Among Trees

by Sean Kernan

Book Overview

Photographs at once stark and lush, tranquil and vibrant, dramatic and contemplative--forests full of surprise.

For photographer Sean Kernan, Among Trees was born out of the simple act of photographing the groves and forests he saw as he worked, traveled, and lived in the world. As the shape of the work emerged, he began to wander further in search of these visions made of trees and light. After many years, he has collected these remarkable...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579652220
• ISBN13: 9781579652227
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Artisan Publishers
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 2.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 11.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

All the better for being B & W

I agree with the review written by W. Upchurch. This collection of images gives personality and life to trees. Without the distraction of colour, the texture and shape shine through and, if you let it, one can feel the environment in which the trees live.

Wood you look a little longer?

What disappoints me is that the previous reviews fail to deal with what this book was intended to be; to quote from the description, "Because this book is not simply about seeing pictures of interesting trees, it is about shifting our minds and awareness to experience the world and ourselves differently. For all the variety of trees, the book is really about the experience of being in among them." To be fair, reviews and votes have become an inadequate method of evaluating whether to own/read/digest a book; the process of writing a review takes us out of our full sensory experience and back into a purely analytical exercise. That said, I have found that, while some of Sean Kernan's photos are immediately "gettable", some will only be fully appreciated by spending more than a glance with them. One of the main strengths of great photographs is that they take a thing out of time, and by isolating it, give one the chance to take time with it. If one allows ones eyes, without expectations, to "wander in among" the tones of these images, there Are rewards. Sean's work over the years has been about the process of seeing, more than about the process of making popular pictures; most have come away from workshops he has helmed with a new sensitivity to both their world and new ways their own photography can "work". Knowing this, maybe you'll look for what this book is about than for what it isn't. If you can't be bothered, all I can suggest is that you go walking among the trees where you live... that's what Sean would wish for you, anyway. Carry your camera, if you want.