Fallingwater

Edited by Lynda Waggoner, Photographed by Christopher Little, Essays contributed by David G. De Long, Rick Darke, Neil Levine, Justin Gunther, John Reynolds, and Robert Silman

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The Wall Street Journal, David Netto, May 7, 2011

“The fabled house Frank Lloyd Wright built for the Kaufmann family over a stream in southwestern Pennsylvania turns 75 this year. Below are bits of wisdom gleaned from 'Fallingwater,' a new book edited by Lynda Waggoner and with beautiful photography by Christopher Little.”

From Rizzoli: About the Book

A landmark volume to commemorate the Seventy-fifth anniversary of arguably the most significant private residence of the twentieth century. With stunning new photography commissioned  especially for this book, A landmark volume to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of arguably the most significant private residence of the twentieth century. With stunning new photography commissioned especially for this book, Fallingwater captures the much-loved masterpiece by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright following its recent restoration. Built in 1936 for Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann, Fallingwater is hailed as a twentieth-century masterpiece—a marvel of innovation and daring that appears to float over rushing falls. This volume is a major event in the story of this icon, with new authoritative texts on Fallingwater's history, structure, restoration, and collections, including the house's relationship to its setting and its importance to the sustainability movement; its meaning in the context of Wright's body of work; the analysis and planning process that went into Fallingwater's restoration and how a seemingly unsolvable problem was overcome through modern engineering. Destined to become the lasting volume on this seminal monument, the book is a tribute to genius and the long-awaited reconsideration of this masterwork.

From Rizzoli: About the Authors

Lynda Waggoner is Fallingwater's director and vice president of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Christopher Little is an acclaimed photographer whose work was featured in the seminal volume Fallingwater (1986). David G. De Long is professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania and author of numerous architecture volumes. Rick Darke is an award-winning author of books such as The American Woodland Garden. Justin Gunther is curator of Buildings and Collections at Fallingwater. Neil Levine is the Emmet Blakeney Gleason Professor of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard. John Reynolds is associate professor of architecture at Miami University of Ohio. Robert Silman is president of Robert Silman Associates and directed the strengthening of Fallingwater in 2002.

Photographer's Note

When Lynda Waggoner asked me to re-photograph Mr. Wright's masterpiece, I was thrilled.  It had been twenty-five years since I worked with Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. on Fallingwater—A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House.  So I thank Lynda for the opportunity, for her friendship, and for the farsightedness with which she leads Fallingwater today.  The publishing team of Douglas Curran, David Morton, and the visionary Charles Miers were incredibly supportive of my efforts, and I owe them commensurate gratitude.

For the technically-minded:  All the photographs I made for this volume were taken with Canon's remarkable 35mm digital 5D Mark II—a testament to its versatility, feature set, and quality.  Primarily, I used lenses from Canon's tilt-shift series: the TS-E 45mm f2.8, the TS-E 24mm f3.5, and the TS-E 90mm f2.8 as well as Schneider's 28mm f2.8 perspective-control Super-Angulon.  Tilt-shift or perspective-control lenses give a conventional camera some of the movements possible with a view camera, but they have other advantages in the digital world.  A wide interior, for example—and there are many at Fallingwater—can be shot using a technique known as "stitching."  Set your camera on a sturdy tripod, and take one exposure with a shift lens.  Then shift the lens horizontally to the left.  Take another exposure.  Shift right, and take a third.  Stitch the three images together for an completely undistorted panoramic view.

The human eye has a dynamic contrast ratio of about 1,000,000:1 (about 20 f-stops, for you photographers).  This far exceeds the capability of film or digital photography.  How does one preserve detail in deep shadows and bright highlights so the final image is close to what the human eye perceives?  Imagine Fallingwater's living room, dark within, looking out into the sunlight as Wright intended.  Secure your camera on a tripod, and take three exposures of the identical scene.  Expose first for the midtones as one normally would; then grossly overexpose to capture shadow detail; finally underexpose to prevent the highlights from blowing out.  The last step is to meld the three images into one. The resulting tone-mapped image reveals most of the dynamic range captured.  I call it "exposure amalgamation."  Even though most of the images in this book have used this liberating technique, Fallingwater's interiors still need the benefit of judicious fill-lighting. In summary, none of the pictures has been otherwise manipulated.  Hue and saturation have not been "goosed," nor has their color balance been altered.

