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Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks
It is said that a photograph helped launch the national parks. After Congress viewed photos of Yosemite, President Lincoln was moved to sign a bill that paved the way for the U.S. National Park Service, which was founded in 1916 and is now celebrating its centennial. In Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks, photographer QT Luong pays tribute to the millions of acres of protected wilderness in our country's 59 national parks. Luong, who is featured in Ken Burns's and Dayton Duncan's documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea, is one the most prolific photographers working in the national parks and the only one to have made large-format photographs in each of them. In an odyssey that spanned more than 20 years and 300 visits, Luong focused his lenses on iconic landscapes and rarely seen remote views, presenting his journey in this sumptuous array of more than 500 breathtaking images. Accompanying the collection of scenic masterpieces is a guide that includes maps of each park, as well as extended captions that detail where and how the photographs were made. Designed to inspire visitors to connect with the parks and invite photographers to re-create these landscapes, the guide also provides anecdotal observations that give context to the pictures and convey the sheer scope of Luong's extraordinary odyssey. Including an introduction by award-winning author and documentary filmmaker Dayton Duncan, Treasured Lands is a rich visual tour of the U.S. National Parks and an invaluable guide from a photographer who hiked - or paddled, dived, skied, snowshoed, and climbed - each park, shooting in all kinds of terrain, in all seasons, and at all times of day. QT Luong's timeless gallery of the nation's most revered landscapes beckons to nature lovers, armchair travelers, and photography enthusiasts alike, keeping America's natural wonders within reach.
456 pages, Hardcover
Published October 11, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 11, 2021
This book was simply stunning. Loved all of the photograph descriptions and the discussion about each park. This is a must buy if you love National Parks!
November 21, 2017
Treasured Lands is a magnificent photo essay of our National Parks. It is a massive tome, loaded with spectacular photography. Very clear explanations are provided by QT Luong regarding when and how the photographs were taken, including maps of each park that show the locations of the photos. He discusses the best time of the year and the best times of the day and directions to obtain similar photos. Even if you are not interested in photographing, the pictures in the book are a visual treat for eyes.
March 10, 2020
A lovely book. One to be looked at often. Beautiful. With lots of info.
July 20, 2020
The images in this book are second to none. Luong visited every national park in the United States, most more than once, photographing them in all seasons, at all times of day, and from some of the least-explored areas within. The text of the book is really for photographers, with tips on lighting, filter choices, and what time of day is best for shooting. I read the book cover-to-cover instead of paging through it like a coffee table book. Even though I am not a photographer, I found the details about each shot interesting. I would not consult this book on how to plan a trip to a park, but I would definitely consult it to find hidden wonders and breath-taking views before I depart. I really enjoyed Luong's images and his expertise.
February 27, 2021
The book is large and heavy but the photography is superb and serves as inspiration to get out and explore. The author gives good descriptions of the photo locations that leaves it up to you to hit the trail.
April 23, 2020
Huge. Just the right balance between text (personal, engaging, not boring) and photos (amazing).
March 16, 2017
Looking for inspiration for my planned journey to visit all 59 National Parks I purchased ten different books on the topic from guidebooks to photography books to provide insight and suggestions for just what each park had to offer. As an amateur photographer my interests were in hiking, camping and photographing the parks along the way. As such I was looking for books that would provide a framework of each park, provide photos to show what kinds of scenery were featured in each park and offer tips such as camping suggestions and suggested hikes for different lengths of stay and in different seasons.
What I found in Q.T. Luong's book Treasured Lands was a stunning representation of most of the information I was looking for. For starters the book is an incredibly high quality product, the publisher did a fantastic job of printing this wide selection of photographs in such a way as to encapsulate the National Parks in a format that is second only to standing at the locations yourself. For many who are unable to visit many of these parks, Luong's immersive large format photography is a revelation. The sheer quality of the images and their reproduction is worth the price of this book alone.
I also enjoyed the format and layout of this volume immensely. Each park has it's own section making it easy to get a feel for the often changing scenery even within the boundaries of one park. Many of the parks are so large, that to truly explore them would take several visits. This is an aspect where this book shines. Luong has taken many visits to most of these parks and photographed the broad spectrum of nature within them. So within these pages you don't just see the standard definitive landmarks of each park, but also the lesser known yet no less beautiful areas of these national treasures. Unlike many books that claim to feature all 59 Parks, this book gives a pretty even account of all the parks. A small Park like Congaree in South Carolina might get a quick blurb in other books and maybe a single picture, but here Luong dedicates a fair showing to each of the wilderness areas defined as National Parks. As such it gives a great appreciation of the oft under represented parks such as Gates of The Artic, North Cascades and Dry Tortugas.
