About the rangers

Who is featured in the book?

Rangers profiled in this book are from many backgrounds. They are men and women, gay and straight, immigrants, adventurers, storytellers and musicians. Their stories are personal - about their lives and the work they are so committed to. They don't think of themselves as heroes but some legitimately are. Rangers are special because of what they do and where they do it, and yet in great measure they are just like us. They struggle with their families, aspire to greater things, overcome their histories, hope for the future and try to leave a legacy that they can be proud of. But they do this in the mystical and beautiful space of the National Parks - places whose mystery arises from our shared American stories, good and bad, of freedom and conflict, wisdom and blindness.

Read some story excerpts

News and Updates

Photography

Photography represents stories, told visually. Each is its own project, and very personal. Most photographers choose to specialize in photographing landscapes or photographing people. Capturing both in a single image is an unusual challenge. In some ways these images both pay homage to and reverse the technique of the Hudson River School of landscape painters, so important to the establishment of the National Parks in the 19th century. Those artists primarily celebrated the breathtaking landscapes and always included a small human figure to remind us of our place in this dramatic scene. The images in this book help tell the same story in reverse, the faces and figures of people the primary part of each portrait, rooted to the landscape that frames their story.

See some of simon's photos