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LAND: Photographs That Make You Think
A provocative look at our relationship to the natural world from bestselling author and art writer Henry Carroll, with images from today’s most innovative photographers.
How do the most diverse and relevant voices of contemporary photography respond to the urgent issues of today? In this series of small, insightful, and beautifully presented books, Henry Carroll, the bestselling photography writer of the last decade, unpacks the ideas behind images to reflect on race, gender, faith, inequality, beauty, politics, and our shifting relationship to animals, nature, and the environment.
Photographs That Make You Think considers humanity’s changing relationship with the natural world, a relationship that has seen us edge further away from real encounters. The photographs explore how the sublime can be commodified, packaged, and distributed, leading to an alarming emotional distancing. With images from a diverse group of photographers, Carroll explores the impermanence of borders, the human reaction to scenes of devastation on Instagram feeds, and the many variables that inform one’s relationship to land. He considers how a photographer’s response to landscape is subjective, full of meaning that’s colored by their own psyches, foibles, fears, and hopes. With captivating and striking photography, Carroll invites the reader to contemplate how their inner world influences their interactions with the natural world.
How do the most diverse and relevant voices of contemporary photography respond to the urgent issues of today? In this series of small, insightful, and beautifully presented books, Henry Carroll, the bestselling photography writer of the last decade, unpacks the ideas behind images to reflect on race, gender, faith, inequality, beauty, politics, and our shifting relationship to animals, nature, and the environment.
Photographs That Make You Think considers humanity’s changing relationship with the natural world, a relationship that has seen us edge further away from real encounters. The photographs explore how the sublime can be commodified, packaged, and distributed, leading to an alarming emotional distancing. With images from a diverse group of photographers, Carroll explores the impermanence of borders, the human reaction to scenes of devastation on Instagram feeds, and the many variables that inform one’s relationship to land. He considers how a photographer’s response to landscape is subjective, full of meaning that’s colored by their own psyches, foibles, fears, and hopes. With captivating and striking photography, Carroll invites the reader to contemplate how their inner world influences their interactions with the natural world.
- GenresArtPhotography
144 pages, Paperback
Published March 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 7, 2022
A much needed update on the contemporary landscape imaging movement. Carroll has a tendency to over-editorialise images, taking the easy route of assigning significance where he would be better placed to create starting points for open-ended thoughts. Probably the only book of his that isn’t promo-shelf sensationalism.
April 30, 2022
As promised thought provoking and definitely immersive. The short essays spark your curiosity and forces you to search for the more in there.
Some parts I found a little pretentious or just perhaps I couldn't comprehend it.
Some parts I found a little pretentious or just perhaps I couldn't comprehend it.
June 11, 2026
I found this book really interesting and helpful as a photography student focussed on landscape. It was a well executed concept to have responses to a variety of photographers under the same theme, encouraging us to think and write about images more deeply. The chosen photographers and themes were also really well put together and inspiring.
However I found that the author Harry Carrol tended to assign meaning to projects that could be open to interpretation. I therefore encouraged myself to look at the work from an unbiased perspective. This would excel if it had input from the photographers themselves, I suppose similar to Hotshoe mag.
However I found that the author Harry Carrol tended to assign meaning to projects that could be open to interpretation. I therefore encouraged myself to look at the work from an unbiased perspective. This would excel if it had input from the photographers themselves, I suppose similar to Hotshoe mag.
July 23, 2022
A really beautiful take with a lot of insightful moments. It lived up to the title and did, in fact, give me a lot to think about.
December 18, 2023
A diverse group of photographers work presented in a way to inspire both aesthetically, technically and conceptually.
March 3, 2026
this book screams "I'm 14 and this is deep".
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews