“The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only paradise we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need, if only we had the eyes to see.” —Edward Abbey
Visions of Paradise: American Wilderness is a singular, timeless publication—a photographic masterpiece celebrating the extraordinary majesty and rich legacy of America’s wild places, as seen through the eyes of one of the country’s foremost wilderness photographers, Jon Ortner, and conveyed through the transcendent medium of black-and-white film.
When contemplating our attraction to nature’s sacred places, writer and conservationist Terry Tempest Williams may have put it best when she stated, “Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.” Perhaps this connection is why every year over 300 million people visit state and national parks and why hundreds of millions more explore other wilderness areas, national forests, and nature preserves. We seek refuge in these captivating places, including during times of upheaval and uncertainty, because our yearning to commune with the elements of land, sky, and water is primordial and powerful—a yearning faithfully fulfilled by nature’s ability to excite, thrill, and nurture us.
We need only show up to be awed by imposing mountain ranges, stimulated by the raw power of gushing waterfalls and geysers, calmed and soothed by serene lakes and playful rivers, or inspired by stark, mysterious deserts. We bring cameras along to make timeless the profundity of our experiences and to remind ourselves after we have reentered everyday life that, for a time, we were “home.”
Being natural In page after page and gatefold after gatefold of this sensational collection of 200 black-and-white images, Ortner has rediscovered and reinterpreted the compelling beauty of many of his most cherished wilderness locations with remarkable portrayals of their sublime, dramatic, tranquil, and transcendent aspects. He celebrates America’s most humbling natural scenes—from the deserts and canyons of the Southwest to the botanical paradise of the vast deciduous forests of New England, and to the towering, ancient groves of California’s giant redwoods—by unfolding in soul-stirring images and words a spare and elegant story of a shared yet vulnerable national heritage.
In Visions of Paradise, Ortner exhibits the same intrepidness that propelled the photographers and painters of the latter 19th century to trek their way deep into nature’s most pristine and remote areas to capture scenes that would fascinate a country searching for its cultural identity and eventually catalyze the creation of the National Park System. The spirit of these early ambassadors is imbued in every photograph appearing in Visions of Paradise, each one a testament to Ortner’s unmatched commitment to photographic excellence. Made possible only through meticulous scholarly research and planning and months-long explorations of single locations, unyielding patience and persistence, and the tenacity and determination to access difficult-to-reach places rarely if ever displayed by other wilderness photographers.
Ortner’s use of black-and-white film and large-format cameras for Visions of Paradise unveils the true essence of the natural world. By peeling away color, he forces us to immerse ourselves more deeply and see anew America’s breathtaking sites through the purified language of light and shadow, form and texture, shape and pattern. These rare, distinctive photographs are further enhanced with informative essays that give us a window onto the scene and its artist-observer. Also featured are quotations by those who have so passionately conveyed the splendor, drama, and fragility of the American wilderness—Ansel Adams, John Muir, Terry Tempest Williams, Chief Seattle, and Edward Abbey among many others—to uplift us and help us regain a vital sense of belonging to something grander than ourselves.
Visions of Paradise presents a unique opportunity to join with an acclaimed photographer on his achievement of an artistic milestone. It is sure to amaze and inspire a wide and varied audience—from lovers of nature to collectors of fine-art photography, and to anyone seeking to connect meaningfully with a treasured legacy of sacred lands. For, throughout its pages, Ortner, a modern-day ambassador of the American wilderness, brilliantly shows us in imagery what Edward Abbey once put so eloquently into words—that “wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.”
Ortner shows us this with images that are as monumental as the landscape he photographs. by Mary Kalamaris
About Jon Ortner
One of the world’s leading photographers, Jon Ortner is the acclaimed author of eight internationally published fine-art books on such wide-ranging topics as the icons and architecture of Manhattan, the beauty of the human form, the sacred places and people of Southeast Asia, and the landscapes and geological wonders of the American Southwest.
Ortner’s achievements as an artist, scholar, and adventurer are especially reflective of a life committed to passionately exploring the wonders and treasures of the natural world. His intrepid youth, largely spent fascinated by the study of diverse flora and fauna, forged him into an avid, erudite naturalist and wilderness hiker. Following academic pursuits in ecology and Eastern philosophy, he established a highly successful commercial photography studio in New York City with his wife and business partner, Martha McGuire.
Ortner’s boundless curiosity, insatiable thirst for knowledge about people and places, and deep-seated reverence for nature’s exquisiteness soon manifested themselves in his photography. In 1971, with a creative intellect on fire and the urgent purpose felt only by true artists, he embarked on a photographic and spiritual journey to record and celebrate the world’s most remote and astonishingly beautiful sites. For twenty-five years, he and Martha trekked thousands of miles throughout the ancient lands of Southeast Asia, in many cases gaining rare access to forbidden sites. Against the backdrop of the magnificent Himalaya Mountains, they explored the geological wonders, sacred places, and people of Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, and Tibet. In India, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, China, and Bali and Java, they immersed themselves in the mysteries of some of the world’s most spectacular and profound religious and cultural sites.
The gorgeously produced large-format photography books emerging from these singular experiences have, for years and for reprint after reprint, ignited the imaginations of thousands of readers. They include Where Every Breath Is a Prayer: A Photographic Pilgrimage into the Spiritual Heart of Asia, Angkor: Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire, and Buddha, each unparalleled in its thematic, compositional, and technical artistry and rich with Ortner’s deeply personal and scholarly writings on Hindu and Buddhist art, spiritual pilgrimage, and the role of sacred places in our lives.
With its arresting imagery and thought-provoking reflections on a shared spiritual connection to the nation’s sacred lands, Visions of Paradise is destined to occupy a vaunted position in the genre of fine-art photography. Martin Kaninsky wrote that “Visions of Paradise is the result of physical endurance, careful planning, and a deep connection to the land. Ortner’s journey was about understanding the soul of these wild places. From towering redwoods in California to the remote canyons of Utah, his work shows us not just what these places look like, but what they feel like to those who dare to go. His use of black-and-white photography adds another layer, stripping away distractions and focusing on the raw forms and textures of nature.”
Based in the Berkshire Mountains on the border of New York and Massachusetts, Ortner and Martha currently divide their time between worldwide journeys of discovery and commercial photography assignments. Ortner’s advertising work has been featured in print and online by top international corporations that include Fuji, Kodak, and Nikon. His award-winning images and enlightening narratives have appeared in magazines such as GEO, Architectural Digest, Travel & Leisure, Outdoor Photographer, and National Geographic, and he has presented his work at the Rubin Museum of Art, the Explorers Club, and for many of the National Parks. [Official Website] [Book]
