It's July 21st, 2009, and this is the Candid Frame.

Today's guest is Ed Morris, a photographer who took on the amazing challenge of bicycling cross-country to photograph mayors from small towns to big

cities. There's already a physical and mental challenge involved in bicycling across the

country, but add to that the logistical and creative challenges of making images as well,

and you can appreciate the effort involved in such a project. The book, Mayors Across America, includes images from his journey, and I encourage you to check it out for yourself.

But for now, sit back and enjoy our conversation with Ed Morris.

Well, welcome, Ed to the Candid Frame.

I'm really excited about having you on the show and talking about your project.

But let's begin with your beginnings as a photographer.

When did you come to discover photography, and when did it become for you, you know, a viable way to create a career?

Well, first of all, thank you for having me.

I think, like, a lot of folks, for me, it was just sort of a childhood kind of hobby.

I had one of those Fisher-Price cameras, you know, as a very young child.

And at some point took a picture, which was effectively just just a silhouette and it seemed really cool.

And it was like, hey, I like this.

And actually my first career path was in the maritime.

And excuse me, when I was looking at schools, I stumbled, I had two passions.

So I was looking at the maritime being on the water and I was looking at photography.

And as I began to look at schools, I discovered the Brooks Institute of photography in Santa Barbara.

So went and took a look at it and I would say that Santa Barbara, the town in and of itself played at least a small role in my decision to pursue

photography as a career path as opposed to working in the maritime. But it's something that I think

I've always enjoyed. And every, I mean, as long as I remember, I've always carried a camera

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