Folberg, Neil. Celestial Nights: Visions of an Ancient Land by Neil Folberg.

Aperture, 2001. Photographs taken in black-and-white at night in Israel and Sinai, spectacular landscapes and stars. 1st edition, 1st printing, fine hardcover in cloth with very good dust jacket that has a few surface imperfections from shelf wear but no tears or chips. About 10 x 13 inches. Issued at $40. Summary:

Celestial Nights: Visions of an Ancient Land (2001), published by Aperture / Abbeville Press with an essay by science writer Timothy Ferris, is an acclaimed photobook and exhibition series by American-Israeli photographer Neil Folberg.

Key Details & Summary

• Scope & Concept: Shot between 1997 and 2001 across the arid landscapes of Israel and the Sinai Peninsula, the book explores the spiritual and physical intersection between earth and sky in the historic Middle East.

• Technique & Aesthetic: Drawing on the black-and-white printmaking techniques he learned under his mentor Ansel Adams, Folberg returned to monochrome after decades in color. To bridge the dramatic exposure gap between the dark terrain and starry skies, he used composite techniques—combining telescope-tracked exposures of celestial bodies with high-speed/infrared exposures of the foreground.

• Themes & Imagery: The images feature ancient ruins, desert riverbeds, and solitary olive trees set beneath sweeping, star-filled skies, nebulae, and eclipses. Folberg uses these nocturnal scenes to examine the blurred boundary between knowledge and imagination, substance and spirit, and human history and cosmic infinity.

• Neil Folberg (born 1950) is an American-Israeli photographer celebrated for his mastery of light, fine-art printmaking, and evocative landscapes that explore the intersection of spirit, history, and the cosmos. Born in San Francisco, Folberg discovered photography in his early teens and spent his formative years studying privately under legendary landscape master Ansel Adams before earning a degree in photography from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972. Moving to Israel in 1976, he established himself as a prominent figure in Middle Eastern photography, running Vision Gallery in Jerusalem while undertaking extensive field projects across the region. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Folberg has produced internationally acclaimed photobooks—such as In a Desert Land (1987), And I Shall Dwell Among Them: Historic Synagogues of the World (1995), and Celestial Nights: Visions of an Ancient Land (2001)—that blend traditional black-and-white field methods with composite night photography, securing his work in major collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Israel Museum.