Sand Dunes of the Great Lakes

Rating:
Summary: Sand Dunes of the Great Lakes is spectacular!
Review: If you're looking for a spectacular coffee table book that's also a great read, this is it!

C.J. and Edna Elfont - a husband-wife team of amazing talent - have combined their uniquely complementary skills to create a truly unique creation in Sand Dunes of the Great Lakes. What makes this book special is that it's a spirit-inspiring BLEND of the photographic art with the literary art. C.J. is the photographer; Edna is the writer.

The book's 144 pages contains a breath-taking photo on nearly every page. And these aren't your usual postcard pictures of sunrises and sunsets. They're truly art. Each one grabs your attention and dazzles your imagination, and makes you wonder "How in the world did they see that ... and capture it on film?"

The photography alone makes this an awesome piece. But the addition of the poetry and prose elevates it to the sublime. Amazingly, the prose explains the geo-scientific origins of the sand dunes through the eye of the artist. ("The masses of moving iced filled once green valleys, seeking the paths of least resistance. As the glaciers moved, they scraped and scoured the earth, trapping rocks, soil and anything else in their path.")

But what ultimately takes this book into a realm of its own is the poetry. I loved it. Appearing here and there are beautiful five-line poems (known as cinquain poetry). Each one pertains to an adjacent photo. I found that first I gazed at the photo, marveling at its beauty, then read the poem next to it, and, finally, went back to the photo to see it in a whole new light and appreciation. This book isn't just photos combined with prose and poems, it is - believe it or not - artistic SYNERGY!

In short, this book is a unique, awe-inspiring blending of photographic and literary art that depicts and explains an aspect of our natural, environmental heritage in a way never before done. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Sand Dunes of the Great Lakes is spectacular!
Review: If you're looking for a spectacular coffee table book that's also a great read, this is it!

C.J. and Edna Elfont - a husband-wife team of amazing talent - have combined their uniquely complementary skills to create a truly unique creation in Sand Dunes of the Great Lakes. What makes this book special is that it's a spirit-inspiring BLEND of the photographic art with the literary art. C.J. is the photographer; Edna is the writer.

The book's 144 pages contains a breath-taking photo on nearly every page. And these aren't your usual postcard pictures of sunrises and sunsets. They're truly art. Each one grabs your attention and dazzles your imagination, and makes you wonder "How in the world did they see that ... and capture it on film?"

The photography alone makes this an awesome piece. But the addition of the poetry and prose elevates it to the sublime. Amazingly, the prose explains the geo-scientific origins of the sand dunes through the eye of the artist. ("The masses of moving iced filled once green valleys, seeking the paths of least resistance. As the glaciers moved, they scraped and scoured the earth, trapping rocks, soil and anything else in their path.")

But what ultimately takes this book into a realm of its own is the poetry. I loved it. Appearing here and there are beautiful five-line poems (known as cinquain poetry). Each one pertains to an adjacent photo. I found that first I gazed at the photo, marveling at its beauty, then read the poem next to it, and, finally, went back to the photo to see it in a whole new light and appreciation. This book isn't just photos combined with prose and poems, it is - believe it or not - artistic SYNERGY!

In short, this book is a unique, awe-inspiring blending of photographic and literary art that depicts and explains an aspect of our natural, environmental heritage in a way never before done. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just Your Average Striking Coffee Table Book
Review: It is that. The photography by CJ Elfont is technically superior, vivid and dramatic, ranging in subject from the grand vistas of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park to the intimate closeup of a Pink Lady's Slipper. The photos give a sense of the distinctness of each of the dunes and their environments all along the western coast of Michigan.

But it is more than a visually stunning book; it is also very informative. Edna Elfont's text takes the reader through the geologic history of the formation of the dunes, the forces that constantly shift the sands, and their flora and fauna. My favorite section is "Then There Was Sand," a wonderful essay on the uniqueness of the Great Lakes granite sand, and its qualities: "Unlike the qypsum sand of White Sands, New Mexico or the calcite sand in Bermuda, the sand of the Great Lakes coastal dunes slips through one's fingers like granulated silk." p. 37

It is clear that this couple has a deep love for the dunes and the nicely matched skills to articulate them verbally and visually.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent coverage of an amazing scenic resource.
Review: This book is superb, and you will love it. Done in coffee-table book style, the photography is spectacularly colorful, and accurate.

The careful, caring text is evocative of many days I have spent wandering these lonely, yet intimate, wild regions of our Great Lakes. Accurate to perfection in geological terms, the text further compliments the photography by elaborating on such things as rare plants and animals, unique weather, and human history of these places.

This beautiful book , finally, serves as an enduring reminder that these dunes are fragile. They need our continued stewardship, now and in the future.

If you have seen these dunes, read this book before you do so again. If not, this book will make you want to go climbing sand hills for sure. Either way, you will be handsomely rewarded.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent coverage of an amazing scenic resource.
Review: This book is superb, and you will love it. Done in coffee-table book style, the photography is spectacularly colorful, and accurate.

The careful, caring text is evocative of many days I have spent wandering these lonely, yet intimate, wild regions of our Great Lakes. Accurate to perfection in geological terms, the text further compliments the photography by elaborating on such things as rare plants and animals, unique weather, and human history of these places.

This beautiful book , finally, serves as an enduring reminder that these dunes are fragile. They need our continued stewardship, now and in the future.

If you have seen these dunes, read this book before you do so again. If not, this book will make you want to go climbing sand hills for sure. Either way, you will be handsomely rewarded.