What do you think?
Rate this book
Alaska
Over 130 images paired with essays from Nick Jans record the splendor of this great American wilderness. From intimate singular images to hauntingly beautiful landscapes, Alaska finds new expression under the artful lens of Art Wolfe. For more than 15 years Art Wolfe has been documenting Alaska, from the rainforests of the Southeast to snow-shrouded mountains to the northern expanses of the Brooks Range and beyond. Wolfe brings a painters sensitivity to light, pattern, and composition in his photography of landscape and wildlife, and Alaska is his personal vision of a truly awesome landscape.
159 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2000
1 person is currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Art Wolfe
140 books48 followersOver the course of his forty year career, photographer Art Wolfe has worked on every continent and in hundreds of locations. His photographs are recognized throughout the world for their mastery of color, composition and perspective. Wolfe's photographic mission is multi-faceted: art, wildlife advocacy, education, and journalism inform his work.
Wolfe is the host of the award-winning television series Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge, an intimate and upbeat series that offers insights on nature, culture, and the realm of digital photography. It now airs worldwide. He was also featured in the 2015 Canon Australia/National Geographic Channel production Tales by Light, now streaming globally on Netflix.
Since his first publication in 1978, Wolfe has released more than 100 books in all editions; 2014 saw the release of his magnum opus Earth Is My Witness; this mega project features Wolfe's favorite photos taken so far and is garnering international accolades and awards. In 2015 it was published by National Geographic in France (Hymne à la Terre) and Germany (Eden). Published in Fall 2021 is Night on Earth.
Numerous US and international museums and galleries have featured monographs of his work as well his traveling exhibitions, Travels to the Edge, and Beyond the Lens. Earth Is My Witness is now a traveling exhibit in Europe. Wolfe has been a contributor to many group exhibitions.
Education is a major component of Wolfe’s work, whether it is about the environment or about photography. He leads photographic tours worldwide and has created the streaming course Pathways to Creativity.
Wolfe's photographs have appeared in the world’s top magazines such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, Audubon, GEO, and Terre Sauvage. Magazines all over the world publish his photographs and stories, and his work is licensed for retail products and advertising, as well as products such as USPS stamps, of which he has three, including the latest Forever Stamp commemorating the US National Parks.
Along with his numerous book and television awards, Wolfe is the proud recipient of the Nature's Best Photographer of the Year Award, the North American Nature Photography Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Photographic Society of America’s Progress Medal. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, and a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
Wolfe maintains his office, stock agency, and production company in Seattle, Washington. His fine art work is available online at artwolfe.com.
Wolfe is the host of the award-winning television series Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge, an intimate and upbeat series that offers insights on nature, culture, and the realm of digital photography. It now airs worldwide. He was also featured in the 2015 Canon Australia/National Geographic Channel production Tales by Light, now streaming globally on Netflix.
Since his first publication in 1978, Wolfe has released more than 100 books in all editions; 2014 saw the release of his magnum opus Earth Is My Witness; this mega project features Wolfe's favorite photos taken so far and is garnering international accolades and awards. In 2015 it was published by National Geographic in France (Hymne à la Terre) and Germany (Eden). Published in Fall 2021 is Night on Earth.
Numerous US and international museums and galleries have featured monographs of his work as well his traveling exhibitions, Travels to the Edge, and Beyond the Lens. Earth Is My Witness is now a traveling exhibit in Europe. Wolfe has been a contributor to many group exhibitions.
Education is a major component of Wolfe’s work, whether it is about the environment or about photography. He leads photographic tours worldwide and has created the streaming course Pathways to Creativity.
Wolfe's photographs have appeared in the world’s top magazines such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, Audubon, GEO, and Terre Sauvage. Magazines all over the world publish his photographs and stories, and his work is licensed for retail products and advertising, as well as products such as USPS stamps, of which he has three, including the latest Forever Stamp commemorating the US National Parks.
Along with his numerous book and television awards, Wolfe is the proud recipient of the Nature's Best Photographer of the Year Award, the North American Nature Photography Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Photographic Society of America’s Progress Medal. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, and a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
Wolfe maintains his office, stock agency, and production company in Seattle, Washington. His fine art work is available online at artwolfe.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 5, 2024
I've been a serious photographer for over 60 years and found this book on board my recent cruise to Alaska (and my 50th state). Plus, I'm a sucker for autographed works so grabbed it up and packed it carefully, looking forward to getting into it upon my return to Florida. And while I got some pretty good scenic and people shots as we were blessed by fantastic weather, the ones that cannot compare with those in this book are the ones of wildlife - especially the one of a tourist group looking off into the distance for bears and a mother bear with a salmon in her mouth and two cubs zip around the group behind them and into the woods. To get great wildlife shots really takes some timing, knowledge and a touch of luck. So I got a few but not anywhere comparable to the great ones here.
A welcome surprise was that, although the photos are the star of the show, the narration was well done - flows well and very informative on the nature (literally and figuratively) of Alaska and the history of the various cities and parks. Great to relive the trip through a nice work.
Really a great book so if you are going or have been, you will find this a worthy addition to your library!
