At Close Range With National Geographic

Tonight on PBS, there was a special called At Close Range With National Geographic. It is about Joel Sartore, a photographer for National Geographic. The special was very interesting in many ways and showed a side of a working photographer that one rarely sees.

Most people think working as a photographer is a very romantic and fun job. In reality, it is a very, very hard and demanding job. Joel makes this clear in the special. The special makes it clear that it is hard on the family. Another thing that was clear is that traveling around the world and photographing all sorts of things gives you a very unique view of what is really happening in relation to nature. Joel Sartore also comments on how he is photographing the last of everything. He mentions jaguars and parrots as examples.

The end of the special shows him packing up and leaving for a month-long trip to Alaska. You can see how hard it is on his family for him to leave on a trip of this length. Fortunately, it seems that the editors at National Geographic seem to understand how hard it is, especially for the kids, and they want to help him strike that balance.

All in all, the special was excellent. I highly recommend you either watch in on PBS or buy the DVD if you are interested in photography.