Roads [Hardcover]

 

 

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This book is well done. This country he shows us is beautiful and interesting, even those towns which might have me running in the other direction. In the seedier parts of Canada, the way Schacter shoots makes me look at roads and desolation differently.

In the layers of photos, my eyes are always drawn to that strong line or curve, over and over again, which was a nice ribbon from beginning to end.

I am jealous thinking about all the towns Schacter must have visited, the time it took, and the fun he must of had. Beautiful photos, ''love the book!

A brilliant piece of work! ROADS is a celebration of the land, the farm, the village, the town and the city, a wondrous journey from Atlantic Canada to the Pacific coast, "... a land that is big and full of empty spaces... The connecting thread was the road, writes the author in his preface, the ubiquitous sign of human presence in and movement across the landscape".

More than a collection of striking photographs, ROADS is an inner journey into the soul of a country and a reflection on the art of photography. With his digital camera and his computer, Mark interprets the landscape like a painter who interprets a scene with brush and spatula.

There are good reasons to buy Mark Schacter's "'ROADS"' beyond having a strong collection of photos on your coffee table. While most Canadians will appreciate this book as a fine addition to the canon of contemporary landscape photography, it can also be appreciated for it's window into the author''s world and his working process, which is better elucidated in the author''s essays than in most photographer's' perfunctory introductions. The author''s background, sense of humour, and turn of mind are evident in this snip from one of his essays:

'"PARKINSON''S LAW, coined in 1955 by Cyril Parkinson, the British scholar of public administration, dictates that '"work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."' Similarly, the more of a resource we have, the more of it we are likely to use, even if we don't really need to use very much. Having observed, over the course of gathering the photographs for this book, hundreds of Canadian villages and small towns, I have concluded that a corollary of Parkinson's Law applies to streets in small towns, namely that "'the more land available for streets, the wider the streets will be",' or, '"the smaller the town, the wider the streets.'"

There''s a dry humour evident here, and some connection to the author's background in policy analysis and journalism; he brings both to bear on the job of making sense of the huge landscapes and infinite opportunities for making images on his travels.

What also draws me into the essays is Mark's ability to straddle the gaping chasm between "'fine-art"' analysis, and (typically) sappy homilies about the greatness of our landscape; his straightforward yet nuanced response to the '"Average Joe's"' charge of 'manipulation' of photos by the photographer is bang-on. I focus on the essays only because it''s not often that photos of this quality are taken by someone with the intellectual horsepower to put them into a larger context, and then write eloquently about process and inspiration.

There are a lot of striking photos here, the result of Mark's eye, of "'directed' chance" and finally his approach to working (digitally) an image after the road trips are over. I find his use of colour intriguing. It can at times be both magnificent and artificial, often in the same frame, (and I mean this in a good way!). The detail and grittiness of the roads, buildings and their environs, are also arresting. In Mark Schacter''s Canada, industry exists uncomfortably beside nature; the bleak and decrepit exist side-by-side with the grand and inspiring; either within a single photo, or in the sequencing of two or more photos in the book.

"ROADS" is a great gift idea for almost anyone who has experienced, or would like to see, all of the parts of Canada Mark visited. Kudos to the publisher for it's excellent job in putting the collection together, and for including so much of the photographer''s writing about what he does. It's a beautiful volume, and should be purchased by anyone who is interested in contemporary landscape photography.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
I initially picked up Roads by Mark Schacter with the intent of using it as an Over the Counter feature. I started leafing through and quickly changed my mind. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Luanne Ollivier

3.0 out of 5 stars My opinion
This book is not what I expected. Although the author does cover each province and percentage wise is probably close to representing each as equally as possible. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Sandra Schaff

5.0 out of 5 stars A Canadian Adventure
Mark Schacter's book of photographs, ROADS, takes us on a magical journey across our vast country. But this book is much more than a book of photographs. Read more

Published 18 months ago by David

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Gift Book
Roads is a gorgeous book and could be an excellent gift for anyone who has traveled through Canada or who might want to. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Wendy Myers

5.0 out of 5 stars RAODS - A great book...a great buy
I had the opportunity to get a copy of the book at the combined book launch and photographer's showing of the ROADS photos at Exposure Gallery in Ottawa. Read more

Published 18 months ago by William Staubi

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