Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks, Second Expanded Edition

From the Publisher

Over a quarter century, QT Luong ventured deep into each of America's 61 national parks in 300 visits. Treasured Lands presents the photographer's explorations in a sumptuous gallery, combining art book and guidebook, complemented with informative and practical notes on nature, travel, and image making. Together, they inspire and invite photographers and nature lovers to trace his steps to both iconic landscapes and rarely seen remote views, discovering the diversity of the national parks.

Equal treatment is given to well-known parks and lesser-known hidden gems, using more large photos (600+) than any national park coffee table book before. Readers can learn what each park has to offer and what makes it unique. Within each park, carefully chosen locations highlight a captivating and fact-rich story, represent the best of the park, and cover each of its corners with at least 6 photos. A photographer's guide shares how readers can visit and photograph the locations pictured at the best time of day and year. The 62 maps with location pins and 140,000+ words - equivalent to a 400-page paperback – are also available as a mobile PDF for a nominal charge to book owners.

Unexpected Sights

The Sonoran Desert's biseasonal rainfall pattern supports unusually lush vegetation for a desert, with the flora evolving from southern, tropical plants. Petrified Forest in Theodore Roosevelt National Park differs greatly from Arizona's, with the trees related to modern sequoias, creating stumps up to 12 feet in diameter. In Dry Tortugas National Park, Fort Jefferson towers above islets surrounded by the most varied underwater coral reefs in the country, chosen in the nineteenth century by the United States Navy to become the "Gibraltar of the Gulf."

Out of the Beaten Path in Popular Parks

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is almost a different park, 1,000 feet higher than the South Rim, offering different views with considerably fewer facilities and scenic overlooks. In Mount Rainier National Park, the Tatoosh Range provides a full view of the mountain that reveals its size. In Zion National Park, the Zion Plateau has many hidden places to experience canyon hiking, such as the claustrophobic passageways and huge chambers of Pine Creek Canyon.

Iconic Locations Revisited

The Schwabacher Landing in Grand Teton National Park yields the best reflections of the Grand Tetons, with the light most beautiful when clouds catch the alpenglow shortly before sunrise. In Yosemite National Park, the classic scene of Yosemite Falls is best photographed in the shade of late afternoon, and the base of the rock wall leads to a rarely photographed spot with the Upper Falls visible right above Lower Falls. At Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park, the undulating hills and jagged peaks of the badlands take on different hues at various times of day, with the best views at sunrise, looking toward Telescope Peak, and at sunset, looking south.

product information: