18,000 portraits in 20 years: The man racing to photograph life on Earth | CNN

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In images: Joel Sartore's National Geographic Photo Ark turns 20

EDITOR’S NOTE: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action.

Joel Sartore photographs like he’s running out of time.

The man behind National Geographic Photo Ark, an extraordinary collection of 18,000 animal portraits and counting, is 20 years into a project that stretches beyond the horizon. Four years ago, when CNN last interviewed Sartore, he’d produced 13,000 portraits. Since then he’s added another 5,000. The 64-year-old is speeding up.