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Award-winning photographer Michael Poliza's seventh book for teNeues showcases Kenya with aerial shots and dramatic landscapes, vivid animal studies, and portraits of the proud Maasai people. This stunning book captures the spirit of the place and its inhabitants like no other. Poliza conveys the adventure and excitement of the unique locations he has chosen to explore, and as with all his best-selling titles, Poliza's concern for fragile eco-systems and vibrant cultures is reflected on every page. A skilled artist and gifted storyteller, Poliza's one-of-a-kind work combines advanced technique and original composition. Each breathtaking photograph is beautifully printed on luxurious paper and stands on its own as an expressive work of art.
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"...might change the way you think about photography!" ~The New York Times
Michael Poliza has never been a man to do things by half measures. That might sound like a cliché, but his life is certainly not. His entire track record shows somebody who jumps into projects with both feet, immersing himself completely in the subject matter and fast becoming seen as a leader in whatever field he chooses to focus. 'Google' his name now and you'll find repeated reference to his incredibly successful books. Yet just dig a little deeper, and you'll find that a few years ago his name was in lights in the business world - and before that on the television screen.
Michael just grins when somebody mentions he's lived three lives. To an outsider, the three might seem highly divergent. But look more closely and they have very similar themes, all shaped by his uncanny ability to detect a new direction in its early phases, and then to work unstoppably in mastering the subject matter and pushing the boundaries of what is deemed possible or probable.
The themes the three lives have in common are media and electronic gadgets. This man has lived the digital age to the full.
So the first of Michael's lives was in television. He modestly tells the story of somebody wanting to woo his older sister and casting her baby brother in a television role. Whatever the start, Michael was obviously both talented and hardworking. By the time he was a teenager, he was as well known as any actor could possibly be in the Germany of that time, and appeared in more than 100 television shows and films.
His second incarnation was as a businessman. In the USA, where he spent time as an exchange student, Michael first caught a glimpse of quite how digital the future would be. Returning to Germany, he petitioned IBM to grant him an agency, despite his youth. His relentlessness paid off, and the young man became a slave to his pager and the needs of his clients, continuing to build an impressive business in the IT sector.
In 1997 he began his third life focusing on digital media. Selling his companies for a small fortune in stock, he had planned to buy a yacht and sail around the world. But then the dot.com crash happened, and suddenly IT stocks plummeted in value - today, Michael jokes about how he watched the yacht he intended to build get shorter by a foot every day. Not being a man to give up, he hatched a grand plan: the Millennium Starship voyage. Journalists and photographers would be invited to join him on board to document the state of the world's wild locations at the turn of the millennium. Sponsors like SONY, Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, Olympus and the WWF helped to foot the bill, with the output broadcast daily on the Internet and followed by millions of people around the world - an unheard of achievement in those early digital days. STERN Magazine was the main media partner, publishing many features on the voyage.
And that's where Michael's publishing experience began, with the book of the voyage quickly becoming a bestseller of more than 50,000 copies. True to his IT roots and passions, he had already embraced digital photography, and his Starship book was the very first coffee table book to feature more than 50% digital content.
The voyage over, Michael sold the boat and was headed to Madagascar when he stopped by South Africa's 'Mother City' of Cape Town and promptly lost his heart to her. He built a house on the Atlantic Seaboard, using this as a base for countless visits to the nature reserves of Southern Africa. Much of this was thanks to a friendship with Wilderness Safaris, who gave him freedom of access in return for the use of his images - a truly symbiotic relationship.
The beautiful body of work that quickly developed was crying out to be shown to the rest of the world, and that's where publisher Hendrik teNeues came in. He quickly realized the value of his old friend's content, and the book AFRICA was launched to massive acclaim in 2006. "Poliza has taken wildlife and landscape photography to a new level," the Cape Times raved in September 2006. Great Britain's Daily Express was no less unequivocal: "If ever a book could take your breath away, this is the one." ABC's Good Morning America selected it as one of the best coffee table books of that year, with the New York Times acknowledging: "It is unlikely to change the way you think about Africa. But it might change the way you think about photography." EYES OVER AFRICA followed suit to equal acclaim and success, being named as Book of the Year 2009 in both Germany and the USA. The result of an aerial journey from Michael's birthplace in Hamburg to his new house in Cape Town in his friend Stefan Breuer's helicopter, the book provided a bird's-eye view of the continent, showcasing nature's graphics and man's impact in surprising and powerful ways.
