Welcome! I am honored that you are taking the time to visit.

 

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Earth Spirit.

 

This is what I have witnessed.

 

Earth and Spirit working together to sustain mankind. God alive in the awesome and timeless beauty of Nature, living daily in the sunlight, water, and soil.

 

When the quality of my photography reached a notch higher than what I deemed average, I had a side-hustle business called EarthSpirit Photography. The name was the closest I could come to describing the feeling I had when I was surrounded by Nature.

 

When standing in the natural world, I do feel fuller of both Earth and Spirit, but I quickly learned that there is also a peace between those two that men cannot share in, because to have our human experience we must hold ourselves apart from them—climb up out of the dirt so to speak, take a shower, and go to work trying to control all things--while Nature just expresses God without raising another opinion. I thought that by observing Nature and participating in its perfect beauty, I could learn something firsthand of God’s matchless qualities, which I should apply to myself and then communicate to the world—with audiovisual evidence of His Being.

 

For most of my life, then, I have approached travel as an opportunity to record, through photography, the glorious detail and diversity of God’s handiwork—and to visually share His love with friends, family, and all others who, in their depths, adore Him and what He has created. The goal that I set for myself at EarthSpirit was to capture and share the awe of Nature and the nature of Awe.

 

I have been blessed in this life to photograph the beautiful North American continent, from the grand and incomparable Teton mountains of northwest Wyoming to the deep and rugged Canyons—Grand, Yellowstone, and Gunnison. I’ve witnessed the vivid autumn palette of the Alaskan wilderness and pastel sunrises on a Florida beach. I’ve traveled from the tree-lined banks of the muddy Mississinewa to the wild and lofty Canadian Rockies, and been greeted by seals and otters at sunrise on Big Sur. Here on your screen I’m honored to share with you, on this one curated site, the best of what I've seen. It is with you in mind—and for your inspiration and enjoyment—that I have spent thousands of hours taking, sorting, cataloguing, scanning, editing, and posting these images. This is my legacy, my lifework—and now my gift to you.

 

More important to me than the work I did for fifty weeks of the year were the things I saw in the other two. Here you will see canyons, waterfalls, sunsets, beaches, mountains, glaciers, wildflowers, and animals of all varieties, as well as architecture, ghost towns, petroglyphs, fairs and festivals, and assorted curiosities.

 

The archive is still very much a work in progress. For two years now, I have been scanning fifty years’ worth of slides—converting my film images to digital—so they can be viewed alongside my most recent work. (And I have thousands of negatives to scan that I may never get to.) Feel free to check back here periodically to see my most recent additions.

 

To view the archive now, I suggest this approach: Click on Albums in the menu above, then click on the first Album, titled Welcome! This album contains an overview—about 10% of the archive—with what I consider my best, my favorite, and a few illustrative images. Once inside that album, you can view individual photos fullscreen by clicking on the thumbnail, or you can start a slideshow (on desktop computers) by clicking on the icon at the top right of the images: the computer screen with an arrow on it.

 

Most of the photo titles begin with the postal code of the state (or province) in which they were taken (e.g., AZ for Arizona). Those codes can help guide you on to other albums of interest, sorted by location. If you want to see specific subjects (e.g., National Parks, waterfalls or sunsets), type your description into the search window (Photos, People, or Groups), or click on a relevant Tag underneath a photo. To enhance your visit, be sure to scroll down under the pictures far enough to read the locations and commentary. (Sorry, some instructions will vary depending on whether you view on phone, tablet, or monitor.)

 

The ability to comment on and narrate my photos is an expansion of the concept that I hadn’t planned for. I was first looking for a place I could upload my pictures so friends could see them, but if I had had no ability to also comment—even if inanely—it would have left you with only half the picture. So to round it out, in the Welcome! album each location is identified, and most photos are accompanied by one of my very human thoughts, spiritual observations, expressions of gratitude, or a bit of my awe.

 

You have no idea how much it means to me that you are here. You are helping me to fulfill one of my lifelong objectives. If something moves you, I would welcome your comments on individual photographs (click the bubble underneath the thumbnail or fill in the box under the fullscreen view)--or comment on the collection by sending me an email (hoosierredaz@gmail.com). Feel free, as well, to recommend this site to your friends. It’s open access, using the same link: www.flickr.com/people/gregory1951harris/

 

I have lived life as a single man. Many times I felt alone.

 

These photographs undeniably testify to me that I, in fact, was not.

 

This has been a grand life’s tour, sponsored by God, designed by Him, and shared by Him. God was my tour guide. God was my right-seat companion. God was my protection. God was my awe.

 

I truly hope that you feel a fraction of the adoration I experienced when visiting these beautiful places. God bless you, my friends! Safe travels, always!

 

I’ll see you there—as my Mother used to say— “on our Big Trip."

 

Greg