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Wild Eye: A Life in Photographs
- GenresPhotography
416 pages, Hardcover
Published October 21, 2025
39 people want to read
About the author
Beverly Joubert
23 books9 followersBeverly Joubert was born in South Africa in 1957. She began her career in photography in Botswana's famous Savute region where she and her husband, film director Dereck Joubert, started making natural history films.
Beverly's work has appeared in many issues of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazines, including the cover story ''Lion of Darkness''. Her work has also been published in over a hundred magazines including Geo, African Wildlife and of course NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
Beverly is co-founder of Wildlife Films, which has produced ten films for National Geographic Television over the past 18 years. Some of these have received cult status, and it is estimated that the film Eternal Enemies reached and continues to reach more than 100 million people. She has received two Emmy awards and a Peabody Award for her production and sound recording role on their film Reflections of Elephants. She is also credited as the producer of the recent Walt Disney Pictures feature film, Whispers: An Elephant's Tale. Beverly has won various categories of the BBC wildlife photography competition over the years.
There is little doubt that Beverly is an icon among woman photographers of Africa. Her knowledge of the place and its spirit comes out in her work. Her conservation involvement extends to being a member of the Chobe Wildlife Trust and a founding member of the Wild Places Foundation.
Beverly specializes in capturing a moment of natural history that crystallizes the action and power of animals doing what they do without their being aware of us. Her recent exhibit in France was about poaching and what Botswana's military is doing to stop it. Here she used the hidden camera techniques to let soldiers and poachers interact naturally treating them as equals to her usual animal subjects.
Beverly's work has appeared in many issues of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazines, including the cover story ''Lion of Darkness''. Her work has also been published in over a hundred magazines including Geo, African Wildlife and of course NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
Beverly is co-founder of Wildlife Films, which has produced ten films for National Geographic Television over the past 18 years. Some of these have received cult status, and it is estimated that the film Eternal Enemies reached and continues to reach more than 100 million people. She has received two Emmy awards and a Peabody Award for her production and sound recording role on their film Reflections of Elephants. She is also credited as the producer of the recent Walt Disney Pictures feature film, Whispers: An Elephant's Tale. Beverly has won various categories of the BBC wildlife photography competition over the years.
There is little doubt that Beverly is an icon among woman photographers of Africa. Her knowledge of the place and its spirit comes out in her work. Her conservation involvement extends to being a member of the Chobe Wildlife Trust and a founding member of the Wild Places Foundation.
Beverly specializes in capturing a moment of natural history that crystallizes the action and power of animals doing what they do without their being aware of us. Her recent exhibit in France was about poaching and what Botswana's military is doing to stop it. Here she used the hidden camera techniques to let soldiers and poachers interact naturally treating them as equals to her usual animal subjects.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 11, 2026
Superb, beautiful, moving. I read it twice. I got this book as a Christmas gift and it was the best gift ever. My god this is an incredible book on so many levels. The story of the authors, of their photography, of the animals, of their rescue projects-- incredible. AND this is without saying anything about the photographs and their captions. I read them all, twice! Extraordinary. I tagged so many favorites photos and stories. Here you go, at least 21 that I found exhilarating, enthralling, and so expressive and moving. Gives the reader a LOT to contemplate for sure!
1. page 62-63: "When we return to the sage-scented sands of Botswana, our first and best guides are often elephants- perhaps because they embody the characteristics humanity values most in itself. And the sepia photo of the family of elephants!
2. page 73: "Compassion is a lesson .. " lovely essay about their time with the elephants and what was learned from them.
3. Page 832-83: Rainbows in two large photos, one of buffalo, one of a lion cub. Stunning.
4. page 98-99: Photo of two zebra fighting under a full moon in Kenya. (I would have thought they were playing.) The quote: "There's a joy of being in the presence of something far greater than ourselves, as well as a yearning for the kind of freedom we see watching "wild horses" (striped as they are here) running free with the wind in their faces."
5. pg 102-3: Photo of zebras, golden stripes as the sun sets across Botswana's Makgadikgadi salt pans.