The part about this book that particularly floored me and made this an absolute five star purchase was the fact that in each section for each Park Luong tells brief personal stories about his photography of the Park. While most professional photographers are loath to give away locations that they reached via their own sweat, fortitude, trial and error, Luong takes an entirely different and refreshing approach. Every single photograph in this books location is given and I don't mean just in general terms, I mean specifically with directions. In addition he also provides notes on time of year, time of day, what kind of lighting, which direction to face the camera and even troubleshooting advice. As such, this becomes an absolute Bible on the National Parks for amateur photographers. So far as I know no other publication offers this in depth information on such a broad scale as what Mr. Luong offers here. His generosity with such information truly speaks to the nature of the man and his love of the Parks. He truly wants to share this experience with you.
Whether you are an avid visitor of the Parks, a photographer interested in nature shots or just someone who likes beautiful pictures of the natural world that they are unable to visit you will absolutely love this book. None of the other ten books I purchased are on the same level. I believe someday Mr. Luong's work will be held in the same regard as Ansel Adam's when it comes to covering the important and evolving history of the National Parks.
What I found in Q.T. Luong's book Treasured Lands was a stunning representation of most of the information I was looking for. For starters the book is an incredibly high quality product, the publisher did a fantastic job of printing this wide selection of photographs in such a way as to encapsulate the National Parks in a format that is second only to standing at the locations yourself. For many who are unable to visit many of these parks, Luong's immersive large format photography is a revelation. The sheer quality of the images and their reproduction is worth the price of this book alone.
I also enjoyed the format and layout of this volume immensely. Each park has it's own section making it easy to get a feel for the often changing scenery even within the boundaries of one park. Many of the parks are so large, that to truly explore them would take several visits. This is an aspect where this book shines. Luong has taken many visits to most of these parks and photographed the broad spectrum of nature within them. So within these pages you don't just see the standard definitive landmarks of each park, but also the lesser known yet no less beautiful areas of these national treasures. Unlike many books that claim to feature all 59 Parks, this book gives a pretty even account of all the parks. A small Park like Congaree in South Carolina might get a quick blurb in other books and maybe a single picture, but here Luong dedicates a fair showing to each of the wilderness areas defined as National Parks. As such it gives a great appreciation of the oft under represented parks such as Gates of The Artic, North Cascades and Dry Tortugas.
The part about this book that particularly floored me and made this an absolute five star purchase was the fact that in each section for each Park Luong tells brief personal stories about his photography of the Park. While most professional photographers are loath to give away locations that they reached via their own sweat, fortitude, trial and error, Luong takes an entirely different and refreshing approach. Every single photograph in this books location is given and I don't mean just in general terms, I mean specifically with directions. In addition he also provides notes on time of year, time of day, what kind of lighting, which direction to face the camera and even troubleshooting advice. As such, this becomes an absolute Bible on the National Parks for amateur photographers. So far as I know no other publication offers this in depth information on such a broad scale as what Mr. Luong offers here. His generosity with such information truly speaks to the nature of the man and his love of the Parks. He truly wants to share this experience with you.
Whether you are an avid visitor of the Parks, a photographer interested in nature shots or just someone who likes beautiful pictures of the natural world that they are unable to visit you will absolutely love this book. None of the other ten books I purchased are on the same level. I believe someday Mr. Luong's work will be held in the same regard as Ansel Adam's when it comes to covering the important and evolving history of the National Parks.
November 12, 2020
OK, it's a coffee table book – but a glorious one.
When I found out that Q.T. Luong had visited all 59 US national parks and had taken many of the photographs that inspired Ken Burns to produce his documentary on the parks, I knew I had to see this book. Fortunately, the local library had a copy, because it's an oversized doorstopper of a book.
The photos are phenomenal, but I was also caught up by his descriptions of how he got to the locations and set up for the shots. If you're a photographer, especially a nature photographer, you will read this book with more appreciation than I did (since I'm not a photographer). But either way, the scale of his accomplishment is impressive.
From Alaska to Hawaii, from American Samoa to the US Virgin Islands, and through most of the contiguous United States, this is a gorgeous panoply of images.
Even for the parks I've been to, there are photos of places I didn't see and it made me say "Dang, how did I miss that? Maybe I should go back."
And yes, it will inspire you to get out and about once traveling is safer again. For now, it's time to admire and to plan.
When I found out that Q.T. Luong had visited all 59 US national parks and had taken many of the photographs that inspired Ken Burns to produce his documentary on the parks, I knew I had to see this book. Fortunately, the local library had a copy, because it's an oversized doorstopper of a book.
