Photographing the Southwest: A Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Southern Utah & Southwest Colorado [Paperback]

Laurent Martres (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2002

A must for everyone with a Passion for the Southwest!

Have you ever wanted to see with your own eyes all the beautiful locations found in coffee table books, posters and travel magazines?
Do you want to see the most photogenic spots in our national parks and monuments?
Do you want to visit spectacular "off the beaten track" locations outside the parks?
Are you are interested in rock art and early Native American dwellings?

Photographing the Southwest is the result of over twenty years of experience in exploring and photographing the natural landmarks of the Southwest. This guide has all the information you need to make your trip richer and more rewarding. - Volume 1 covers Southern Utah & Southwestern Colorado
- 270+ pages of great information for everyone; no need to be a photographer
- Hundreds of locations, including the best spots and how to get there
- All the major national parks, monuments and state parks
- Clear and precise indications provided for hard-to-find sites
- Lots of travel tips not usually found in traditional guidebooks
- Where, when and how to get the best shots
- Valuable tips on composition, exposure and hard-to-shoot scenery
- 170+ high-quality B&W photographs
- companion CD-ROM "Images of the Southwest-Vol. 1" to pre-visualize the sites

The photography as well as the reproduction quality of the B&W images make these new guidebooks very unique. Eleven photographers, all pros and advanced amateurs, contributed their talent to illustrate the sites.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

It took almost 3 years to produce these guidebooks (Volume 1 & 2), building on the success of highly-praised "Land of the Canyons". Almost all previous locations have been revisited and a very large amount of new locations have been added, many of them "off the beaten track" and not found in other guidebooks. The sheer amount of information necessitated a split into two separate volumes. Even so, each book "feels" very substantial and a glance at the inside immediately reveals the depth of the material. People immediately recognize that they are holding a work of substance that was thoroughly researched.

The photography as well as the reproduction quality of the B&W images also make these guidebooks very unique. Eleven photographers, all pros and advanced amateurs, contributed their talent to illustrate the sites. Preface by Master Photographer Tom Till.

We strongly encourage readers to purchase the "Images of the Southwest" companion CD-ROMs to pre-visualize the sites. Those who see the CD-ROMs can’t quit raving about them: outstanding photography, optimized color correction and sharpness, convenient 1024x768 wallpaper format. Together, both CDs represent more than 500 images covering a remarkable diversity of sites, many of which are little-known jewels. But don’t be alarmed, we’ve included two great navigation tools for Windows and Macintosh computers that will get you browsing through the libraries in seconds. At only $19.95 per Volume, these CD-ROMs are a steal, compared to so-called screen savers, offering a meager 20 images.

From the Author

With "Photographing the Southwest", my goal was to give readers the best practical information to visit, photograph and simply enjoy the Southwest. May it bring you a slew of new ideas for your creative photography.

If you like the book, I hope you’ll contribute to spread the word among your friends, the photography community and all aficionados of the Southwest. The only way to compete as an independent author is by giving readers a quality product with great information. This takes an incredible amount of time and resources. Help me make Photographing the Southwest a success so I can bring out Volume 3 (Southern California & Nevada).

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Graphie Intl (March 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916189082
• ISBN-13: 978-0916189082
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Info but..., January 16, 2005

By 

Matt Ebiner (Covina, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Photographing the Southwest: A Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Southern Utah & Southwest Colorado (Paperback)

Martres throughly researched the photographic possibilities for this book, and covers virtually every photogenic spot in the region. Having used his book on four separate trips to southern Utah, I appreciate all the new places I learned about in his book, and I can vouch for the helpful descriptions and tips for finding the ideal times and locations for the best photographs.

A major shortcoming of the book, however, is the total lack of maps of any sort. Yes, there are written explanations of how to reach the discussed places, but it is hard to believe that a guidebook would not have one single map in the entire book!! The book would have been improved immensely with some basic maps showing where the various places were, so that trip planning and time on the road would go more efficiently. It was inconvenient to constantly be switching from book to a large separate map.

Another shortcoming is that the recommended shooting times usually do not consider seasons. Many locations have a much different lighting angle on a winter morning versus summer, and oftentimes the recommended times for ideal photography did not work as discussed in the book.

The other small complaint is that the photos in the book are all in black and white, making it more difficult to appreciate the grandeur of the various spots. Color photos would have been more effective.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where in the World is Laurent?, May 1, 2004

By 

D. Dwin "D.Dwin" (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Photographing the Southwest: A Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Southern Utah & Southwest Colorado (Paperback)

As others have said, this is a great book, both for photographers and visitors interested in "off the beaten path" advice. Laurent really helped me to find some of the most beautiful parts of this country, particularly in the escalente area, bryce, zion, and avoid some of the more crowded and touristy places. Wether you take pictures with an SLR, disposable, or just with your eyes, you can benefit from his advice on where to start your day, and which directions to travel for the best light.
One morning, when Kathy and I woke before dawn and headed to the back of the zion museum to photograph The Towers of the Virgin at sunrise, one of the many, many tips in this book. Practially in the dark, a man walked up to me and asked "do you want me to sign your book?". Took a few minutes before I realized it was Laurent! Very nice guy -- we talked for quite a while and enjoyed the magnificent sunrise refected on the cliffs. Of the two other, more serious photographers there at dawn, one of them had his book also!
Consider it a blessing if you can spend from a few days, like me, or weeks and weeks following the magnificent paths through the southwest that Laurant suggests. And don't miss his wonderful photography at the gallery in escalante...

BTW, early october is PERFECT time to see Utah. Great weather, and much less crowded. And if you make it to Boulder, Utah, do yourself a great favor and stay at the Boulder Mountain Lodge. It's a gem we accidently found, tucked away in a garden.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't go there without it., June 5, 2002

By 

Greg Vaughn (Eugene, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Photographing the Southwest: A Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Southern Utah & Southwest Colorado (Paperback)

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Are you going to red rock country? Do you want to get good photos? Buy this book! Simple as that.

I just got back from a trip during which I had only a couple of days in the Needles area of Canyonlands National Park, so didn't have time to scout and re-visit the many attractions. Thanks to "Photographing the Southwest", I knew right where to go, and what time of day to be there, in order to photograph a number of the highlights of the area. I also showed the book to several photographers who were very familiar with the territory, and they were impressed with the information, the detail, and the extent of the coverage.

My conclusion: Laurent Martrés' guides are essential equipment for any photographer wanting to capture great images of the natural landmarks and fantastic geological formations of the U.S. Southwest.