Customer Reviews

Edge of the Earth, Corner of the Sky

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I just received this book 15 minutes ago and I am so amazed that I'm going to write this review right now. The photographer has taken photographs of things that you may not even notice with the naked eye. He has taken nature photography to a whole new level.
While in Death Valley last year I was so overwhelmed at the beauty of the desert I was unable to capture any of that on film. I knew that I would never achieve a fair representation of how that view looked to me at the time. I could only hope to use my snapshot as a reminder of what I felt at that moment while looking over the desert and dunes. Art Wolfe focuses on the dried earth, one rock, and a rock I never would have seen. His photography reminds us to focus on one part at a time or you'll miss everything. The nook of a mountain, the reflection of the canyon within a pool of water, from within an ice cave looking out. To see these views through the eyes of this photographer is surely a gift.

Wolfe's use of slow shutter speed and timed exposures lends a magical feel to many of his photographs. The path of the moon throughout one night displays as an arch. The result is an added movement to an otherwise still scene of a mountain in Australia. His winter beech trees literally make my mouth water (for some reason, I don't know!).

Let us look at these amazing landscapes and use the power that we have to preserve such beauty.

Ansel Adams, who is probably the world's most famous landscape photographer, worked in black and white. According to Eliot Porter, a color photographer, Adams maintained that color photography had no legitimate place in the art of photography because it was too literal to be an art form and that it was not possible to practice it interpretively. In this book, Art Wolfe once again proves that Adams was wrong.

Wolfe presents us with landscapes from all over the world, from places where few us will ever travel, that are spectacular. Many of the pictures, particularly those of rugged mountains, will leave the reader in awe of the natural landscape.

But Wolfe is not just concerned with the subject matter. He never forgets the qualities of light and color. Most of his shots are from the "magic hours" of sunrise and sunset when the sky is diffused with the range of colors from intense blues to bright reds. Yet,while the mountains that form the backdrop for the lighting effects bask in the red glow, the foregrounds are frequently plunged into darkness, creating feelings of both repose and mystery.

The pictures are arranged into five chapters called Desert, Ocean, Mountain, Forest and Polar, but these subjects often creep from one chapter into another. What is more interesting is when Wolfe presents a series of pictures, often on facing pages, that look at the same subject in different light, or different subjects in the same light. This allows us to explore the subtle differences between the pictures and come to a deeper understanding of Wolfe?s art and the subject.

Technical data and Wolfe's commentary on the circumstances of the taking of each picture are in the back of the book, where they do not detract from the optical feast, but are available to those who may be interested in these details.

Beginning each chapter is a short essay by Art Davidson that is well written and has some relationship to the subsequent photographs. Such essays have become mandatory but, like the ones in this book, they often seem to have a life of their own that does not really illuminate the pictures. Perhaps I?m asking too much, but I have the example of photographer Galen Rowell?s book "Alaska: Images of the Country" in which Rowell quoted selected passages from author John McPhee?s book "Coming into the Country" to give us a strong but intimate view of that place.

Speaking of Rowell, one of his most famous books was "Mountain Light" where he showed photographers how to capture mountains in their distinctive illunination. I don?t know if Wolfe studied Rowell, but if he did, he has surpassed his teacher.

One of the book's strong points may also be its weakness for some readers. Wolfe often shows a photograph of a mountain backdrop bathed in magic-hours light, with a body of water in the foreground reflecting the mountains and concealed in shadow. While some viewers will take the opportunity to compare these similar pictures to explore Wolfe's style and subject, others will find them too repetitious.

I also have to say a word about environmentalism, and here I know some people may react to my criticism apart from the book. Wolfe has said that he put this book together to underscore the importance of preserving the wild places he has photographed. Introductions by Robert Redford and John Adams, the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, reemphasize the point. Then Davidson's strident essays speak almost exclusively of man's efforts to dismember the landscape. These photographs are so eloquent that I see no necessity for adding a stream of text to distract us from the pictures, each of which is truly worth 10,000 words.

Despite these criticisms I do not believe anyone who looks into the book will be unmoved or feel that they could better have spent their time.

This book is the best series of landscape photos I have seen. I almost thought I heard angels singing arias in the background while looking at these images. Such is their profound and moving beauty.

