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The National Parks: Our American Landscape
America's national parks and historical sites embody the American spirit. They are windows to our past, homes to some of our rarest plants and animal species, and places where every American can go to find inspiration, peace, and open space. From the iron rails of Steamtown, Pennsylvania to the wilds of Yellowstone, America’s natural parks preserve our culture in as much as they shield our natural world from our own encroachment.
The National Our American Landscape presents a wonderfully updated photographic survey of one of America’s greatest national treasures. Seen through the eyes of the National Parks Conservation Association’s photographer Ian Shive, America’s National Park System come to life through a collection of more than 200 new photographs. Shive's stunning work demonstrates the diversity and awe inspiring beauty of the American wild lands covering the major United States parks from the warm waters of Biscayne, Florida to icy summit of Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska.
The National Our American Landscape presents a wonderfully updated photographic survey of one of America’s greatest national treasures. Seen through the eyes of the National Parks Conservation Association’s photographer Ian Shive, America’s National Park System come to life through a collection of more than 200 new photographs. Shive's stunning work demonstrates the diversity and awe inspiring beauty of the American wild lands covering the major United States parks from the warm waters of Biscayne, Florida to icy summit of Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska.
- GenresNonfiction
202 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Ian Shive
15 books6 followersIAN SHIVE, 31, is an award-winning environmental and conservation oriented-photographer, author and film producer, who has emerged at the leading edge of related outdoor, lifestyle and landscape photography. A rock climber and certified scuba diver, Shive's relentless pursuit of inspiring imagery has taken him around the world - from assignments deep beneath the California coast, to the equatorial jungles of the Malaysian rain forest, to the far northern arctic mountainsides of Mt. McKinley, Alaska. Having documented for the last several years the world's diverse landscapes and the relationship mankind has with nature, Shive's photographs have appeared in countless publications spanning the globe including Time Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, National Geographic, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Popular Photography and Outside Magazine, to name a few.
In August 2009, Shive's first book was released titled The National Parks: Our American Landscape, a collection of over 200 stunning images depicting America's national parks with a fresh, modern approach published under Earth Aware Editions and available in stores nationwide. To date, Shive and the book have been featured in an eight-page spread in the August 2009 issue of Sunset Magazine, reaching 2.9 subscribers. Shive has also participated in numerous other television press interviews including for ABC News, CBS, PBS and many others. Followed on the social media networks, Twitter and Facebook, Shive has received prominence on numerous web sites and in print including, among others, Boys Life Magazine (Aug. '09) (2.3 million), Scholastic.com and Scholastic Magazine (Aug. '09) (1.3 print), About.com (1.2 million), Mother Nature News (MNN.com) (1.2 million), SierraClub.com (1.2 million), and Lonely Planet Magazine (Aug. '09) (70,000) which praised the book the best in print.
Shive also is co-producer of the television travelogue from-the-road, Wild Exposure, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the parks book, which debuted in August 2009 and continues to air on the Al Gore television channel, Current TV. The program was created through Shive's multimedia production company WildCollective.com, an emerging leader in the development of multimedia pieces for the web using still photos and video. Shive pioneered the multimedia/mixed-media genre particularly for environmental and conservation-based non-profits including The Nature Conservancy and the National Parks Conservation Association, with whom he proudly maintains ongoing relationships among numerous other similar groups.
Beyond the role of photographer/author/producer, Shive also is an actively dedicated advocate for the causes he photographs, having met in 2009 with individual members of the House of Representatives and Senate to address the related issues through his images and to participate in a group exhibit on Capitol Hill. He is a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) based in Washington, D.C., and whose membership represents the highest standards and ethics in nature photography today.
Prior to his career in photography, Shive worked in marketing for Sony's Columbia Pictures for over eight years on such films as the Spider-Man franchise, Memoirs of a Geisha, Pursuit of Happyness and over 60 other major motion pictures. Most proud of his role in the preservation of the world's wild lands, Shive's philosophy is that the powerful medium of photography has shaped our view of the environment in the past and can continue to shape those views in the future. He resides in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 22, 2010
LOVE THIS!!! A big, beautiful, amazing picture book with just a little bit of interesting text here and there about some of the photos. It's not just scenery. Ian Shive strives for great variety in subject matter within our national treasure lands. Great close-ups of animal and plant life and geologic features. Some really unique angles and perspectives make these photographs memorable, along with the more traditional views of our national parks, monuments, and recreation areas.
