The Photography of Peter Dombrovskis, Journey Into the Wild

Tim Parkin

Amateur Photographer who plays with big cameras and film when in between digital photographs.

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I think it’s safe to say that the new Dombrovskis retrospective was one of my most anticipated books of recent years and sadly, upon having time to study the book at length, it’s also one of the most disappointing. This doesn’t mean that the book doesn’t have value and it is certainly the case that bringing a level of anticipation to any purchase enhances the sense of disappointment when things aren’t quite as expected.

Let’s backtrack a little though. Peter Dombrovskis, as has been mentioned multiple times in On Landscape over the years, is one of the most important landscape photographers of the 20th Century. He was one of the most passionate outdoorsman, untiring environmentalists and talented artists we have had amongst us. His global popularity doesn’t reflect this, however. Many people have only encountered him mentioned for his environmental work or in passing in interviews with other photographers. This is probably because although he produced a few books in his time, probably because of the state of publishing industry, in terms of investment and quality, in Tasmania was lacking. The few good books published in his time are now changing hands for hundreds of pounds and the best retrospective produced after his death often changes hands for thousands.

So when I heard that the National Library of Australia was putting on an Exhibition and to go with it had commissioned the production of a retrospective book that would have a large print run, you can understand some of my enthusiasm. I managed to get an early pre-order in and about a couple of months ago I received my copy.