Jon Ortner was born in Great Neck, Long Island in 1951. He started painting and drawing at an early age, which laid the foundation for his photography. In college, Jon continued to pursue art, and the study of natural history and ecology. In 1978 he moved to New York City with his wife, Martha McGuire, where they opened a photography studio and continue to collaborate. Jon's books, WHERE EVERY BREATH IS A PRAYER (STC), ANGKOR (Abbeville), and BUDDHA (Welcome Books) are the culmination of numerous journeys to the far corners of the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. A compilation of NYC photographs was published as Manhattan Dawn & Dusk (STC). His award-winning images and stories have appeared in numerous magazines, including GEO, COMMUNICATIONS ARTS, TRAVEL & LEISURE and ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST. Beginning in 2005 Jon turned his focus and passion to the canyons and deserts of the Southwest. From the greatest canyons on earth to the brilliant swirling colors of the Grand Staircase and Vermillion Cliffs, through panoramic portraits of a vast, monumental landscape at once familiar and astounding, Jon shares with us his unique vision of the beauty and incomparable majesty of America's great wilderness.