National Geographic Books

Now In Bookstores: Always Ireland

I have to admit that it has been a while since I’ve shared here. The pandemic disrupted my life in many ways but also opened possibilities with other aspirations, like starting a flower farm (more on that later).

But over the last few years, in between learning how tough flower farming can be, I’ve been working on some book projects for National Geographic, one of which was published last month. Being that today is St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share with you Always Ireland by Jack Kavanagh.

Full disclosure, I have never been to Ireland in person, but after going through thousands of images of the Emerald isle, I now feel that I have had a complete virtual tour and history! I’ve never worked on a book project that didn’t have its share of challenges. Sometimes it is constantly shifting deadlines, other times it is trying to find photos of rectangular-shaped fish and marine mammals that work visually in a square-shaped book. This project was no different, but in the end, I’m quite pleased with the photographic results.

Ireland has been boosted to the top of my travel list from photo editing for this project, not only because of the gorgeous landscape but because every single Irish person I called or emailed was absolutely lovely…and I’m a sucker for the accent!

Whether you’ve already been won over by this beautiful little country, or if you’re Ireland-curious, pick up a copy of Always Ireland to get travel tips, lessons in history and lore, and even recipes. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!

And a big thank you to the team I worked with at National Geographic Books, and especially to author Jack Kavanagh for his wonderful insights into his country and for supporting me to show Ireland’s many facets with photography.

In Bookstores: 100 Hikes of a Lifetime

A few weeks ago I received a package in the mail from National Geographic. I hadn’t been expecting anything, but then it hit me…its the book!

Finally, my very own copy of the 100 Hikes of a Lifetime book, which I photo edited over the course of a year’s time, had arrived. The task of photo editing a book for mass publication is such a long process that by the time my role had ended in August of last year, I clearly had plenty of time to forget about all of the hard work and deadlines. Then the physical book arrived like a long lost surprise; a PDF magically turned into a real-life book!

Working on 100 Hikes of a Lifetime took me virtually around the world to beautiful mountaintops and arid deserts, ironically while I was often yoyo-ing back and forth from home to my next far-flung assignment. There was an intricate dance of multi-tasking going on at many points to keep all of my deadlines and obligations met.

I wanted to thank the author of the book, Kate Siber, for being efficient and endlessly helpful. I didn’t envy her the nearly impossible task of selecting only 100 hikes! Also, thank you to the team at National Geographic Books: Moira Haney, Allyson Johnson, Nicole Miller, Meredith Wilcox, Susan Blair, and Jill Foley.

A side-effect of photo editing travel publications is that I have a never-ending wish list of travel experiences. After virtually experiencing 100 hikes, I can say that at the top of my list are California’s Sierra High Route, Nepal’s Great Himalaya Trail, Egypt’s Sinai Trail, and Italy’s Alta Via Delle Dolomiti 1. Clearly, I’m up for a challenge! And inspired by my work on a previous book in this series, 100 Dives of a Lifetime, I’m finally getting my scuba certification this year and going diving in French Polynesia.

If you’re in need of an adventure or simply want to ogle the beauty of this wild world we live in, pick up a copy of 100 Hikes of a Lifetime here.

Hikes of a Lifetime cover

In Bookstores: 100 Dives of a Lifetime

For all of you lovers of the underwater world, I’m pleased to share that a book I photo edited for National Geographic on the world’s best scuba diving locations is now in bookstores! 100 Dives of a Lifetime is written by Carrie Miller, a friend and colleague I last collaborated with on a project for Tourism New Zealand.

While photo editing over the course of a year on this title, my eyes feasted on imagery from 100 locations around the world, both above and below the surface. At times finding images from these remote destinations was elusive, like digging for underwater treasure. Luckily, with the contributions from the libraries of many talented underwater photographers, the treasures are now on display in the pages of this beautiful book.

Working on a book is a long process that involves extensive collaboration with editorial and design teams and a huge amount of organization. Thank you to author Carrie Miller (who is currently working on another travel book relating to scuba diving!) and Moira Haney, Allyson Johnson, and Sanaa Akkach at National Geographic Books.

After working on this project, I took away an urgency to get myself scuba-certified, a deep appreciation for the art of underwater photography, and an obsession with nudibranchs.

Pick up a copy of 100 Dives of a Lifetime here. And stay tuned for another book that I’m about to wrap up in National Geographic’s “Of a Lifetime” series, one which won’t require dive fins!

 

krista-rossow-book-photo-editing