No comments about Northeastern Mexico: Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.

No comments about Trailer Boating the Sea of Cortez.

No comments about Belize, Guatemala & Southern Mexico (Footprint - Travel Guides).

No comments about De Onda: A Gay Guide to Mexico and Its People.

1 comments about View Finder: Mark Klett, Photography, and the Reinvention of Landscape.

1. The book under review gets FIVE stars, for its goal of spotlighting an American photographer. But the contents of the book was somewhat disappointing, and I think what is inside deserves only ONE star. In other words, although the goal of spotlighting a successful landscape photographer who uses a large format camera is admirable, it is questionable if the day to day traveling activities of this man is of enough interest to warrent formal documentation in a book format.
   
   The cover of View Finder features an attractive collage of three photographs. As is common in many of Mark Klett's photos, one of them shows part of his body (a hand). The title, View Finder, is a clever one. It has a double meaning, similar to the titles of A.D.Coleman's photography criticism books. For example, A.D.Coleman wrote a book called, "Light Readings." (Light Readings, get it? Get it?). Klett's attractive technique of self-inclusion is also shown in a desert campground photo featuring his shadow (page 126). View Finder concerns a re-photographic proeject where the goal was to re-photograph landscapes originally taken by J.K.Hillers, William Henry Jackson, and Timothy O'Sullivan, over 100 years ago. Another goal was to take de novo photographs, e.g., with streaks of speeding autos or motorcycles, or with the photographer's shadow cast in the desert sand. Although most of the photographs in View Finder are not really attactive, they might provide some fleeting amusement or a momentary engaging distraction. For example, we see a road sign peppered with bullet holes, where the sign reads DANGER ROCKETS MAY LAND IN THIS AREA DURING TESTS. We are provided with a description of a "station wagon of indeterminate make and age . . . its yellow body is spotted with rust and bullet holes." The spotted yellow station wagon is photographed and cleverly entitled "Cheetah." (Unfortunately, the photo is in black and white. It would have worked much better in color) (page 102 and 116). We see a photograph of a roadsign reading WONDER, located in a remote Nevada desert (page 110). We see an attractive photo of John Wesley Powell's book, open at a drawing of Horseshoe Curve, sitting on the ground before the real Horseshoe Curve, Utah, with Klett's hand on the book's page (page 259). We see a photo of Klett's hat sitting on a precipice at The Grand Canyon (page 192). There is an attractive photo of 25 tourists watching a Golden Spike ceremony at Promentory Point, Utah (page 271). We are provided with a homey, attractive photo of a teacup (a TEAPOT would have been better) perched on the roof of a car, with Teapot Rock in the background (page 281). But then, there are photographs of trash (page 115), and more photographs of trash (page 164), and more trash (164), and still more trash (page 292), and a leaf stuck in a fence (page 133). By "trash" I mean actual trash. The trash pictures are not at all attractive. There is some commentary on Klett's fund raising efforts: "Raising money for rephotography wasn't always an easy sell. The NEA panelists groused in 1977 that the proposed "then-and-now" project was nothing new . . . and that it was light on art. Still they granted enough funds . . . (page 139). Pages 248-251 contain interesting info on the harsh facts of photography economics, and we are provided with a number of reasons why photographic prints sell for under $1000 (this would not even cover expenses, in my opinion). The book under review is 309 pages long. The photographs inside do the job of revealing the subject matter, but they are too small and of only moderate quality, and don't allow the viewer to immerse himself in the image, don't allow the viewer to find solace in the image. The main focus of the book is not really photography criticism at all, but to chronicle the daily life of Mr.Klett and his helpers as they motor across Nevada and Utah: "First, we had passed by the geothermal plant and found ourselves at an unmarked intersection in the dirt. We picked what seemed the most used road, and Mark drew an annotated map . . . "(page 11). To give another example, "Wandering up the short ridge to the kitchen to make coffee, I watch the sunlight as it works down Mt.Davidson and into town. Mark joins me, and together we gaze east at the floodwaters . . ." (page 218). In my opinion, such a detailed account of the banal, hour by hour, features of an artist's life is more suited to a celebrity, such as Andy Warhol, John Lennon, Isaac Stern, etc. To conclude, in view of the fact, at least in my opinion, that the book does not include Mr.Klett's best desert photographs, and in view of the fact that there are way too many photographs of trash, I feel that View Finger might deserve no more than TWO STARS.
   
