The Life of a Photograph

Drawing on 40 years of fieldwork, The Life of a Photograph takes readers on assignment and inside the heart of a master photographer to witness the process of making a truly great picture. This exquisite book is organized by the known and unexpected themes of Abell’s work, ranging from his sensitive Portraits, beautiful Land, Sea, Sky and thought-provoking Wild Life to the surprising Just Looking (quirky scenes encountered on assignment),On the Road (photographs taken from automobiles), and The Built World (human impacts on pristine land). Anecdotes, explanations, and intriguing glimpses behind the scenes reveal the evolution?picture by picture and thought by thought?of some of the world’s most interesting and recognized images and many never-before seen photographs as well. Selections cover geography and wildlife from the Arctic to the Amazon, and cultures from Australia to Japan to the American West. A beautiful gift for everyone who loves fine photography, this volume is not to be thumbed through once?it is a treasure that will be savored over and over again.

Sam Abell has photographed for National Geographic magazine for almost 40 years. He is the author of Seeing Gardens and Stay This Moment, a mid-career retrospective accompanied by an exhibition at the International Center of Photography, New York. He collaborated with Stephen Ambrose on two bestselling National Geographic books Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery and The Mississippi River.