This is an absolutely beautiful book! Micheal Kenna’s black and white photographs have long been valued by collectors, galleries, and lovers of photography, and this retrospective collection contains many of his best known works.
Many of the images were made with long exposure times to provide almost magical pictures that capture a vision of the world that exceeds what the naked eye can perceive. Yet, they manage to collapse these long intervals of time into single images that are perceived as art, not artifice.
The edition I own, by Nazraeli Press, from 2007, is immaculately printed and bound. I’ve met Mr. Kenna and seen gallery displays of his work, and the photographs in this volume are faithful to those that I’ve seen in shows.
As useful and convenient as I find digital photography to be, this book is inspirational. It makes me want to pull out my Rolleiflex, load up with Ilford HP5, grab my tripod, and make a dawn or dusk visit to the beach near my house to try to capture images like these.
I heartily recommend this book for photographers of any skill level, and for anybody who appreciates photography as art.