The Human Thread: Photography of Joe Coca

Through evocative images, insightful descriptions, and companion personal stories, Joe Coca guides us on a global journey, weaving together place, people, craft, and story with the human thread that connects us all. Each section of the book features an array of remarkable photographs that shows a region's people—most often portraits of artisans working in ancient traditions—as well as surprising glimpses of culture and environment. From a high altitude soccer match in Peru to silk weavers in Laos, exotic locales are made personal through intimate portraits, the work of hands, and everyday life captured, not by an observer, but by a participant, a fellow companion on the journey.

Joe Coca grew up in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado. After graduating from Colorado State University, he studied photography at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. For forty years he maintained a studio in Fort Collins, Colorado, but his work has taken him to cities and rural areas of five continents. He has photographed people from all walks of life, landscape, architecture, food, and especially handcrafted textiles. Coca has won numerous awards for his photography. He lives with his wife and two dogs in Weston, Colorado.