Today’s interview is with QT (Tuan) Luong, the author of Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks. Without physically seeing the Treasured Lands book for yourself, it is difficult to characterize how much of an accomplishment it is to visit all of these places, photograph them well and in diverse ways, write about each park, and pull everything together into a coherent narrative and visual celebration of America’s Best Idea. 

Treasured Lands is a truly impressive and inspirational representation of a life’s work (the book is 456 pages long, with more than 130,000 words and 500 photographs). The book contains a helpful narrative section on each park, covering information about the area's ecosystems, geology, seasons, a map, and notes about each photograph. The photographs themselves go far beyond the typical icons featured in many photography books. Instead, QT sets out to share a more nuanced view of each place, displaying a diversity of views from across each park. I especially appreciate that the book includes both expansive grand landscapes and smaller scenes, an approach that helps showcase a fuller picture of each of the places featured in the book.