Canyon Wilderness of the Southwest (Deluxe Edition)
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Editorial Reviews
Straddling the borders of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico lies a magnificent wilderness known as the Colorado Plateau. Encompassing over 130,000 square miles, it is a high, eroded tableland of rock, canyon, and desert, and within its boundaries are the greatest concentration of National Parks, National Monuments, State Parks, Wilderness areas, BLM holdings, and Native American tribal lands in America. There are thirteen geographical areas included in the book: Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Grand Gulch, Petrified Forest National Park, Hopi Tribal Lands, Grand Canyon National Park, Navajo Tribal Lands.Jon Ortner captures it all in this encompassing volume of full-color photographs. Packaged with a limited edition print signed by the photographer, this impressive collection features over 200 photographs accompanied by quotes from authors, travelers, and nature enthusiats who have fallen under the spell of this incredible region. Featuring the most extraordinary collection of multicolored landforms found anywhere on Earth, this remarkable assemblage of geological diversity and spectacular beauty attracts growing millions of U.S. and foreign tourists every year. These time-worn canyons, mesas, and vast wind-swept deserts form the greatest expanse of exposed rock in North America. Without cover of dense vegetation or topsoil, the jagged skeleton of the earth is revealed, providing a continuous geological record spanning over 300 million years. Nowhere else is the ancient history of the planet laid bare in such a clear and dramatic way. Mesas, buttes, towers, spires, hoodoos, arches, windows, fins, domes, bridges, and badlands, all are infused with incomparable colors, creating a surreal world of chromatic rocks, tinted soils,
and shimmering sand dunes. It is a luminous painting with hues that change with each hour of the day. These locations have long attracted photographers, but few have photographed with the unique 6x17cm Panorama Camera and modern fine-grain transparency films. The ruggedness of the land, the great distances to be traveled, and extreme weather conditions magnify the logistic difficulties of photographing in the deserts and narrow slot canyons of the Plateau. Transporting heavy photo equipment and film by backpack over long and difficult trails, presents both mental and physical challenges. And the desert is unforgiving of even the smallest errors, treating the unprepared harshly. But, for the few with passion, for those who are willing to begin their trek at the end of the road, the secret world of the high Southwest reveals its treasures.
These photographs reflect the power and stunning beauty of these incomparable monuments to time and the inexorable forces of nature. It is a portrait of a wonderland of colored stone that is the eternal soul of Mother Earth, the foundation of the planet, and a reminder of the ultimate insignificance of man and his creations.
Customer Reviews
The Definitive Pictorial of the Southwest, 2008-11-18
by M. Irwin
Stunning - Ortner's best book yet. He has captured the surreal
natural beauty of the Southwest. Breathtaking photos of a part of the country that I was not familiar with. I was impressed with both the fold out panoramic views as well as the gorgeous signed and numbered print that I am framing.
Jon and Martha Ortner's creative efforts have produced the definitive pictorial to the American Southwest. It will be among my most prized books.
natural beauty of the Southwest. Breathtaking photos of a part of the country that I was not familiar with. I was impressed with both the fold out panoramic views as well as the gorgeous signed and numbered print that I am framing.
Jon and Martha Ortner's creative efforts have produced the definitive pictorial to the American Southwest. It will be among my most prized books.
a spectacular vision, 2008-11-13
by Cynthia Adler
What a spectacular book!! I am mezmorized by these amazing images...so beautifully shot. This is surely one of the most brilliant collections on the forces of nature that has ever been put together under a binding!
I have had many friends over to the house, and after looking at this book (and wanting one for themselves) they are so impressed by the flow, the impact of the images, the breathtaking panoramas, and the exquisite quality of the reproduction.
This book is a treasure, to be looked at again and again and to marvel at the vision of Jon Ortner, who has captured these images so exquisitely. And the foldouts are just astounding!!!
Cynthia Adler
Beautiful Book, 2008-11-10
by Lisa Stancati
This is rich and thoughtful book that is truly a work of fine art. The luscious landscapes are true to the spirit of Ansel Adams while maintaining a fresh contemporary feel. The print quality and color and is exceptional. It is a museum quality book that feels more like a portfolio of fine art prints. I particularly love the scale; it is quite large with tons of images and foldouts. Included is a limited edition signed print by the artist. A nice touch that feels like a personal gift. I Highly recommend this book to photographers, travelers, book collectors or any one who appreciates beautiful things.
Canyon Wilderness of the Southwest: Magnetic Landscapes, Visionary Photography, 2008-11-08
by Harriet W. Slive (Cleveland, OH)
Dare I say erotic? How else to describe the color and curving layers in these hollows and hills? The force of wind and water, pressed in the vice of time, doing its splendid work...These are visions unlike anything usually associated with America.
But who among us would get out there intrepid in the hot desert with great stamina for weeks of travel to see these extraordinary landscapes? Fortunately Jon Ortner and his partner Martha McGuire have not only made the difficult trips to these stupendous and hardly seen treasures, but have the talent to bring back, through the eye of a panoramic lens, the best of what they saw. Vistas in the first morning light, in the sunset glow, gazing up from the watery bottom crevices of the deepest canyons , and down over the long distance of white crusts so delicate that every step must be measured--have been captured with a practiced eye and consummate skill.
