Pete Turner African Journey [Hardcover]

Pete Turner (Author), Gordon Parks (Foreword), Massimo Vignelli (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001

The first retrospective devoted to the lifelong career of an impassioned camera artist, this spectacular volume captures the beauty of Africa in all its rare forms.

Taken during a three-decade journey through Africa, Pete Turner's photographs cover a variety of subjects -- from indigenous populations and exotic wildlife to geological oddities. Brimming with color and the richness of African tradition and culture, this book examines with love and admiration the people, animals, and landscapes of Africa. The book's fine design, added to the high quality of its pictures, makes it an appealing acquisition for professional and amateur photographers, nature lovers, and travel enthusiasts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Considered one of the most eminent photographers of today, Pete Turner (Pete Turner Photographs) was a 25-year-old on a pioneering assignment for National Geographic when he spent seven months traveling from Capetown, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt, shooting the 148 vibrant photos many of them covering two-page spreads that comprise Pete Turner African Journey. Praising Turner in his introduction, Gordon Parks describes the photographer's body of work as "infinitely arresting and pure," apt words to describe a stunning yet quiet view of Africa more than four decades ago.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In her diary of her years in Africa, Ricciardi collects memories of places, people, and experiences in words and in pictures exuding joy, beauty, pain, and even horror. This great photographer (Vanishing Africa; Vanishing Amazon) presents an intimate account of Africa to the reader and viewer with such sincerity that it may be experienced first-hand, unadulterated. The book centers on East Africa, only occasionally veering into other parts of the continent. Through stories and commentaries as well as pictures, the people emerge full of life and emotions, the landscape flows as the stage for their lives, and the reader gets a subtle lesson in history. Anyone interested in African adventure and travel should at least peruse this work once. Unlike Ricciardi, Turner (Pete Turner Photographs) allows the camera to do all the talking through 140 images capturing the outrageous natural beauty, simple humanity, and intriguing past of Africa. Turner lives not just by the power of his lenses; he composes with the intuition of a painter and the empathy of an anthropologist. The resulting images display a depth of color, imagery, and perspective that can only come with commitment to a mission and an affinity for the scenes and people being photographed. The simplicity of indigenous folks and the vivacity and range of the colors displayed in clothing, buildings, ornaments, objects, landscape, and wildlife transform this volume into a splendid work of art. Turner's pictures speak in a way that words often cannot. His book is recommended for all public libraries, while Ricciardi's is recommended for both public and academic libraries.DEdward K. Owusu-Ansah, Murray State Univ. Lib., KY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Graphis, U. S.; illustrated edition edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888001992
• ISBN-13: 978-1888001990
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunningly visual journal of people, landscapes, wildlife, March 15, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pete Turner African Journey (Hardcover)

Showcasing 148 full-color photographs, and with an informative introduction by photography, fillmmaker, composer and author Gordon Parks, Pete Turner African Journey captures the exotic glamor of a seven-month journey from Capetown, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt while Pete Turner was on assignment for National Geographic. This is a stunningly visual journal of people, landscapes, wildlife, and visual beauty where the images captured by Turner's camera could easily stand as individual works of high art and hang on any gallery wall. Pete Turner African Journey is a superbly produced and highly recommended addition to any personal, academic, professional, or community library photography collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Journey, February 4, 2001

By 

Rob Atkins (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pete Turner African Journey (Hardcover)

This book is a wonderful trip that takes us though the landscapes of Africa, visiting the people and the incredible wildlife, seen through the lens of one of the world's greatest photographers. Turner is a master of color and light, and he fell in love early in his career with the richness of the African continent. To spend time with this book is to be his travelling-companion, visiting ancient temples, witnessing animals in their world, crossing the Sahara and spending time in villages, getting to know the proud people who live there. One beautiful image is of a dog sleeping in an Ndebele village, its white paw matching the painted architecture. In images like this, Turner shows us again and again scenes that only his eye and lens could capture.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Under the African Sun, January 31, 2001

By 

Dale M. Brown (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pete Turner African Journey (Hardcover)

Pete Turner has often been called a photographer's photographer--but that doesn't mean his work lacks wide appeal. His latest book, Pete Turner African Journey, a 206-page collection of images from seven trips he made to Africa, amply demonstrates his ability to please everyone's eye. Here, with his friendly introduction serving as a guide, he takes you on a tour of his pictures and tells you some of the many stories behind them.

Few photographers have displayed as graphic an approach to the art as Turner or such a strong color sense. His shots of the people, the land and the animals glow with the intensity of stained glass. Graphis, the publisher, is to be congratulated for bringing Turner's brilliance to us--and Turner for giving us this chance to bask with him the warmth of the African sun.