Wide Angle: National Geographic Greatest Places 
asked by selena on November 27, 2006 11:27 PM
In 250 glorious photographs Wide Angle: National Geographic Greatest Places documents the beauty and depth of every part of the world. Delving deeply into a picture archive that houses over ten million images, with many photographs being published for the first time, this new book-the third and final in the "greatest photographs" series-presents the world's amazingly diverse places with epic grandeur, unparalleled intimacy, romantic beauty, and gritty realism. The photographs are landscapes, cityscapes, famous landmarks, and unfamiliar spots that reveal special qualities of geography or culture one might otherwise never see.
Spanning more than eleven decades, the images in Wide Angle are divided into twelve chapters, each depicting a unique geography—including East and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Polar Regions. Each chapter is introduced by award-winning cultural writer and critic Ferdinand Protzman, whose essays accent the stunning photographs by renowned National Geographic photographers. Both essays and photographs carefully examine a region's special qualities, creating unique character and its own special and unforgettable sense of place. In Wide Angle, National Geographic photographers have recorded the world's places close up, in sweeping breadth, in depth, and over time.
Spanning more than eleven decades, the images in Wide Angle are divided into twelve chapters, each depicting a unique geography—including East and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Polar Regions. Each chapter is introduced by award-winning cultural writer and critic Ferdinand Protzman, whose essays accent the stunning photographs by renowned National Geographic photographers. Both essays and photographs carefully examine a region's special qualities, creating unique character and its own special and unforgettable sense of place. In Wide Angle, National Geographic photographers have recorded the world's places close up, in sweeping breadth, in depth, and over time.
Reviews
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I went from being wowed to feeling blah about this book...it was like a rollercoaster...up and down. Some of the pictures...gorgeous...took my breath away and others left me quickly flipping through to the next page hoping to see something that captured my attention.
It wasn't what I was expecting in the fact that I was hoping that every single page would leave me meditating upon the picture before me, but still in my opinion it is a keeper as a large portion of the pictures are really stunning.
My other disappointment was the fact that when I think of "greatest places", well I don't really feel that that was captured in this collection of photography. Some of the pictures were random and just seemd poorly executed and the entire book didn't seem to mesh well.
The polar region photographs, which end the book, were perhaps the most disappointing which left me closing the book feeling let down.
It wasn't what I was expecting in the fact that I was hoping that every single page would leave me meditating upon the picture before me, but still in my opinion it is a keeper as a large portion of the pictures are really stunning.
My other disappointment was the fact that when I think of "greatest places", well I don't really feel that that was captured in this collection of photography. Some of the pictures were random and just seemd poorly executed and the entire book didn't seem to mesh well.
The polar region photographs, which end the book, were perhaps the most disappointing which left me closing the book feeling let down.
reviewed by shagdag on November 27, 2006 11:55 PM
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...essentially you get what you pay for. This book is certanly NOT representative of what I have come to expect from National Geographic.
I had eagerly anticipated the arrival of my book, but was dissappointed to find within the first few pages that it is uninspiring at best. Most of the pictures are poorly executed and at times seem amateurish. In the past I've found photographs by professionals like Steve McCurry ('Portraits')visually arresting. Not so here.
At least it only cost me $20 oredering from Amazon. If I had been able to preview it beforehand, I would not have thought it worth even the discounted price.
I had eagerly anticipated the arrival of my book, but was dissappointed to find within the first few pages that it is uninspiring at best. Most of the pictures are poorly executed and at times seem amateurish. In the past I've found photographs by professionals like Steve McCurry ('Portraits')visually arresting. Not so here.
At least it only cost me $20 oredering from Amazon. If I had been able to preview it beforehand, I would not have thought it worth even the discounted price.
reviewed by alexis on November 28, 2006 7:53 PM
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National Geographic Magazine is famous for their excellent photography; it is the very reason I picked up this volume. However, Wide Angle: National Geographic Greatest Places failed to live up to my expectations. I was underwhelmed not only by a large portion of the images, but mostly by the poorly executed concept. In a title that clearly implies these are the greatest places featured, I felt the chosen photographs illustrated some lackluster locales. Furthermore, the organization was too loose. The book could have benefited from better formating not only of its categories, but of the photos themselves, which are often stretched in an unflattering matter.
reviewed by onthemic on November 29, 2006 12:53 AM