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photo.net member finishes a 20-year book project


philg

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<p><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=23152">Quang-Tuan Luong</a> joined photo.net 20 years ago, which was also when he started lugging a 5x7 view camera to the U.S. national parks. Now he's finished a 456-page book: <a href="http://treasuredlandsbook.com/"><em>Treasured Lands</em></a>. Under the "success has many fathers" maybe all of us who have participated in photo.net can take some credit for keeping him inspired?</p>
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<p>Well, I`d say quite the opposite... I think he have inspired much more people that we could imagine all around the world. In fact, he is the main responsible of making me here writing in Pnet. All the best for QT Luong. I have also ordered the book from Amazon.<br>

I remember these days, it was more than twenty years ago... time runs fast! Oh my God... :O</p>

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<p>I ordered the book through his site. It's a small independent book maker, I believe, so I don't know if they get as much when it's sold through Amazon. The "treasured lands" link in Philip's original post goes to a page where it can be ordered. <br>

I can't wait to see the book. I got a message yesterday that he's signing copies now and they'll be sent soon. <br>

Ian - there is still 5x7 film, but in few emulsions (it might even be only B&W?). Larger film can always be cut down, though, and some companies do yearly runs of really big film. </p>

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<p>j nanian - I know intentions do not always equate to follow-through, but this is from his bio at the site for selling the book: There, he fell in love with the National Parks and <strong>decided to photograph all of them with a 5x7 large format camera</strong>, a single-handed, self-financed, monumental project that had not been completed by anyone before. To that effect, he settled in the San Francisco Bay Area and started crisscrossing this country to capture its diverse beauty. QT's in-depth coverage of the Parks often dictated long hikes into the backcountry, with a 75 lb backpack, and only his passion and dedication to keep him company. By 2002, he had visited each of the 58 National Parks. In 2009, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan featured him as one of the few living characters in their film <em>The National Parks: America's Best Idea</em>.</p>
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<p>hi bethe:<br>

i know ... maybe what has gotten me confused is further down <br />on the same page it says other formats were being used for a variety of reasons<br>

and in 2010 on the largeformatphotography.info site where he announces <br />the publication of his book on yosemite he speaks of 35mm and digital being employed as well as 5x7.<br />( i came to the conclusion < probably wrong conclusion> some of the same photographs and formats were used in this new book )<br>

whatever format he used, more power to him ! he makes very nice photographs</p>

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  • 2 weeks later...

<p>Thanks for your interest in my project. I am not sure why someone would think it is "disrespectful" to suggest that a digital camera was used, but here's a clarification.<br>

In the early years, I was fanatical about trying to shoot everything in 5x7, even aerial photographs. This resulted in many failures and missed opportunities, and nowadays, I use the camera most suited for the job. The night photographs in Treasured Lands (which you don't see in earlier national park books) could not have been made with any film camera. <br>

On the other hand, I made sure that for each of the national parks, there is at least one image photographed on 5x7 film. Approximately half of the book was shot on film. For a number of reasons, film is not my mainstay anymore, however, I am committed to continuing making large format photographs for the sake of project continuity. When national park #60 is designated, you can be sure that I will show up with the 5x7 in quick order. </p>

<p> </p>

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<p>Regarding economics, the comment by Bethe (thanks!) is an understatement. Regardless of the size of the publisher, if you order any book on Amazon using an affiliate link, I suspect that 99.9% of the times, the affiliate will receive more money than the book's author from the sale. The author's share doesn't change whether the book is purchased via affiliate link or not.</p>
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  • 2 weeks later...
<p>I just received your magnificent book after returning from Table Rock in South Carolina. The 5X7 shots with so much detail from foreground flowers to distant mountains is inspiring. I was shooting fall colors with a Minolta 24mm lens on an old Sony A700 (12mp) - they look great on a Retina Macbook. Digital is a great "note-taker" for future film projects. My 5x7 is a woody that is awaiting the new bellows to be installed. I have adapted it to take Technika 4x5 boards of my 121mm Super Angulon, and 180mm and 210mm Symmar-S. I don't have any E6 film in 5x7 but do have some B/W in 5x7. You have inspired me to rummage around the freezer and go out and shoot. Thanks. </p>
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