This gorgeously designed and printed book, with accompanying documentary film, traces the career of Arthus-Bertrand, among whose many exhibitions and 20 books is the photodocumentary Earth from Above
(which has been viewed by 60 million people worldwide in its book and gallery forms). That book's large-scale images of the twists and turns of rivers and crater-like patterns of desert sands are here, but the heart of this work is Arthus-Bertrand's entire career, the focus of which has been ethnographic study of people and the animals on which they depend. Beautiful sepia shots (40 in all) mix with 180 crisp color pages. Most of the book's first half is devoted to Arthus-Bertrand's time among the Masai in the early 1980s, with lions and wildebeests in powerful evidence. Later, posed photos taken over the years at the annual Paris Agricultural Show reveal the essentials of a culture's relationship to its livestock. Throughout, the text explains "Yann's" decisions on when and how to approach people, as well as the more technical aspects of taking photos on location and in the studio. The hour-long DVD moves chronologically through Arthus-Bertrand's career and includes interviews and footage from his years in Africa as well as from his many hours logged in helicopters shooting Earth from Above
. (It also includes 100 screensavers and other features.) More a phenomenon in France, where a charity auction of the Earth from Above
photos brought in unprecedented sums, Arthus-Bertrand and his work make for a satisfying study in the craft of photojournalism. (Dec.)
