One Man's Quest To Capture America's Endangered Zoo Animals With a Camera

"To spend a day in the life of National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, there are a few things you have to get used to. Really long drives, for one. Tigers charging at you. And, of course ... well ... messes."

"'I'm the only studio portrait photographer I know whose subjects routinely poop and pee on the background right in front of me,' he says from behind the lens."

"It's a comical sight here behind the scenes at the National Aquarium in Baltimore: Sartore, two animal handlers and a ridiculous amount of gear are cramped into a tiny, 50-degree back room. All for a puffin. Sartore is doing all he can to coax the little guy into a handsome headshot. In my mind, this is fun, but for him, it's serious business."