“Tree trunks” at Petrified Forest National Park. Photo by Ian Shive

For his new book, “The National Parks, Our American Landscape,” conservation photographer Ian Shive didn’t just visit a few parks — he spent almost half a decade travelling the country, including one intense 20 day trip where he covered 7,500 miles and visited 17 national parks. “The book is a culmination of four years of image gathering across the entire country,” he said in an interview with NPR.

And what a culmination it is. Shive’s photographs portray America’s most beautiful landscapes (from a breath-taking gorge along the Rio Grande river in Big Bend National Park to the desolate whiteness around Mt. Foraker in Alaska’s Denali National Park) all in an intensely personal way that many people will never get to witness themselves. This, of course, is the sentiment Shive wants to get across. “The book simply inspires people to connect with the outdoors and our parks,” he says.

Shive, who works as for National Parks magazine and is a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, has taken it upon himself to help with park conservation and the education of the public regarding places like Yellowstone and Yosemite Valley. His new book aims to to thrill, amaze and, most importantly, teach anyone looking to rediscover the wilds of America. “The power of a single image can never be replaced,” he said. “One image has the power to tell a story, spark imagination and educate people within a few seconds.”

Finally, when he was asked which park every American should see and photograph, he had to go with old faithful. “Yellowstone National Park,” he said, “because it has the ability to let a person step back in time and see the United States in a way that has been completely lost to development and expansion.”

To see more of Ian Shive’s work, pick up his new book —“The National Parks, Our American Landscape”— or check out his blog.