22 Nebraskaland • April 2021
IN THE FIELD
THE PHOTO ARK AT NEBRASKA PARKS
By Emily Burch
About 15,000 species live in human
care, residing in zoos and wildlife
sanctuaries across the globe. Joel
Sartore, Nebraska native, National
Geographic photographer and founder
of the Photo Ark project, is on a mission
to document them all.
The Photo Ark is a collection of more
than 11,000 portraits of hope, each
species photographed against a stark
black or white background. The results
are stunningly intimate, even soulful.
The goal is to educate and engage
as many people as possible with our
world's biodiversity, sound the alarm
for at-risk species and foster human
connection and a desire to protect the
animals in front of the lens.
None of it would be possible without
local conservation efforts, and the
Nebraska state park system has been
tapped more than once in Sartore's
efforts to reach his goal. Sartore and
his team have traveled from local
parks to national zoos to sanctuaries
around the world, tracking down
undocumented species and scheduling
times to create the images that often
introduce the rare species to the world.
Sometimes, these wildlife havens are
closer to home than you would think.
In 2019, Sartore and his team
arrived at the Schramm Education
Center to photograph nine species:
eight fish and a rare blue bullfrog,
adding them to the Ark. After a quick
round of introductions, Sartore began
directing and working with park staff
to carefully make each species in
front of his lens the star of the show.
And, at the end of the day, he thanked
each staff member for helping him
gain access to those species, even
though nine seems insignificant next
to 11,000.
In 2020, with the pandemic limiting
his travel, Sartore began photographing
insects at Indian Cave State Park to
document invertebrate species because
they "help make the world go 'round,"
as he states in the Vanishing Insects
video at joelsartore.com.
Parks such as Schramm and
Indian Cave serve as vital centers for
biodiversity and species preservation
at a community level. Without these
havens, Sartore's mission would not
have a chance at succeeding, and
many of the species in his Ark would
already be lost.
National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore photographs an at-risk species at the Schramm Education Center.
EMILY BURCH, NEBRASKALAND
This American bullfrog at the
Schramm Education Center is
axanthic, meaning it lacks yellow
pigment.
JOEL SARTORE, JOELSARTORE.COM
A wheel bug shot at Indian Cave State
Park.
JOEL SARTORE, JOELSARTORE.COM
