but by always being focused on what i ve been given today, not yesterday or the day before. reporter: he took over 200,000 pictures. now culled down to the best 7,000 with memories, not always good. when i raft rivers, i make mistakes, i flip upside down, and i have to get the boat rightside up again. i lost $14,000 worth of 35-millimeter equipment in the upper colorado river. reporter: and the 7,000 pictures will now be a gift to all of us. a life s work to be donated and free to download from historycolorado.org, where chief creative officer jaysen hansen is turning john s clothes and cameras into an exhibit. look, but don t touch. you cannot take it home. i feel the photograph. that s right, that s right. you can. we will provide it to you and you can on a website? yep. reporter: john s life was about beauty. he looks back with no regrets.