The Photo Ark: One Man's Quest to Document the World's Animals

Photo Ark

by Joel Sartore

This lush book of photography represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major cross-platform initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals--especially those that are endangered. His powerful message, conveyed with humor, compassion, and art: to know these animals is to save them.

Sartore intends to photograph every animal in captivity in the world. He is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. He has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the eloquent prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, this book presents a thought-provoking argument for saving all the species of our planet.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Animals, Nature, Art, Science, Coffee Table Books

400 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2017

About the author

From Wikipedia: Joel Sartore (born June 16, 1962, Ponca City, Oklahoma) is an American photographer, speaker, author, teacher, and a 20-year contributor to National Geographic magazine. Sartore grew up in Ralston, Nebraska and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in journalism. His interest in nature started in childhood, when he learned about the very last passenger pigeon from one of his mother's Time-Life picture books. He has since been chased by 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 first-hand.

In addition to the work he has done for National Geographic, Joel has contributed to Audubon Magazine, GEO, Time, Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated and numerous book projects. Joel and his work have been the subjects of several national broadcasts including National Geographic's Explorer, the NBC Nightly News, NPR's Weekend Edition and an hour-long PBS documentary, At Close Range. He is also a contributor on the CBS Sunday Morning Show with Charles Osgood. In 2015, he had an appearance in the film Racing Extinction where he photographed the very last Rabb's fringe-limbed treefrog.

Joel Sartore is a founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP).[1] In 2012, Sartore was named a Fellow of the National Geographic Society.

Reviews

[Stefanie (foreversweetserendipity) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing pictures! And a great way to generate more awareness for animals going extinct. There needs to be so much more done for these animals before they are gone.

[Malli (Chapter Malliumpkin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The following review is based off my own opinions, thoughts and reactions. So in other words brace yourself. *There may be inappropriate words such as curse words.* You have been advised in advance.*

So I have been thinking of how I wanted to kick this review off and I mean, I could just gush over animals or going into a lecture about everything thing this book stands for, but I think I'm just going to jump into explaining how this book, THIS right here is the crown jewel of my book collection. I'm a HUGE animal advocate. I volunteer as various rehabilitation centers and volunteer at zoos so I do get to experience work with endangered species. I also volunteer with regular domestic animal rescues that work with your domestic cats, dogs, mice, horses, sheep, rabbits, etc... For me, the need to preserve animals whether wild or domestic has always been something I have firmly believed in since I was younger. After seeing the documentary Racing Extinction, I have been obsessed with The Photo Ark. It's such a powerful and inspiring thing to follow and Joel Sartore has really set a level of not only inspiration, but I can honestly say his is a hero of mine. His passion for this project is just a beacon of light in the hazy fog.

If you've never seen the documetary Racing Extinction then you need to go watch it right now before you read this review because that documentary is so powerful and so eye-opening. Words can't express how overwhelming all the emotions are by watching this documentary.

Racing Extinction Official Trailer

The first time I ever heard of the Photo Ark was actually by watching the documentary Racing Extinction. I never knew there were people out in the world who were going to such lengths to help change the view we have of wild animals and to raise awareness of the reality of it all. More importantly for me, seeing someone like Joel create this project to document not only the uniqueness each individual species on the planet has to offer, but to make people realize that animals and humans have more similarities that not many people would notice. Joel Sartore captures it all in his photos and it's an incredible thing to realize and say "hey, that creature reminds me of so-an-so because of the emotions they're expressing in their eyes." It's something really incredible and it allows us to see animals outside of the box instead of just always saying "oh, they're just animals".



What I love most about this book is that it has that personal touch of the author. You get the vibe for all the people involved in making this kind of project happening, you get to see that there others fighting to allow these species to have the right to coexist with humanity, and you get the vibes of each individual personality for each creature that was photographed for not only the Photo Ark project, but for this book as well. The sense of connection you feel through this entire book is a very powerful thing. For me, I connected deeply because of my love for animals and my passion for them. My desire to preserve their existence and allow future generations to experience these incredible creatures is what powers me and how I feel not only connected to the Photo Ark, but feel a fire being lit inside me to push to do more. Something to really get you thinking is Pokemon the Movie can put projects like this to preserve all forms of life into perspective and show us how we're all connected and need to start making a difference.




