In Jordan Peele’s magnificent 2022 film “Nope,” there is a character, a cinematographer, who will do anything and everything to get that perfect shot, including risking his own life. He does so because this is the thing that drives him and fills him with purpose, providing clarity in the chaos of the world. It’s a motivating force that Joe Jennings, a skydiving cinematographer and the subject of the playfully titled documentary “Space Cowboy,” would likely understand well.

As a man who has made a life and career built around jumping out of planes to capture the beauty of the subsequent fall, the point of his profession is about finding meaning in life, no matter the risk. It’s something we all navigate, but few do so cheating death thousands upon thousands of feet above the ground. However, even they must eventually come drifting back down to Earth.

This rich...