Switzerland:A Photographic Journey
By Les Rhoades
17 Jul 2008
In the book SWITZERLAND: A Photographic Journey, photographer Les Rhoades tempts the reader with magnificent photographs to expose Switzerland's hidden treasures.
Les Rhoades grew up in a home where photography was valued. In fact, Rhoades' mother turned a small room in the family home into a darkroom for black and white photos. Rhoades put this family hobby to use in high school, taking photos for his school and, on occasion, the local newspaper. While a student at Lyndon State College in Vermont, Rhoades continued to study photography and kept a camera constantly by his side.
Rhoades ultimately followed his academic pursuits with a twenty-year career in the U.S. military. Between the rigors of military life and raising a daughter, Dana, with his wife of over twenty years, Kelly, little time remained for Rhoades to pursue his passion for photography. Fortunately, fate intervened just twelve days after Rhoades retired in 2000, when Kelly applied for and accepted a job in Bern Switzerland. Rhoades arrived in Switzerland with his digital camera in his hand and has not—literally, put it down since.
Fast-forward eight years to February of 2008 and you will find the Rhoades family celebrating the release of Rhoades' first travel book entitled "SWITZERLAND: A Photographic Journal." Once you delve into the book's 160 images, you will quickly realize that you are not viewing that traditional Swiss travel book you all ready thumbed through on a neighbor's coffee table, or at the mall bookstore. To the contrary, Rhoades has succeeded in capturing images of Switzerland customarily enjoyed only by its local citizenry. With bold, colorful photographs and text to help the reader identify the photo location, he succeeds in achieving his stated intention - to inspire readers to discover or rediscover Switzerland for themselves. Rather than overwhelm the reader with copious amounts of text, Rhoades allows each image to tell the story that he has captured.
When asked what initially inspired him to put the book together, Rhoades explains that because foreign job assignments are usually temporary, typically lasting only two to three years, the Rhoades family, given the opportunity to stay in Switzerland longer, have said their share of difficult good-byes over the past eight years. As friends prepared to leave, they commented that unfortunately, they could not find a book of photographs that memorialized the images and "feeling" of Switzerland that they wanted to take home. As often found in most travel books, only the larger cities, like Geneva or Zurich were extensively photographed. Too frequently, the villages and their rich traditions were not explored.
In response, Rhoades has put together a collection of photographs that celebrate the beauty and "heart" of Switzerland found on the road slightly less traveled and in many cases "off the beaten path". In fact, to visit many of the sights Rhoades illuminates through his photos, you may have to get your sneakers muddy or full of snow.
While it was important to Rhoades to photographically detail Bern, Switzerland's capital city, in the book, he also explores a wide variety of regions (such as Bernese Overland, Emmental and Jura), and traditions (including the Cheese Sharing Festival and the Charmey Cow Parade). The sequencing of images starts in the capital city of Bern and spirals out into the country. Breathtaking Swiss landscapes are also featured, but don't expect to see the same old Matterhorn photo. In fact, Rhoades frequently spends hours hiking mountain trails and canvassing meadows to capture just the perfect shot. Notably, the book cover shows Lake Bachalpsee in the Alps above Grindelwald.
Rhoades' photos capture a glimpse of Switzerland that most visitors do not get the opportunity to see. The casting of Swiss bells, rushing waterfalls high in the mountains, fishing on a tranquil river—these are sights and experiences that the individual on a tour bus may not notice or see. Fortunately, Rhoades captures these beautiful images, transporting the reader to "his Switzerland."
And suffice it to say, Rhoades has loved every minute in his continuing quest to gather meaningful, novel photographs of Switzerland. An avid outdoors enthusiast, Rhoades has traveled extensively throughout Switzerland on his motorcycle, shooting photographs along the way. In fact, Rhoades has entered the notorious annual Moto Sport Suisse riding contest twice. Crossing over eighty mountain passes during the event, Rhoades has now won two gold medals for his efforts.
Rhoades' love of downhill skiing, first cultivated in Vermont as a child and now shared in Switzerland with his family, is also evident and explored in many of the photos Rhoades has taken over the past eight years. Without question, daughter Dana, flying down the slopes on her snowboard, "hair on fire," has served as Dad's muse on many occasions. Dad could not resist putting a photo of Dana in the book. His favorite photo can be found on page 38, an action shot of her at Adelboden, the family's favorite local resort. To capture this image, Dana swooped so close to Dad that she almost touched his shoulder.
In the end, however, Rhoades' favorite photos seem to be those that his "muddy hiking boots" led him to. Having hiked the Eiger Trail in Grindlewald, along the Aletsch Glacier, gorges deep in the Jura Mountains, on the Gemmi Pass above the idyllic mountain village of Kandersteg and so on, Rhoades not only spent hours getting to photographic locations, but often spent hours waiting for just the right photographic opportunity. At times, this meant waiting for the light to fade or for the clouds to break "just so." Other times, this meant waiting for a hiker, spied far off in the distance, to reach just the right spot. These scenes captured by Rhoades may conjure memories of personal visits or they may instill the desire to learn about them anew. Either way, the reader can't wait to experience the locations personally
And as a candid photographer of both people and nature, Rhoades has learned over the years that patience is one of the keys to a great photograph. Rhoades also stressed, however, that since his goal is not to direct or choreograph his photos, he must continually cultivate his subjects' interaction with his lens. Although some of that can be learned, without question, Rhoades believes that good instinct is an intricate part of photography. For each location he normally shoots several exposures, bracketing with various f/stops and moving around the subject or location repeating the exposure variations.
Rhoades' focus as a photographer is in total cultural immersion. He uses the available colors and light of a scene to capture the emotional essence of it. This comes only through his knowledge and experience that comes from years of living in Switzerland. To truly know a place is the only way to truly photograph it.
Today, as a professional photographer, Rhoades is hired to photograph a wide variety of events and sells his work in the form of fine art prints, posters, greeting cards and so on. His work has also been featured in the Swiss News Magazine and client web sites. A sample of Rhoades' extensive body of work can be viewed at: Betterphoto.com;
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/gallery.asp?memberID=67524
You can preview and purchase the book from Blurb.com: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/177553
1 response
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Litz Go gave props (30 Oct 2009):
wow! great photo essay. I dream of visiting Switzerland someday.
