National Parks photographer Q.T. Luong has visited places where hardly a soul has set foot, experiencing them in a way no one yet had — and fortunately for us, he took the pictures to prove it. With a 5×7 large-format camera, the Paris-born former scientist hoisted a 75-pound backpack into all of America’s national parks, becoming the first and only human to document all 59 national parks through large-format photography. On Wednesday, November 2, at UCSB’s Campbell Hall, Luong will share his experience with a free illustrated presentation titled Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey through America’s National Parks, presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.
Luong, who was featured in Ken Burns’s and Dayton Duncan’s documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, captured hundreds of natural vistas over the course of more than 20 years and 300 visits. From Alaska’s mighty mountains to Utah’s maze-like canyons, Luong has preserved in remarkably vivid color vistas that would not be protected today if not for the work of earlier photographers such as Ansel Adams. Hear Luong speak at this free event, and see why he is one of today’s very best documenters of these majestic lands.
Luong presents Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey through America’s National Parks at Campbell Hall, UCSB, on Wednesday, November 2, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu.