…since I recommended a photo book. Almost two years. Not sure if that’s because I haven’t been looking at as many or maybe I just hadn’t come across another one I wanted to recommend.

Until now…

I actually sat down and went though a handful of a large stack of photo books I have to explore and this one jumped out. I knew it would be good because I’d bought it after seeing an article for it online, probably many months ago, and it sat in the stack for the duration.

But it’s amazing. Mr. Brandt made these photographs in an animal preserve and photographed the animals with the people, so they are NOT composites in that fashion. In short, it’s a commentary on the destruction of our environment and the impact it has on people and animals.

For me (which may say more about me than the images; we see ourselves in others’ work) these foggy portraits in a barren land express a kinship that exists between us and our fellow tenants on this rock of ours as well as a deep grief for the losses we are witnessing (or ignoring) all around us. They are a warning and a reminder of how fragile life (and civilization) are (though often the two are in conflict).

It’s a beautiful book of meaningful work and I recommend it.