Customer Reviews

Intimations of Paradise

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Permit me to proclaim my excitement at receiving Christopher Burkett's "Intimations of Paradise"

What a treasure of large format color landscape photography! I am deeply moved by this work. Stunning. The whole experience is first class. I wish I knew more about books and binding. It reminds me of my first (and only) Cuban cigar. I could tell it was special, so smooth and rich in character, but I knew it was wasted on me. It was an event. If you order one, savor it, don't rush it. (I've had it for almost two months now.)

I've spoken to Christopher's wife, Ruth, by phone: "The Trade edition is Japanese rayon with silk threads and gold stamping. The paper is 115 lb. ikono text, a special mill run made in Germany for this book. Christopher was told they don't make the paper in that size, so he said, "Please MAKE the paper in that size." They did. When Christopher's photography career was just beginning, he worked as a four-color press operator for ten years and as a color separator for five years. That background is revealed in this work. He assisted with the color separations for this book, over a two year period, then took the project to Gardner Lithograph in Anaheim, California where it was printed (this is where the Getty Museum, Ansel Adams Fine Art posters, John Sexton's books, etc. are printed.) The images are 200-line screen four-color plus varnish. Instead of using color proofs to match, Christopher used original 20x24 inch gallery Cibachrome prints to match. The press operator, Robert Sweet, is a true artist and reproduced this book to Christopher's highest standards. We believe it could not have been done any better. The image called "Blue Glacial Ice" is cobalt colored and would not reproduce without purple areas, so Christopher went to Gardner's color separation department and on the computer, created a fifth touch plate (5-color instead of 4-color) to cover those specific areas of the image, then while that film was being plated, he went to the press and hand-mixed the ink for that fifth color, which would create a cobalt. He called me and light-heartedly said, "I hope I did it right, because my reputation is on the line here." It was perfect. The image you see in the book, matches the Cibachrome print as well as the others - as closely as ink on paper can."

I have thoroughly enjoyed swimming through the images. It's become a bit of a ritual, parking myself in the living room with my back to a north-facing window, curtains and blinds opened, artificial lighting extinguished. You just don't rush a book like this.

Thank you Christopher for being such a maniac for perfection!

This book represents the best work of the individual whom I consider to be America's best outdoor color photographer. Burkett captures moments, light, and nature in ways that make viewers stand in awe of his photographic technique, photographic vision, and of nature itself.

The production quality of the book is surperb. You can feel the love (and probably pickiness) that went into it.

Enjoy!

This is one of the finest color nature photography books published in recent history. It proves that fine art color nature photography is as brilliant, moving and intriguing as black and white nature photography. The quality and reproduction is first class. The images contain subtle scenes of nature and not the "same old National Park overlook images" of many nature color photography books. The only criticism that I have, which should not prevent purchase of the book, is that the photographer tends to often place the subject matter in the center of the image. This works fine in most instances but I would enjoy a bit more variety of placement. In conclusion, the book is a must purchase for fine art photography enthusiasts.

From the Fall/Winter 1999 issue: "One of the best book gifts in any year. The oversized pages carry splendid photographs of the land from every part of America-and each photograph is a life, a consciousness, a meaning that forms itself into arms and legs and beating hearts. Perfectly natural for Burkett who spend seven years as a brother in a Christian order and sees art as a continuation by other means of Spirit. A luxuriant red maple in Kentucky is a busy life of reds and oranges, brassy, colorful, certain. Red oaks and aspen in Utah are spare whites and reds, poetic and graceful, with short, sharp lines. An old sequoia at sunset in California is sturdy, pregnant, carrying life in a basket of radiance, alive to the meaning of light. Sunlight on a canyon in Hawaii: protective, filled with the hard-won pride of accomplishment, green with life, brown with established truths. Intimations of Paradise. Oh yes. For two months of each year, Burkett and his wife Ruth travel about the country, taking pictures (with an 8X10 inch view camera, no less), and then coming home the next ten months and printing in the darkroom six days a week, fourteen hours a day. It shows. The color and the clarity are amazing-and the conscious significance throughout is majestic. This man's soul takes pictures. This man's art develops them. Blooming grasses in Connecticut: orange, a vast village of life just beginning its flurry of joy. Desert arroyo and hills in California breathe a naked, contoured mind replete with flowing thoughts. And a simple fallen rock in Utah tilts into a fullness of existence every bit as vibrant as the tall straight trees around it. Intimations is not just a book. It's a collection of destinies, and a unified spirit of exaltation."

Unlike the sweeping landscapes we all have become accustomed to seeing, Christopher takes a focused look at the "ingredients" of those landscapes...namely tress and foliage. The vibrant colors are breathtaking and to see his perspective through tighter composition yields a look at nature I had not "seen".

While some of the shots may not have that "in your face" drama, the colors and textures are much more appealing and appreciated after a few moments of viewing. As a product photographer, my "world" is within my studio; all controlled and placed as I want to capture them. Christopher's images bring to mind the challenges of capturing natural subjects.

This book is a nice addition to your collection and a great value with the high production qualities it has.

Christopher Burkett is the heir of Eliot Porter as a master of color photography. He finds astonishing beauty in intimate color landscapes, and this book has the production quality to convey it. If you liked "In Wildness is the Preservation of Life", buy this book! You'll love it.

Fantastic color nature photography book. The quality and reproduction is very high. The images are beautiful. The book is a must purchase for fine art photography fond of and Christopher Burkett is a great inspirer.

When I first saw Burkett's work in a gallery in Carmel, CA, I was stopped dead in my tracks. As a proud owner now of some pieces of his work, the book is truly another work of art. Nature never looked so good!! If you're a nature lover, this book is a must. If you're a budding photographer, well, let's just say it doesn't get any better than this! Unbelievable...

This book is great.The full-color photograps(namely tress and foliage)are breathtaking,the oversized pages carry vibrant colors in splendid views from every part of America.All plates are beautiful,but in my opinion,the most beautiful are the following plates:
1(Wild Red Maple and Fog/New Hampsshire)
2(Cherokee Autumn Forest/Tennessee)
6(Luxuriant Red Maple/Kentucky)
14(Sunlit Aspen Mountain Valley/Utah)
19(Franconia Hillside/New Hampsshire)
20(Mountainside,Red Oak and Aspen/Utah)

21(Golden Aspens and Red Oak Mountainside/Utah)
22(Aspen Grove/Colorado)
29(Red Woodbine/Vermont)
32(Old Sequoia at Sunset/California)
41(Twilight,Virgin River and Zion Canyon/Utah)
44(Waimea Canyon,Sunlight and Cloud Shadows/Hawaii)
47(Sunset,Native Koa Tress/Hawaii)
62(Sunrise and Autumn Blueberries/Maine)
The most beautiful plate is NUMBER 21.Burkett,you and your photos are wonderful.

Fantastic color nature photography book. The quality and reproduction is very high. The images are beautiful. The book is a must purchase for fine art photography fond of and Christopher Burkett is a inspirer...