Customer Reviews

Above Las Vegas: Its Canyons and Mountains

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I've always been a fan of photography from the air and have taken many myself. Robert Cameron has shown the beautiful city of Las Vegas in a way that most other books on Vegas (and there's a lot)lack.

The photos are crystal clear and have captions that explain the photo. Probably the most intriging of the photos are the ones of the Hotel and Casinos. The Luxor, MGM Grand, and the Stratosphere are all excellently photoed.

A great soverniger for anybody wanting to go or have been to Vegas.

This was Camerons last original photo essay and it is a nice creshendo. Vegas is not the most beautiful place Cameron has photographed, I mean in all fairness who can compete with Carmel, Yosemite, and San Francisco, but he makes Vegas sparkle with his fantastic eye. Vegas is a city that photographs well, the desert colors really respond to the camera, one can't help but be amazed at all the construction and I'm from Houston! As a man from the west, it was fiting that Vegas should be Cameron's last hurrah, I mean if this city does not symbolize todays Sunbelt I don't know what does. I may have not chosen this city to be his last, but that does not dampen my appreciation of his talent and the beauty of his photography. I highly recommend this book as I do all of his wonderful photo essays.

This review is really a review of all of Robert Cameron's books of aerial photography. He has many, including books of New York City, San Diego, L.A., Chicago, etc., and every one is packed with huge, colorful, full-page aerial photos. Cameron also knows a lot about the history of the cities he photographs, writing insightful captions, and many times including old aerial photos for side-by-side comparisons.

Cameron doesn't just shoot random shots - he focuses in on landmarks, buildings, neighborhoods, parks, events, etc. The shots are so clear that, if you've been to the city, you'll be able to pick out details you remember, like a park bench you sat on or a statue you admired.

As far as the Las Vegas book goes, well, this city changes so much that now, in 2004, some of the photos are a little out of date. For example, the Bellagio was not even dreamed up yet, and the New York New York is shown under construction. Still, the wide variety of shots, from the Strip and Downtown to the sprawling suburbs to the Hoover Dam, canyons and deserts from the California line to the Arizona line, make this book exceptional. You can spend quite some time just taking in the details on a single page.