Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz [Paperback]

Joel Meyerowitz (Author), Clifford S. Ackley (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002

Originally published in 1979, "Cape Light" became an instant classic and one of the most influential photography books published in the latter part of the 20th century. Common scenes -- tiny figures on a beach, a porch railing against a storm-darkened sky, a blue raft against a summer cottage -- all are transformed by the poignant light of the Cape and the photographer's subtle and luminous vision. This exquisitely printed book captures every nuance of color and light in that unique juncture of sky, sea, and land that is Cape Cod.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joel Meyerowitz is a photographer best known for his large-format color work published in Cape Light and several other books. He began his career as a street photographer and is the co-author of Bystander: A History of Street Photography. His photographs have been shown worldwide, including exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Recently he produced his first feature film, POP, a diary of a trip he made with his son and his aging father, who had Alzheimer's disease. Clifford Ackley is curator of photography and prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; Expanded edition (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821227955
• ISBN-13: 978-0821227954
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.3 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Color
  • #93 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Travel with Pets

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this is it!, January 8, 2003

By 

Paul Vecsei (Yellowknife, NWT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz (Paperback)

I first saw this book while i was looking through the photography section at the University of Guelph library. This book probably influenced my photography more than any other. Unfortunately, it also made me start doing shots with my nikon that are better suited for a large format system. The introductory interview with the photographer is possibly the most interesting discussion on the topic of light and photography. If you plan to become anything more than an amature photographer, PLEASE get this book NOW.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes your photographic breath away, March 3, 2002

By 

John S. Sommer "johnstanton2001" (Brownwood, Tx. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz (Paperback)

Ansel Adams said that this book was his favorite book of color photographs (the reason I bought it, long ago). Meyerowitz's use of little contrast, incomparible colors, and unusual subject matter makes this a must MEMORIZE book for all serious photographers. If you don't go nuts over his photographs, you don't like photography as much as you thought you did.......

john in texas

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Photo Books Ever Published, November 27, 2009

By 

Jeff Wignall "The Joy of Digital Photography" (Stratford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz (Paperback)

I'm a little stunned that this book only has six reviews and that they're not all five-star reviews. I can only attribute that to the reasons one of the reviewers gives below, that this is a sub-standard edition of what is one of the greatest photo books ever envisioned or published. I first saw this book (the year it was first published, 1978, I think) in a bookstore outside of Boston and it was so beautiful that I had to sit down on the floor of the shop and study every page. I couldn't have been more blown away by the utter simplicity and yet great emotional depth of the images. Meyerowitz, one of the masters of New York "street" photography in the 1960s had burned out on the intensity of his street and commercial work and retreated to a small house in Truro on Cape Cod and, leaving small formats behind, brought with him a pair of 8 x 10-inch Deardorff field cameras. He then spent that summer (and much time after, I assume) using the huge view cameras almost as if they were smaller-format cameras: in some cases keeping a camera on a tripod in the back seat of his car and then, when a great moment occurred, hopping out of his car and shooting the photo in just minutes.

And when you look at the spectacular photos in this book (and they include some of the simplest and most interesting landscape photos ever made) you can see and feel that moment of awareness, that instant when a photograph was waiting to be made and Meyerowitz was there. He took a huge artistic chance in shifting from small-format cameras to large-format field cameras, but it seems in retrospect like a completely inspired decision. I think he changed forever the way that art photographers (the great Stephen Shore among them, I'd guess) look at large-format cameras.

The photos in this book are fun, they're brilliantly lit, they're natural, they're human, they're the heart and soul of Cape Cod. And they will teach you more about light and composition than any how-to book ever written (and I write photo how-to books for a living). Joel Meyerowitz is a true artist and I hope that some publisher will show the integrity and respect due to Joel to republish this book in its original large-format hardcover edition. The book deserves it, the photos deserve it and the photo world deserves it.

In the mean time, look for used copies of the original and know that you will be buying a forgotten masterpiece and no doubt one of the greatest photography books ever published. Meyerowitz is the real deal, he's a modern master. His book Aftermath on 9-11 Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive is certainly the greatest artistic and journalistic achievement to come out of that tragic event.