North America the Beautiful

Rating:
Summary: much better than expected
Review: Galen Rowell is one of the very best when it comes to stunning landscape pictures in great moods. This book is full of them and I consider it a must for every fan of the great American landscape. Only sometimes you wish that the two-page-prints originally would have been made with medium or large format cameras. But then you cannot blame Rowell because only small format provides the flexibility that's imperative to capture the most special moods in nature. And no, I don't know Rowell personally, unfortunately.

Rating:
Summary: great art, poor printing
Review: I have been a fan of Galen Rowell's work for years, and I had been anticipating getting a compendium of his North American work for a while. If you want to see some of Rowell's best from a technical standpoint, then by all means grab a copy, but be warned that this is some of the worse image quality I've seen in a photography book published in the last 10 years. Most pictures are overly grainy, there are some major pixel problems where colors blend (particularly in colorful sky shots), and color casts often don't match his originals. With the technology as good as it presently is, this is inexcusable for such an expensive book. Rowell deserved better.

Rating:
Summary: great art, poor printing
Review: I have been a fan of Galen Rowell's work for years, and I had been anticipating getting a compendium of his North American work for a while. If you want to see some of Rowell's best from a technical standpoint, then by all means grab a copy, but be warned that this is some of the worse image quality I've seen in a photography book published in the last 10 years. Most pictures are overly grainy, there are some major pixel problems where colors blend (particularly in colorful sky shots), and color casts often don't match his originals. With the technology as good as it presently is, this is inexcusable for such an expensive book. Rowell deserved better.

Rating:
Summary: The best photo book
Review: If there is any photo book to buy purely for visual pleasure, this is it. The is simply the best deal. A ton of photos, of Galen Rowell quality, minimal but effective text and about North America. It is essentially his life's portfolio of our continent.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring photos for all levels of photography
Review: The art of capturing nature and landscapes are at its best in this book by Galen Rowell. The breathtaking and awe-inspiring photographs would inspire any photographer to look at landscapes from a different point of view, and to appreciate the work of God in the best possible way. The beauty of nature is there for us to enjoy and what more to document this beauty with our cameras! It is indeed an excellent book depicting American beauty.

Rating:
Summary: much better than expected
Review: The pictures were gorgeous and up to the author's usual standards, the book covered all of north america thoroughly, including several sections each on Canada and Mexico. Quite a bit of background text was included, which I enjoyed b/c I like Rowell's writing. Much much better than I'd expect from AAA.