April 27, 2010
One can easily believe that nothing would please photographer Ian Shive more than to hear those four words. Four words that will cement his place in history as one of the best park photographers of all time. And we here at Blog on Books are going to give them to him. Ready? (wait for it…)
“Not since Ansel Adams…”
It’s true. Not since Ansel Adams has one photographer published a work that truly captures the magnitude and majesty that are America’s National Parks. In ‘Our National Parks: Our American Landscape’ (published in association with the National Parks Conservation Association) Shive captures in all their glory, the rich and varied landscapes that make these hallowed lands America’s true national treasure.
The difference, of course, is that Adams (like William Henry Jackson before him) made history, climbing atop his rickety vehicle in the 1930’s using larger than life photographic equipment to bring his black and white images of the great outdoors to a nation of millions who may have never seen such monumental splendor. (In addition to using his work on the John Muir trail to help convince Congress to designate places like the California sequoias as National Parks to begin with.) But in his own way, with Canon in hand, Shive has captured images that despite (or because) of their dramatically infused colors, bring a sense of beauty and awe that is seldom experienced by even the best photographers in this 204 page tribute to our National Park system.
From what began as a series of assignments for National Parks magazine, Shive has compiled images that might otherwise be lost to the fleeting moments of time through his masterful use of light and tone. Photographs that capture the imbued majesty of not just rock formations or cloud patterns or post dusk lighting over the wide ranging plains of Wyoming or Utah, but the minute details of wildlife and fauna from Yellowstone to the Channel Islands off the California coast.
Having been to nearly every National Park in the Western U.S., I can vouch for the fact that many of the most striking images are artfully presented here; the wide swaths of the Canyonlands, the grandeur of Utah’s Delicate Arch, the sheer magnitude of places like Montana’s Glacier and Alaska’s Denali National Parks. And while not a complete compendium of the entire park system (nothing on the fantastic Volcano Parks of Hawaii nor much outside the west and south save Maine), this coffee table edition lends itself well to the fantastic landscapes (many of which are presented in two-page, double truck format) and features photos that will capture the imagination for years to come.
“Not since Ansel Adams…”
It’s true. Not since Ansel Adams has one photographer published a work that truly captures the magnitude and majesty that are America’s National Parks. In ‘Our National Parks: Our American Landscape’ (published in association with the National Parks Conservation Association) Shive captures in all their glory, the rich and varied landscapes that make these hallowed lands America’s true national treasure.
The difference, of course, is that Adams (like William Henry Jackson before him) made history, climbing atop his rickety vehicle in the 1930’s using larger than life photographic equipment to bring his black and white images of the great outdoors to a nation of millions who may have never seen such monumental splendor. (In addition to using his work on the John Muir trail to help convince Congress to designate places like the California sequoias as National Parks to begin with.) But in his own way, with Canon in hand, Shive has captured images that despite (or because) of their dramatically infused colors, bring a sense of beauty and awe that is seldom experienced by even the best photographers in this 204 page tribute to our National Park system.
From what began as a series of assignments for National Parks magazine, Shive has compiled images that might otherwise be lost to the fleeting moments of time through his masterful use of light and tone. Photographs that capture the imbued majesty of not just rock formations or cloud patterns or post dusk lighting over the wide ranging plains of Wyoming or Utah, but the minute details of wildlife and fauna from Yellowstone to the Channel Islands off the California coast.
Having been to nearly every National Park in the Western U.S., I can vouch for the fact that many of the most striking images are artfully presented here; the wide swaths of the Canyonlands, the grandeur of Utah’s Delicate Arch, the sheer magnitude of places like Montana’s Glacier and Alaska’s Denali National Parks. And while not a complete compendium of the entire park system (nothing on the fantastic Volcano Parks of Hawaii nor much outside the west and south save Maine), this coffee table edition lends itself well to the fantastic landscapes (many of which are presented in two-page, double truck format) and features photos that will capture the imagination for years to come.
January 5, 2010
I received this book as a Christmas present from a dear friend. The photography in this book is stunning. I am completed inspired by this book every time I open it up and can't wait to plan out my travels. :)
April 17, 2018
Beautiful book of U.S. national parks photographs. Not your usual pics, the photographer looks at the parks from different viewpoints, including wildlife and flora, not to mention the gorgeous vistas. Worth your time if you are a national parks aficionado!
March 7, 2012
The photos are beautiful, but the coverage of national parks was sparse.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews