Jack Dykinga's Arizona

Rating:
Summary: The definitive photographic tribute to Arizona's landscapes
Review: Jack Dykinga is, in all likelihood, the only photographer to have already won a Pulitzer Prize before finding his photographic calling. That was in Chicago, before his 1976 "leave of absence" to Tucson. Before the "leave" became a "move." Before his switch from B&W film to color transparencies, and from 35mm to 4x5 view cameras. Before the desert got under his skin, along with the writings of Ed Abbey and Everett Ruess. Before Arizona was, as it is now, home.

25 years later, Jack has, in his eighth book, finally produced a large format photographic tribute devoted exclusively to his adopted home state. To Arizona's incredible rock formations, and the incredibly delicate flowers that border them. To the cacti, agave and octillo that abound. To the water, and the areas that are beautiful precisely because they lack water. And, most of all, to light. Most people would count themselves fortunate indeed to witness such moments of ephemeral light on even a handful of occasions. Frozen on these pages, there are dozens.

The 4x5 Arca Swiss and Wista view cameras and Schneider lenses with which Jack works produce tack-sharp images. They also produce very large images, more than 1300% greater than a 35mm chrome or negative. Thus, Jack's photos have been enlarged only minimally in this book, and the effect is stunning. As you initially turn each page while progressing through the book, it will probably be a rainbow with lightning, or a foreground saguaro framing a twin on a distant hill, or a juxtaposition of light and shadow that initially quickens your breath and pauses your hands on any given page. But after pausing, you will linger to marvel at the visible spines on a cactus, the sand grains on a dune, or the individual trees visible in a distant forest. The vistas are sweeping, but the details are not neglected.

I own hundreds of large format nature photography books and have read hundreds more, but take the time to review very few. "Arizona," however, is special, even in a state with an exceptional history of producing talented artists and stirring photographic monographs. Among Jack's books (all of which I own), this is my favorite save only "Desert: The Mojave and Death Valley," and I suspect it would surpass even that work in my mind if I were not a native Californian. The book was plainly not rushed, whether in conception, production, or presentation. It shows a clarity of vision beyond coincidental pairings of serendipitous or "pretty" photos. This is the work of a man that knew exactly what he wanted, set out to find it, and kept at it until not just an image or two, but the breadth of his intent, was "in the can." Characteristically erudite observations on the Grand Canyon State by Jack's longtime collaborator and essayist Chuck Bowden serve as the unifying, and finishing, touch.

I have had the pleasure of photographing in the field with Jack, and of conversing with him about a wide range of subjects both photographic and non-. He is an extraordinarily talented and generous photographer, and a passionately outspoken advocate for the natural world (particularly his beloved southwestern deserts). We are all fortunate to have him laboring on our behalf. The purchasers and recipients of this book are, in turn, fortunate to have such a marvelous testament to that labor. You will not find a book with a finer display of Arizona's natural beauty. Because, quite simply, there isn't one.