By: Alex
July 4th is Independence Day in the United States, and on that day, the U.S. Postal Service specially released a set of 20 commemorative stamps titled the O Beautiful series. This stamp collection is themed around lyrics from the famous patriotic song *America the Beautiful*, and features real photographs as backdrops to showcase the magnificent yet lesser-known natural beauty of the United States. Among these 20 stamps, media outlets found that seven were taken by commercial and travel photographer Gary Crabbe; having seven of his photos selected at once is an unprecedented number.
The 20 stamps in the O Beautiful series are evenly divided into five groups, representing Spacious Skies, Amber Waves of Grain, Mountain Majesties, The Fruited Plain, and Sea to Shining Sea. Gary had works selected in all groups except the one for the sea; six of his photos were taken in California, and the remaining one was shot in neighboring Oregon.
Naturally, Gary is very happy—and also a bit surprised—about having multiple photos chosen. In an interview, he mentioned that although the Postal Service only paid him a modest fee for the usage rights of the images (the copyright remains with Gary), he feels more honored than financially rewarded to have his work featured on commemorative stamps. On his personal website, Gary provides detailed information about the shooting details and related stories behind each photo, which photography enthusiasts can explore at their leisure.
Gary, who began photography during his university years, now has a personal photo archive exceeding 50,000 images, surely including many outstanding works. The editor has selected some of his pieces from his Instagram page for everyone to enjoy.
To view more of Gary’s works, you can visit his personal blog, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr pages.
Source: Petapixel