Jamie Livingston is sadly no longer with us, but his incredibly intimate photography project will ensure that he’ll never be forgotten.

The project began on March 31st, 1979, when the native New Yorker (and then a college student) took a single photograph. He then took a picture every day for the next 18 years, a tradition he maintained right until the day he died in 1997. Armed with a Polaroid SX-70, Livingston went about documenting every facet of his daily life, from friends, family and relationships, to his job as a filmmaker and photographer and the everyday happenings on the streets of New York.

The latter stages of his project became more introspective as he documented his battle with cancer following his diagnosis in 1997. We see the scar from his brain surgery, we see his hair fall out, and we see the engagement ring that he gave to his girlfriend just weeks before he passed away on October 25th, 1997. Jamie left behind a project comprised of over 6,000 pictures, and in them, he left a truly remarkable life portrait unlike any other.

See below for some of our favorite pictures from his incredible collection. They were uploaded to a website called “Jamie Livingston: some photos of that day” by Betsy Reid and Hugh Crawford, two friends of Jamie’s who promised to keep his project alive after his death. Be sure to check out the entire collection if you ever get the chance. Just keep a box of tissues handy.

More info: Jamie Livingston: some photos of that day (h/t: boredpanda)