Anyone who knows me knows that photo books are among my favorite things. Pictures on a gallery wall, pictures in frames set about a home, pictures passed from hand to hand, pictures in a shoe box, pictures lost and found in thrift shops, pictures in a family scrapbook . . . I love them all. But there is something about the thoughtful arrangement of photographs in a book that speaks to me on a deep and elemental level. I often study the design of the book. I reflect on the binding, the type of paper used, special details like end papers and flaps, the cover art, the placement and order of pictures and the style of printing (glossy or matte or textured). There are often beautiful essays, interviews, and artist’s statements included in photo books, too.
In a used book corner of an antique mall in Ruckersville, Virginia, I came across a gorgeous book, Shenandoah: Views Of Our National Park, by Hullihen Williams Moore. I sat quietly, poring over the pages. Beginning with a beautiful quote from John Muir, I knew the book would be coming home with me.
Nevermore, however weary, should one
faint by the way who gains the blessings of one
mountain day; whatever his fate, long life,
short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever.
John Muir, June 23, 1869
My First Summer in the Sierra
On the way home, as my husband drove down from the mountains, I read the accompanying essays aloud. Mountain Days. Creation of a Park. Photographer’s Notes. Reading the section on how the park was created left me with mixed feelings. Shenandoah Park is a treasure, but many families were forced from their homes and land to make the park possible (the politics of parks is complicated like the politics of everything). It’s easy to say the ends justify the means if you’re not the one affected. Still, the pictures are glorious — elegant in their simplicity and sincerity. Looking through the lens of Moore’s Calumet view camera, I see the park differently. Pared down to its essential elements in striking black and white images.
Back at home, I watched the video, Hullihen Williams Moore, Virginia Fine Arts Museum on the Road. It was nice to ‘meet’ the photographer, putting a face to the name and hearing first-hand how the pictures became a book. I was struck by the humble and gracious attitude of the photographer.
I am not a landscape photographer. At least not in the traditional sense. I’ve been giving some thought as to why that might be. In the meantime, I’ve re-visited old folders of pictures I’ve taken in Shenandoah Park over the years. They were mostly unedited, waiting for me to make a second pass. Sharing one here.