Smith, Michael A. Michael A. Smith: A Visual Journey. Photographs from Twenty-Five Years by Michael A. Smith.

Lodima Press, 1992. Fine with fine protected dust jacket.  Foreword by Marianne Fulton. Signed and warmly Inscribed by Michael A. Smith (1942–2018). Catalog for exhibit at the George Eastman House and the Michener Art Museum, 1992-1993. Includes 176 photographs, including foldouts for 24 prints made from 8x20 negatives, with the remainder from 8x10 inch negatives, exposed from 1966 to 1991 in New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, British Columbia, Wyoming, Mississippi, Colorado, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, California, Florida, and South Dakota.  Back of the book provides chronology, bibliography, list of exhibitions, and list of numerous museums with Smith’s work.  A highly respected photographer and educator, Smith was cofounder with Paula Chamlee of Lodima Press, noted for the exceptionally high quality reproductions in its books.  Summary:

Michael A. Smith: A Visual Journey — Photographs from Twenty-Five Years is a retrospective photographic monograph that surveys the first twenty-five years of the acclaimed American photographer Michael A. Smith’s artistic career, published in conjunction with a major retrospective exhibition at the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House in 1992. The book presents a broad and carefully curated selection of Smith’s work spanning landscapes, cities, and portraits, illustrating the development of his distinctive, life-affirming visual vision.

The volume includes a foreword by Marianne Fulton, senior curator at the museum, placing his work in historical and artistic context, as well as an essay by John Bratnober that explores the connection between Smith’s personal life and his photographic expression, offering insight into his creative process and aesthetic concerns. A complete chronology, bibliography, and catalogue of the works enrich the book for readers interested in both his art and career.

Smith is known for mastering large-format contact prints that emphasize tonal richness and detail, and A Visual Journeyshowcases how these technical choices support his profound sensitivity to composition and light. Across diverse environments—from rural landscapes to urban scenes and human subjects—the photographs trace the growth of Smith’s distinctive artistic voice, combining formal precision with emotional resonance.

The high production quality of the book, including numerous large-format reproductions and fold-outs of 8×20-inch contact prints, ensures that readers experience the subtlety and depth of Smith’s imagery as closely as possible to the originals. Michael A. Smith: A Visual Journey stands as both a comprehensive retrospective and a celebration of an influential photographer’s contribution to the art form over a quarter-century of work.