EBOOK
About
MY HERO'S JOURNEY
From a Camera to Life Behind Bars to Visions of the World
"My dream, thus mission in life, is to travel the world and photograph beautiful, vibrant animals in all places and circumstances, free and confined." - Julian Starks, 2018
My journey began long before Life Behind Bars. I spent decades in the arts as an actor, photographer, filmmaker, director, editor, and visual storyteller. I studied filmmaking at the Los Angeles Film School and photography at Brooks Institute, worked professionally as a Getty Images photographer, and spent thirteen years creating my feature documentary, A Journey to Sundance.
But one encounter gave my photography a new purpose.
I visited Tippi Hedren's Shambala Preserve expecting a photography tour. Then I met Henson, a magnificent lion whose eyes and presence stopped me. I photographed him, never knowing that image would change my life. At the end of the tour, Tippi spoke about the difficult reality of protecting wild animals from hunting, poaching, habitat loss, climate change, and human exploitation. I left Shambala asking myself:
What if my photography could do more than create beautiful pictures? What if it could make people truly see these animals?
That became my mission.
I began traveling across America photographing wild animals in captivity-lions, tigers, gorillas, bears, wolves, rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs, leopards, and others. I wanted to capture more than their beauty. I wanted people to see their strength, fear, intelligence, love, anger, curiosity, and awareness.
Those photographs became my first fine-art photography book, Life Behind Bars - Volume I, with Henson proudly on the cover.
The book is published through IngramSpark, providing professional print-on-demand publishing and access to global distribution channels for bookstores, retailers, libraries, and other book buyers worldwide.
But the book became something much larger.
It helped inspire Visions of the World Inc., the 501(c)(3) nonprofit I founded to use photography and filmmaking to raise awareness, change perceptions, and support wildlife protection.
Then my journey became a trilogy.
THREE BOOKS. THREE ICONIC WOMEN. ONE MISSION.
Life Behind Bars - Volume I is dedicated to Tippi Hedren, whose lifelong protection of big cats at Shambala started my journey.
Life Behind Bars, Except if You're Free - Volume II is dedicated to Dian Fossey, who gave her life protecting mountain gorillas.
I never planned a third volume.
Then, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, an older woman approached me after seeing my book and hearing my story. She told me she knew what my third book should be.
It should honor Dr. Jane Goodall.
Tippi Hedren. Dian Fossey. Dr. Jane Goodall.
Volume III became Life Behind Bars: Their Eyes Still Speak - Are We Finally Ready to Listen?, dedicated to Dr. Jane Goodall and the chimpanzees she devoted her life to understanding and protecting.
Through Visions of the World, photography, filmmaking, publishing, exhibitions, and conservation now come together under one purpose:
See them. Understand them. Tell their stories. Help protect them.
Julian Starks
Founder & CEO - Visions of the World Inc.
Creator & Photographer - Life Behind Bars Book Series
www.visionsoftheworld.org
From a Camera to Life Behind Bars to Visions of the World
"My dream, thus mission in life, is to travel the world and photograph beautiful, vibrant animals in all places and circumstances, free and confined." - Julian Starks, 2018
My journey began long before Life Behind Bars. I spent decades in the arts as an actor, photographer, filmmaker, director, editor, and visual storyteller. I studied filmmaking at the Los Angeles Film School and photography at Brooks Institute, worked professionally as a Getty Images photographer, and spent thirteen years creating my feature documentary, A Journey to Sundance.
But one encounter gave my photography a new purpose.
I visited Tippi Hedren's Shambala Preserve expecting a photography tour. Then I met Henson, a magnificent lion whose eyes and presence stopped me. I photographed him, never knowing that image would change my life. At the end of the tour, Tippi spoke about the difficult reality of protecting wild animals from hunting, poaching, habitat loss, climate change, and human exploitation. I left Shambala asking myself:
What if my photography could do more than create beautiful pictures? What if it could make people truly see these animals?
That became my mission.
I began traveling across America photographing wild animals in captivity-lions, tigers, gorillas, bears, wolves, rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs, leopards, and others. I wanted to capture more than their beauty. I wanted people to see their strength, fear, intelligence, love, anger, curiosity, and awareness.
Those photographs became my first fine-art photography book, Life Behind Bars - Volume I, with Henson proudly on the cover.
The book is published through IngramSpark, providing professional print-on-demand publishing and access to global distribution channels for bookstores, retailers, libraries, and other book buyers worldwide.
But the book became something much larger.
It helped inspire Visions of the World Inc., the 501(c)(3) nonprofit I founded to use photography and filmmaking to raise awareness, change perceptions, and support wildlife protection.
Then my journey became a trilogy.
THREE BOOKS. THREE ICONIC WOMEN. ONE MISSION.
Life Behind Bars - Volume I is dedicated to Tippi Hedren, whose lifelong protection of big cats at Shambala started my journey.
Life Behind Bars, Except if You're Free - Volume II is dedicated to Dian Fossey, who gave her life protecting mountain gorillas.
I never planned a third volume.
Then, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, an older woman approached me after seeing my book and hearing my story. She told me she knew what my third book should be.
It should honor Dr. Jane Goodall.
Tippi Hedren. Dian Fossey. Dr. Jane Goodall.
Volume III became Life Behind Bars: Their Eyes Still Speak - Are We Finally Ready to Listen?, dedicated to Dr. Jane Goodall and the chimpanzees she devoted her life to understanding and protecting.
Through Visions of the World, photography, filmmaking, publishing, exhibitions, and conservation now come together under one purpose:
See them. Understand them. Tell their stories. Help protect them.
Julian Starks
Founder & CEO - Visions of the World Inc.
Creator & Photographer - Life Behind Bars Book Series
www.visionsoftheworld.org