Certain Places
William Clift
William Clift Editions, 1987, 48 pages
ISBN 0-9618165-0-3

This large, but thin, book contains 21 monochrome images by William Clift. Approximately half of the images are landscapes, with the rest being a combination of still lifes, architectural studies, and a portrait.

Clift's photographs are calm and subtle. They invite the viewer to look closely at the myriad of delicate details that are present. It is easy to loose track of time when viewing these images.

The beauty of the photographs is greatly enhanced by the book's extraordinary production values. The photos were printed using the tritone process, which is both difficult and expensive. Normally black & white photos are printed in a single pass through the press, using black (or sepia) ink. In the tritone process, three passes through the press are used, with each pass using a slightly different ink (black and two shades of gray, for example). This results in a printed image with a wide dynamic range, great shadow detail, and high resolution.

This is an exquisite book; highly recommended.