Foreword: The Gaze of Life | Harrison Ford
Foreword: We, the Creatures of Earth | Douglas Chadwick
Author's Foreword: Building the Ark | Joel Sartore

Chapter 1: Look-alikes
2 pairs
Chapter 3 Enemy
Chapter 4: Curiosity
Chapter 5 Hope

About photography
About the 'Photo Arc' project
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Find animals

A domestic photography exhibition set a record for the largest number of visitors in history.
A single photo book that captures the essence of National Geographic's history.

This book aims to allow us to witness with our own eyes each and every living creature that is gradually disappearing, while also asking ourselves how we, living in the Anthropocene, can coexist with them.
The Anthropocene is a geological concept created to explain why human activity has transformed the current geological epoch to the point where it is necessary to distinguish it from previous geological eras.
It was created by American aquatic biologist Eugene Stormer in the early 1980s, and has recently been actively discussed in Korea, with books, documentaries, exhibitions, and lectures on the subject being introduced one after another.
The premise of the Anthropocene discourse, that humanity is exerting a significant influence on the Earth's environment, demands that we be alert and responsible for the biodiversity crisis.
『Photo Arc』 helps readers feel the message of this Anthropocene discourse through photographs.

I hope that when my life ends, I can look in the mirror and smile, satisfied with the real change I've made.
Long after I am gone, these photos will continue to play a daily role in saving species.
There is no mission more important to me than this.

So what about you? - From the text

This book is divided into five chapters.
The titles of the five chapters, “Similarities,” “Matches,” “Enemies,” “Curiosity,” and “Hope,” are the themes that connect the two photographs that appear on the left and right sides of the book when opened.
These stories, told by Satori on each page, are another way to enjoy this book and the biodiversity of the Earth.
First, in Chapter 1, “Similarities,” two images that share similarities in shape or posture are placed side by side.
These mirror images sometimes make us smile, and sometimes make us feel deeply the beauty of nature.
Chapter 2, “Pairs,” mainly contains photos of paired objects.
Nature gives us many different types of companionship: brothers and sisters, male and female, parents and children, best friends, etc.

Twin by twin, side by side, hand in hand, together we build an ark and roam the world. —From the text

Chapter 3, “The Enemy,” juxtaposes animals that show differences, such as snails, cheetahs, and parrots that have different male and female forms.
Difference is a subject that fascinates us.
Through differences, we form our own identities and recognize the diversity of the biological world.
Chapter 4, "Curiosity," features animals whose charm transcends our taxonomic boundaries, or even our themes, and which should never be omitted from this book.
In Chapter 5, “Hope,” we encounter species that have barely escaped extinction thanks to human conservation efforts.
The 'Photo Arc' project and the conservation efforts of countless people working to preserve biodiversity allow us to see what we have protected and what we will protect.

This is the ultimate goal of National Geographic's 'Photo Arc' project.
Something that makes people stop, look ahead, and think about the future.
And what makes us turn our concerns and concerns into action.
The ark is built together.
- In the text


This is the ultimate goal of the 'Photo Arc' project.

Something that makes people stop, look ahead and think about the future!

『Photo Arc』 goes beyond simply showing photos of animals, and tells readers about the process the animals went through before standing in front of the camera.
Among the “Heroes of the ‘Photo Arc’” and “Behind the Scenes” sections that are interspersed throughout the book, “Heroes of the ‘Photo Arc’” introduces several individuals who are engaged in conservation activities for endangered species.
In “Behind the Scenes,” we follow the ‘Photo Arc’ project to see where, with whom, and in what ways they take photos of animals.
Joel Sartore, who takes photos in zoos around the world, calls them “conservation centers.”
This emphasizes the role of zoos in contributing to the conservation of biodiversity by systematically protecting and breeding endangered species.
It shows that zoos, once criticized as 'prisons for animals', can function as hubs for research and conservation.


The book also includes a foreword by renowned American actor Harrison Ford, who has served on the board of directors of Conservation International for 25 years and is currently its vice president, and by wildlife biologist Douglas Chadwick, a longtime collaborator of the author.
In addition, the author's writings remind us of what we must do to preserve biodiversity.

We feel a tangible bond between them and us in this book.
Each photo not only brings to life the existence of each animal, but also, hopefully, its extinction.
―From Harrison Ford's introduction to "The Gaze of Life"

A photo exhibition of the animal kingdom, where each individual, each pair, each flock speaks of the fullness and glory of the living Earth we have inherited.
purple.
Meet all kinds of creatures.
These are the things we are losing.
―From Douglas Chadwick's introduction to "We, the Creatures of the Earth"