"I studied art in Washington, D.C. and soon found a job at the Smithsonian Institution, illustrating specimens for naturalists. They sent me on an expedition to the Yellowstone. For me, art is an excuse to learn—and a way to preserve the natural world for science.

"I’ve come to the Grand Canyon with a scientific expedition. My job is to record the geology of these buttes for a book. So it's my duty to be accurate.

"As you can see, my work is very different than famous painters like Bierstadt or Moran.

"Mr. Moran included stormy clouds and dark shadows to impress you with the great grandeur of the canyon. His painting is more about color and light than recording accurate details.

If you want to record these landscapes accurately, why not just take a photograph?

"Good point, chap! Photography has been around for forty years now. These days, every expedition has a photographer along.

But photographing the canyon—or any geological formation—is a challenge! The haze in the air often prevents good detail from showing in the photograph. And of course, photography cannot show the many colors of the canyon. Maybe someday we will have color photos, eh! Until then, we rely on the artist to show the true nature of these lands. And that takes skill—and one more thing:

"The right tools!"