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""Two Year Walk" - Book Review by Manz..."
Whilst some people may feel that a great photograph must have the subject in focus and all elements lit to show every detail, Deryke understands the value of creating mood!! Two Year Walk, which is a collection of images from Deryke's environment (including his hometown in California), takes you to a place where you feel and live the culture without even leaving your home.

This is no typical tourist book! If you're looking for sunny California photos that you may see on postcards - then visit your local tourist outlet. If you want to see a world from the perspective of someone who stops to soak up the oddities that surround us,... More > then Deryke's book is for you. His images are "... saturated with mood" - to quote Kim from the prologue - and I have to agree.

This book will reveal to you a whole new way of seeing this environment. You will be faced with a seedy alleyway that would be overlooked by most; abandoned night roads and a park that will make you feel isolated and alone; cropped and somewhat abstract images that when you really look at them make perfect sense; amazing textures, silhouettes, reflections and shadows; ominous storm clouds; the crazy humor of an artist; and movement... or a lack of it!

The layout of the book also has Deryke pairing up images with captions. This is a nice touch that he's added - giving the readers more of his personality and an insight into what he feels or thinks when he views the shot. "can you see me, jesus?" was perfect for the image in question. (you have to get the book to find out what it is - I can't give everything away!!).

As an Australian who has never had the opportunity to visit "Deryke Land", the book has bridged the gap between complete stranger and voyeur. If I was to fault the book, I would only say that it may give tourists a false confidence to approach the locals on the beach and ask to play their Djembe.

*****

There are also some photos as part of this review - check them out on the GritFX blog - http://gritfx.blogspot.com/2009/01/two-year-walk-book-review-by-manz.html < Less

"Buy the print and the download" I consumed Deryke Cardenaz's book "Two Year Walk" twice on the subway ride home, then again at home.

d! has a wicked black-and-white eye for storm clouds and lamplight. He roams with his camera at night for most of the book, with a a few shots from trips to NYC and the South. Loved the pic from Welcome to the Johnsons, a great Lower East Side bar with plastic covers on the furniture.

But the real standout of the collection is a dark, wet SoCal from which he conjures brooding storms, the comforting solitude of empty midnight streets, and a mutant wave that twists in on itself like a mobius strip.

I bought the print volume, and the download. There's something nice about holding the book and flipping through his narrative, but Lulu can't do all the lo-fi photos justice in print. The pdf allows the pictures to fully express themselves.

Buy both. Well worth the coin.