Robert Polidori: After the Flood

Great book highly recommend superb quality

"After the Flood", the latest book by French Canadian Photographer, Robert Polidori, about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is also his largest and most powerful. It is as if his books on Havana and Chernobyl were mere foretastes to this exceptional and moving work, and certainly anyone who has seen these two books came away with a feeling of the power and storytelling that Polidori's images can convey. Polidori has the gift of the detailed eye that can simultaneously give the viewer images of beauty and revulsion in objects and textures. These alone tell the stories. There are no images of people necessary. It is as if he is capturing the tracks and shadows that humanity has left behind. He was able to show this in the urban decay of Havana and of the horrors of the rapid evacuation and subsequent reclamation of nature in Chernobyl. In "After the Flood", he presents us with an almost encyclopedic presentation of the aftermath of the hurricane, flooding, wind, water and mud damage showing the fragility of our cities and the power of nature.The book contains at least 400 images, which have been carefully arranged. The first images show parts of the city still under water and the receding water. The next group shows the destruction caused by water inside the houses. Furniture has been picked up by the flood and re-arranged and we see the effects of water on different materials and soon notice the tell-tale brown lines on the walls, sometimes over six feet high, showing the high water mark. Succeeding groups of images show the effects of mud, water and wind on buildings and cars that have been tossed around at random like toys. Sometimes cars rest against houses in bizarre angles and sometimes the houses are laying on top of the cars. Several pages show smaller images of streets where every house was damaged and abandoned. The last set of images shows the clean up. Mounds of refuse in front of houses, temporary trailers, houses being cleaned and repaired. The effect is very powerful as we see how the lives of hundreds of thousands were affected and how many must have lost everything.The book can only give a taste of the incredible detail the images contain. In a recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art they could be seen as the original prints, each at about 40" by 54". They were taken with a large camera and according to Polidori with no lighting, as there was no electricity available at the time the shots were taken and lighting would have been to cumbersome in cramped and sometimes dangerous conditions. Only time exposures could show the incredible detail, which Polidori refers to as the "process of revelation". He call his work "a constant learning process", and anyone who looks at this book will not only learn, but will also ask questions as to how a disaster of this magnitude was possible, and to our place on this earth and our future here.Review by Walter O. Koenig

Robert's photos are AMAZING. I loved the photos when I first saw some of them on display at the Modern Museum of Art in NYC. When I realized he made a book of them, I wanted to own it. I was so moved by the images, particularly one that I saw at the show. I was shocked that the image that I remember most was not in the book. There are likely a thousand awesome photos in the book, but not the one I remember from the exhibition.

We went to work in New Orleans in 2006 to help with re-building and so many of the photographs in this book reminded us of what we saw a year after Katrina. An awesome book. It is a huge book--coffee table definitely.

Gave as gift to my sister Patrice, who is so very in love with NOLA. The photography really captures the post-flood images of architecture and city. Also bought Polidori's Havana. Just like his style. Not your typical coffee table book.

These high quality photos come without captions. As a "viewer" (not "reader") you are left to fill in the details of the family who lived in each dwelling, and the small, everyday items captured in many of the photos. It's too much to look at in one sitting; you will need to put it down until you have the heart to go on, and then pick it up again.

Ridiculous amazing amount of detail from this 8x10 photographer. Big fan of this work. Although maybe needs a little editing? There are literally tonnes of images. Still I'd rather have more. Not a book to look through in one go. One to go back to bit by bit. Exhaustive, but brilliant.

I purchased this because it was the inspiration for a favorite video game (The Last of Us). The pictures are depressing and moody and give you the same vibe you get from the game.

wenn auch die Aufnahmen sich wiederholen, und man es nach hundert Seiten (vorübergehend) auf die Seite legt. Immer wieder tolle Fotos, sauber reproduziert und gedruckt. Für den Liebhaber des Genres eine Freude.

Una obra maestra, que cualquier amante de la fotografía debería disfrutar. Impresión de excelente calidad. Muy buena calidad-precio. Recomendable 100%

excellent