Eliot Porter was a famous nature photographer, who gained widespread attention after publishing his great book, In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World, back in 1962. It’s still known as one of the most important nature photography books ever published, but until recently it was out of print.
Luckily, Ammo Books just started publishing this book again, and I was happy to accept a review copy to check out this new edition.
The book is much more than a simple collection of photographs. The photographs are organized by seasons of the year, and each photo is accompanied by a journal entry from Henry David Thoreau.
I’ve always enjoyed reading text that’s associated with an image, even if it’s just a short quote by another person. I feel like text can really strengthen the message of a photograph, and in this book, Porter perfectly matches some great words by Thoreau with his own great photographs. The book is almost like one big poem of photographs 🙂
The photos by themselves may not seem very exceptional, but the special thing about this book is how much the text and photos work together. Every passage seems to make each photo more serene.
It’s a great inspirational book to start off the new year, and it’s one of those books that belong on every nature photographer’s bookshelf 😉
Get more great tips in our free weekly newsletter.
About the Author: Steve Berardi is a naturalist, photographer, software engineer, and founder of PhotoNaturalist. You can usually find him hiking in the beautiful mountains and deserts of southern California.
Leave a Reply