A place long associated with controversy has become, through the lens of documentary photographer Jean Shifrin, a symbol of resilience, diversity, and unity.
Her new photo book, Rise Above: On Top of Stone Mountain, captures a decade of human moments atop the world’s largest exposed granite monolith, transforming the mountain into a mirror of humanity itself.
For more than ten years, Shifrin hiked to the summit of Stone Mountain with her iPhone in hand. What she documented were not monuments or carvings, but people: a soldier carrying a flag, birds flying, and Muslim women in niqab. Her photographs form a visual montage of everyday life—joy, struggle, and connection—set against a backdrop both ancient and fraught.
Carefully sequenced, the images in Rise Above speak across the page to one another: monks in quiet reflection, worshippers gathered in prayer, and boxers sparring atop the stone find their echo in two doves mid-flight. Together, these pairings form a visual dialogue that does not erase the mountain’s history but reframes it through the lens of shared humanity in the present.
Photographer and writer Billy Howard describes the work as “a solace of hope for humanity… a skipping stone for the gods.”
Designed by Laurie Shock and copyedited by Amy Bauman, the book includes an artist statement by Shifrin and a preface by Bill Stephens, CEO of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association.

About the Author:

Jean Shifrin is an award-winning documentary photojournalist whose work has appeared in The Kansas City Star and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Her career includes honors from Nikon, the Overseas Press Club, and the Society of Professional Journalists. Shifrin lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she continues to explore themes of identity, place, and belonging through photography.