Finally done with the heat of Africa, Michael found himself focused on the world's cooler climes: Antarctica and the Arctic. The resultant ANTARCTIC, published in 2009, is a touching and opulent coffee table book, which insightfully portrays the beauty and fragility of polar life.
ANTARCTIC was a milestone in Michael's life for another reason: it took his eyes off Africa, and after finishing his work on the polar regions, he chose to return to Hamburg as his base, where he opened his own gallery. Not only did this provide a new headquarters for the Michael Poliza Photography enterprise, but it also offered opportunities to revive old friendships and associations, and in December 2009 he was named as an ambassador of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The intent all along had been to photograph Australia next, but Michael could not shake off his love of Africa. Having seen first-hand how the football World Cup could transform a country, he could not miss the opportunity to celebrate the first ever World Cup on African soil. So a new plan was quickly hatched: head back to South Africa for just a few months. Australia could wait. There was only one thing for 2010: SOUTH AFRICA.
Update: Michael has published CLASSIC AFRICA and KENYA in 2010 and 2011.
Kenya: Michael Poliza & Friends is a gorgeous coffee-table size book featuring more than 250 pages of vivid, full-page photos highlighting the complexity and diversity of Kenya's people, landscapes, and wildlife. The photos range from sweeping wide angle shots of the Chalbi Desert and Suguta Valley, to spectacular wildlife photography taken in the Masai Mara and other locations.
I immensely enjoy the artistic and technical beauty of the images contained in this book. With many of these photos, especially those with wildlife as the subject, I could not help wondering how these amazing shots were captured! This book is not just a window to a complex, diverse and ecologically fragile country; it is a work of art in itself.
I highly recommend this gorgeous book for anyone with an interest in fine photography, or in the wildlife and landscapes of Africa.
KENYA is a huge, heavy, coffee table book so rich in brilliant photography that it is an art piece on its own. To appreciate just how dazzling this book is open to the middle section of the book and there experience the folding out of a four-page panel of a flock of flamingos in motion. It is staggering in concept and in respect for nature. Yet that is only to capture the attention of the curious reader. THIS is KENYA as only Michael Poliza can share with us. Poliza, having lived in Cape Town, South Africa in 2005 while on assignment was disillusioned by what he saw the tourists observing. He returned in 2006 he began photographing the Kenya he discovered. This book is a tribute to what he saw and what he offers as the true spirit of Kenya - au naturel.
'Kenya's diversity' Poliza writes in his introduction, 'is clearly breathtaking: the plains of the Mara, beaches on the Indian Ocean, rainforest in the highlands, snow on Mount Kenya, huge waterfalls, vast deserts, volcanoes, picturesque dunes, fantasy rock formations, deep swamps, etc - hard to imagine, but it's all here! I now visit about three or four times a year, often with friends. I have become something of an expert in finding the most beautiful and untamed places.'
The rest of the book which measures 15" X 12" X 1 1/2" (and that is closed!) is all photography - lush panoramas, ingeniously captured close-ups of both vegetation and animals, images of the peoples of the region - all of the things Poliza mentions in his introduction. The fact that each of the images is presented in two page open book size (making each photograph 15" X 24") quite simply takes the viewers breath away.... All of the photography is in richly saturated color, understandable for the vistas of land and sky and forests and rock formations, but a true bonus when Poliza focuses on, say, the yawning mouth of a lion where he makes us feel we could easily walk inside!
The book is meant to be global in distribution, thanks to teNeues Press, and to that end the written word is in English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish. This is a book that begs display in a room where the reader can spend hours paging through the wonders of Kenya as captured and defined by Michael Poliza. It is of note that part of the purchase price of each of these books is donated to SOS Children's Village for their relief work in East Africa. Magnificent achievement from all concerned. Grady Harp, November 11Read more ›
There are beautiful books and there are masterpieces. Kenya by Michael Poliza and Friends is a masterpiece. From page one it is clear this book is something new and completely different in the world of photography. Kenya is photographs of landscapes, animals, and people.
Kenya is a massive book of color photographs. Poliza's Classic Africa from last year was black and white, (Classic Africa) and a more intimate close up view of animals. Kenya is expansive and more about the huge landscape and the place animals and people have in those views. These are bright, sharp, colorful images compared to the monochrome from last year. Both books have their place; Kenya is a bit easier to appreciate.
The book is wrapped in a plastic shrink-wrap with a sticker, "A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to the charity organization SOS Children's Village for their relief work in East Africa." What a fantastic gesture.