These trekker photographers bring us the greatest and unknown gifts of this country, and an experience that is bigger than the page. Who ever thought that rock could sing such a siren song? The photos speak the story, deepened by masterful writing. If ever a book of photographs and words compels us to understand the evocative, magnetic, and soulful power of landscape, it is this book. It is a sensual, compelling joy.
But who among us would get out there intrepid in the hot desert with great stamina for weeks of travel to see these extraordinary landscapes? Fortunately Jon Ortner and his partner Martha McGuire have not only made the difficult trips to these stupendous and hardly seen treasures, but have the talent to bring back, through the eye of a panoramic lens, the best of what they saw. Vistas in the first morning light, in the sunset glow, gazing up from the watery bottom crevices of the deepest canyons , and down over the long distance of white crusts so delicate that every step must be measured--have been captured with a practiced eye and consummate skill.
These trekker photographers bring us the greatest and unknown gifts of this country, and an experience that is bigger than the page. Who ever thought that rock could sing such a siren song? The photos speak the story, deepened by masterful writing. If ever a book of photographs and words compels us to understand the evocative, magnetic, and soulful power of landscape, it is this book. It is a sensual, compelling joy.
Redefines Southwest U.S. Photography, 2008-11-05
by N. Goldsmith
Canyon Wilderness of the Southwest, by Jon Ortner, is unique in at least two very important ways: First, Ortner has gone to places so remote that few other photographers have been able to attempt these ambitious images. Ortner's images - the most extensive and most beautiful documentation of this endangered American legacy - reflect his seemingly supernatural dedication to his craft. How could he have captured that astounding image of the North Teepees in Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness? How many days hiking with heavy, large-format, panorama cameras, tripods, and other equipment did it take for Ortner to arrive at - and bring home to us - the one-of-a-kind image of Paria Canyon? Second, captured with a large-format, panoramic view camera, these images have immediately become the standard by which all other such photographs will be judged. This book redefines southwest U.S. photography and is unlikely to be approached for many years to come.
The locales of course are the core of the book and cover all of the most extreme sites, including the spectacularly sensual Waves site in Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, the astonishing slot canyons of Antelope Canyon, Zebra Canyon, and Peek-a-Boo Gulch, as well as practically inaccessible tribal lands that together make Ortner's accomplishment all the more impressive. This work obviously required not just photography skills, but expedition skills as well, that reveal a sensibility that harkens back to a time before SLRs when Ansel Adams and the great documentary expedition photographers took the care, risk, and time to document a vanishing wilderness. Canyon Wilderness reflects that sensibility, alive today in Ortner's monumental work. (Another beautiful element of Canyon Wilderness is the presence of lush, expert, illustrative quotes throughout the text.)
And the book itself is impressive. At almost 250 pages, with hundreds of images, multiple fold-out panoramic images extending to over four feet wide, Canyon Wilderness is a substantial experience in itself. The large-format panoramic images are nothing short of immersive - they are literally enveloping. As if I were there, I had to move my head, panning from side to side - for my eyes to take it all in. The vivid palette and intense color saturation in this book are unlike any I have ever associated with the American southwest, with many images that are more like what one would expect in Patagonia - or Venus - proving that for the dogged scholar-artist, spectacular, novel sites may be found even within supposedly well-explored America.
Canyon Wilderness of the Southwest is an extraordinary achievement.
The locales of course are the core of the book and cover all of the most extreme sites, including the spectacularly sensual Waves site in Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, the astonishing slot canyons of Antelope Canyon, Zebra Canyon, and Peek-a-Boo Gulch, as well as practically inaccessible tribal lands that together make Ortner's accomplishment all the more impressive. This work obviously required not just photography skills, but expedition skills as well, that reveal a sensibility that harkens back to a time before SLRs when Ansel Adams and the great documentary expedition photographers took the care, risk, and time to document a vanishing wilderness. Canyon Wilderness reflects that sensibility, alive today in Ortner's monumental work. (Another beautiful element of Canyon Wilderness is the presence of lush, expert, illustrative quotes throughout the text.)
And the book itself is impressive. At almost 250 pages, with hundreds of images, multiple fold-out panoramic images extending to over four feet wide, Canyon Wilderness is a substantial experience in itself. The large-format panoramic images are nothing short of immersive - they are literally enveloping. As if I were there, I had to move my head, panning from side to side - for my eyes to take it all in. The vivid palette and intense color saturation in this book are unlike any I have ever associated with the American southwest, with many images that are more like what one would expect in Patagonia - or Venus - proving that for the dogged scholar-artist, spectacular, novel sites may be found even within supposedly well-explored America.
Canyon Wilderness of the Southwest is an extraordinary achievement.
Book Details
| Pages | 248 |
| Edition | Deluxe |
| ISBN | 1599620561 |
| Publisher | Welcome Books |
| Publication Date | 2008-10-21 |
| Sales Rank | #92613 |