifully designed feature, and biggest thanks to Carol Enquist for her expert photo editing.  Now, how do I get back to San Francisco?

Everywhere Else It’s Just Tuesday

Everywhere else today is just Tuesday, but here in New Orleans it is Mardi Gras.  I’ve been out making new images this lovely day, but here is a look back on a few of my favorite images from Mardi Gras past.  Happy Mardi Gras!

Music and Mardi Gras go hand in hand, so marching with the band is the best way to experience the St. Anne's parade on Fat Tuesday. Starting from the Bywater neighborhood, bedazzled, costumed throngs dance to the beat as the parade meanders into the Marigny clogging up Frenchman street with revelry before tumbling into the French Quarter and dissipating into the streets.

Music and Mardi Gras go hand in hand, so marching with the band is the best way to experience the St. Anne’s parade on Fat Tuesday. Starting from the Bywater neighborhood, bedazzled, costumed throngs dance to the beat as the parade meanders into the Marigny clogging up Frenchman street with revelry before tumbling into the French Quarter and dissipating into the streets.

The Pussyfooters is a marching club of bubble-gum bedecked ladies who dance and perform in multiple parades during Mardi Gras season. I don't know how they do it, but I do know there is a port-a-potty involved and it looks like oodles of fun.

The Pussyfooters is a marching club of bubble-gum bedecked ladies who dance and perform in multiple parades during Mardi Gras season. I don’t know how they do it, but I do know there is a port-a-potty involved and it looks like oodles of fun.

Policemen keep the crowds off of the parade route to make way for the annual Bacchusaurus float from the Krewe of Bacchus during their annual meander through Uptown. Streets become littered with uncaught beads and empty plastic sacks that held precious clutches of beads. At these parades you could almost stand still on the sidelines and still get covered in beads without much effort at all. Showing skin is certainly taboo during these family affairs. Children sit in makeshift benches affixed to the tops of ladders that families roll down to the parade route to establish a good spot to be able to collect beads. "Throw me something, mister!" is the call.

Policemen keep the crowds off of the parade route to make way for the annual Bacchusaurus float from the Krewe of Bacchus during their annual meander through Uptown. Streets become littered with uncaught beads and empty plastic sacks that held precious clutches of beads. At these parades you could almost stand still on the sidelines and still get covered in beads without much effort at all. Showing skin is certainly taboo during these family affairs. Children sit in makeshift benches affixed to the tops of ladders that families roll down to the parade route to establish a good spot to be able to collect beads. “Throw me something, mister!” is the call.

Men dressed as Skeletons take a break at the Backstreet Cultural Museum in the Treme neighborhood on Mardi Gras day. Early on Mardi Gras morning we'd pile into our friend Kristian's suburban and troll the streets looking for the Skeletons in action, making a racket and bringing the city to life, threatening, "You next!" I still have yet to see them in action.

Men dressed as Skeletons take a break at the Backstreet Cultural Museum in the Treme neighborhood on Mardi Gras day. Early on Mardi Gras morning we’d pile into our friend Kristian’s suburban and troll the streets looking for the Skeletons in action, making a racket and bringing the city to life, threatening, “You next!” I still have yet to see them in action.

This is the single frame I took at the Ernie K-Doe Mother-in-Law Lounge on Mardi Gras morning 2009. My merry band arrived at the bar to have an early morning drink with Miss Antoinette before the day got into full swing, only to be greeted with the sad news of her passing. At the time I didn't quite understand the significant of Antoinette K-Doe, the widow of Ernie K-Doe, the lounge's namesake who still lived on at the lounge as a life-size, dressed-to-the-nines mannequin in the lounge. As we left the lounge in a somber mood it became clear what a presence Miss Antoinette was in the city as the local radio station, WWOZ, broadcast the news of her passing. I can't say that I ever met her, but I won't ever forget that morning.

