There is much beauty to behold in this world: moments that the eye collects, sorting out the wonders that it captures—moments that should be committed to perpetual memory, but sadly become only fragments of a faded recollection, or are simply forgotten entirely.

I am inspired to record these timeless, special moments—to capture them in my mind’s eye and, through my lens, to transform these images to visual records, thus enabling me to share them with others in the hope that they, too, will see what I see, and find equal enjoyment.

— Nicholas Teetelli

Mr. Teetelli is both a published and international-award-winning fine art photographer. He travels extensively in pursuit of the perfect photographic image. He has recently brought his portfolio to the public eye and, in short order, has had more than one hundred of his photographs juried and invited into exhibition at dozens of galleries and museums across the United States. He has won awards in international competitions in Moscow and London, was featured at exhibitions at the Red Dot Spectrum in Miami, artexpo New York, and has private gallery placements in Vienna and Bologna.

My connections to the photos and locations in this book go back to 1960 and my first bicycle. Dad owned a three-speed Raleigh. I had a single-speed Schwinn. In the spring of 1961 the two of us began our river-to-river tours. I was six years old and had never felt the release of having freedom like that.

Dad took his Yashica 44 camera on every trip. Following his methods taught me to look everywhere for something to shoot as we rode. He regularly demonstrated to me how being patient for a shot paid off. I couldn't wait for his pictures to be developed. Even if it were a familiar place, I'd find something new in the light or in the angles that Dad chose. My love for his work and the memory of those trips are alive in these pages.
—Thomas R. Pryor