   I just purchased Mark Klett's new book called YOSEMITE IN TIME (2005). This new book is a splendid one, and it contains some interesting manipulations of what otherwise might be traditional landscape photographs. Another book to buy, in addition to YOSEMITE IN TIME, would be Kathleen Gauss's New American Photography (1985) Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This book, unlike View Finder, does a decent job at setting forth what appear to be the best of Klett's desert photographs. Gauss' book also provides an articulate explanation of Mr.Klett's photography. Ms.Gauss writes: "Klett demonstrates the contrast of time between the transitory picnic [an actual picnic] . . . and the epochal, geological age of the canyon . . . the ephemeral poised against a millenial landscape." Regarding an image of a U-Haul truck in front of a row of spires in Monument Valley, Ms.Gauss writes: "He [Klett] has . . . baldly used the truck as a device . . . to emphasize the striking disparity among the various elements . . . Klett manipulates the scale reversing his more customary illustration of the relationship between man and nature." Gauss' New American Photography contains 14 reproduction of Klett's photographs, including: The Grand Canyon (1983), Checking the Road Map, Monument Valley (1982), and Car Passing Snake (1983). The quality of the images is quite good, and one can immerse oneself in the images and find solace in them. New American Photography, if one can find a copy of it, also contains sections devoted to each of a dozen other contemporary American photographers, including John Pfahl, the creator of Altered Landscapes.

5 comments about Photographing the Southwest: Volume 2--A Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Arizona & New Mexico.

1. Have you ever been in "The Southwest" without looking at Laurent Martres two guide books Vol. 2 and Vol. 1, than you really have to visit the place again.
   If you see landscape-pictures in magazines, calenders, on postcards or posters and you think: "Whow, this is something I want to see with my own eyes.", than you will surely find it in Martres' two books "Photographing the Southwest".
   He not only shows beautiful pictures from things you have never seen before and I'm sure you like to, no, additional he gives very good way descriptions (including needed time) and a lot of tips how to take the best pictures and at which time of the day.
   I visited the area and the National Parks (and the visiting tourists) in more than one vacation. Laurent Martres was able to lead me to the places I ever dreamed of, "behind the tourists".
   Planning your next trip? Best buy!!!



2. This book, combined with Photographing the Southwest: Volume 1, which covers Colorado and Utah, is an absolutely essential tool for serious photographers who are looking to spend time photographing some of the most spectacular natural sights of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
   I own both books, together with the accompanying cd roms, and I can honestly say, as a serious advanced photographer, I have never made a better investment. Since aquiring these guides, I have returned to the Southwest three times in three years, and each time have returned home with memories and photographic images that I had never known existed. These books are well written with great attention to details and chock full of black and white photos which excite the imagination. The cd roms provide hundreds more photos of these and nearby areas in vivid color. Together, this is a must have collection.
   These books are not mere travel guides; they are an indispensable aid to photographers looking for the most photogenic spots in any given area of the Southwest. After spending hours enjoying these volumes, you will learn exactly how to get to each of these awesome spots, the best time of the year to travel to them, the preferred time of day to arrive for ideal lighting, suggested lenses and equipment and even the best spots (literally) to stand for ideal camera angles. Laurent Martres pretty much does it all for you; however, you will have to put on your own hiking boots and do your own walking, climbing, scrambling and whatever else it may take to get you to some of these hidden and often out of the way places. The rewards are great for those willing to follow his suggestions which will often include getting up well before dawn, hiking a few minutes or a few hours in some cases and a few days in others, scrambling over bolders or squeezing thru narrow canyons, wading thru waist high water or four-wheeling over back roads that will challenge the most adventureous among us.

   Since getting hold of these books I have done all of the above and have always come home with more than my share of wonderful memories and prizewinning photos. I have discovered spots that I must return to over and over again because I just can't get enough of their jaw dropping beauty. I have spent time in locations you won't find in travel books or just about anywhere else for that matter. Many of these are places you would drive right by, never realizing their existence were it not for these books. A good number of the places featured in these books are generally not well publicized or often written about.
   If you have interest in photographing or seriously exploring the lesser known and less often visited scenic wonders of America's Southwest, then I can't recommend both of these books and their accompanying cd roms enough. They should be on the bookshelves and in the backpacks of all serious lovers of the Southwest. They are invaluable in planning my photo trips; before I leave home, I pretty much know where I'll be going each day and what I can anticipate along the way. I have yet to be disappointed in any of the places I've spent time hiking to; quite the contrary since I am most often overwhelmed upon experiencing these spots in person. I expect to spend many future years searching out and exploring the great number of wonderful places Laurent Martres brings to our attention in both of these volumes. Thanks, Laurent; I'm looking forward to your future works.




3. Martres's two books on photographing the Southwest are remarkably useful, sensible, and affordable. He keeps his directions--both geographic and photographic--brief, relevant, and precise. Even if you don't take a camera, these books can help you reach remarkable places of which may never or only vaguely have heard of. I even enjoy just "armchair travelling" with these books.