This is the single frame I took at the Ernie K-Doe Mother-in-Law Lounge on Mardi Gras morning 2009. My merry band arrived at the bar to have an early morning drink with Miss Antoinette before the day got into full swing, only to be greeted with the sad news of her passing. At the time I didn’t quite understand the significant of Antoinette K-Doe, the widow of Ernie K-Doe, the lounge’s namesake who still lived on at the lounge as a life-size, dressed-to-the-nines mannequin in the lounge. As we left the lounge in a somber mood it became clear what a presence Miss Antoinette was in the city as the local radio station, WWOZ, broadcast the news of her passing. I can’t say that I ever met her, but I won’t ever forget that morning.

Mardi Gras Moments: Muses

The Bathing Muses, an overflowing bubble bath float, holds members of the all-female krewe as they throw beads and other trinkets, including their famous glitter shoes.

The Bathing Muses, an overflowing bubble bath float, holds members of the all-female krewe as they throw beads and other trinkets, including their famous glitter shoes.

Here are a few images taken at one of my favorite parades, the Krewe of Muses, last Thursday night.  The Muses were the first all-female organization to parade at night in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans, a coveted time slot and location for parading.  The Muses are famous for their “glitter shoes” which they hand out as prize throws to adoring fans along the parade route.  If you are ever visiting a house in New Orleans and see a lovingly adorned, sparkly shoe on display you’ll know the owner scored it at a Muses parade.  I was lucky enough to catch one myself!

Parades in Uptown are truly family events.  I became instant friends with the families around me, checking out the fun “throws” they were collecting and feeding of their giddy energy.

It’s Carnival Time

Woman dressed as Marie Antoinette laughs while looking into a mirror on Mardi Gras day.

It’s that time of year again, y’all!  Carnival time!  As I’ve been spending my evenings and weekends prepping for my fourth Mardi Gras trip, I’ve been thinking back to five years ago when my colleague and friend, Janelle Nanos, asked me if I wanted to go with her to New Orleans while she was writing a feature story on Mardi Gras.  She enticed me, “It is going to be a great time, and after all, they are going to need photos for the story!” While I’ve always have had a strange attraction to New Orleans–even before I ever stepped foot in the city–I’ve never had the actual desire to go to Mardi Gras.  Of course, I was a victim of believing the stereotypes of booze, boobs, and beads.

I went along with Janelle for a purple, green, and gold colored ride and have never quite been the same since.  I discovered kindred spirits in the people who live in or make yearly pilgrimages to the Big Easy.  Many of the people who I met on that first trip, including lovely Jenny (pictured above), have been friends ever since.  Our bond is no less strong even if we only see each other once a year.  We smile, we hug, we compliment attire, and we weave our way through the magic of Mardi Gras day, knowing we will see each other next time around.

New Orleans is a photographer’s dream at any time of the year, but during Carnival season, it is visual overload.  I rubbed elbows with families, college kids, and all kinds of parade lovers while snapping photos with one hand and catching beads with the other.  I prowled the quiet early morning streets with my new friends in search of a flash of feathers from a Mardi Gras Indian.  And then I fell down the rabbit hole when I arrived at the beginning of the St. Anne’s Parade.  I was told to bring a costume, but the costumes I saw were no Halloween-grade costumes, they were visual splendor.  Riotous convergences of fabric, glitter, quirk, and creativity.  I was hooked.

This Mardi Gras sceptic returned to DC with a changed mind.  I know the experience can take many shapes and forms, but what I really learned is that Mardi Gras is what you make it.  As the Rebirth Brass Bad sings, “Do whatcha wanna!”  And if you want to go and aren’t sure where to start, perhaps our story that was published in the January/February 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler is a good place to start.  I hope that it inspires people to see beyond Bourbon Street and find out what Mardi Gras is really about.  Take a look at the layouts below and go to National Geographic’s website to read Janelle’s full article and see more of my photos.  Clearly, it converted me!