You may already know this special place.  Millions visit every year – drawn by the beauty of 80 miles of unspoiled coastline, the pastoral vistas of historic ranchlands and the inspiring grandeur of ancient forests; the chance to experience a personal connection with a hillside of wildflowers, a herd of magnificent elk, a mother whale and her calf breaching just beyond the surf line.

Many of us return to the Point Reyes peninsula time and time again, discovering new wonders on each visit. This especially holds true for aerial photographer Robert Campbell.  For over 37 years he has made repeated flights over the peninsula and the adjacent San Andreas Fault Zone, capturing the landscape in unique compositions as the weather and seasons change. Winter storms clear the haze, summer fog softens the sunlight, spring flowers illuminate the meadows.  This book is an invitation to experience the peninsula’s inspiring terrain from a perspective seldom available to the ordinary visitor.

Some of Campbell’s photographs reveal recognizable landmarks in views beyond our land-bound experience – a stunning panorama of the Point Reyes Headland and Lighthouse, for example, taken from a seabird’s perspective.  Other images, no less powerful, frame small details and patterns on the ground that speak to us with their abstract beauty.

Campbell uses his airplane the way ground-based photographers use a tall tripod or a mountaintop vista point – as a means to expand the possibilities of vision and composition.  His advantage, however, is that his tripod can elevate from the ground to 20,000 feet, and he can move his mountain-height vantage point to places where there are no mountains.  The result is this breathtaking collection of aerial vistas that express an artist’s love for the natural and cultural treasures of one of America’s last wild coastal areas, a remarkable landscape that remains little changed since the days of Miwok Indians, Mexican dons and Gold Rush pioneers.

Enjoy the tour!

Frank Binney
Woodacre, California, September 2007