Emery and Ellsworth Kolb are best known for being the first men to make a motion picture record of the Colorado River throughout its entire course through the Grand Canyon.
 
Ellsworth arrived at the Grand Canyon in 1901 and took up work as a bellhop at the Bright Angel Hotel. Emery arrived at the Canyon in 1902 at his brother's urging and the promise of an employment opportunity at John Hance's asbestos mine. By the time he arrived at the Canyon, however, the mine had already closed.
 
Looking for something else to do, he came upon a photography business in Williams that was for sale. Having done some prior experimentation with photography he decided to purchased this business. He did so for $425 and moved the operation to the Grand Canyon where he and Emery went into business on their own photographing visitors who rode the Fred Harvey mule trains down the Bright Angel Trail and into the inner canyon.
 
The Camerons leased them some land near the trailhead, where they setup a tent studio. The business prospered and the tent was soon replaced by a more permanent wooden structure that was build upon a bench of solid rock that they blasted out of the rim.
 
In 1911, Emery and Ellsworth made their trip down the Colorado River. This trip started in Green River, Wyoming, the same place as the legendary Powell expedition. The trip required two months and took them down the Green River to the Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon, and ended in Needles, California. When the trip was over they became famous and spent some time touring the country and showing their film. Ellsworth eventually completed the trip by rafting the remainder of the Colorado River between Needles and the Gulf of California after which he published his account of the trip in book form as Through the Grand Canyon from Wyoming to Mexico.
 
In 1915, the Kolb brothers began showing the film daily in their studio at Grand Canyon, having added an auditorium onto the structure for just this purpose. In 1924, Ellsworth lost interest in the endeavor and headed west to Los Angeles. Emery continued showing the film and providing narration for it up until his death in 1976, which made it the longest continuously-running motion picture ever.
 

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