Text engl. - "Near North is a thought provoking collection of Black and White photographs of Alaska and the Yukon. This edition is printed in rich duotones that showcase a unique force in contemporary photography. The introduction by Veronique Vienne illuminates the meaning of Lloyd Ziff's luminous vision. - When Lloyd Ziff went to Alaska and the Yukon in 2002, he was not prepared for the vastness of the landscape. As a prominent Art Director he had mastered the art of showcasing big pictures on comparatively small pages, and was now confronted with endless vistas that eluded his sense of scale. Yet, strangely enough, these immense panoramas, because of their ambiguous depth of field, looked almost flat to him. Seldom had a scenery been so picturesque indeed so graphically evocative. He approached the task of recording what he saw as if perspective had not been invented yet. He decided to simply frame a view and turn it into a two-dimensional icon. - Ziff s choice to shoot in black and white rather than in color is further evidence that conventional naturalism was not his goal. On the contrary. His Near North landscapes, in shades of silver, charcoal, ivory and gray, have a deliberate abstract quality that encourages viewers to pause, step back, and distance themselves from the view. As a result, his photographs replicate the sense of remoteness one experiences in Alaska and the Yukon when trying to focus on the ever-receding horizon line. - About the Author: As the former Art Director of such prestigious magazines as Vanity Fair, House & Garden and Travel & Leisure, Lloyd Ziff had seen it all. He had seen the world not only through his own eyes but also through the eyes of some of the most talented photographers of the moment. He knew how to look at their pictures, edit them down to just a handful of prints, and lay them out sparingly in such a way as to create arresting visual stories that captured the essence of a place its mood, its people, its climate." (www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Near-North-Photographs-Alaska-Yukon-Ziff/12251680795/bd: seen 02.2018).