Sit quietly for awhile and contemplate the precious stillness
That lovely, mysterious, and awesome space
Edward Abbey (speaking of Grand Canyon)

The lexicon of photography suggests the power of its influence upon our world. We shoot photos, freeze motion, and capture memories. The photographer seizes from a split second a subject that remains fixed even as time marches on. In the early days people were afraid of the camera, that it might steal the soul on its way to heaven. Few feel this way today, and it's a good thing. Millions carry cameras with them everywhere they go, shooting everyone and everything they meet. Billions of photos have been uploaded to Facebook alone, not to mention other online sharing sites. We post, tweet, and even occasionally print photos, creating a record of our world unimagined a few years ago.

This volume contains a visual record of my life in photos, the most striking of hundreds of thousands of images made. They record the astounding beauty and wonder of our world, and the species that call it home, including us. These are the pictures that in some way delighted me or told a story that I wanted to share, and make part of that ongoing record of life down here on earth. They are proof that hardly anything goes unseen anymore. Indeed we are all on candid camera.

 

Frozen in time! A father and his two sons take a plunge into the cold Colorado River on an eight day river run through the Grand Canyon. The canyon is my favorite place in the world. I have never seen anything half as beautiful, and have been there more than a dozen times.