Software: HDRsoft from France, PTGui Pro from Holland, and the time-proven Adobe Photoshop.

It was a great privilege to photograph Fallingwater again and to have the run of the house.  I photographed in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.  Never once did I tire of the experience.  There were always unexpected nuances and new images to discover.  I encourage everyone to visit this national treasure.  It is a work of art.

Video

Although this video is unrelated to the book, watch it. 
It's an entertaining animation by Cristóbal Vila on

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The Rockbound Coast: Travels in Maine

 

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From Publishers Weekly

For three summer months in 1991, Little, a photographer, cruised the Maine coast, Eastport to Kittery, in the 40-foot sloop Consolation. Crew were his nine-year-old daughter Eliza, wife Betsy and her cousin Dicken. Little's text and 147 color photographs offer snippets of Maine history and lots of local color. Sailing along the coast and outer islands, the travelers encounter a legendary pea soup fog, visit a puffin colony and take part in local celebrations. A side trip takes Consolation through Maine's Inside Passage--Boothbay to Bath down the Kennebec River. Late in the cruise, they search for a safe harbor as Hurricane Bob approaches. This book will appeal to sailors and landlubbers alike. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Little, a professional photographer, uses autobiographical travel writing combined with 147 full-color photographs as a means of capturing the allure of the Maine coastline from Quoddy to Kittery. With his wife, daughter, and shipmates, Little enjoyed 1600 miles of coastal sailing and exploration. Conversations with residents they meet give readers a glimpse into the heart and soul of Mainers, and tidbits of history and lore are sprinkled throughout as the travelers visit remote areas or tourist destinations. The absorbing narrative stands well on its own and engages the reader from the beginning to the end, but the accompanying photographs beautifully enhance the text.

From Amazon

Full-color photographs and an entertaining narrative record a summer voyage by sea along the coast of Maine, capturing the state's towns and villages, its natural landmarks, lobster boat races, and fishing expeditions, and its colorful people.

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Elegant New York: The Builders and The Buildings 1885-1915

 

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From the Publisher

The opulent mansions, grand hotels, and ornate buildings constructed by New York's wealthy aristocracy of the late 19th century are documented in this pictorial history.

In the years between the Civil War and the imposition of the income tax, New York witnessed the building of its first great palaces (residential, institutional, corporate) and its grand hotels. A time of great family fortunes and consumption on a grand and conspicuous scale, it was the beginning of the city we know today, built by a tightly knit power elite also shaping the entire country: the Morgans, Vanderbilts, Astors, Carnegies. This book is a social history of that extravagant period in terms of what was built, and especially of who the builders were. The book's superb photographs call attention to what is left of New York's Age of Elegance, showing both exteriors and interiors (many of which are not otherwise visible to the public).

The New York Times Book Review

“...a charming guidebook to turn-of-the-century New York.”

Playbill

“A stunning book, ... (which) lavishly recaptures turn-of-the-century New York when brownstone, limestone and marble were the preferred materials for public buildings and the stately mansions of the Astors and Vanderbilts.”

Cosmopolitan

“The author's graceful prose combines with Christopher Little's superb photographs to create an art book in which to become contentedly lost, even if you've never visited the city.”

USA Today

“This beautiful coffee-table book is a guide to New York's architectural Age of Elegance (1885-1915), when names like Morgan, Vanderbilt, Astor and Carnegie ruled New York high society, and Stanford White created the city's architectural landscape.”

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Atlantic High: A Celebration

 

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From the Publisher

“. . . Buckley gathered together his friends and set out once again (“the wedding night is never enough,” he explained to a friend who asked, “why again?”) to sail across the Atlantic.  Atlantic High is what he correctly describes as a “celebration” of that thirty-day event, wonderfully illuminated by the expressive photography of companion Christopher Little.  William F. Buckley Jr.'s account of his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in the sailboat Sealestial, is a work that everywhere evidences Buckley's love for sailing and good companionship. Infused with his inimitable wit and supported by a rich fund of anecdotes and observations, Atlantic High is truly a one-of-a-kind work.”

