Photographers document motherhood’s quiet moments. Plus, seeing the blue ghost.
|  | Saturday, May 7, 2022 | | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY JULIE RENÉE JONES
| | By Whitney Johnson, Director of Visual and Immersive Experiences
Look at that little hand.
That's photographer Julie Renée Jones's newborn in 2021. The U.S. image (above) is among 27,000 photographs from mothers in Karni Areli's worldwide Eye Mama Project—and it's one of the filmmaker's favorites.
“It felt like humanity trying to reach for the light,” says Karni of the photograph. “The sense of poetry, dark and light. The menacing feeling of helplessness reaching for touch and connection.”
That could sum up her own journey to make a small difference, to add the “mama gaze” to portraiture. But also hope, she adds. “And how as a mum your whole universe can fit into one small basket.”
The Eye Mama Project images, from more than 40 countries so far, show that universe—and how much mothers all around the world have in common.
See our curated selection of 12 images from the project here, and happy Mother’s Day to all you mamas out there. | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY HANNY HSIAN
| | | From Taiwan: The Asian nation led a strong effort to keep the pandemic at bay. Above, Hanny Hsian nurses her son after a birthday party in May 2021. “A house full of little kids, running around laughing,” she marvels. “Looking back at these pictures, it’s bizarre to see us all without masks and very little fear of COVID.” | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY PAULA BRANDÃO
| | | Shadow play in Brazil: That’s Paula Brandão’s daughter, Olivia, playing in the curtains. The family moved from São Paulo to the small beach town of Barra do Sahy, during the pandemic. Yes, they dealt with fears, “but also the wonderful and challenging experience of being isolated together 24 hours a day in a very different setting full of nature.” | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY VIKTORIIA DUDAR
| | | Ukraine, and clinging: “Tactile sensations (mother's hugs, kisses) have been very important for my son since birth,” says Ukrainian photographer Viktoriia Dudar, who took this photograph last September—before Russia invaded Ukraine. “Clinging to me and feeling the warmth of my hands, Yaroslav feels safe.” Since the war began, Yaroslav’s need for his mother’s touch has intensified. Every night, “he falls asleep clinging to me, asking me to turn on the night light and keep my palms on his ears,” says Dudar. “He seems afraid to hear the unexpected sounds of war, which are intensified by darkness.” | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY ANIYA EMTAGE LEGNARO
| | In Barbados: “My son, Otis, loves to play with my ears. It’s his comfort,” says Aniya Emtage Legnaro, a Canadian Barbadian photographer. Legnaro and her husband tried for nearly two years to conceive. “After multiple miscarriages, he came,” she says. “One day I will tell him how many little souls cleared the path for him to be here.”
See more mother’s stories here.
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 | PHOTOGRAPH BY MAC STONE
| | The blue ghost: Do you see what looks like yellow lines on the forest floor? This long-exposure image shows the mind-bending mating ritual of the blue ghost firefly. Just after the sun sets in the spring, the male blue ghost emits a continuous bioluminescence as it searches for its mate. The flightless female is waiting in the leaf litter. Photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Mac Stone captured the otherworldly display of thousands of tiny lights dancing and swirling on Monday evening in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Here’s his rare look at synchronous fireflies.
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 | ILLUSTRATION BY MARLY GALLARDO
| | Familiar space: How do you illustrate a story about a writer whose extended family migrated from Latin America to New Jersey, but then she moved to southern Ohio? Marly Gallardo focused on the idea of home (pictured above). Gallardo, an Ecuadorian artist based in New York, often considers elements of ancestral folklore and connections to land for her work. Ohio’s family-focused, multigenerational connection to land is a theme of Daisy Hernández’s essay in June’s issue of National Geographic. Quite unexpectedly, Hernández has found herself at home.
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| This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Jen Tse, and Monica Williams. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Rita Spinks, Hobbs Bell, and Jeremy Brandt-Vorel also contributed this week. Have an idea or feedback? We’d love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. | | | |
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