The photos are phenomenal, but I was also caught up by his descriptions of how he got to the locations and set up for the shots. If you're a photographer, especially a nature photographer, you will read this book with more appreciation than I did (since I'm not a photographer). But either way, the scale of his accomplishment is impressive.
From Alaska to Hawaii, from American Samoa to the US Virgin Islands, and through most of the contiguous United States, this is a gorgeous panoply of images.
Even for the parks I've been to, there are photos of places I didn't see and it made me say "Dang, how did I miss that? Maybe I should go back."
And yes, it will inspire you to get out and about once traveling is safer again. For now, it's time to admire and to plan.
September 26, 2019
To fully grasp the outstanding beauty of the national park photographs in Treasured Lands 2nd, by QT Luong, you need to understand Mr. QT Luong's passion for America's national parks. Mr. Luong's love affair of America's national parks began in 1993 when he visited Yosemite National Park. Having grown up in France, he had never seen any alpine landscapes that could equal those he saw in America.
After seeing the variety and majesty of America's geography, he retired from being a computer scientist and became a full time nature photographer.
Thus, an over 20 year photographic journey began where he photographed all 61 of our national parks. Using mainly a large format camera (camera's that use 4x5, 5x7 or 8x10 film), he acquired photographs whose detail was unseen by the naked eye.
Humanity owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mr. Luong's for the incomparable
photographs in this book. His photographs were not taken from roadside view sites; rather he would climb mountains or hike miles and miles to reach the most advantageous view site for a given photograph!
If your busy schedule does not allow you to visit one of our national parks,
Mr. Luong's detailed photographs, taken with perfect lighting and exquisite sharpness, will transport you to that park. After viewing these photographs, you will be moved to visit new parks or revisit those you have already seen.
If you have other books on America's national parks, this book will put them to shame. No other photographic book of our national parks can compare in quality and perfect exposure. And, no other book has photographs of all 61 of our national parks!
In addition, Mr. Luong has included location maps for each photograph. These instructions will be an outstanding resource for all amateur photographers.
In summary, this book is not the standard of national park photography, this book is the standard of national park photography!
After seeing the variety and majesty of America's geography, he retired from being a computer scientist and became a full time nature photographer.
Thus, an over 20 year photographic journey began where he photographed all 61 of our national parks. Using mainly a large format camera (camera's that use 4x5, 5x7 or 8x10 film), he acquired photographs whose detail was unseen by the naked eye.
Humanity owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mr. Luong's for the incomparable
photographs in this book. His photographs were not taken from roadside view sites; rather he would climb mountains or hike miles and miles to reach the most advantageous view site for a given photograph!
If your busy schedule does not allow you to visit one of our national parks,
Mr. Luong's detailed photographs, taken with perfect lighting and exquisite sharpness, will transport you to that park. After viewing these photographs, you will be moved to visit new parks or revisit those you have already seen.
If you have other books on America's national parks, this book will put them to shame. No other photographic book of our national parks can compare in quality and perfect exposure. And, no other book has photographs of all 61 of our national parks!
In addition, Mr. Luong has included location maps for each photograph. These instructions will be an outstanding resource for all amateur photographers.
In summary, this book is not the standard of national park photography, this book is the standard of national park photography!
March 15, 2018
I love this book, because it makes me feel the parks when I can't be there.
It's an absolutely towering achievement on QT Luong's part, all the more impressive when you realize that he went deep into the backcountry in almost every one of the parks. As anyone who's backpacked those territories knows, it's hard enough just keeping yourself alive out there, but he did it with a large-format camera strapped to his pack as well.
An awful lot of "coffee-table books" are prestige items that are there to be admired, and to be noticed, but not so much to be read. This isn't one of them: we were lucky enough to get ours in the first printing, and several years later it's been well-loved, and keeps getting dragged out by us or our kids or our visitors. It's simply gorgeous, and demands to be read.
The book itself is a beautiful object, and contains not only the amazing photographs but details about how and where the photographs were took, contextualized within an overview of the parks: for people who've spent a good bit of time in the parks, it's always a treat to find yourself in a moment that's been captured with such beauty and grace. One of my greatest pleasures is using this book as an aide-mémoire for my own time in the parks. I'm not sure how he achieves it, but QT gets to the spirit of the place, not just the look of it.
One of my favorite books by one of my favorite photographers, and an absolutely essential read for anyone who loves the parks.
It's an absolutely towering achievement on QT Luong's part, all the more impressive when you realize that he went deep into the backcountry in almost every one of the parks. As anyone who's backpacked those territories knows, it's hard enough just keeping yourself alive out there, but he did it with a large-format camera strapped to his pack as well.