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Racing Through Paradise: A Pacific Passage

 

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From Publishers Weekly

“Readers who enjoyed Airborne and Atlantic High have a further treat in store as the world's consummate sybarite sails the Pacific, from Honolulu to Kavieng, New Ireland. Buckley and his companions are back aboard Sealestial, the 71-foot ketch with crew of four. Provisions for the 30-day cruise included 25 cases of vintage wine plus one of champagne, 100 packets of Swedish crackers, unspecified quantities of peanut butter and Goo-Goo bars. There were also 28 full-length movies and assorted games for evening entertainment. As prologue to this voyage, Buckley recalls previous cruises in the Caribbean, the Azores, Tahiti, the Galapagos and reiterates his contention that luxury charter cruising is compatible in cost with staying at first-class resort hotels. He discourses on navigation, a favorite subject. Sealestial called at Johnston Atoll, a military installation inhospitable to drop-ins, as well as ports in the Marshall and Caroline islands. To sailing purists, this may sound like an episode from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous; Buckley fans will have as good a time as he did. Major ad/promo; first serial to the New Yorker; Dolphin Book Club main selection; BOMC alternate; author tour. ”

Magill Book Reviews

“Racing Through Paradise is profusely illustrated with photographs by Christopher Little, who, as the chief photographer on the voyage, did his job deftly and imaginatively. Indeed, the book’s illustrations give one a better sense of the journey than does Buckley’s writing. This third of Buckley’s travel books is not his best, although it has its moments of high interest and adventure. A less self-conscious style than Buckley’s seems appropriate to the natural subject matter with which the book deals.”

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Fallingwater: A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House

 

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From The New York Times (Paul Goldberger)

“The book contains the finest photographs I have seen of this much-photographed Pennsylvania house . . . The expansive views by Christopher Little alone are sufficient to thrust Mr. Little into the front rank of contemporary architectural photographers.”

From The Boston Globe

“. . . the loveliest picture book in years.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“. . . the photographs are superb . . .”

From Library Journal

“An engaging, intimate, sumptuous appreciation of Wright's 1936 house in Bear Run, Pennsylvania. Kaufmann is the distinguished architectural historian who trained with Wright and is the son of the clients for Fallingwater, the most famous modern house in America. He is able to explain the intentions of architect and client, and writes with both feeling and critical knowledge, having lived in and with the masterpiece all his life. The rich color photographs taken for this book are supported by views taken during construction, family photographs of the house in use, and excellent specially drawn plans of the house as built. A work of loving scholarship, beautifully presented, Fallingwater is highly recommended for all collections. Jack Perry Brown, Ryerson & Burnham Libs., Art Inst. of Chicago”

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Home Cookin' with Dave's Mom

 

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From New York Times Book Review

"Filled with the kind of recipes Harriet made for Ozzie....Dave's mom is the sweetest, nicest mother in America...."

From People

"Dorothy's affectionate cookbook is...a handsome collectionof recipes, anecdotes, and specially selected photographs."

From Newsweek

“Fried Leno? She's hardly a gourmet chef; her specialties include continental crockpot Chicken and Broccoli-Lima Bean Casserole. Nonetheless, Dorothy Letterman Mengering has got herself a $1 million cookbook deal. ‘I never thought of this in my wildest dreams,’ she told NEWSWEEK.  Home Cook-in' with Dave's Mom, due from Pocket Books in time for Mother's Day, gathers 120 family favorites. It'll include a "lemon fluff" recipe from her personal trainer--and one from Dave, Mom hopes, for his legendary pesto.”

From the Publisher

Reporting from the snows of Lillehammer, David Letterman's mom and <em>The Late Show'</em>s 1994 Olympic correspondent Dorothy was the ultimate good sport-and her wry comments and deadpan humor won th hearts of millions of viewers. Now Dave's mom tops her tour-de-force television debut with this irresistible, one-of-a-kind cookbook. Filled with delicious recipes straight from AMerica's heartland, as well as special dishes gathered from her family, friends,and <em>The Late Show</em> staffers, Dorothy's culinary delight contains other surprises as well: lively anecdotes about her children, Jan, David, and Gretchen, when they were growing up, practical kitchen tips, witty asides, and dollops of Dorothy's gentle wisdom for living. With specially selected photographs from the Letterman family album and photos of Dorothy back home in Indiana, there's no treat as satisfying as...

 

 

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Information to come on this book. I'm still working on this section. Apologies.

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