A welcome surprise was that, although the photos are the star of the show, the narration was well done - flows well and very informative on the nature (literally and figuratively) of Alaska and the history of the various cities and parks. Great to relive the trip through a nice work.
Really a great book so if you are going or have been, you will find this a worthy addition to your library!
March 5, 2025
This was lovely and I liked that there were paragraphs of descriptions for all of the different places. However, I was hoping for more nature and less people (and I didn't think we needed multiple pictures of the pipeline? Like, no thanks).
June 15, 2021
There is text in this book, at the beginning of every chapter, but the reader of this book would be forgiven for not realizing this immediately and for not paying much attention to this book. What is most notable about this book is the absolutely stunning photography. I must admit that I am not much of a photographer, and have never had the skill that others have in taking a camera and finding the world's beauty with it and conveying it and framing it, but I can and do appreciate good photography from others and this book delivers in spades on that front. It cannot be emphasized enough that this book shows the full glory that is on display when looking at creation with great equipment and immense skill at photography. It is hard not to think of Alaska as beautiful, certainly when viewing photography like this, which is truly awe-inspiring. If the text of the book comes off as distinctly second-rate in comparison with the photography, that is something that is inherent in the structure of the book, which makes the photographer the author and merely notes the person who provided the inessential text of the work.
This book is a relatively short one at about 150 pages or so, although the pages are large ones and most of those pages are full of gorgeous and large photographs. This is a book that simply belongs on a coffee table for an appreciative reading audience of guests. I am not sure how many coffee tables have this book, but hopefully this book is appreciated wherever it happens to be. This book is divided into six chapters, each of them focusing on a different aspect of Alaska's beauty. The first chapter focuses on Alaska's stark and gorgeous mountains, including Denali (McKinley) and the coastal range. After that there is a chapter on Alaska's rivers and lakes, including the fish in them. This is followed by a chapter that looks at Alaska's tundra. Then there is a chapter that focuses on the sea and coastal areas of Alaska, of which there are many. This is followed by a chapter that contains lots of photographs of forests, again, something that Alaska has a lot of. Finally, the last chapter of the book looks at some of Alaska's islands. Each chapter begins with some text before the main contents of the book, its photographs, are displayed.
In reading this book there is only one thing about this book that really bugged me. I'm not sure if this will bother everyone, but as a reader I was bothered by the fact that over and over again the photographer notes his photographs in captions in places that are not particularly accessible to people. The majority of this book is taken from photographs of a few places during a narrow range of time (mostly in the short Alaskan summer), and of those few places that get listed over and over again, the vast majority of them are national parks and refuges that are not very easily accessible to ordinary mere mortals like those people reading the book. Similarly, the book is not very detailed in terms of the exact places where the photos are being taken, so as to discourage people from seeking the same views from themselves. This is a great book, to be sure, but it's a book that one would be hard pressed to replicate in terms of one's own travels. Whether or not that bothers the reader is something that each reader of this book, and each traveler to Alaska, has to figure out for themselves.
This book is a relatively short one at about 150 pages or so, although the pages are large ones and most of those pages are full of gorgeous and large photographs. This is a book that simply belongs on a coffee table for an appreciative reading audience of guests. I am not sure how many coffee tables have this book, but hopefully this book is appreciated wherever it happens to be. This book is divided into six chapters, each of them focusing on a different aspect of Alaska's beauty. The first chapter focuses on Alaska's stark and gorgeous mountains, including Denali (McKinley) and the coastal range. After that there is a chapter on Alaska's rivers and lakes, including the fish in them. This is followed by a chapter that looks at Alaska's tundra. Then there is a chapter that focuses on the sea and coastal areas of Alaska, of which there are many. This is followed by a chapter that contains lots of photographs of forests, again, something that Alaska has a lot of. Finally, the last chapter of the book looks at some of Alaska's islands. Each chapter begins with some text before the main contents of the book, its photographs, are displayed.
In reading this book there is only one thing about this book that really bugged me. I'm not sure if this will bother everyone, but as a reader I was bothered by the fact that over and over again the photographer notes his photographs in captions in places that are not particularly accessible to people. The majority of this book is taken from photographs of a few places during a narrow range of time (mostly in the short Alaskan summer), and of those few places that get listed over and over again, the vast majority of them are national parks and refuges that are not very easily accessible to ordinary mere mortals like those people reading the book. Similarly, the book is not very detailed in terms of the exact places where the photos are being taken, so as to discourage people from seeking the same views from themselves. This is a great book, to be sure, but it's a book that one would be hard pressed to replicate in terms of one's own travels. Whether or not that bothers the reader is something that each reader of this book, and each traveler to Alaska, has to figure out for themselves.
August 20, 2022
Beautiful photos
October 17, 2024
4.5 stars - makes me want to immediately book another trip
July 9, 2016
Wonderful. Wish I could travel there again.
July 13, 2019
Heavily favors South-east Alaska - probably because Kelley lives there and has more pictures of it... but Jans's narration makes up for any "failing" of inclusion. Lovely book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews