Book Review: Conde Nast Traveler Photographs 25th Anniversary Collection

The book Conde Nast Traveler Photographs is a substantial collection of work that has graced the pages of Condé Nast Traveler magazine over the last 25 years.  It is a large, well-constructed, hardcover book that as a photographer, I would be happy to keep on my coffee table.  There are over 250 pages with an additional 25 large fold-outs featuring stunning large photographs.  The text is laid out in an easy-to-read, large font that goes well with the subtle maps pinpointing the location of each image within its area of the world.

The editors have presented a wide selection of travel photography from around the world.  The images cover a diverse range of style, looks, tones, topics , and photographers … meaning that there really is something for everybody to enjoy.  In reading this book I found myself surprised at the variety of images that I enjoyed and was drawn to.  Many of these images are of subjects that I probably not would have picked up a separate book to see.The images are divided into 4 broad topics: Moments, Monuments, Lives, and Landscapes.  In addition to the fine array of images, each of the sections includes a short essay by several accomplished writers on such topics as Architecture, Portraits, and even on Helmut Newton, and why how he came to be a contributor with the magazine.  Overall, a nice addition to the book.

As the title indicates, this book is about photographs & travel photography.  It doesn’t try to reiterate or summarize the stories that the images were associated with when originally published, and I appreciate that.   I also appreciate the clean layout of the images on most of the pages. An exception is that some pictures are printed with about one third of the image spanning across to the facing page.  I would rather not have that seam in what is usually an interesting area of the picture as distracts from the image.