A Photographer's Life

2 reviews for A Photographer's Life

1. 

   wepsphoto February 6, 2019

   Jack Dykinga’s autobiography, A Photographer’s Life- A Journey from Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photojournalist to Celebrated Nature Photographer, is a good read with moments of brilliance and insight for photographers interspersed with an autobiographical narrative.

   Dykinga opens the book in the hospital with respiratory failure, discussing the importance of self-examination and writing that he chooses now to celebrate those people who made a difference to him as a person and photographer. After his brief intro, we start at his early days and progress through his life as a photographer.

   Dykinga’s summary of 7+ decades of life, like anyone’s presented in a relatively thin text, is choppy and often feels unfocused. The autobiography is ultimately not of great importance to most readers. But then you turn a page and the text is replaced by Dykinga’s fabulous photography, and your interest in instantly piqued. His brief narrative comes alive with images of his photojournalistic past- images of racial unrest in the ‘70’s, institutions that were “warehousing” the mentally ill, and more. The pictures are astonishing and perfectly capture his subject matter.

   From here Dykinga transitions to the focus of his work for the rest of his life- nature photography. Again, the text explains his jobs, transitions, and influences, but it’s the pages of pictures that are mesmerizing.

   A Photographer’s Life- A Journey from Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photojournalist to Celebrated Nature Photographer is not a “how-to book, not even a “how-I-did-that” book in most cases- one does not learn how to shoot from this book. There are occasionally explanations or brief tips, but this is an autobiography in text, a portfolio in images. If Dykinga was sitting at a table with you and you asked, “Tell me about your life as a photographer,” the illustrated result would be this book.

   A Photographer’s Life- A Journey from Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photojournalist to Celebrated Nature Photographer is for those seeking an autobiographical read and/or a coffee table book of spectacular images.

2. 

   dpbierman June 26, 2019

   If you’ve followed Dykinga’s work, through his previous books or his work with Arizona Highways, to say his images are beautiful and inspiring, which they are, simply doesn’t do justice to their uncompromising authentic author. Their simple beauty understates the rigor of his journey from photojournalist to conservationist and nature photographer.

   We can better discern the creativity of his art, however, if we explore the journey with him. “A Photographer’s Life,” does just that, providing us with an intimate look into the heart and soul of one of our generations outstanding nature photographers. It’s a compassionate story of one photographer’s growth which you’ll be richer for having undertaken.