4. This is a very good book with detailed information for photographors. It gives photo advices, time estimation, etc, which can be very helpful for planning your trip. I give it 4 stars for two shortcomings: the first is that it doesn't have colorful pics, although you can buy the accompanying CD; the second is that it doesn't contain any maps, so you'll have to figure out by yourself where the places are. I'd suggest you also look up one other title by Joseph K. Lange: Photographer's Guide to the Grand Canyon and Northern Arizona. In my opinion, that one is even better.



5. I own both vol.1 and Vol 2. of Photographing Southwest". I agree with other reviewers that they contain excellent materials and are very useful.
   What I don't like is that Vol. 2 contains the following that is essential the same in Vol.1:
   PREFACE (identical)
   ACKNOWLWDGEMENTS (identical)
   ABOUT THIS BOOK (differs in a few words)
   Chapter 1 (identical)
   Chapter 2 (identical)
   Chapter 16 (Identical to parts of Chapter 5 in vol. 1)
   APPENDIX (Majority is the same)
   
   In other words, 30% Vol. 2 is already in Vol.1. In my opinion, it should really be a single book containing both.

1 comments about Fodor's New Mexico, 5th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. thorough guide--some of the lodging recommended seemed arbitrary, and in some locations offer no affordable choices.

5 comments about Cajun Country Guide.

1. We used several guidebooks to plan a long weekend in southern Louisiana in connection with a family wedding in Lafayette. This was the most useful of the books.

   The author gives a star to especially noteworthy attractions, hotels, and restaurants. We went by these stars to plan our trip and had a great time. Even our new Cajun cousins-in-law were impressed with the selections we made.

   A close second as a guidebook was "Louisiana Dayride - 52 Short Trips from New Orleans" by Shelley Holl.

   Two final notes: Neither guidebook covers the city of New Orleans itself; and every guidebook we read had the wrong area codes for many telephone numbers (Louisiana has 2 brand-new area codes -- 225 and 337)




2. This well-written book was invaluable for our family's week in Bayou country. It has a dry humor ("on the Bayou, land is a recent occurrence..."). It covers geography, history, culture, and then gets into where to stay, where to eat, where to dance, what to see, and what to do. It's pretty up front (about one town -- "don't get hungry here...").

   Everything we tried that was recommended in the book was great fun. One of the eateries was not so much wonderful as wonderfully different, but we were glad we went just as well.

   Some of the details are a little out of date, but I think that's due to their specificity. If you say that a tiny bakery makes sweet potato pies between 11-3 on Thursdays, but the one owner-baker decides to change to Wednesdays, there's not much to be done about that. Even so, that only happened once in the entire week.

   We had this book and the Delorme LA map, and that was a perfect set of resources for us. We had a great time, and I'm confident it was due to this book in particular.

   Highly recommended.




3. Spent several weeks in Cajun Country last winter with this book as our guide. Found a LOT of wonderful, out of the way places and experiences that we never would have known about otherwise. My New Orleans "born and raised" friends didn't even know about many of them. This is a wonderful area to visit -- we camped, but ate most of our meals out to really get the "local flavor" (I'm getting hungry just remembering). This book does a good job of describing all the local foods, too.

   Good directions to all the "little places" and good descriptions of what you'll find there. If you go to any of the dances (and you should!), be sure to call ahead and find out what the current start time is. In the Christmas season, try to catch one of the many "boat parades" on the bayous -- they're not listed in the book, but just ask around and people will tell you when and where.




4. 
   This book is a great guide to a significant number of the thriving hot spots for cajun and zydeco music and dance. Though that was my main interest, I also found myself visiting sugar plantions and found an excellent bayou tour and great places to stay and eat that are still very local in cultural feel as opposed to the more tourist oriented culture of New Orleans. I skimmed through 3 other guides tossed them aside and then kept this book at hand constantly while driving around the bayou country. I've been two years in a row to lafayette area and am going back again, and I still will have this guide close at hand as I plan and travel in cajun country.



5. I wanted to tour Cajun country, so this seemed like the perfect guide. And it was really great, but it's very out of date, which made things a little hard. None of the phone numbers seemed to be right, and even the route or highway numbers had often changed. Still, most of the places and tours guides were still around- you just had to do a little digging with the local tourist office or on the web to get the right phone numbers. I'd also recommend getting a road atlas of Louisiana.

No comments about The Aztec Empire (Time Travel Guides).

No comments about Hunter Adventure Guide Yucatan, Cancun & Cozumel (Adventure Guide to the Yucatan).