A lifelong Nebraskan, Joel Sartore brings a sense of humor and a midwestern work ethic to his assignments, which have ranged from the Amazon rain forest to mountain-racing firefighters in the United Kingdom. He has been a regular contributor to National Geographic magazine since 1991.

His Biodiversity Project began while photographing endangered species in the United States, resulting in a 2009 story in the Geographic and a book in 2010 entitled Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species.

Sartore is now taking the Biodiversity Project on the road, driving his mobile studio to several U.S. zoos over the next month to photograph animals from around the world. He’ll be blogging about his progress as he goes. Join us for his daily reports.

Help Joel rename the Biodiversity Project

See more animal portraits and learn how you can help at
www.joelsartore.com/galleries/the-biodiversity-project/.

To hire a National Geographic photographer or license photos, visit: nationalgeographicassignment.com and nationalgeographicstock.com.