Robert Adams has been photographing and publishing books since 1970, and so far has produced about 40 titles. This volume is a compact but nicely printed summary of his career. It is arranged as a movement forward in time and westward in the landscape, beginning on the prairie (the first section is taken from his book "Prairie", a small volume, long out of print, but one of his best, and "Perfect Times, Perfect Places"), then on to Denver and the suburbs and some of his more difficult and recognizable work, (including "Denver", "The New West", "Our lives and our Children" and "What we Bought"), then westward more to California ("Los Angles Spring" and "California Landscapes"), then on to the more recent "Turning Back" and ending with images from "West from the Columbia" and "Time Passes".
For someone who has been following Robert Adams' work for a long time (since I first saw his "New West" show at the Philadelphia Art Museum in 1982), this new book is a little unsettling--it seems to move very quickly, unlike his other books that all seem to reward contemplation. However, it does seem to clarify Adams use of the human figure in the landscape--there are lots of pictures with people in them (about 30 images)--and it seems always that the people in the pictures are interacting with the landscape in typical ways. One of my favorite pictures in this book is of a group of people gathered in a suburban driveway--another is of a woman walking with her arm stretched into the wind.
This book is both accessible and affordable, and is a very good value for those just beginning to appreciate Robert Adams' work. But it seems more a starting point than a summation of his career--it points back to the huge volume of work he has completed over the decades. It is far too modest a book to summarize the great body of work this man has created. It reminds me of Linus's comment about reading a condensed book: "it's not unlike drinking diluted root beer".
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Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2010
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Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2015
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Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2013
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Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2010
The photos have all been published before in various books by Adams and I thought a listing of what books they have appeared in would have been useful to the reader. I'm particularly interested in how Adams covers the urban landscape and the Denver photos in the book can be seen in his two remarkable books: [[ASIN:0300149638 What We Bought: The New World: Scenes from the Denver Metropolitan Area, 1970-1974 (Yale University Art Gallery)]] and [[ASIN:030014136X denver: A Photographic Survey of the Metropolitan Area, 1970-1974 (Yale University Art Gallery)]] with 310 photos in all.
The twenty-nine Oregon photos reveal a changing landscape of nature being cleared ready for industry and suburbs. A beautiful shot on page ninety-three shows part of a mechanical devise, with hydraulic cables, resting on the ground. It sums up the alien (a bit Geiger like, too) about to take over nature.
I've given the book for stars despite the wonderful photography because I thought the book's format wasn't quite right. Yale published the two Denver titles I mentioned and they come across as perfect photo books: right shape, paper and printing to bring out the best in the images. It would have made this book so much better if it had been the same landscape format and with larger photos so the detail they contain could be appreciated. In the book they 300+ plus screen tritones (almost like looking at the original prints) but smaller than I expected. The landscape format would have allowed them all to be bigger.
***LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
Way out West
By Robin on December 23, 2010
I thought this was a useful introduction (and very reasonably priced) to the creative photography of Robert Adams with 110 beautifully printed photos. Taken between 1968 and 2003 in Colorado (mostly around Denver) California and Oregon, they reveal the changing West from nature to a man-made landscape. Adams has devoted several decades to this changing geography.By Robin on December 23, 2010
The photos have all been published before in various books by Adams and I thought a listing of what books they have appeared in would have been useful to the reader. I'm particularly interested in how Adams covers the urban landscape and the Denver photos in the book can be seen in his two remarkable books: [[ASIN:0300149638 What We Bought: The New World: Scenes from the Denver Metropolitan Area, 1970-1974 (Yale University Art Gallery)]] and [[ASIN:030014136X denver: A Photographic Survey of the Metropolitan Area, 1970-1974 (Yale University Art Gallery)]] with 310 photos in all.
The twenty-nine Oregon photos reveal a changing landscape of nature being cleared ready for industry and suburbs. A beautiful shot on page ninety-three shows part of a mechanical devise, with hydraulic cables, resting on the ground. It sums up the alien (a bit Geiger like, too) about to take over nature.
I've given the book for stars despite the wonderful photography because I thought the book's format wasn't quite right. Yale published the two Denver titles I mentioned and they come across as perfect photo books: right shape, paper and printing to bring out the best in the images. It would have made this book so much better if it had been the same landscape format and with larger photos so the detail they contain could be appreciated. In the book they 300+ plus screen tritones (almost like looking at the original prints) but smaller than I expected. The landscape format would have allowed them all to be bigger.
***LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
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Top reviews from other countries
Hansgert Lambers
Einstieg in die Sichten des Robert Adams
Reviewed in Germany on October 25, 2013Verified Purchase
dukeofwelli
Immersion dans l'image
Reviewed in France on November 1, 2014Verified Purchase