6. pg 110-111: more zebras, in striped chaos. (reviewer's note: I learned something here, that zebra protect themselves from enemies by sowing confusion in their running)
7. pg 126-7: the photo that is the cover of their book "Hunting With the Moon" with a lion and a buffalo in the dark hours in Chobe National Park.
8. pg 151: the essay with the best quote ever: "Humility is often mistaken for weakness in the same way arrogance is mistaken for strength." This is an essay on their journey with the animals and what they have learned and discovered, and that they believe after 40 years in the wild, "we probably know very little of what we can know." Profound.
9. pg 158-9: ph0tos of rescue and flee Duba lions' enormous bulk against hyenas. (Reviewer: learned something here, that the lions eventually wiped out the hyenas on this island.
10. pg. 174-5: moonlight photos, of a pride of lionesses and their cubs drinking at a small spillway in Botswana's Selinda Reserve. Incredible photo of a baboon dreaming on Chief's Island backlight by the moon, What a silhouette!
11. pg 184-5: Tortilis;s tail, adorable photo. A leopard cub that the authors befriended and eventually watched grow up and leave for their life in the wild.
12. pg 190-1: "As we crossed the gulf from scientists and photographers to something else, compassion became an everyday part of our jobs." Photo Nurtured. Legadema (adult leopard) cared one day for a day-old baby baboon for hours in the cold Botswana night. A moment that became iconic for teh "Eye of the Leopard" book and film for National Geographic.
13. pg 205-7: Phot of leaping leopard chasing squirrels! The caption says they were her obsession. (Reviewer: I know that feeling well,)
14. pg 208-9: leopard photo (Tortilis) in an image that left the expressive eye color and desaturated the rest. Simply beautiful "despite more than 40 years int eh wild, we probably know very little of what we can know. But we now realize that the journey is understanding." Marvelous profound quote.
15. pg. 226-7: "Though we know a lot about the animals of Africa, we will never know all of it." Photo of a martial eagle, titled "Hypnotic," -- and it truly is. Stunning presence. You can tell it is thinking and regarding something!
16. pg 241: Essay about how the authors launched "Rhinos Without Borders" and moving those in the say of poachers to safety. Truly incredible story!!!! Suddenly they were getting more calls to move other animals to safety, elephants, leopards, giraffes, lions, zebras, all in need of rescue from death by poachers. Thus, "REWILDING" became an extension of the authors work. This makes me cry, how wonderful this is.
17. pg 298-9: Two photos: "Graphic repose" is the title of this photo of a leopard on a tree branch against the white sky. "Alert" of Tortilis, the leopard scanning the horizon for an opportunity to hunt.
18. pg 306-7: "Future King" photo of lion cub with his father, and "Spotted Embrace" photo of a cheetah cub with his parent.
19. pg. 308-9: "Each image tells a story, and each invites viewers to ask a question: What happens next? The art of a good photograph engages and solicits more questions than it answers. Photo the follows is titled "New Power" in "Kenya's Mara region, a cub investigates then bonds with his father."
20. pg 320-1: color photo of two servals, mother and daughter-- comfortably watching the photographers.
21. pg. 304-5: photo of a silhouette of a giraffe flanked by two wildebeests. (Reviewer: And perhaps the most alluring and tantalizing photo in the book, like an Escher artwork.) Titled "Shadow March" this is in "Botswana, and each zebra casts a tall shadow from directly above. This image is an optical illusion that throws into question what is real and what is a reflection."
If you love wildlife, love animals, are studying to work with animals, get this book, or borrow it from your local library. It is inspriational.
1. page 62-63: "When we return to the sage-scented sands of Botswana, our first and best guides are often elephants- perhaps because they embody the characteristics humanity values most in itself. And the sepia photo of the family of elephants!
2. page 73: "Compassion is a lesson .. " lovely essay about their time with the elephants and what was learned from them.
