Every night last week on the national news I watched vivid stories of Mother Nature’s wrath taken out against Yellowstone National Park.  The worst is over, but what we saw is a grim reminder of how fragile our ecosystem and treasured national parks are.  The devastation caused by monsoons and uncontrolled flooding made me think about a wonderful book I’ve owned for many years, American Photographers and The National Parks, published by the National Parks Foundation and Viking Press.  The version I own is a so-called “Studio Book” and it is quite striking in its nice slipcase cover with inlaid photograph.

The book includes a very fine essay by Robert Cahn, “Curatorial Viewpoints” by the photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum, the over 100 gorgeous plates that comprise the core of the book and small images of the complete catalogue from the 1979 photographic exhibition sponsored by the National Parks Foundation.

Photographers who’s stunning images are contained in this beautiful coffee table size book include: William Henry Jackson, Eadward J. Muybridge, Carleton E. Watkins, Timothy O’Sullivan, William Bell, John K. Hillers, George Fiske, Anne Brigman, Imogen Cunningham, Laura Gilpin Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter, Minor White, Brett Weston, Jerry N. Uelsmann, Michael A. Smith, Charles V. Janda, Don Worth, William Garnett, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Dave Bohn, Paul Caponigro, Harry Callahan, Joel Meyerowitz, Lee Friedlander, William Clift, Linda Connor, Boone Morrison, David Mussina, Roger Minick, Ted Orland, Roger Misrach, John Pfahl, and Gail Skoff.

This is a wonderful book that can be picked up for a song on eBay or in a used bookstore. How about ten bucks to own something so beautiful and inspiring!  So if inflation and the high cost of gas is keeping you from visiting our beautiful national parks, for less than it costs for two gallons of regular you can own something you will cherish for the rest of your life.

Stay well,

Michael