Joel Sartore is an American photographer focusing on

conservation photography Conservation photography is the active use of the photographic process and its products, within the parameters of photojournalism, to advocate for Conservation biology, conservation outcomes. Conservation photography combines nature photography ...

, speaker, author, teacher, and a long-time contributor to ''National Geographic'' magazine. He is the head of The National Geographic ''Photo Ark'' project, a 25-year effort to document the approximately 12,000 species living in the world's zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.

Life and work

Sartore graduated from the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

with a degree in journalism. His interest in nature started in childhood when he learned about the very last

passenger pigeon The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (''Ectopistes migratorius'') is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word ''passager'', meaning "passing by", due to the migratory habits ...

from one of his mother's ''Time-Life'' picture books. He has since been in close contact with a wide variety of species including wolves, grizzlies, musk oxen, lions, elephants and polar bears. His first ''National Geographic'' assignments introduced him to nature photography, and also allowed him to see

human impact on the environment Human impact on the environment (or anthropogenic impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the need ...

first-hand. In addition to the work he has done for ''National Geographic,'' Sartore has contributed to ''

Audubon Magazine ''Audubon'' is the flagship journal of the National Audubon Society. It is profusely illustrated and focuses on subjects related to nature, with a special emphasis on birds. New issues are published bi-monthly for society members. An active bl ...

'', ''

GEO Geo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”. GEO or Geo may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazine ...

'', ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' and numerous book projects. Sartore and his work have been the subjects of several national broadcasts including ''National Geographic's Explorer'', the ''NBC Nightly News'', NPR's ''Weekend Edition'', an hour-long

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

documentary, ''At Close Range'', he has been a contributor on the ''CBS Sunday Morning Show'' with Charles Osgood. In 2015, he had an appearance in the film ''

Racing Extinction ''Racing Extinction'' is a 2015 documentary about the ongoing anthropogenic mass extinction of species and the efforts from scientists, activists and journalists to document it by Oscar-winning director Louie Psihoyos, who directed the document ...

'' where he photographed the very last

Rabb's fringe-limbed treefrog ''Ecnomiohyla rabborum'', commonly known as Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog, is a possibly extinct species of frog in the family Hylidae. They were relatively large frogs that inhabited the forest Canopy (biology), canopies of central Panama. Lik ...

. Most recently, Sartore and ''The Photo Ark'' were the subjects of a three-part series which premiered on PBS titled: RARE: "Creatures of the Photo Ark". In 2018, Sartore was presented with the

Rolex Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

National Geographic Explorer of the Year award. In 2021 Sartore was inducted into the

International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Louis, Missouri honors those who have made great contributions to the field of photography. History In 1977 the first Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Santa Barbara, California and a f ...

and he received the

Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography The Ansel Adams Award for Photography, formally called Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, named in honor of American photographer Ansel Adams, is a photography award administered by the Sierra Club. The award "honor photographers wh ...

from the Sierra Club. In 2022, the U.S. Postal Service announced a pane of 20 stamps presenting a photographic portfolio of 20 representative endangered animal species from Sartore's Photo Ark project. Sartore is a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), and resides in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

with his wife and children.

''The Photo Ark''

''The Photo Ark'' is a

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

project led by Sartore. It has the goal of photographing all species living in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around the globe. The results have been documented in a series of books and in a 2017

TV miniseries which was released to

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

. To spread awareness of this undertaking, a selection of photographs from ''The Photo Ark'' has been exhibited in various locations around the world in a variety of diverse locations such as the Auditorium Parco della Musica in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

, and the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art Amphitheater in

Millersburg, Pennsylvania Millersburg is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,541 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Millersburg is located in northwestern Daup ...

. Images from the project were also projected on global landmark buildings such as St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and the Empire State Building in New York. Regarding the scope of the project, Sartore has said "The logistics of pulling off a project of this scope is numbing at times. The travel, the long hours, the setup and teardown of our mobile photo studio… it wears me down just thinking about it." In November 2021, the 12,000th species was photographed for the Photo Ark.

Publications

*''The Company We Keep: America's Endangered Species'', 1995, National Geographic Society (1997 reprint), , with Douglas H. Chadwick *''Nebraska: Under a Big Red Sky'', 1999, Nebraska Book Company (2006 Reprint, University of Nebraska Press), *''Photographing Your Family'', 2008, National Geographic, , with John Healey *''Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species'', 2010, Focal Point (National Geographic), *''Let's Be Reasonable'', 2011, University of Nebraska Press, *''Fundamentals of Photography'', 2012, Teaching Co. *''Fundamentals of Photography II'', 2015, Teaching Co. *''The Photo Ark: One Man's Quest to Document the World's Animals,'' 2017, *''RARE: Creatures of the Photo Ark'', PBS mini-series 2017 * ''Birds Of The Photo Ark,'' 2018, * ''The Photo Ark Vanishing: The World's Most Vulnerable Animals'' (2019) * ''Photo Ark Wonders: Celebrating Diversity in the Animal Kingdom'' (2021)

References

External links

Joel Sartore Photography

Joel Sartore - National Geographic Photographer

Joel Sartore - National Geographic Fellow

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sartore, Joel American photographers National Geographic photographers Living people 1962 births