Photographer Mark Thiessen, who’s worked on staff at National Geographic for over 30 years, likens his job to a Swiss army knife—versatile enough to tackle many kinds of assignments. Even when the subject is challenging, he approaches each assignment with a lot of curiosity and creativity, whether it’s shooting smoke jumpers who leap out of planes to fight wildfires or making “rain” in the studio to take a unique portrait of an Explorer. And as a special treat, Thiessen will take us up a flight of stairs from the photo studio to show us one of his favorite hobbies: beekeeping.

For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.

Want more?

Follow Mark on Instagram at @Thiessenphoto. 

See what it takes to put out a wildfire in this Nat Geo article, and follow smokejumpers out of a plane in this article. 

Hear more of Mark on the Overheard episode “An Accidental Case of the Blues,” about the discovery of the first blue pigment since Thomas Jefferson was president. 

Also explore: 

Did you know that people steal bee hives? Find out why in the Overheard episode “Honeybee Chop Shop.” 

Want to take better photos at home? Nat Geo staff photographer Becky Hale explains how.

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