Daily Inspiration: Meet Joel Sartore

From there I got an internship at the Wichita Eagle in Kansas, then a staff job there, then at National Geographic. My first couple of assignments for National Geographic were the first real nature photography I did. “Eagles on the Rise” was a small story about an effort to hand-rear and release southern bald eagles into the American Southeast. The second story, about America’s Gulf Coast, was much broader, literally spanning from the tip of Florida to Brownsville, Texas. All of these things really opened my eyes. The environment was in such terrible shape, yet people just ignored it, pretending it was ‘normal’ to see medical waste like hypodermic needles and used blood bags mixing with spilled oil and tar. That story made me realize the amount of work needed to be done would last my lifetime, and beyond.

Then, in 2006 when my wife was battling breast cancer, I got the idea for the Photo Ark. She’s healthy and fine today, but I stayed home for a year to take care of her and our three kids. Once Kathy recovered, I decided to focus on one big project, something to reach a public with a decreasing attention span, and really try to move the needle of conservation. And so I started going to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, a mile from my house in Lincoln, Nebraska, to take photos. I asked the zoo staff if they had a small animal that would hold fairly still, and so they brought out a naked mole rat and put it on a white cutting board from their kitchen.

He didn’t hold still very well, but I was intrigued by the fact that these animals live underground in the wild, yet how well I could see his face against the clean white background. It helped me appreciate the animal in a whole new way.

That’s how Photo Ark started and now, I’m 100% Photo Ark. I give a voice to the voiceless. It’s a huge honor and a responsibility.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Most people don’t understand that really good photography takes a lot of work.

I do lots of preparation before every photo shoot to learn what the rules of conduct are for the species I’ll be photographing, what a respectful distance is, what behaviors to avoid, and what their “back off” signals are. But even if you do your homework and come prepared, wildlife can be unpredictable and some shoots will be more difficult than others––like my first chimpanzee photo session.

After an hour of prepping an off-exhibit space with a heavy white photo background, the chimps completely destroyed my set at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, KS. The shoot lasted less than three seconds. People can see it on my website, www.joelsartore.com. Just search ‘The Chimp Incident’.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have been working on the National Geographic Photo Ark for more than 16 years now. I photograph each animal on a solid black or white background to eliminate distractions, and because there’s no size comparison on a clean background, all animals are equal; the mouse is every bit as big as an elephant.

This technique also allows viewers to look deeply into the eyes of these animals, see their true beauty and intelligence, and connect most directly with them. I hope people are surprised, captivated, and then moved to learn all they can about the animals they most connect to. Only then will they be moved to take action to save species?

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
The Photo Ark gives animals the chance to be seen, and have their stories told––while there’s still time to save them and their habitats. In my images, viewers are able to look deeply into the eyes of these animals and see they are all important and so worthy of preservation. I’m grateful that the National Geographic Photo Ark has inspired so many people––and I am proud that it has influenced real, impactful conservation efforts. One example I love to share is that of the Florida grasshopper sparrow.

Historically, this bird inhabited the prairies of central Florida. In the last few years, however, it has neared extinction, with biologists struggling to find the reasons why. When the Photo Ark photographed the bird for an Audubon Magazine cover story, it got so much attention that the US government went from spending $20-30k per year to document its demise, to $1.2 million to begin a captive breeding program. That breeding program is a success today, and so there’s real hope for the sparrow, thanks to the hard work of the researchers and breeding centers such as the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, FL.

I’m very proud of that. This short story is just one example of the real impact the Photo Ark has created. There is no better time to act than now. I truly believe that together we can protect the species and ecosystems that are critical to our survival before it’s too late. Learn more about ways you can get involved with and support the National Geographic Photo Ark at NatGeoPhotoArk.org.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.joelsartore.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelsartore/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sartorephoto/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/joelsartore/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VideoArk
• Other: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/photo-ark/

Image Credits
https://brandfolder.com/s/m8s77j6k2zrss64zgjj76jg – The Photo Ark (kcumberland@ngs.org)