I watched this on Netflix streaming video. At just under an hour it is a very manageable viewing.
I am a photographer, not professional, but I have spent my share of days climbing or laying on the ground or watching active hummingbirds to try to get a few special photos, ones that are both unique and also tell a story. So this film is a subject dear to my heart.
National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore is the subject here. From a selfish point of view I was hoping for more on the "technical" side, what equipment he uses and how he approaches his assignments. But there is very little of that.
It is mostly a portrait of the man, a family man with a loving wife and three neat kids. His assignments take him away for a week or six weeks, sometimes to far-away and potentially dangerous locations, and we see how they all prepare for these departures. He is frank, most people would not like this job, it is dirty, uncomfortable, overall unpleasant, but his type-A personality makes him go, and keep the desire to capture memorable photos and help show, through the magazine, the wild world that still exists in some parts of the globe.
There is also a decent amount of attention given to the editing and photo-selection process at headquarters in Washington D.C. which I found very interesting.
My only wish was that they had spent a bit less time at the rodeo. Even though that is an integral part of his life it seemed overbalanced compared to more interesting material. But that is a minor criticism.
