Master photographer best known for his images of desert landscapes. He was adept at still-lifes, horizonless landscapes, jarred subjects, negatives, and nudes.
He took up photography in his early twenties while he was recovering from tuberculosis.
He had no musical training, but he was fascinated by the beauty of musical notes on paper, and he designed many (mostly unplayable) musical scores during his lifetime.
He was born in Italy and grew up in Brazil. He met his wife Frances Elisabeth Watson while he was a student at Cornell University. They didn't have any children.
His majestic photographs of Western landscapes were compared to the similarly stunning images of photographer Ansel Adams.