Projects like the Photo Ark are the inspirational movements that will encourage other to take a stand and look at things differently. It's a kind of project that will shake the world and start a revolution of standing up for what's right and those who have no voice to share. I don't think I could fall more in love with a project than I have with this. It is the crown jewel of all my books because it stands for everything I believe, for everything I love, for my passion that drives my existence to keep fighting and helping our four legged animals who can't voice their protests. Everyone, big and small, deserve a right to exist on this planet and Racing Extinction and The Photo Ark have sparked a movement to preserve that right for ALL living things. There is no other book I would have at the top of my collection to radiate so much power and emotion.



All in all, I love this book to death and I love The Photo Ark. I follow Joel Sartore on various social media so if you're looking to check out more of his work then I'll leave a few links down below for you to check out!

Joel Sartore's Offical Website
The Photo Ark Gallery
Joel Sartore's Facebook Page

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gorgeous volume of photographs, all closeups of animals, insects, birds, set against black backgrounds. A rating is shown for each animal, which illustrates it's place on the continuum of extinction, from Extinct, to Least Concern.
In his introduction to this collection, actor Harrison Ford states: "Joel Sartore's Photo Ark focuses a lens on the individual thread in nature's tapestry....The importance of works like Joel's is that it reminds us to care about those individual threads. His subjects look us in the eye. They challenge us. They beguile. They make us laugh and sigh and wonder. We sense in his portraits an almost tangible connection between them and us. They make each animal--and, I hope, the consequences of its disappearance--real."
The last chapter of this collection is called "Stories of Hope", and shows animals who have come back from very near extinction. Let's hope more join their ranks.

[ღ Carol jinx~☆~☔ʚϊɞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing pictures and stories of animals. Foreword by Harrison Ford.

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that should be on everyone's coffee tables and book shelves! I found it on the 'new' release shelf at my local library, being an animal lover I had to check it out. National Geographic the Photo ark is a lifelong project, already spanning 25 years, of photographer Joel Sartore. It is his goal to take portraits of the world's animals, especially those that are endangered and put them at our fingertips. Joel has a powerful message sprawling through this fantastic book conveyed with humor, compassion and art. Joel hopes we will look into the eyes of these animals, to know these animals, in order to save them.

Sartore's intends to photograph every animal in captivity around the world. He is visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. He has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal.

As I was going through the book, I happened upon an Albino North American Porcupine with the caption "This albino porcupine is named Halsey for the spot in Nebraska near where she was rescued after being hit on the highway. Today Halsey is thriving, despite a dental condition that prevents her from ever being returned to the wild." This caught me off guard because I happen to live in Nebraska! Not only that, but as I kept reading I read more captions and descriptions of animals that were photographed at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (Nebraska), Nebraska Wildlife Rehab in Louisville (Nebraska) and the Lincoln's Children Zoo (Nebraska).

Then, after finishing the book, I read about the photographer and author Joel Sartore. He is a photographer, author, teacher, conservationist, National Geographic Fellow and a regular contributor to National Geographic magazine. He is the founder of this project, the Photo Ark, has contributed to Audubon magazine, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, Smithsonian magazine and numerous book projects. Are you ready for the icing on the cake???? Joel is always happy to return from his travels around the world to his home in Lincoln, Nebraska, where his lives with is wife and their three children.

I cannot stress enough how amazing this book was, especially from the fact that this project is being conducted by a fellow Nebraskan. I look forward to seeing more of Joel Sartore's work in the future!

[Marideth Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures. Joel Sartore is truly the best wildlife photographer in the world.

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains gorgeous full page photographs of about 400 animals, both invertebrate and vertebrate. The photographer has each posed against an all white or black background so as not to detract from the impact that these beautifully coloured pictures have on the viewer. So far the photographer, Joel Sartore, has collected 6;000 photos of an estimated 12,000 species for over a decade, and hopes to devote his life to photographing the remaining 6,000. Such photos have been archived by the National Geographic as part of an ongoing Photo Ark Project.
There is an impetus to inspire people to do whatever the can to preserve the earth’s biodiversity. His message is that if not more is done half these species may become extinct by 2100. Sadly we are losing more forms of animal life than any time since the Ice Age.
Included if a foreword by actor, Harrison Ford in his longtime capacity as vice chairman of Conservation International, and an essay by nature writer, Douglas Chadwick.
This volume is a real treasure, and inspires hope that future generations looking at this book will not be appalled at what we may have lost in the coming years. The conservation efforts for the planet’s animals and their habitats is the Photo Ark’s powerful message.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this photo book and its author featured on 60 Minutes. The author is trying - photographically - to capture as many species as possible and to raise awareness globally about species extinction in our Anthropocene era. He indicated that he has ten years to go with project and has traveled the world several times over photographing his animal subjects at zoos and sanctuaries. He is a photographer for National Geographic.

