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Poles Apart: Parallel Visions of the Arctic and Antarctic
The harsh beauty of the polar regions has long fascinated explorers and armchair adventurers alike. The forbidding terrain and exotic life-forms appeal to our sense of wonder, and while we may think of them as similar, the Arctic and Antarctic are as unlike as Kansas and Kenya. In Poles Apart , Galen Rowell takes us on an exhilarating visual journey to the top and the bottom of the world, using his camera to reveal the fascinating differences in these polar opposites.
In Part I, Rowell's side-by-side photographs highlight the contrasts between North and South. The photo essays of Part II continue the comparisons, developing such themes as Arctic and Antarctic science, polar bears and penguins, and visits to the North and South Poles. Part III provides detailed information on the story behind each photograph as well as technical data of interest to photographers.
Galen Rowell is known for choosing subjects that, while beautiful, are unfamiliar to much of his audience. Yet his books enjoy wide appeal because he accurately focuses—in images and words—on the essential spirit that sets his subjects apart from the rest of the world. So it is with the distant lands and seas of the polar regions, which hold valuable lessons for all of us concerning evolution, geology, history, human endeavor, and the impact of human greed. No other vast areas of the earth remain as pristine, and for Rowell, the Arctic and Antarctic have become metaphors for those intangible elements that define the earth's wild places. In a world fast becoming a theme park of artificial experience, his book is an invitation to understand and appreciate what is real.
In Part I, Rowell's side-by-side photographs highlight the contrasts between North and South. The photo essays of Part II continue the comparisons, developing such themes as Arctic and Antarctic science, polar bears and penguins, and visits to the North and South Poles. Part III provides detailed information on the story behind each photograph as well as technical data of interest to photographers.
Galen Rowell is known for choosing subjects that, while beautiful, are unfamiliar to much of his audience. Yet his books enjoy wide appeal because he accurately focuses—in images and words—on the essential spirit that sets his subjects apart from the rest of the world. So it is with the distant lands and seas of the polar regions, which hold valuable lessons for all of us concerning evolution, geology, history, human endeavor, and the impact of human greed. No other vast areas of the earth remain as pristine, and for Rowell, the Arctic and Antarctic have become metaphors for those intangible elements that define the earth's wild places. In a world fast becoming a theme park of artificial experience, his book is an invitation to understand and appreciate what is real.
- GenresPhotographyTravel
184 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Galen A. Rowell
58 books18 followersGalen Avery Rowell (August 23, 1940 – August 11, 2002) was a wilderness photographer, adventure photojournalist and mountaineer. Born in Oakland, California, he became a full-time photographer in 1972.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 24, 2023
Don't talk to me about polar bears in Antarctica, and penguins at the North Pole!
This is a beautiful large scale book of photographs that illustrates the similarities and the differences between our world's two polar regions. The North Pole is located in an ocean surrounded by land, and that land has been occupied by hardy people for thousands of years. The South Pole is on a land mass surrounded by ocean, and the only people are visitors.
This volume includes a section when two photos are displayed side by side, one from the north and one from the south, perhaps both with whales, or a puffin and a penguin, and the viewer is offered a glimpse of the beauty and challenges of survival at each of the poles.
Other sections are grouped by themes, such as In Shackleton's Wake, Antarctic Biology, South Georgia Island, A Closer Look at Polar Bears, and so on. Wrangel Island, in the Arctic Ocean, is often called the Galapagos of the North because of its unique fauna. The book also includes short yet detailed essays about each photograph. So much information!
I have spent hours with this wonderful book, and yet each time I pick it up I discover something new. Perfect book to get lost in while the snow is falling, ever falling.
This is a beautiful large scale book of photographs that illustrates the similarities and the differences between our world's two polar regions. The North Pole is located in an ocean surrounded by land, and that land has been occupied by hardy people for thousands of years. The South Pole is on a land mass surrounded by ocean, and the only people are visitors.
This volume includes a section when two photos are displayed side by side, one from the north and one from the south, perhaps both with whales, or a puffin and a penguin, and the viewer is offered a glimpse of the beauty and challenges of survival at each of the poles.
Other sections are grouped by themes, such as In Shackleton's Wake, Antarctic Biology, South Georgia Island, A Closer Look at Polar Bears, and so on. Wrangel Island, in the Arctic Ocean, is often called the Galapagos of the North because of its unique fauna. The book also includes short yet detailed essays about each photograph. So much information!
I have spent hours with this wonderful book, and yet each time I pick it up I discover something new. Perfect book to get lost in while the snow is falling, ever falling.
Displaying 1 of 1 review