Quantcast
The veiled, unveiled – National Geographic marks 125 years with photo tribute – Metro US

The veiled, unveiled – National Geographic marks 125 years with photo tribute

National Geographic is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a special photography edition that features the most iconic images from the magazine’s history.

Famed ‘Afghan Girl’ image celebrated

The issue features National Geographic’s most famous photo – the piercing green eyes of Sharbat Gula, a 13-year-old Afghan girl in Pakistan’s Nasir Bagh refugee camp – which appeared on the magazine’s June 1985 cover.
The girl’s identity was unknown for 17 years until she was tracked down in 2002.

Quote

“The very best of their images remind us that a photograph has the power to do infinitely more than document. It can transport us to unseen worlds.”

Robert Draper, contributing writer for National Geographic, on the magazine’s photographers

Historic highlights

• 1949-1956. First photographic survey of the night sky from the Northern Hemisphere.
• 1962. First published photos of armed US servicemen fighting in Vietnam appear in November issue.
• 1984. First major magazine to feature hologram on its cover.
• 2012. First high-speed, high-definition footage of cheetah at 1,200 frames a second.

By the numbers

11.5m
images is the total in National Geographic’s photographic archives.
2.4m
followers on Instagram – the largest for any photographic brand.
1.5
tons is the heaviest checked baggage a photog (underwater photojournalist Brian Skerry) had on assignment.

Visit National Geographic to learn more about this very special issue.