When the Indiana Dunes became America’s 61st national park in February 2019, photographer QT Luong knew he had to act fast. “I literally had to call my printer to ‘stop the presses,’” he remembers with a smile.

That’s because a new edition of his book, “Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey through America’s National Parks,” was about to be printed. And the Indiana Dunes had just earned the right to be included.

Arches National Park (Courtesy of QT Luong)

Crater Lake National Park (Courtesy of QT Luong)

Grand Teton National Park (Courtesy of QT Luong)

Indiana Dunes National Park (Courtesy of QT Luong)

Joshua Tree National Park (Courtesy of QT Luong)

QT Luong Backpacking in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. (Courtesy of QT Luong)

Yosemite National Park (Courtesy of QT Luong)

Zion National Park (Courtesy of QT Luong)

Photographer QT Luong at Kings Canyon National Park in California. (Courtesy QT Luong)

Luong doesn’t just visit the easy national park vistas. He must often travel for days.

To get shots of the Arrigetch Peaks in Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska, he had to fly on two commercial flights, then a mail plane, and then a floatplane. “And from there,” he says, “we backpacked for a couple of days to get to the base of the peak.”

The Indiana Dunes’ best views are quite accessible. And Luong says he was struck by the ecological diversity. “Within the park you see forests and you see wetlands and you have the dunes and you have the coasts so it’s quite a bit going on in such a small park.”

Each large-format photo costs $10 for film and processing. So these days Luong mostly uses a digital camera – which he says can approach the level of detail that drew him to large-format photography a quarter century ago.

But if a 62nd national park is created – Luong will be there with the camera he has now carried to 61 of them.

More on this story

The White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico was designated the country’s 62nd national park in December, and QT Long was there to photograph it.

Note: This story was first published on March 5, 2019.

Related stories:

History Museum Acquires 5 Million Photos from Chicago Sun-Times

60 Babies, 1 ‘Sunsuit’: A Tradition of Family Unity and Love

Newly Discovered Photos Reveal Childhood of Groundbreaking Journalist