An awful lot of "coffee-table books" are prestige items that are there to be admired, and to be noticed, but not so much to be read. This isn't one of them: we were lucky enough to get ours in the first printing, and several years later it's been well-loved, and keeps getting dragged out by us or our kids or our visitors. It's simply gorgeous, and demands to be read.
The book itself is a beautiful object, and contains not only the amazing photographs but details about how and where the photographs were took, contextualized within an overview of the parks: for people who've spent a good bit of time in the parks, it's always a treat to find yourself in a moment that's been captured with such beauty and grace. One of my greatest pleasures is using this book as an aide-mémoire for my own time in the parks. I'm not sure how he achieves it, but QT gets to the spirit of the place, not just the look of it.
One of my favorite books by one of my favorite photographers, and an absolutely essential read for anyone who loves the parks.
August 25, 2025
This was a very big, although not entirely lengthy book about particular National Parks coming from a photographer's viewpoint. The pictures were beautiful and the information concise but informational. My only lement would be that some of the photos shown in small format would have been great to view larger. I suppose with a book at already 450 pages, that would be too much. Informational eye candy!
January 9, 2021
Although the book has some lovely photographs, the book is too heavy to hold while reading it, unless you have strong arms. The full-page photos, as a whole, left me with the feeling that the United States is huge and empty--a depressing view of our country. Finally, the pages between the full-page photos held thumbnail pictures and text so small I couldn't read it.
February 12, 2020
I am in love with the National Parks, so this book was not a hard sell for me. I got it to introduce my kids to the parks and generate some ideas and excitement for some upcoming trips. It has been a resounding success. I also like the photography tips.
May 15, 2017
A nice photographic overview of the national parks.
September 2, 2017
An amazing book!
December 30, 2020
This book is a work of art and its photographs are extraordinary. It’s a book to own. The next time someone tells me that they don’t know what to buy me for my birthday or for Christmas I intend to tell them I’d like a copy of Treasured Lands.
March 25, 2021
4.5 stars
April 7, 2026
These pictures are absolutely gorgeous! I enjoyed looking through the book :)
September 6, 2025
This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land
For most of my career, I worked in the Office of the Solicitor for the United States Department of the Interior. Interior is often referred to as "the department of everything else" as it includes a collection of agencies with differing missions involving America's lands and people. During my years with the Department, I came to a deepened appreciation of the scope of our country and of its history.
Formed in 1916, the National Park Service is part of Interior, and it administers the National Parks -- often and properly referred to as our country's "crown jewels". My work for the Department over the years brought me into frequent contact with the Park Service, but I was not a Park Service attorney. I had been thinking about Interior when I discovered this book, "Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks" (Third Expanded Edition). by QT Luong. This award-winning book consists of color photographs Luong took of each of the 63 National Parks over the course of some twenty years. The book is large, heavy, outsize and difficult to handle. But it is a wonderful means of exploring the National Parks and through the Parks of exploring and thinking about the United States.
Luong's own life story is inspiring in helping to understand his book of beautiful Park photography. Born to a Vietnamese family in France, Luong was raised with a love of mountaneering. He came to the United States for what he thought would be a short stay to pursue education in California. He became attracted to the mountains of California and Alaska and gradually expanded his interests to include other aspects of America's widely varying geography. Luong stayed in the United States after completing his education to pursue a career in computer science. But his developing love for the National Parks and for photography won out. Luong abandoned his scientific career and struck out on his own on a journey to visit and photograph each park in the National Park system. It was a brave, committed thing to do with no contracts and no outside funding. But Luong pursued his dream, and this highly successful and valuable book is the result. As Luong says in the book, the journey is the destination. His life, and his willingness to find and pursue his passion say a great deal in themeselves about the United States and its National Parks.
The heart of the book lies in the many color photos of each of the 63 National Parks, from those familiar and frequently visited to those less so. The photographs and parks are arranged in seven sections, titled "Pacific Coast and Mountains", "Colorado Plateau", "Deserts", "Rockies and Prairie", "Eastern Hardwoods", "Alaska", and "Tropics". The headings themselves suggest the diversity of terrain and of biology of our park system. Each park receives a brief introduction from Luong followed by several pages of photographs. After the photos, a short section offers basic background information on each park, including its location, size, number of visitors, date of establishment, and the like. The large photographs and some additional photographs are given in thumbnail with Luong's annotations for those wishing additional information.
The book can be explored in many ways. The format encourages browsing. But each section and each park can also be explored on their own. Readers wishing detail on a park or a particular photo may explore the smaller photographs with Luong's commentary. Part of Luong's goal is to encourage readers to visit the Parks. I have visited some in my day, but the book created in me a feeling of reflection more than a feeling to jump on the road and travel at an advanced age.
