America's Parks

by Philippe Bourseiller, Gary Ferguson, Jean-François Chaix

Moving from the cascading waters of Niagara Falls to the massive volcanoes of Hawaii, renowned nature photographer Philippe Bourseiller takes readers on a captivating visual journey through 67 of the most magnificent natural sites in North America. The product of an entire year spent coursing the length and breadth of the United States, America’s Parks captures the amazing diversity and ecological richness of some of our most important natural wildlife areas.

Bourseiller’s free-ranging camera captures more than 200 breathtaking aerial and terrestrial images of wild America, from Mount St. Helens to the ice fields of Alaska, while essays from three prominent environmental journalists place the sites in historical, scientific, and sociological context. The result is a sumptuous panorama of unrivalled beauty that argues eloquently for environmental protection.

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Always in search of a magical light that gives all its value to a landscape and to the people who inhabit it, Philippe Bourseiller travels the great natural spaces of the planet with his Canon. For nearly forty years now, he has been working on the great nature of our planet to create a true photographic memory of the Earth. These landscapes never stop changing and photography, as a form of memory, is one of the best instruments to follow their evolution and better understand their upheavals and the permanent adaptation of the people who live there.

In 1983 he joined the staff of France Soir Magazine. It was his first approach to color, all subjects are covered: news, people, sports, expeditions…. From 1987 to 1990 he became a member of the magazine department of the Sygma agency and gradually moved towards what would become his favorite field: nature. In 1991, he decided to become a freelance photographer in response to his desire to specialize in nature and environmental subjects. His first report on the eruption of the Pinatubo volcano in 1991 oriented an important part of his work towards the world of active volcanoes.

Philippe Bourseiller is a field photographer, knowing how to be at the same time a mountaineer, a speleologist, a diver…, his experience allows him to evolve easily in the extreme universes he is in contact with, and to bring us back rare images. Recognized worldwide for his mastery of light, color and composition, his work has been awarded several times by the prestigious World Press prize and a Visa d’Or at the International Festival of Photojournalism in Perpignan. He regularly collaborates with major magazines: Géo, Paris Match, Figaro Magazine, Stern, Life, National Geographic…. and has published more than twenty books translated into several languages.

Several large exhibitions have been presented in the world.

Reviews

[Sandy Whitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our son and son-in-law gifted us this book for Christmas as the ideal book for our living room table. Full of beautiful National Parks pictures, I selected it for the 'Picture book' category in our local yearly reading challenge (Bookmark cafe -- Three Sisters Books & Gifts). It gives good summaries of the National Parks, including the flora, fauna, and geological history. 5 stars for this history/picture book.