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BOOK REVIEW - Inner Game of Outdoor Photography by Galen Rowell

Mark VanDyke

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April 15th, 2014 - 10:09 AM

BOOK REVIEW - Inner Game of Outdoor Photography by Galen Rowell

BOOK REVIEW: Inner Game of Outdoor Photography by Galen Rowell. I just realized that I never got around to posting this review! For those FB contacts who enjoy reading, this book is easily the most exciting piece of writing I’ve ever picked up about landscape photography. Period. We’ll just go ahead and say that right off the bat. It is the one book that I continually go back to for inspiration during the busiest or most important times: the book with the most cogent thoughts that continually filter through my mind when I’m out in the field putting one foot in front of another and/or working a scene; the book that I would recommend to friends if they could pick up only one piece of writing regarding the subject of landscape photography. To begin, Rowell clearly concentrates on the photographer and not the camera. Some of my favorite quotes along this vein are:

“What makes for better music—or better pictures—is simply a better human being who either naturally forms a more complete worldview from life experience, or gains it through understanding” (p.23)

“We learn lots of ways to adjust our cameras without giving much attention to how to adjust the way that we see” (p.31)

“The answers are buried deep within us, not our camera’s instruction manuals” (p.90)

“Perfection of means and confusion of goals seem to characterize our age” (p.90)

“As intention becomes more artful, subjects lose their relative importance” (p.90)

The book is organized into four primary sections: (1) Vision, (2) Preparation, (3) Journeys and (4) Realizations. Having spent a considerable amount of time in higher education and taking numerous courses on learning and teaching, it begs mention that this organization follows just about every learning theory model ever drawn up—just another built-in realization for me that Rowell was operating at a high level in terms of communicating information and mental thought in general. Within each primary section are a number of shorter essays, usually two or three pages, often linked with photographs that were the result of and/or the driving force behind the written thoughts.

Rowell continually comes back to the need for nature photographers to be passionate and actively participatory with the world and environment. He touches upon the feel/emotional impact of a photograph versus technical perfection, the ways in which our brains interpret photographs, wildness as a state of mind versus an actual location, the concept of ecoporn, and the importance of the rat (not the animal). It would be impossible and far too wordy for me to address all of the topics that Rowell covers within this text, suffice it to say, this is a book packed full of good information and thought provoking writing. I wish that Rowell were still around today, as it would likely be fascinating to me how he would interpret the progression of technology and how it is or is not affecting the photographer and the photograph.

Some general quotes that I found personally meaningful or that caught my attention for various reasons:

“Each time that we create a new sense of order out of chaos as we visualize a fresh image of the natural world, we intuitively rely on a lifetime storehouse of memories and associations. Each successful new photograph we add to our collection adds a measure of meaning to our life” (p.40)

“The batteries that keep my cameras working might as well die in the darkness of my camera bag if my personal batteries are not constantly recharged by the direct encounters with the natural world that first gave me the burning desire to interpret that experience in photographs” (p.148)

“It is the unexpected that makes venturing out on one’s own most worthwhile” (p.181)

“I’ve never minded having my photographs appear as if I just happened to be in the right place by chance. People relate to them as if they would have seen the same thing had they been there, but such is rarely the case. To see a seemingly chance happening of events, and compose it with the visual harmony that makes for something more than a record shot, requires anticipating luck before it happens” (p.191)

“Searching for grain in a digital print to validate it as photography is like listening to tape hiss in a CD to validate it as music. The noise is apart from the artistic signal, and to listen for it is not to hear the music” (p.271)

My simple review for this one: pick up a copy and keep it on the shelf. Read it cover to cover or one essay at a time when needed: the content is solid and the inspiration will remain. One of my personal favorites for sure.

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