APOGEE PHOTO MAGAZINE: Photo Book Reviews

Note: To check prices or to order any book from Amazon.com, click on the image of the book.

	American Ruins Photographs by Arthur Drooker I must admit that I am totally prejudice (for) this American Ruins book. As someone who has always loved to photograph (almost) anything old, and especially with infrared, I found this new book on the subject to be a must-have for my collection. This book documents historical ruins throughout the United States, from the plantation areas of the south, to Native American ruins of the southwest, and even a king’s home in Hawaii. All have been done with digital B&W infrared images that have been toned so as to look as old as the ruins themselves. Each ruin includes a page full of history about each place, which is just as interesting as the images themselves. This book will make one great holiday gift for someone special, that is if you don’t end up keeping it for yourself. This hardback book is about 10x12 inches, with 144 pages, retails for US-$45.00 – and is distributed by Merrell Publishers at: www.merrellpublishers.com I Rate it: A++
	Antarctica – The Global Warning By Sebastian Copeland Foreword by Mikhail Gorbachev Preface by Leonardo DiCaprio Whether you believe in global warming or not, it is still a fact that what happens in one part of our world effects EVERY PART of it, and this new book does a super job at documenting what is going on in the part called Antarctica. The photography is “outstanding” with many full-page shots, two-page spreads, and even three-page foldouts. The iceberg shots are the best I have ever seen, many of which are two-page panoramas, and I can’t even find the words to describe the shots done at sunset. They are the kinds of images that you really have to see to believe and they could be rated as fine art images. And, the documentaries are all printed with the same top quality. This book is packed with information about this environment, but I can honestly say that I have not yet gotten past the great images. If that wasn’t enough, they also included a bonus DVD, which contains four video shorts. This hardback book is about 14x10.5 inches, with 203 pages, retails for US-$55.00 – and is published by Earth Aware Editions at: www.earthawareeditions.com I Rate it: A+++
	The Art of the SNOWFLAKE, A Photographic Album By Kenneth Libbrecht With each one as uniquely different as a fingerprint, snowflakes have to be thee most beautiful crystal forms in nature, and just one look at the cover of this new book will show you why. I have seen snowflake photography done many times in the past, but never to this extent and with this dedication. I also did not know that snowflakes are grouped in categories by their shape, such as, Plates, Prisms, Needles, Columns, and others, again each one-of-a-kind. There are even ones that look like film reels and bullets. Their detail is even more amazing when you see it blown up to a full page, as many of the shots are. This is also the first time I have ever seen shots of snowflakes on top of other snowflakes. This would make another super holiday gift and children will absolutely love it! This hardback book is about 11x12 inches, with 156 pages, retails for US-$30.00 - and is published by Voyageur Press at: www.voyageurpress.com I Rate it: A++
	EXTREME NATURE (images from the world’s edge) By Bill Curtsinger The title of this book may be a bit misleading, but its focus is on the oceans of the world, from the ice covered poles to the atom bomb test sites, such as the Bikini Atoll. The images range from nose to nose shots with a whale, to the sunken Japanese battleship Nagato, to adorable shots of animals, like a baby Harp Seal and a lone penguin on an ice float, to an open mouthed shark about to lunch on a sea bird. Each picture is well captioned and each section is full of information about that subject. This is a great new book that nature lovers will really like. This hardback book is about 10x10 inches, with 408 pages, retails for US-$39.95 – and is distributed by White Star Publishing at: www.whitestar.it I Rate it: A
	Rainbow Under The Sea By Jeffrey L. Rotman The only word that comes to mind to describe this new book is AMAZING! From looking at the cover, this book may not grab your attention, until you open it up and find out that the image on the cover is a close-up shot of a small segment of a fish taken in the ocean. Most of the images in this book are just like that - close up shots of all sorts of marine creatures, big and small. Getting a sharp, full length shots of fish and marine photography is hard enough capture, but to work in so close that you get shots of just an eye and mouth, or even closer, to get just the area where a fin meets the body is AMAZING. Then, there are the shots looking into the mouth of a Tiger Grouper and a Barracuda. It is little wonder that Jeffrey Rotman is one of the world’s best underwater photographers. If you want a marine photography book that is probably unlike any other you will ever see again, this is the one. Colors and shapes fill the frames like an artists painting. This is another one of those books that you really have to see to believe – including its incredible low price! This hardback book is about 10x13 inches, with 224 pages, retails for US-$29.95 – and is distributed by White Star Publishing at: www.whitestar.it I Rate it: A+++
	Minnesota’s North Shore By Craig Blacklock Craig Blacklock's most recent photography book covers just one location - the north shore areas of Lake Superior. Whenever I heard the name Lake Superior, all I ever thought of was a lot of cold and a lot of water. Goes to show you just how wrong one can be! I was as wrong as I was amazed by what I learned. This area has an incredible variety of photographic opportunities - from coastal cliffs to incredible mountain waterfalls, from quiet harbors to fern covered forests. The photos depict some of the most beautiful rocky coastline that I have ever seen. I would say this book is a “must-have” for anyone planning a photo trip to that area. Coffee table or picture books, whatever you want to call them, this is one great new photo book for any library. It even comes with a bonus DVD movie. This hardback book is about 12x13 inches, with 175 images, and retails for US-$60.00 – and is published by Blacklock Photography Galleries and can be ordered from: www.blacklockgallery.com I Rate it: A+
	ZHENG HE By Michael Yamashita This new book is part history, part travel photography, and all about the voyages of China’s greatest explorer, Admiral Zheng He. Few today recognize the name, but he was a man who’s expeditions far out did those of Columbus, Da Gama, and Marco Polo combined. He brought back exotic animals from far off lands, never before seen in other parts of the world, and did it long before Columbus even set foot in a boat. He commanded crews in the tens of thousands, on as many as 317 ships. This book covers that history in text and modern day photography takes you to the locations he explored. The stories are riveting and the images are outstanding - a great history, picture book. This hardback book is about 10x10 inches, with 447 pages, retails for US-$39.95 – and is distributed by White Star Publishing at: www.whitestar.it I Rate it: A
	Maggie Taylor’s Landscape of Dreams By Amy Standen Those photographers who also use their work to create collage & montage images will really like this new Photoshop Master Class book. The cover image is merely a prelude to the photo manipulated works inside. They are extraordinary, when you find out that everything in those finished images are a combination of photos and scanned items put together to come up with these dream like effects. This is not a how-to, Photoshop step-by-step, instruction book, but there is one section which includes a group of images that shows each with their progression from beginning to end. The other sections of this book have detailed text on the artist and her work, as well as informative pages on the work of some other artist. This book will be a great addition for those with this same kind of "dream like, visionary mind". This soft cover book is about 9x9 inches, with 163 pages, retails for US-$40.00 – and is distributed by Peach Pit Press at: www.peachpit.com I Rate it: A