Customer Reviews

Photographing the Southwest: Volume 1--Southern Utah (2nd Ed.) (Photographing the Southwest)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I live in the Southwest and have been impressed with Laurent Martres' dedication to touring around and writing about this area. I started reading his recommendations for hiking and photography when a friend gave me his "Land of the Canyons" book in the late 1990s. While this first book covered mostly the well-known areas of the Southwest, this latest iteration provides information on places that I'd only seen pictures of but didn't know where to find. Additionally there are places in here that I hadn't heard of after living here over 20 years but that are now on my "to do" list. If you're planning on visiting the Colorado Plateau, this book will keep you busy in Utah for several weeks. The color photographs make this book very appealing and the wealth of information on seldom-seen places will have you planning new trips to the region with your camera and camping gear.

I bought and used the the 2nd edition of the book for a trip to the southwest this month and I loved it! I had the previous book, which had black and white photos. The color photos really enhance the book, which was good to begin with. I used the book almost exclusively on my trip and really didn't need to refer to any other sources, except for when in Arizona. I contact Mr. Martres and learned that his Arizona and Colorado & New Mexico books will be available later this year. If you are interested in photography and hiking in Utah, don't hesitate to buy this book.

For the person with more than a few days to spend, this book will be an invaluable reference. For the rest of us, it's both an excellent reference and a "wish list" of places we'd like to see and photograph.

Unlike a few other excellent books on photographing the West, this one does not include detailed hints on how to take each photograph. It is not a "how to" book. Instead, it's a very detailed account of hundreds of places where beautiful and/or interesting landscapes can be seen. It includes directions to the sites and extensive commentaries on access, the use of guides at some places, tips on things to avoid, best times to photograph, and more. There is an accompanying CD which contains color photographs of many of the features described.

Highly recommended for the person who does not need a detailed account of each photograph, and who is interested in exploring both the highlights and the out-of-the-way sights.

This is the best book I've found for someone traveling to Southern Utah. It covers where to go and what to see, what you absolutely can't miss, and what you can pass up if you're short on time. Great directions, pictures and even occasional GPS coordinates. Oh, yeah, and of course - photography advice too!

Just got the 2nd edition of this book - and I would say that a great book has just become even better.
Last year, I spent a 3 and a half weeks vacation in the American Southwest, using the Photographing the Southwest series of books. They were a very very useful travel companion.

The second edition now has color photos and describes more places to visit. New are the ratings for scenic value, photographic interest, road and trail difficulty that make it easier to select the destination you're interested in.

If you're a dedicated photographer looking for great guidebook with very useful hints, I would strongly recommend it!
Since I'm from Germany and despite it is quite a trip to red rock country, I'm really tempted to come back soon when reading this book.
Worth at least five stars!

This is a great book for photographers looking for the best places to photograph in Utah. It tells you which sites are the best, best angles to shoot, the focal length to use and best time of day to make the shot. The book tells you how to get to each site and how long it takes to get there. It is loaded with very nice photos. It gets you very excited about going to Utah and photographing the different sites.

This book really turned out to be very useful in planning and then actually doing my recent trip in October of 2006. As it turned out, due to rain, many places I planned on seeing were not accessible due to washed out roads and mud, but i was always able to come up with a good "plan B" using the book.

I really don't think my trip would have been near as much fun - both photographically and just seeing some cool stuff - without having had the book.

The weak area seemed to be in the Arches area. Better discriptions of where the sun might be at various times of the year would have been helpful and would have saved some hiking!

Over-all, the advice was dead on and I am so glad a friend recommended this book.

When I go on vacation I have limited time for photography, so I can't scout the best locations and determine the best time to be in a particular place. This book made it much easier to plan a vacation to Utah. The author tells you specific locations that are attractive photography targets as well as when the light is best. As a result I was able to build my itinerary to try and be in the optimal location for photography a higher percentage of the time. For example, the light is best in the afternoon in many spots on the East side of Zion. This is something I didn't know until I read this book. As a result, we drove through the east side of Zion in the morning without stopping. Visited sites outside the park and then headed back into the park in the afternoon - stopping then for photographs when the sun was at our back and lighting up the rock formations.

It took a while to lay it out, but the end result is I have some great photographs that I'm proud to have people view.

It's dicey to purchase a book without putting your hands on it and turning the pages. I always expect that the book will be less than the reviews. Not so with this product. It is a great addition to any photographer's toolkit. If you are visiting the Utah SW buy this book. It's been updated with a few essential GPS co-ordinates but not enough. I'll fix that when we travel there next fall. It is especially valid with information on how to get to the locations it talks about. Convinced us that we should take the truck and not just the SUV for better access to "off track" locations. The technical advise is solid. The awareness needed for great photos is always a great reminder for all of us. Photographing is not just technical ability, new cameras can take care of that for you, it's about "seening the shot". Sometimes landscapes are better with shadows, shilouttes, or people. This book encourages you to take the time to find your shot. A great photographer sees what others don't. This book will help you both technically and artistically.

This book is a must have if you want to see the beauty of southern Utah.
It will take you places that are truely magnificent. It suggests what to see and how to get there. Directions are clear and concise.The author relates his experiances and informs you of the difficulties that may be encountered on the road. This book and its companion Volume-2 Arizona,
are the only ones you will ever need. Buy them, get off the main highways do some hiking and enjoy!!!!