The four photographers represented in this book are Michael Poliza, Steve Bloom, Paul Mckenzie, and Federico Veronesi. Roughly 80% of the photographs are by Poliza. Poliza was a German television actor, turned IT professional, and in the late 1990's turned wildlife and landscape photographer. Since the 1990's Steve Bloom has documented African wildlife and landscapes, he was born in South Africa. Paul Mckenzie was born in Kenya, worked in finance for 20 years and in the 1990's started his career in wildlife photography. Federico Veronesi born in Milan, lives in Kenya, leads photography safaris and is a full time photographer since 2007. It appears all these photographers have a passion for Africa and are less interested in making a huge amount of money....
Kenya is massive; the pages are very heavy weight semi gloss paper slightly larger than 11 x 14. Most of the images cover two pages and somehow Poliza has taken into account the spine fold in each double wide. Essentially, this is a book of 22 x 14 inch photographs. There are 237 pages of images. The binding strains against the task of holding this incredibly heavy book together. The book is presented with a matte paper cover that hides an amazing embossed hardbound book that looks like an animal hide. It seems a shame to hide this beautiful book. The inner leaf paper cover is of a faded landscape with elephants.
TeNeuese is a master at reproducing fine photography. The colors and tone range are reproduced perfectly; the images look like photographic prints. Blacks are solid deep and blemish free all the way to perfect ivory whites the tone range is remarkable.
Unfortunately each image is marred with a page number in the lower right or left corner. The numbers are, relative to the size of the images, small, but they are a distraction all the same. Each image is described in a thumbnail index at the back of the book. The photographer, exposure information, and a paragraph describing the picture are included. Thankfully this information is at the end of the book and not the bottom of each image.
These are stunning images. There is a flavor of Planet Earth and National Geographic, except there's more depth in these photographs. The other two produce absolute perfection in every single image, and sometimes the photograph is included because they are so perfect. Not every image in Kenya is perfection, not every image is absolutely tack sharp and studio perfect. Instead, Poliza and friends have captured more of the feeling of Kenya, more of a sense of being there. The image of an eagle owl with it's mouth open about to swallow a mouse whole is slightly out of focus, slightly blurry, but perfectly exposed. This picture might not have ever appeared in Planet Earth or National Geographic, because it is slightly blurry. Poliza captured the perfect moment just before the mouse became a meal, that imperfection is what makes the image so perfect.
Each image could be framed. There is a particularly spectacular image of flamingos (the flamingo series overall is incredible) that is a two-page fold out - when open the image measures 14 x 44 inches. The single most iconic is a cheetah standing majestically on a dead tree overlooking the tundra. There is movement in both forms, the cheetah fitting perfectly in the composition.
Aerial photography is a special art. The Poliza has mastered this art. They find shapes and colors that are unimaginable, sometimes just a beautiful form; others look like animals or plants.
There is a not so great forward by Eberhard Brandes, CEO, World Wide Fund for Nature Germany, and a beautiful essay by Poliza on his passion for Kenya. Both essays are in English, French, and German. The last section of the book is the thumbnail index, biographies of the four photographers all in three languages. Poliza acknowledges all the support he has for his photography safaris and adds a small pitch for his travel business - authentic safaris in Kenya. There are two pages from the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) describing the dire needs of Kenya and asking for support. Finally the book closes with two pages of other titles by Poliza.
This is a masterpiece book from a wildlife photography standpoint, from an art standpoint, and from a rise to support this country standpoint. It may sound silly, but this book could very easily sit on a table and flip the page once per day. The images are so beautiful and stunning, they deserve at least a day of viewing. I loved this book, it is simply gorgeous.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review.Read more ›
Michael Poliza's book, Africa, established him as one of the top five african wildlife photographers in the world, so I greatly looked forward to owning this book. Unfortunately, very few of Michael's images in this book achieve the high standard he had previously set. In fact, most of the best wildlife photos are contributed by the "friends" who participated. I'm used to being awed by Michael's photography; with only a few exceptions, his work here is uninspiring.
I was looking forward to this book as I hope for a trip to Kenya this year. I was frankly disappointed. The majority of pictures appear to have been taken from helicopters or other very high vantage points. You become an observer, not a participant in the land and its inhabitants. It was like seeing Kenya on google-earth. There were a few stunning pictures of people and animals, but very little in the book inspired me. I was looking for a "story", something more intimate about the people and land of Kenya. This book does not deliver that, so for me it was a disappointment.
I suppose that many will be impressed by the size of the book and the photos, but having camera equipment expensive enough that your can keep clarity in enlargements does not a photographic journal make.
