Ed Rode‘s new coffee-table photography book, Songwriter Musician: Behind the Curtain With Nashville’s Iconic Storytellers and Players, offers a stunning collection of images capturing a wide array of country stars and industry insiders affiliated with Music City. The Chicks, Luke Bryan, Dolly Parton, Dierks Bentley, Bill Monroe, Keith Urban, and George Strait are just some of the country music legends featured in Rode’s book. The celebrated photographer self-published Songwriter Musician on August 20, compiling pictures that he has taken over the last 30 years since first moving to Nashville back in 1990.

“The way I like to shoot photos — as a photojournalist, as a documentary photographer — is capturing moments, capturing people as they are, trying to reveal personalities, trying to really tell a story,” Rode says. “I want to tell a story with one photo. I wake up every morning and I want to pick up a camera, I want to go make a photo. I want to capture a moment that won’t be repeated again. I dream about it. To me, I’m the luckiest SOB in the world. I do something that I absolutely love.” (Billboard)