3. Page 832-83: Rainbows in two large photos, one of buffalo, one of a lion cub. Stunning.
4. page 98-99: Photo of two zebra fighting under a full moon in Kenya. (I would have thought they were playing.) The quote: "There's a joy of being in the presence of something far greater than ourselves, as well as a yearning for the kind of freedom we see watching "wild horses" (striped as they are here) running free with the wind in their faces."
5. pg 102-3: Photo of zebras, golden stripes as the sun sets across Botswana's Makgadikgadi salt pans.
6. pg 110-111: more zebras, in striped chaos. (reviewer's note: I learned something here, that zebra protect themselves from enemies by sowing confusion in their running)
7. pg 126-7: the photo that is the cover of their book "Hunting With the Moon" with a lion and a buffalo in the dark hours in Chobe National Park.
8. pg 151: the essay with the best quote ever: "Humility is often mistaken for weakness in the same way arrogance is mistaken for strength." This is an essay on their journey with the animals and what they have learned and discovered, and that they believe after 40 years in the wild, "we probably know very little of what we can know." Profound.
9. pg 158-9: ph0tos of rescue and flee Duba lions' enormous bulk against hyenas. (Reviewer: learned something here, that the lions eventually wiped out the hyenas on this island.
10. pg. 174-5: moonlight photos, of a pride of lionesses and their cubs drinking at a small spillway in Botswana's Selinda Reserve. Incredible photo of a baboon dreaming on Chief's Island backlight by the moon, What a silhouette!
11. pg 184-5: Tortilis;s tail, adorable photo. A leopard cub that the authors befriended and eventually watched grow up and leave for their life in the wild.
12. pg 190-1: "As we crossed the gulf from scientists and photographers to something else, compassion became an everyday part of our jobs." Photo Nurtured. Legadema (adult leopard) cared one day for a day-old baby baboon for hours in the cold Botswana night. A moment that became iconic for teh "Eye of the Leopard" book and film for National Geographic.
13. pg 205-7: Phot of leaping leopard chasing squirrels! The caption says they were her obsession. (Reviewer: I know that feeling well,)
14. pg 208-9: leopard photo (Tortilis) in an image that left the expressive eye color and desaturated the rest. Simply beautiful "despite more than 40 years int eh wild, we probably know very little of what we can know. But we now realize that the journey is understanding." Marvelous profound quote.
15. pg. 226-7: "Though we know a lot about the animals of Africa, we will never know all of it." Photo of a martial eagle, titled "Hypnotic," -- and it truly is. Stunning presence. You can tell it is thinking and regarding something!
16. pg 241: Essay about how the authors launched "Rhinos Without Borders" and moving those in the say of poachers to safety. Truly incredible story!!!! Suddenly they were getting more calls to move other animals to safety, elephants, leopards, giraffes, lions, zebras, all in need of rescue from death by poachers. Thus, "REWILDING" became an extension of the authors work. This makes me cry, how wonderful this is.
17. pg 298-9: Two photos: "Graphic repose" is the title of this photo of a leopard on a tree branch against the white sky. "Alert" of Tortilis, the leopard scanning the horizon for an opportunity to hunt.
18. pg 306-7: "Future King" photo of lion cub with his father, and "Spotted Embrace" photo of a cheetah cub with his parent.
19. pg. 308-9: "Each image tells a story, and each invites viewers to ask a question: What happens next? The art of a good photograph engages and solicits more questions than it answers. Photo the follows is titled "New Power" in "Kenya's Mara region, a cub investigates then bonds with his father."
20. pg 320-1: color photo of two servals, mother and daughter-- comfortably watching the photographers.
21. pg. 304-5: photo of a silhouette of a giraffe flanked by two wildebeests. (Reviewer: And perhaps the most alluring and tantalizing photo in the book, like an Escher artwork.) Titled "Shadow March" this is in "Botswana, and each zebra casts a tall shadow from directly above. This image is an optical illusion that throws into question what is real and what is a reflection."
If you love wildlife, love animals, are studying to work with animals, get this book, or borrow it from your local library. It is inspriational.
Displaying 1 of 1 review