Customer Reviews

Written in the West

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I suppose it was only to be expected that filmmaker Wim Wenders would have an eye for composing a good photo. This book of sixty-two, originally published in 1987, is thankfully still in print. They were taken in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas while Wenders was looking for locations for his movie 'Paris, Texas'. Predictably they show a European notion of America so most of them capture what could be considered a rather negative image, abandoned gas stations in the desert, deserted movie theatres and shops, neon signs, everyday commercial activity and more. But they are taken with a sympathetic eye and great feeling.

There are six really great images of street corners, this kind of shot always works, shop-fronts and parked cars stretch into the distance while the immediate foreground provides close-up detail. As with all Wenders photos the color is very controlled and he takes advantage of the very strong dark shadows created by the sunlight in this part of the country. There are four interior photos which I don't think are too successful, very dark and rather lacking in composition.

I don't think this will be a photo book to everybody's taste, because of the subject matter but if you like the grittiness of the American street scene it is well worth owning. A book that captures the same area in great color photos is 'Southwest USA' (ISBN 0500541213) by another German, Gerd Kittel. More broader in scope than 'Written in the West', it includes many interior and landscape photos as well as the small town street scenes.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

If I had to choose only one Wim Wenders photography book, it would be "Once". That said, "Written in the West" is an awesome companion to "Once". It has a great interview in the front of the book but the 60+ photos are featured without further commentary other than titles and locations.

"Once" has more commentary on each photo or series of photos and has more photos altogether. This is why I prefer that book. However "Once" is a smaller book whereas "Written in the West" is more of a coffe table sized book.

The presentation is great and the color photos offer a unique perspective on the American west. Wenders even tells us what camera and lens he used and why.

As soon as my photography professor shared with me his copy of this book I knew I had to have it.