When the driver of a truck illegally transporting cattle in India spotted photographer Robert Radin taking photos in the late 1980s, the driver took off with Radin on the back, swerving back and forth on a mountainside while Radin held on for his life.

This near-death experience did not stop Radin’s journey documenting dozens of cultures and landscapes over several decades, and now Sacramento State has the privilege of showcasing a collection of his photos titled “This Beautiful World” in the University Union Gallery. Running through Dec. 16, graphic design manager, gallery coordinator and Sac State alumna Tiffany Dreyer organized the exhibit.

Although the gallery did not have enough room to fit all 65 photos of the collection, the exhibit still features 35 photos of children, people and landscapes from all over the world.

Radin offers the “This Beautiful World” exhibit free to colleges and universities in the United States. He said he does this because younger people are more open to the vision he is trying to share. He believes although there is such variety of culture in the world, we are all still one people and share basic human emotions and needs.

“We are all of a common seed walking a common path and I believe sharing a common destination,” he said.

Under each photo in the exhibit is a short paragraph by Radin adding more detail and context. Some of the descriptions give insight to what he was thinking at the time.

Dreyer said she liked the descriptions of the pictures.

“Once you read the story then it made the picture come to life,” she said.

One picture, titled “A Long Hello,” shows a gathering of Buddhist monks. A child in the crowd is looking directly at the camera with his hand waving. In the caption, Radin wonders what the child may have asked him.

“I have never forgotten him. Our only connection was life itself,” Radin’s caption said.

One of Dreyer’s favorite photos in the collection shows two young brothers holding hands titled “Strange Visitor.” The picture was taken in a remote part of Bhutan. The curious expression on their faces and the bond from their held hands invoke feelings of nostalgia and the innocence of childhood.

Many of the photos in the exhibition are of children. Radin said children are more open to getting their picture taken. With older people, he said, there is a greater need for understanding about why the picture is being taken and what the picture will be used for. He said as adults we seem to complicate things, but children are simple and pure.

“(As adults) we get cluttered. We get pushed and pulled, manipulated, over-washed, over-educated, over-everything,” he said.

Radin said he does not focus on the technicalities of photography, but instead uses intuition to choose the right moments to document in his photos.

Choosing which pictures to include and how to organize them in the gallery was most challenging for Dreyer. She said she focused more on photos of people because they were more personal.

He is working on a second collection of photos in order to make his exhibitions more available to colleges.

“I’m going through it with the second collection exactly the same as the first and there’s no answer other than going insane,” he said.

Dreyer said what she enjoyed most about organizing the exhibit was working with Radin.

“He has a really amazing insight on the world and I hope that I can travel someday to take pictures like him,” she said.

Radin said inspiration that drives him to take photos is a spiritual process. He said he finds something within himself that connects to the scene and urges him to capture that moment.

“Each of the pictures I have taken is a millisecond of magic, for in that moment the scene becomes a part of you and you are urged to record it, for in that shot you have danced with your soul,” Radin said.

Tzahuiztil Sanchez can be reached at [email protected]