General Impression:
This is essentially a photographic 239-page flip-book of landscapes from across Canada. The photographs are separated not by region but by season. The contents are divided by follows:
- Introduction
- Autumn;
- Winter;
- Spring;
- Summer;
- Afterword;
- The Photographs.
The text is prior to every season excluding the Introduction and Afterword which are strictly text. I think the writer did a good job of introducing each season as well as including throwbacks to the nostalgic collective conscious of Canadians. Every Canadian from across this vast country can relate to these pages and the turning of the seasons.
The last section “The Photographs” is simple an index for each of the photographs and where they were taken and under what conditions.
This is not a book that you will learn any photographic techniques. It’s worth a checkout from the library or would make a good coffee-table book. It simply showcases the landscapes and there are some really incredible photos in here.
The Photographs:
While there are some incredible photographs, there are also many that I found mundane, but this is all personal taste and given the amount of photographs in this book, that is to be expected. Art is subjective after all, and I would have edited some photographs differently (more or less saturation/contrast). An idea of the sorts of photographs you can expect can be seen in Mike Grandmaison’s Portfolio.
Final Verdict:
This photo-book is worth checking out. Especially if you’re scoping out locations on a cross-Canada trip. I have not seen Mike Grandmaison’s work before, but I think his photographs are better represented in this book and printed than on his website. I am sure his actual fine art prints are even more exquisite. These photographs in print just look much better than the equivalent ones I was able to track down on his website (smaller file size and compression perhaps?).
He does have an Instagram account; but, as with many photographers that shoot landscape. It does not show off his work anywhere near as well.
Have you checked out this book? If you have, please let me know your thoughts! If you have not, please check it out!
While signing off, I will directly embed a few which caught my eye on his account.
Recording Light 