Not so much text but the photography is extraordinary and the pairings of his subjects in the ark range from stunningly colorful (turquoise birds) to whimsical (Indian elephant versus elephant shrew).

Easily 4 stars. It was a library book.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing and so inspiring. I loved every single page of this book.

[Susannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of some of the photos of the world's animals as taken by Joel Sartore. Sartore's goal is to take a photograph of every species of animal under human care. So far he has photographed about half of them - over 6,000 - and about 400 are featured in the book. This project is sponsored by National Geographic, and the goal of the project is to highlight the alarming rate at which humankind is diminishing, and damaging,the unique biodiversity of Earth.

Because of the immensity of the project, Sartore has only photographed animals already under human care, where they are easily accessible to be photographed. To highlight the animals they are all either photographed against a white or black background. Animals large and small are given equal focus, as animals of all sizes are equally important to the health of ecosystems. All animals are accompanied by their name, genus, and red-list status.

The photographs are beautiful. The animals have such character as captured in Sartore's photographs. A lot of thought has gone into the layout of the book also, with photos of creatures beautifully juxtaposed, and themed chapters to group animals together. Conservation heroes are also profiled, and some behind the scenes photos show how the images were captured.

It was amazing to see pictures of animals I had never heard of before. Favourites include the Desert Horned Viper, which is a snake that has horns coming up from its eye sockets! And Matschie's Tree Kangaroo, which looks like a cross between a teddy bear and a kangaroo! New Zealand birds the Kakapo, and the South Island Takahe, are also featured. Sadly, it is the animals most familiar to us that are most in danger of extinction, such as tigers, gorillas and chimpazees.

[Kathy Sebesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost never buy boox. For one, they're too expensive in the quantity I read. For another, with so much new to read, it's rare for me to find one I want to read again. I'm blessed with a fantastic library and essentially unlimited access to Interlibrary Loans.

So why did I buy this book? Like every NatGeo book I've ever seen, the photographs are spectacular. It's almost entirely a picture book, with very little in the way of written explanations yet those little comments are evocative. If you didn't feel a need to protect animals and species before you pored over this book, you won't walk away from it without that drive. No, there's no long list of places you should support for this or that creature - you can get them online. This is a much more understated appeal: find an animal that turns you on and do what you can to protect it.

A word about the photos: they're all staged. No elephant running across the Serengeti, no bear fishing for salmon. Every animal is from a zoo or preserve or the like, and all are photographed in a pure black or white enclosure to make them pop. The art is in being there at that exact moment when there're five penguins in the room, all in a row looking to one side, and a single one steps forward and loox the other way. Or looking thru a transparent shell at a frog tadpole when it turns and seems to look into the camera.

I wax poetic. Buy the book, spend some time with the stories, then share it with all. Under $25 at one of those large retailers.

[Minna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning. I follow both Joel Sartore and his Photo Ark project on Instagram and have ever since I heard about them while watching the Racing Extinction documentary (which I ALSO highly recommend).

Ecological conservation and the current extinction event are issues of maximum importance to me, so I had been looking forward to sitting down with this book. I was not disappointed. It is superlatively beautiful, and more importantly, motivational. The book shows several instances of real-life 'heroes' - men and women who have devoted their time, resources, and in some cases lives to preservation efforts. Even small changes make a difference; challenge yourself.


"It's better to light one candle than curse the darkness. I think that's where movements are started."

- Shawn Heinrichs


ed. to add: Adding to 2018 PopSugar Reading challenge for category: a book about a problem facing society today.

[Becky B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joel Sartore has set out to photograph as many species of animals as he can in a 25 year period and develop an "ark" of photographic evidence of animals, many of which are on the brink of extinction. This book is just the first sharing of photos he has done so far. Included are a few essays on the need for better care of the planet, biodiversity, and its inhabitants, as well as highlights of people or groups who are working hard to save animals so that future generations can also enjoy them as living creatures.

The photographs in this ARE INCREDIBLE. There are some really adorable creatures out there I had no idea even existed. Definitely pick this one up for the pictures. It's like taking a virtual trip to the best zoo ever.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning photographs championing the beauty and importance of biodiversity. Nice segments between chapters highlighting unsung heroes in the fight to save these animals. On a personal note this book shifted my view of zoos.