Besides Steve McCurry's South Southeast, this is the only book I have seen where the publisher did not skimp on the paper and the printing. The colors and the sharpness are perfect. The book is divided into five sections based on the climate. The Arctic and the Rainforest were two of them. Some of the images are surreal (salt flats) while others were poetic (the curves in dunes). All of them made me stare in wonder, and I have made a resolution to see some of these places before they are lost to development.

The best part about this book for aspiring photographers is in the back. Here there is a thumbnail of each picture in the book with a note from Art Wolfe explaining the environment and the methods he used to photograph the scene. Included are details such as the camera, lens, film, shutter speed, and aperture settings that were used. I sat mesmerized staring at the photos and then reading the technical details on how he captured the image.

If you are an budding landscape photographer, this book is fuel for your aspiration. Or if you just plain love nature scenes, this book will make your love for nature deeper.

Just wanted to add that in addition to the amazing photographs the detailed notes on the back are fantastic. He describes the location and in many cases provides the technical details of how the photograph was taken and why he chose to do it that way.

I have been a photography enthusiast since the 80s and I've run BetterPhoto since 1996. Along the way, books by Ansel Adams, John Shaw, Frans Lanting and countless others have provided inspiration and direction.

One day at a PMA photography convention, I saw Art and introduced myself. He was kind, gracious and friendly. He showed me his new book and I bought it on the spot.

I can honestly say that in my years as a photographer, I have never been more inspired. Every page, from cover to cover, features one or more images that take my breath away. I now find myself making travel plans with the objective of revisiting some of the places Art has been, following in his footsteps in the hopes of capturing images of similar beauty. Namibia, Antelope Canyon, the Big Island of Hawaii, Yellowstone, Patagonia... mountains, forests, ice, desert, and wave... my list of dream destinations has grown a great deal since I first sat down with this magnificent book.

In addition to the awe-inspiring imagery, I appreciate the environment message and essays by John Adams, Robert Redford, and Art Davidson.

As an aspiring photographer myself, I especially appreciate the section at the end of the book where Art explains the story behind each image and the technique used to capture it. It's an education that you'll find so fun to read you won't be able to put it down.

My copy of the book is riddled with post-it notes marking images that I have especially moving. It is showing signs of wear since I take it off the shelf to show my photography friends each time they visit. In fact, they sometimes end up cursing, knowing they will never be able to attain such heights. Art has set the bar too high. I am not exaggerating: this book far surpasses all others for its beauty.

Thank you Art for providing this jolt of inspiration. I may never achieve the stellar heights you have achieved, but I will sure have fun trying.

I hiked with Art in Patagonia when he shot the images in the Edge of the Earth, Corner of the Sky while I was researching my own new book, Classic Hikes of the World. Time and again, Art would rush to a spot and set up his camera. I looked where he was pointing but saw nothing unusual. When we returned to the US and I saw the pictures, I was shocked. Art has a unique ability to capture fleeting moments, or pick out the one element in a landscape that makes a strong composition infused with magical light. Each time I looked at the shots in this book, I'm glad I'm a writer.

In my opinion, the images within this book reflect a perfect combination of light and opportunity and particularly I'm very impressed by the star trails. In general Art Wolfe shows us "through the lens" how beautiful our earth currently is. An important message is that it should be saved so that future generations will be able to live on. The (excellents) forewords in this book underline this approach.

At the end of the book Art Wolfe explains his used technique, how to achieve a proper exposure, how to consider the light etc.. This book is brilliant in all aspects!

This book delivered more than I was expecting. I was expecting to see some really great photography of God's beautiful Earth and I did. What I wasn't expecting is to find in the back of the book the details of how Art captured each shot! He describes the look he wanted and how he got it - from the camera used, the lens used, the time of day for proper lighting, the exposure, . . . This book truly met and exceeded my expectations!

We recently received our copy of Art Wolfe's Edge of the Earth Corner of the Sky" and would highly recommend the excellent book of
nature photography. It is very well done, complete with camera settings and other helpful information. We have watched a number of
Art Wolfe's videos on tv and have been very impressed with his work.
Highly recommend.

Art Wolfe as usual did a great job in creating this book. Wonderful pictures of places where most people will only visit in pictures.