We humans have long regarded ourselves a superior species. I'm not so sure. Intelligent-yes. Wise-hmmm? It all depends on how you look at it I suppose. More on this later. The scientists among us attribute this "superiority" to our massive forebrain, bipedal gait, and opposable thumbs. Makes sense. But perhaps the strongest indicator of a higher evolution has been the emergence of mind.

Not only do we want to survive, we want to thrive. We harnessed the power of fire for warmth and cooking, then became mesmerized by its dancing flames on a cold winter night. Food, a necessity for survival, gradually evolved into an artform, a centerpiece of society, which we consume for pleasure as much as sustenance. Musical notes and rhythm morphed from simple communication to Mozart. Oral tradition became legend, poetry, and wit. Virtually all humans seek beauty in their lives, with a plant, a painting, or a poem. We dance, hum, and arrange, and when really moved we want to preserve a memory. Enter photography!

Photographs are proof that we have lived and loved, that we have experienced. Only recently has this magical medium allowed us to know what our parents looked like as children, to acquaint us with their pimples and freckles, to see the one room schoolhouse of their parents. And to not only observe, but to hold dear and forever our own child's first breath. Such pictures are indescribably important to us, universally said to be among the first things we would rescue from a burning home.