When George W. Stone was appointed editor-in-chief of National Geographic Travel in January, it was considered a coronation for almost two decades of writing and editing for the medium. Safe to say he knows a thing or two about globetrotting. He had already proven that in his two previous books – From Mist and Stone: The Folklore of the Celts and Vikings and Raging Forces: Life on a Violent Planet – and just recently published his third and most interesting one for travel photographers.
WILD, BEAUTIFUL PLACES: Picture-Perfect Journeys Around the Globe is a must-have for who’s looking for new shooting destinations. From national parks and the Seven Wonders of the World to 50 of the most secluded, rarely photographed sites, National Geographic lets you experience some of the magnificent (and slowly disappearing) vistas of our world. Each image is accompanied by first-hand accounts from the photographers as well as useful travel information to help readers’ wanderlust become a reality. Perfect timing, with the holidays – and gifts – around the corner.
Yawning chasms, towering mountains, soaring sea cliffs, and iceberg-choked fjords: North America has big landscapes and seascapes (page 12 – North America).
Photograph by Joe Mamer/age fotostock/Robert Harding World Imagery
Over eons, the Green and Colorado Rivers cut sheer, sinuous gorges and canyons into the red-orange, arid landscape of southeastern Utah. Between these deep furrows rise huge mesas, narrow pillars, rock arches, and the lonely upright remnants of long-fallen canyon walls. This rugged terrain is Canyon- lands National Park, and at its heart, the two rivers come to a confluence and flow south as the mighty Colorado (page 38).
Photograph by Andreas Strauss/LOOK/Robert Harding World Imagery
Sable Island, barely a strand of earth in the vast North Atlantic, is home to some 500 wild horses. The stocky feral horses are descendants of those released on the island in the late 18th century (page 53 – Sable Island).
Photograph by Paul Illsley/National Geographic
Pantaneiros (“cowboys”) herd cattle (page 81 – Pantanal).
Photograph by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Creative
In the Jujuy desert, the hues and textures of the rolling landscape are phenomena of geology and the elements. Brighter yet are the colors of the region’s llama and alpaca wool textiles, often sold at local markets (page 109 – Argentina – Jujuy Province).
Photograph by Yadid Levy/Anzenberger/Redux Pictures
A visitor regards a terrain of vivid colors, created by the activity of the nearby volcano Hekla (page 120 – Iceland).
Photograph by Thomas Linkel/laif/Redux
In the rock of Skellig Michael, 618 steep steps remain of those the Christian monks once carved (page 134 – Skellig Islands).
Photograph by Design Pics Inc./Alamy Stock Photo
Winter turns the falls at Plitvice into icicles, and the still waters of the lakes mirror the white, frosted landscape (page 171 – Plitvice Lakes National Park).
Photograph by Juan Carlos Muñoz/age fotostock
The massive, jagged rocks of the tsingy seem to defy the laws of gravity (page 190-191 – Tsingy de Bemaraha).
Photograph by Pierre-Yves Babelon/age fotostock
Tire tracks crisscross the vast, lonely expanses of sand and dunes in the Namib Desert (page 210-211 – Namibia – Skeleton Coast).
Photograph by Richard Manin/Anzenberger/Redux Pictures
Inspired? Hungry for more? Well, you’ll have to buy the book for that. Where, you ask? Pretty much anywhere books are sold. That includes Amazon.