Each of the National Parks is effectively a world onto itself and each is also part of a whole system and part of an even broader United States. I enjoyed accompanying Luong on his decades-long odyssey through the Parks. His odyssey brought back memories of what was valuable in my own working life. His own story and the story of the Parks helped me to understand and to appreciate our country and its promise.
Robin Friedman
For most of my career, I worked in the Office of the Solicitor for the United States Department of the Interior. Interior is often referred to as "the department of everything else" as it includes a collection of agencies with differing missions involving America's lands and people. During my years with the Department, I came to a deepened appreciation of the scope of our country and of its history.
Formed in 1916, the National Park Service is part of Interior, and it administers the National Parks -- often and properly referred to as our country's "crown jewels". My work for the Department over the years brought me into frequent contact with the Park Service, but I was not a Park Service attorney. I had been thinking about Interior when I discovered this book, "Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks" (Third Expanded Edition). by QT Luong. This award-winning book consists of color photographs Luong took of each of the 63 National Parks over the course of some twenty years. The book is large, heavy, outsize and difficult to handle. But it is a wonderful means of exploring the National Parks and through the Parks of exploring and thinking about the United States.
Luong's own life story is inspiring in helping to understand his book of beautiful Park photography. Born to a Vietnamese family in France, Luong was raised with a love of mountaneering. He came to the United States for what he thought would be a short stay to pursue education in California. He became attracted to the mountains of California and Alaska and gradually expanded his interests to include other aspects of America's widely varying geography. Luong stayed in the United States after completing his education to pursue a career in computer science. But his developing love for the National Parks and for photography won out. Luong abandoned his scientific career and struck out on his own on a journey to visit and photograph each park in the National Park system. It was a brave, committed thing to do with no contracts and no outside funding. But Luong pursued his dream, and this highly successful and valuable book is the result. As Luong says in the book, the journey is the destination. His life, and his willingness to find and pursue his passion say a great deal in themeselves about the United States and its National Parks.
The heart of the book lies in the many color photos of each of the 63 National Parks, from those familiar and frequently visited to those less so. The photographs and parks are arranged in seven sections, titled "Pacific Coast and Mountains", "Colorado Plateau", "Deserts", "Rockies and Prairie", "Eastern Hardwoods", "Alaska", and "Tropics". The headings themselves suggest the diversity of terrain and of biology of our park system. Each park receives a brief introduction from Luong followed by several pages of photographs. After the photos, a short section offers basic background information on each park, including its location, size, number of visitors, date of establishment, and the like. The large photographs and some additional photographs are given in thumbnail with Luong's annotations for those wishing additional information.
The book can be explored in many ways. The format encourages browsing. But each section and each park can also be explored on their own. Readers wishing detail on a park or a particular photo may explore the smaller photographs with Luong's commentary. Part of Luong's goal is to encourage readers to visit the Parks. I have visited some in my day, but the book created in me a feeling of reflection more than a feeling to jump on the road and travel at an advanced age.
Each of the National Parks is effectively a world onto itself and each is also part of a whole system and part of an even broader United States. I enjoyed accompanying Luong on his decades-long odyssey through the Parks. His odyssey brought back memories of what was valuable in my own working life. His own story and the story of the Parks helped me to understand and to appreciate our country and its promise.
Robin Friedman
November 9, 2020
Glorious pictures of majestic areas of the country, some I have visited others I am seeing for the first time. I must have table-top book.
December 30, 2016
Makes me wish I could just take off traveling the next several years.
November 8, 2020
I can't wait to explore some of these beautiful areas!
April 30, 2017
This is my favorite book of national park photography, out of over 100 books I've bought in the last 30+ years of exploring our national parks. I bought this bought when it first came out, and have studied QT Luong's gorgeous photos and wonderful narrative very carefully, and taken the time to compare his photos with those of my other favorite nature photographers including Galen Rowell, David Muench, Joseph Holmes, Art Wolfe, Frans Lanting, Eliot Porter, Jack Dykinga, and of course Ansel Adams -- QT Luong's photos equal and frequently surpass the most stunning photos of these other great photographers. But QT's book goes well beyond these other photographers by explaining how you can walk the same trails that he took -- so you can experience these wonderful locations "up close and personal" with your family and friends, and take your own pictures. As a bonus, you can get from QT Luong, a PDF file of his photos, trail maps and text from his book, suitable to carry with you on your personal computer or mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.) -- this is like having in your pocket your own personal, expert tour guide to the most interesting sights in all 59 US National Parks.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews