Earth Is My Witness: The Photography of Art Wolfe

As a longtime fan of Mr. Wolfe, I have purchased several of his technique books, but haven't purchased any of his work directly. When I read about this book in Outdoor Photographer, I pre-ordered it immediately and received it a few days ago. I spent a couple of hours going through it this weekend and I am amazed at the quantity and quality of the photographs and the book itself. The construction is excellent with heavy binding and paper, and the printing is superb. The colors are vibrant and natural and the registration is perfect resulting in sharp photos that jump off the page. The foldout pages add to the design of the book and allow for some great layouts like the native masks and painted faces, which was one of my favorite sections. You have to be a bit careful opening and closing the foldouts as they are precisely cut & folded.The photographs themselves speak to Wolfe's mastery of photography. The diversity of styles, compositions, and subject matter is impressive, and I love his use of color and perspective to tell the story in each frame. I hadn't seen a large number of the photos but was happy to see that most of my favorites were included as well. Having put together a couple of self-published photo books, I have an understanding of the amount of work that goes into creating one, and I can't imagine how much effort went into this book. The photos are organized into cohesive chapters and there are nice introductions to each. At the end of the book, he provides the technical details of each photo along with a brief caption, adding yet more value to the book.Putting all of this aside, the best part of the book are the photographs. Whether you enjoy landscapes, wildlife, travel, other cultures, or nature in general, you'll find a lot to love with this book. Each photo stands on its own and fits well into the story he tells in each section. I'm sure this book will be my source of inspiration and awe for many years to come.

This book BLEW ME AWAY. I became a fan of Art Wolfe's photography after seeing his PBS show, Travels to the Edge. I purchased this book used, but I think it's worth the price tag, even if you pay full price on his website. I also ordered his Africa book, and am glad that he made the switch to digital film for Earth is My Witness. My only small gripe is that several of the photos do seem digitally graded. The colors are very bright, and in some cases the lighting just seems unnatural (the cover photo kind of shows this). I don't know if they ARE altered, they just kind of look that way.THAT SAID, photography is an art, and I think he, as the artist, is well within his artistic rights to change the colors and contrasts of a photo to achieve his vision. I'm not a photographer, but I'm definitely guilty of changing the colors on my digital photos not to make them look better than real, but to make them look the way I remember the original scene looking. Perhaps he was doing this as well. Either way, this is still one of my favorite books I own, and can sit for hours going through it. Having done some international traveling myself, his pictures really take me back to some of those places, immersing me in the environment of the photo. Amazing.

My original photographic hero was Galen Rowell, he of the famous photo of the rainbow covering the Potala palace in Nepal. He had written a classic book on landscape photography "Mountain Light" which "solved" some of my photographic issues that no one else had addressed in the sources I consulted. He was also one of the most accomplished mountaineers on the planet. I had a chance to attend a "Great American Photography Weekend" where he was the main speaker and got a chance to work beside him. Sadly, Galen and his wife Barbara died in a plane crash in the Sierras in 2002.The workshop after Galen's featured Art Wolfe, who, while maybe not as adventurous as Galen, still covers an amazing amount of ground and a broader scope of subject matter. I managed a few awards at Art's weekend program that he signed off on and am pleased to count them as major photographic accomplishments, though they pale in comparison to much of his work. I now consider Art to be my favorite living photographer, up there in the pantheon of greats like George Lepp and Dewitt Jones.This book is a recap of his years of work. It is a weighty, expensive tome but to those who love great photography it is worth every cent. A lot of work has gone into the reproduction of these pictures and they were obviously selected with great care. A great book for the serious photographer and art lover.

This book is a gem for photography. The binding and the large size layout are excellent and the print paper is of good quality. Each picture is well printed with great resolution as it should be. For each chapter, the author wrote about the history of how he came about to taking these trips and how his interest developed over the years. So it is also a mini-story book of Art's photographic journey. What I like the most is the Photo notes at the end of the book. These notes described not only the parameters used for taking the pictures, but also sometimes the little stories to put the pictures in the right context. People not interested in these parameters/stories can easily skip, but for people trying to learn photography these information are very useful. I wish he could describe a bit more about how he decided to use those parameters. Because of 400 pages of heavy paper, it is heavy and this book is not something you read on your bed.

A gorgeous photography book that includes culture animals and landmarks and scenic views.

The book arrived in a box to keep it safe in transportation. The book is in excellent condition just like new.

I guess as a bug fan of Art Wolfe I would say his book is fantastic but it really is full of beautiful images and well worth reading

Absolutely beautiful high quality print book that makes you want to travel the world and take pictures its entrancing from cover to cover.The only downside is that the book is way to big for its own good, its almost impossible to page though if your holding it, a table space is needed.

This is by far the most amazing photography book I've ever seen. It's an amazing collection of high resolution photos that fill the entirety of each page. It is beautifully presented and the photos aren't compromised by text or the layout. There is an incredibly detailed index of all the photos at the back. Buy it!

I love this inspirational Book. If this doesn't get you off the couch in search of your own great location to photograph nothing will.

Another stunning book by this photographer. Fabulous photography.