Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey by Art Wolfe - Review

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Cover of Art Wolfe's Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey is a companion book to Art Wolfe’s television show, Travels to the Edge. It contains a fantastic selection of the photographs Art created during the filming of the show, along with a small description of each image and of the general region in which the photograph was created.

A map of the locations the crew travelled to in Travels to the Edge.

I absolutely loved the television program, and have spent hours watching and re-watching the episodes. As I’ve mentioned before, Art Wolfe is one of my favorite living photographers and someone in whom I find enormous amounts of inspiration. When I received this book as a gift I began a re-watch of the series, this time paging through the book as I watched the show. I enjoy seeing the photographs in print as I watch him create them on screen.

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey - The Pantanal, Brazil

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey - South Georgia Island, The Southern Ocean

During the filming of Travels to the Edge, Art Wolfe and his crew travelled all over the world, learning about and photographing remote cultures, wildlife, and scenery, capturing images of sights that may one day disappear. This book is a record of those travels and experiences. It contains an amazing diversity of culture and wildlife as well as sweeping and intimidate landscapes.

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey - Antarctica and the Falkland Islands

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey - The Omo River Valley, Ethiopia

The book is organized by specific locations where the show was filmed. Each section starts with a brief description of that location and what sorts of experiences the crew had while filming that area. Following this are a number of photographs from each region, most of which will be familiar to you if you’ve seen the show. At the end of the book is a Photographer’s Field Notes section that lists the technical details of each photograph, such as focal length, shutter speed, aperture, and the equipment used to create the photograph (camera, lens, tripod, etc).

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey - The Kingdom of Bhutan

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey - Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey is a great portfolio of work that represents Art Wolfe very well. I think it can be enjoyed whether or not you have watched the television show. It’s also a great book for those of you who want to see the world without traveling to each of these locations. Sit back in a comfortable chair and spend some time with this great collection of images. And by all means, check out the show, as well. I have the entire series on DVD (yes, I’m old school).

Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey - Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan

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Mozart's Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt - Book Review

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. This is at no extra cost to you. I received an advanced reader copy of Mozart’s Starling through a goodreads giveaway.

In Mozart’s Starling, Lyanda Lynn Haupt has written a fascinating book that teaches about starlings, a bird often hated in North America. We learn their history and how they were introduced to North America, and we learn about their behaviors, skills, and habits. But this book is also a story about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, about his life, family, and inspiration, about his music and perhaps one of his muses. And along the way we learn a little about the parts of Austria where Mozart lived. We see his version of Austria through his eyes and then we see the modern day Austria through the author’s eyes as she visits various locations associated with Mozart.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Reading it felt like an extended conversation with the author. She has been a life-long lover of birds, so she knows that starlings are an introduced species to North America, and one that is so widespread and adaptable it can cause problems as only introduced species can. But she also recognizes the beauty of the bird, how its black feathers shimmer in color when the sun lights them up, and the amazing patterns in their murmurations as they flock through the sky.

One day when she was watching a group of starlings out the window she remembered hearing that Mozart had kept a pet starling. And that thought eventually led to this book, an exploration of starlings and a search for the true history of Mozart’s pet starling and what part it might have played in his life. And to bring the story to life the author decided to adopt her own starling, Carmen, raising her from a chick and watching her grow, learning what behaviors Mozart might have witnessed, and what might have drawn him to purchase his starling in a Vienna pet shop. In the end her starling became a loved member of her family, as most pets do. It makes sense then, that Mozart would have become quite attached to his own starling, enough to hold a funeral for and write a musical piece in memory of his starling when it passed on.

Prior to reading this book I had no idea starlings were capable of mimicry, much like mockingbirds and parrots. In fact, the author says starlings rival parrots in their ability to imitate other birds, musical instruments, and any other sound, even the human voice. She gave many examples of sounds Carmen learned on her own, from the house cat, to a kitchen coffee grinder, to words and phrases spoken in her presence. She described how Carmen would quietly repeat sounds over and over again, seemingly frustrated by any mistakes she made, until she finally got them right, at which point she would loudly and repeatedly sing the sounds, over and over again, perhaps proud of her accomplishment.

Mozart’s Starling is an entertaining and charming book, but it is also well researched, containing a sizable bibliography for those interested in learning more. I love non-fiction books that teach and entertain, and this one does a great job of both. Highly recommended!

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Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs - Review

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Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs is a beautiful collection of Adams’ work. The book was created through The Ansel Adams Trust, in collaboration with Little, Brown and Company. The photographs were chosen by Andrea G. Stillman, Adams’ longtime assistant, and represent those she feels constitute his most significant work. The book is organized roughly by decade, with the following major sections:

• 1916-1930 Yosemite and the High Sierra

• 1931-1939 Group f/64 and Alfred Stieglitz

• 1940-1949 National Parks and Monuments

• 1950-1959 Conservation, Publications, and Commissions

• 1960-1968 Carmel

• Notes on Selected Photographs

I really like this book. I’ve always admired Ansel Adams’ work, how he captured such amazing scenes in such great light, and how he would finish realizing his vision for each photograph in the darkroom. But I didn’t really have any books of his photographs. I thought this would be the perfect first step at solving that problem.

The book contains a great variety of Ansel Adams’ work. We get to see some of his very first photographs, and how he began just recording what he saw, creating a “visual diary” of his travels. But as you flip through the pages of photographs you can see how they change over time, how Adams begins to develop a better sense of composition, and how the photographs change from simple records of his travels to art work worthy of display.

Ansel Adams first visited Yosemite National Park in 1916. He would later say, “I knew my destiny when I first experienced Yosemite!” And by 1930 he began down the road to realizing his destiny, choosing to become a full time photographer instead of pursuing a career as a pianist. I found it fascinating that Adams was skilled not just in the visual arts, but also in music. Somehow, it seems appropriate.

As much as I love the photographs in this book, one of my favorite sections are the notes at the end of the book. There are notes associated with many of the photographs, sometimes using Adams’ own words to describe the photo or the experience. It is here we read quotes such as the following, in a letter from 1937 to Alfred Stieglitz: “I think I am getting some very good things — quite different, I believe. I like to think of my present stuff as more subtle, more lifting-up-the-lid, if you know what I mean . . . . Perhaps I am on the edge of making a really good photograph.”

I highly recommend the book, Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs. I think there is much that can be learned from studying these photographs, seeing how Adams grew and developed as a photographer over the years. I also think this is a beautiful book for those who simply want a collection of Adams’ work to admire. There are many times I pull out the book and just flip through the pages. No matter what mood I’m in I’ll always be in a better one after spending a little time appreciating Adams’ work.

“At one with the power of the American landscape, and renowned for the patient skill and timeless beauty of his work, photographer Ansel Adams has been visionary in his efforts to preserve the country’s wild and scenic areas, both on film and on Earth. Drawn to the beauty of nature’s monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a monument himself, and by photographers as a national institution. It is through his foresight and fortitude that so much of America has been saved for future Americans.”

— President Jimmy Carter, who conferred upon Adams the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980

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