LAND AND LIGHT IN THE AMERICAN WEST, photographs by John Ward, Trinity University Press, 136 pages with 60 duotone photographs, $45.
Photographer John Ward's book "Land and Light in the American West" is a testament to an inventive, artful eye and the technically superior qualities of the large-format camera. Ward's black-and-white images are exquisite examples of unsurpassed clarity and tone, and wholly reminiscent of a photographer who served as one of his inspirations — Ansel Adams.
In "Land and Light" readers will encounter 60 masterfully printed duotone reproductions — a process that renders grays with delicious nuance — from Ward's image library, which includes negatives from 30 years of travel inside the parks, forests and wilderness areas of the United States.
"Ward explores the rhythmic splendors of land and light with his camera," writes William R. Thompson in the book's opening essay. "Lyrical and intelligent, his photographs illuminate the complex and ever-changing relationship between humanity and the natural world."
Thompson also covers just enough biography to make reading about Ward's life a pleasant journey. The photographer's conflicted career choices — science or photography — plays well, as does the step-by-step chronology of Ward's development into an artist of superb visual literacy and a master technician in the darkroom.
"Working in the darkroom is a process of discovery to me," Ward says in the book. "When I'm in the field, I think of it as note-taking. Sometime later, I'll try to find out what the notes have to say that's interesting." Thompson refers to Ward's resulting work as "a delicate reconciliation between conflicting shapes, tones and values."
For three decades Ward continued to record his vision of the land and the light that inspired him. Today he continues to reinterpret past work from his archives while upholding the highest standards for his prints.
At the same time, "he has expanded his technical prowess far into the digital realm with the same verve and intellectual rigor that fueled his initial exploration of photography," writes Thompson.
In the '90s Ward gave all 90 of his prints to a collector who in turn donated them to the El Paso Museum of Art in 1997. All the photographs in this publication — as well as the remaining 30 in the collection — will be on display at the museum from Jan. 9-March 27, 2005.
The book's publisher, Trinity University Press, deserves credit for the outstanding presentation of Ward's work. The entire package, from typography to reproduction of photographs to design, is of the highest quality.
Of course, the best reason to own "Land and Light in the American West" is the photographs: Each image is a visual feast, a tribute to nature and the artist who endeavored to interpret and master its face.
E-mail: gag@desnews.com