Product Description

Over a 7-year period, Tony and Eva Worobiec, two of the greatest photographers of all time, traveled the dusty paths of rural America, particularly in the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming. The fruits of their journey are pictures so poignant and evocative of the American West that they are the photographic equivalent of a Steinbeck novel. Each amazing photo vividly reveals the struggle for survival, of a disappearing way of life, in the forgotten countryside and backroads of the U.S. In the often harsh and unforgiving landscape, the Worobiecs shot affecting and beautiful pictures of abandoned farms, schools, gas stations, grain elevators and tractors, diners, and trucks.
Tony's pictures are large format, shot in black and white, and then hand tinted. The results resemble postcards from the 1950s. Eva shoots directly in color for a more starkly modern aspect. Both achieve magnificent, and ultimately emotionally touching, results.
Along with the photographs are the words of the remaining residents, who speak sadly of better times, the friends and neighbors for whom things didn't work out, and of their own, once-flourishing piece of abandoned America.
This remarkable achievement is both an exquisite photography book and a commentary on the American way of life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #319245 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-28
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

Abandoned but thankfully not forgotten.
Fortunately for a lot of photographers abandoned man-made America seems to be just about everywhere and what a visual treat it produces. This handsome, large (check out the dimensions in the Product Details above) book of photos is a cut above the usual offering though. Rather than shoot the predictable broken and rusty commercialism everywhere the Worobiec's had the great idea of capturing one particular area of the Nation, the northwest. Here the railroads were the catalyst to opening up the landscape with towns created about every ten miles or so to service track and train. Predictably many of these settlements lacked natural resources and decent farmland so it was inevitable that the weather, depression, and technical advances in transport made so many of these towns uneconomic and many folk just left.

What I find amazing is the nature of the leaving. Many photos show inside abandoned houses still with kitchen units, phones, furniture and personal effects. Page sixty-five shows a wall calendar for July 1959 in a house in Wildrose, Nebraska and as the caption explains these were useful indicators to reveal the date of the owner's departure. Sometimes the Worobiec's found small schools abandoned, as the photo on page 117 shows, the floor awash with textbooks. As expected there are many photos of abandoned vehicles (possibly thirty-six was just a bit too many) surrounded by vegetation, rich pickings nowadays for collectors, I bet.

Another reason why I like this book is because 'Ghosts in the Wilderness' is not just a collection of photos but a travelogue as well, six chapters have lively and interesting essays about the social and economic aspects of the area. These words give more meaning to the poignancy of the images.

The printing and design is excellent, the photos are mostly one to a page with generous white, black and light grey backgrounds. I do have a criticism of the production though, the last five pages show all the photos as thumbnails with the relevant technical details, all this information could easily have been accommodated on the page with the photo and so avoid having to keep turning to the back.

I think the Worobiec's have done a wonderful job producing a book of regional photography. Oh yes, thank you Mark and Sarah who gave me this lovely book as a Christmas present.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

If this book appeals to you.....BUY IT!!!
This book is nicely made, of excellent 'physical' quality and full of fantastic images. If you are looking for images with the depth and gravitas' of the Westons or Ansel Adams look elsewhere, but as a lighter form of visual interest the images do not disappoint. I have not gotten around to reading the extensive text, but it too looks well thought out and intriguing. Yes there are a lot of photographs depicting cars and some are arguably 'samey' but there are LOTS of images full stop. A fantastic (large) inspiring book that will be treasured not only by monochrome photographers but the curious adveturer type possibly considering a similar project. It certainly resonated with me. The ideal browse when I am tired of 'intense' photography and need something more casual and thinking about going 'walkabout'.