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astounding work of art. This photographer shows the souls of God's beautiful creatures.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omigosh, I love this book so much! The photography is amazing and the little comments and behind the scenes are very interesting. I totally recommend this book to animal lovers!

[Allwynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful volume to document all animals visually,while spreading an important message about the alarming rate of animal extinction. The photos best capture each animal's unique personality, set in different ways against a black background, with ratings of extinction for each. The moment I got through all the photos, I flipped back to the beginning to be able to experience the wonder of this book all over again. This book spreads beauty, awareness, knowledge through art... what more could you want/get out of a photography book?

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was beautiful!!

I recognized many of the different types of animals, such as the spectacled eider birds, jaguarundi, the different types of gibbons, the plovers, the roller birds, as well as the more well known ones like of course, the wolves, cheetahs, jaguars, armadillos, tapirs, and those. :)


Among some of my favorite were the De Brazza's monkey, the oncilla, and the Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine. The Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine is super weird looking but I found it adorable at the same time.

Recommended for all ages, and for everyone!!

[lydia morphis · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful!! i was gifted this a few christmases ago and had flipped through it a time or two, but today i wanted to sit down and actually read it. i love joel’s message and the purpose behind his project. my connection to animals started at a very young age because of books like this one, and i hope for some little girl somewhere it has also sparked the same passion.

[Tehya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really a wonderful collection of photos. Each picture of each endangered species sends something stirring in your heart. Joel Sartore paints a really convicting picture of the need for conservation for endangered animals. I recommend anyone to flip through the pictures and read the inspiring stories of hope in the wild.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Stunning" is the word for this large format book filled with photos of a huge variety of wildlife. Some are instantly recognizable iconic species, some look like the imaginings of a sci-fi writer, but in all of them we see clearly recognizable emotions: curiosity, wonder, boredom, annoyance, and more. No matter how alien some of these beings may seem, the incredible camera work highlights the "someone" behind those eyes.

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this photographer profiled on 60 Minutes and knew my children would love the pictures in this book. As I went to return it to the library, I decided to renew it so that I had a chance to enjoy the pictures myself. They were simply stunning!

[Laura Madsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent photos. I appreciate that the Photo Ark project aims to document all animal species, not just the charismatic megafauna. By shooting against plain black or white backgrounds, a little invertebrate is as worthy as an elephant.

[Dna]

This book is GORGEOUS, but is too heavy for me to lug and handle right now.

[Emna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amaziiiiiinnggggggg!!!!!

[Amy Bowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning photography and lovely background information on many of the species.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only "coffee table book" I have owned, and it's amazing. I have spent a lot of time looking at each picture.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

What better way to start this new year than to contemplate the faces of the creatures captured in The Photo Ark, creatures who might be here in 2024 or might not?

I plan to pass this around my naturalist group to share in the coming year.

[WritingReadingSoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, if anyone wants to buy The Photo Ark for me as a Christmas present, I will gladly accept! I need, yes need, more than one glance at the creatures, great and small, photographed by Joel Sartore, National Geographic photographer and founder of The Photo Ark. Beautifully stark and realistic, this bound treasure is graced with animals that literally stare into your eyes. The 400 photos are “studio-style animal portraits,” and I sometimes laughed, reveled in curiosity, and stared in awe at the animals that share this planet with us. And I know this might sound strange, but I occasionally hesitated to turn the page for fear of an “oddity” whose eyes would pierce my consciousness. For not only is this book a collection of photographs of animals with a risk of extinction but it also passionately advocates for humans to see what is at stake if we do not “stop our relentless march toward consuming everything on the face of the planet and wiping out hundreds, even thousands, of species in only a generation or two.”

Who cannot stare into the eyes of these beautiful creatures and not wonder, “How were you created? What purpose do you serve? Do you have a soul? Why do you look so human-like? What are you thinking? What can I do to help save you? Will you be here for future generations?”

With a foreword by Harrison Ford and an introduction by Douglas H. Chadwick, The Photo Ark also includes informative introductions to each section and a passionate chapter in which photographer Sartore discusses the origins of his 25-year project.

Showcase this masterpiece on your coffee table, and rest assured meaningful conversations will follow.

[Cook Memorial Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 2017 staff favorite recommended by Andrea. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...