Title: A Tree, A Blade of Grass
Author: Shinzo Maeda
Published by: Taschen Verlag GmbH 1993
I do not own many books by Japanese photographers. This one is one of them and it has a prominent place in my Photographer’s Library. Shinzo Maeda was a Japanese photographer famous for landscape photographs and movies. He published 46 photography books in Japan. Today I will write about one of them, titled A Tree, a Blade of Grass.
The book
The book is widely recognised as one of Shinzo Maeda’s finest photographic books and an excellent introduction to his distinctive vision of the natural world. I really like his approach to celebrating the Japanese landscape. It’s very intimate and deeply contemplative.. Rather than pursuing dramatic vistas or spectacular wilderness scenes, Maeda focuses on the quiet poetry of nature. Trees, grasses, flowers, lakes, forests, and mountain landscapes are photographed with extraordinary sensitivity to light, colour, and seasonal change. It’s very refreshing to see work which is not focused on big vistas but focused on moments of harmony and balance.
I need to say, one of the strengths of this book is the use of colour. Beautifully illustrating spring, summer, autumn, and winter in Japan. And you can easily follow as photographs are arranged according to the seasons, creating a visual rhythm that echoes traditional Japanese artistic and literary traditions. This structure gives the book a meditative quality, encouraging slow viewing rather than casual browsing.
This book is timeless. I can pick it up any day, anytime, and always enjoy the beauty of ordinary natural subjects with renewed attention and wonder.
I found this book very interesting especially because Maeda used medium format and Large format cameras. It’s very handy there is a list of cameras and lenses used in the back, which shows that there is a good mix of MF, large format 4×5 and 8×10 shots. ( Hasselblad 500CM, Toyo Field 4×5, Toyo Field 8×10 and Linhof Super Technika).
So, as a conclusion, what’s my verdict?
As a photographer interested in landscape, I find this book very inspirational and I learned a lot ( and still learning) about visual restraint especially when working with large format. For non-photographers, a book can function as a beautiful meditation on changing seasons. I believe this book will remain one of the most rewarding landscape photography books in my library,
Do you own any books by Maeda? Which one is your favourite? Let me know below!