Photographer Page

Thomas J. Abercrombie

The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is Islam's most sacred site. Five times a day, practicing Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca, no matter where they are in the world.

A girl walks an idyllic path in the town of Tylerton on Maryland's Smith Island. A story in the May 1957 issue examined the history and legacy of Captain John Smith, for whom the island is named. Today, fewer than 300 people live in Tylerton, and because of climate change the island is expected to erode completely by the year 2100.

Iran, 1961: a Qashqai girl in traditional dress herds goats on summer pastures. The Qashqai are a collection of largely Turkic tribes who would move with their animals between summer and winter grazing, and make trade with artisanal crafts such as rugs and clothing at local markets. Their nomadic ways have declined since the 1960s, and most are now sedentary.

Saudi Arabia, 1972: Bedouins rest in the shade of a tent in the Nafud Desert. The Bedouin are the most numerous modern nomadic people, with numbers in the millions spread across North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant.

Thomas J. Abercrombie's iconic image of bedouins in Saudi Arabia, 1965. The term for bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, meaning 'desert dweller.' These nomadic people live in tribes across north Africa and Arabia.

Algeria, 1973: Tuareg goat herders drink tea at their camp at Hassi Izernene, Algeria. The Tuareg, who derive from Berber people, occupy the sub-Saharan region of Sahel. Often artisans and tradespeople, their use of indigo dye in traditional fabrics gave has led them to be called 'the blue people.'

A Land Rover is photographed driving across Afghanistan's Dasht-e Margo – 'Desert of Death' – in this vintage National Geographic image. Common in hot conditions, the pale areas around the vehicle are actually refractions of the light from the sky, caused by a higher temperature of air near the ground. The shimmer caused by this phenomenon can make it appear like water to an observer – a cruel trick in a dry place, leading to mirage's association with wishful hallucinations.

Eight children make up a one-room schoolhouse in Trapper Creek, Alaska, in this picture from the April 1969 issue. The kids' parents were homesteaders, people who participated in a federal program to claim land as their own by meeting a few requirements.

Canoes belonging to miners float over a spot where gold was found in Venezuela's Caroní River. Even when this image was published in the March 1963 issue, the diving equipment was old, causing each man to risk his life in the pursuit.

Climbers rest on Pico Espejo before beginning the trek up Pico Bolívar, the mountain on the left, which is Venezuela's highest peak. The photo appeared in the March 1963 issue, which documented the country's first few years of democratic governance.