Better known for his color photography in such books as In Wilderness Is the Preservation of the World, Porter was originally recognized by Stieglitz for his black and white images which he exhibited at the gallery "An American Place" in 1938. Beaumont Newhall later featured his black-and-white work in the first exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art's photography gallery. Porter's black-and-white images of the Southwest, taken between 1939 and 1965, are included here and demonstrate his mastery of the intimate details of nature, rather than the grand view.