She makes no choice herself-everything that happens has equal significance. All her processes and evolutions are beautiful or ugly to the unbiased and undiscriminating observer. Nature should be viewed without distinction. Yet, how much is missed if we have eyes only for the bright colors. But underlying and supporting these brilliant displays are slow, quiet processes that pass almost unnoticed from season to season-unnoticed, that is, by those who think that the beauty in nature is all in its gaudy displays.
They are the peaks and summits of nature's greatest displays. That they are beautiful is indisputable yet they are not all that is beautiful about nature. To most people, I am sure, the beauty of nature means such features as the flowers of spring, autumn foliage, mountain landscapes, and other similar aspects. Nature became intimately associated with my perception of beauty. My sense of wonder was first aroused by the physical and biological mysteries of science, and when I became interested in photography the subjects that occupied my attention were those primarily connected with the natural scene. Meru, Arusha National Park, Tanzania, Africa, 8 July 1970Įver since I became a photographer, my interest has been in the natural world. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.įerns in forest, Mt. His books include In the Wilderness Is the Preservation of the World and Intimate Landscapes, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's retrospective of Porter's work. He has been both a science writer and a metropolitan editor for the New York Times.Įliot Porter (1901–1990) was an internationally acclaimed photographer.
He was the 1990 McGraw Distinguished Lecturer at Princeton University. He edited The Best American Science Writing 2000. James Gleick wrote the international bestseller Chaos, which was nominated for the National Book Award Genius, a biography of Richard Feynman and, most recently, the bestselling Faster.
The Warner Books name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc. Visit our website at First eBook Edition: January 2001 Originally published in hardcover by Viking. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Photographs copyright © 1900 by Eliot Porter
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