Have you ever had one of those days? You know, where everything seems to be going the wrong way, no matter what you do? The kind of day that makes you wish that you had never got out of bed? Then, an art director at National Geographic emails you to ask to see some of your photos, because they are considering using one as the cover of the Hungarian version of the legendary magazine. Yeah, I’ve never had one of those days either… well, not until recently that is!

Ask any photographer, who they would like to work for? Who is the “dream client”? I’d bet you that 95% of those photographers would answer “National Geographic”. Needless to say I was thrilled. But cautiously so, since I am of the opinion that one should never get too excited about good news until it is a 100% sure thing. This is especially so for landing a dream job, or getting news of a potential sale to a world class client such as National Geographic. To be honest I thought that someone was pulling my leg at first. After a few emails back and forth with the art director and editor, I grew more confident that this was actually going to happen. I think I’ll try and save my feelings of denial for the bad stuff in life from now on.

At first, they were considering another one of my images, which you can see by clicking HERE.

Sometimes a good photograph will not work as a cover, considering the graphics that have to be added. This was why they didn’t end up going with my shot of the Eiffel Tower. In the end, the photograph of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris at night had the right kind of eerie feel for the National Geographic cover to accompany the story inside the magazine. The story is about the creepy Paris underground and you can read it online in English HERE or, if you prefer, in Hungarian HERE.

Different editions of National Geographic have different covers, so this month’s American, Russian, German, French, and Hungarian versions all have their own unique photograph on the cover of the magazine. I am very honoured to have one of my photographs grace the cover of National Geographic, it is a career highlight to say the least. What a great way to kick off 2011.

Okay… Pinch me now please, I must be dreaming!

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