During the long pathway of a forty-year career, I naturally have many people to thank. First and foremost, I must thank my family that is no longer with us. My mother was an ardent supporter of my pursuit of photography. My father provided constant encouragement. My brother, in his short life of twenty years, showed me by example how to be kind, humble, and compassionate.
I must thank the staff at Outdoor Photographer, with whom I’ve worked since 1986, including Steve and Debra Werner, Rob Sheppard, Ibarionex Perello, Chris Robinson, and Wes Pitts. I began by writing articles for many years, until 1997, when we launched my On Landscape column. Since that beginning, I’ve written 136 essays and counting.
My family and friends have encouraged, critiqued, inspired, listened to, advised, and/or traveled with me over the decades. I have been fortunate to have had incredibly talented photographers assisting me in my studio. John Weller and John O’Connor handled both tedious and critical tasks of running my office, from packaging prints for shipping to helping me pull the nth degree of nuance out of images with their considerable skills in Photoshop. The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite has been integral in the arc of my career, giving me my first job as a photographer from 1980–1984. The gallery has represented my photography since 1983, approved by Ansel Adams himself. The knowledge and experience I gained while employed by the Adams family has been the foundation of my career. During the brief time I knew Ansel, I learned from his passion for the art and craft of photography, and its great potential for self-expression. I give profound thanks to all of the family and staff with whom I’ve worked.
My wife of thirty years, Sadhna, has been indispensable in the development of this book, not to mention my career and life. She has served as my editor for every essay written for Outdoor Photographer. Her immeasurable faith in me has given me strength to endure through all the ups and downs of survival as an artist. For this, and so much more, I am eternally grateful. My children fill me with pride and inspire me to make the world a better, more beautiful place for them. My art is an extension of my life, and my family sustains my life, my spirit.