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BARBARA YOSHIDA

P H O T O G R A P H ER

Otherworldly Photos of Mysterious Megalithic Stones

by Jordan G. Teicher     29 June 2014

 

Stonehenge may be the most famous prehistoric monument, but it's by no means the only one.  In 2003, photographer Barbara Yoshida was on a trip to Scotland when she photographed the Ring of Brodgar, a circle of standing stones in the Orkney Islands.  She spent the next 10 years photographing lesser-known and rarely photographed megalithic stones in more than 15 countries and on three continents.  Her photographs will soon be published in the book, Moon Viewing: Megaliths by Moonlight.  "I'm drawn to places that are spiritual and have a depth of mystery, that have  a sense of timelessness and history.  These stones were obviously set up for ritualistic purposes, and people have continued to interact with them over thousands of years and invested them with meaning and resonance," Yoshida said.  "The have enormous power and a presence that you can feel when you're among them.  We may not know much about the cultures that erected them, but this mystery is what draws me to them.  I wanted to record my subjective perceptions and capture some of that mystery."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smithsonian

11 Photographs of Mysterious Megaliths

 

Photographer Barbara Yoshida traveled across the globe to capture prehistoric stone monumentds shrouded in moonlight

 

by Erin Corneliussen      3 July 2014

 

Stonehenge, naturally, raises some questions.  Who put those giant sandstones on Salisbury Plain in southern England?  And, how and why were they erected?  But, what few people realize is that prehistoric, standing megaliths can be found throughout the world.

 

Photographer Barbara Yoshida has ventured across the globe, stopping in Morocco, Gambia, Israel, Russia and other places, to photograph these mysterious stones at night.  She has compiled her images in a new book, Moon Viewing: Megaliths by Moonlight.  "There is a timeless quality about these megalithic sites," says Yoshida over the phone.  "It gives them enormous power.  They were here before us.  They will be here long after we're gone."

Photographing Stone Age Sentinels to the Stars

 

by Allison Meier      5 September 2014

 

The stone megaliths dotting the planet from Stonehenge and Sweden, to Morocco and the Mediterranean, remain one of archaeology's mysteries. Whether they had a spiritual purpose, or were a measure of distance, is often lost to the centuries of time. It's that enigmatic element that drew American photographer Barbara Yoshida to spend 10 years traveling to 15 countries to capture the monoliths.

 

The images are compiled in a new monograph, out September 30 from Marquand Books, called Moon Viewing: Megaliths by Moonlight, which also includes an essay from art critic Lucy Lippard. The night setting and moonlight were integral to Yoshida's process as she hauled her 4x5 large format film camera to camp out alongside the massive rocks. Often it wasn't even easy to track down where they were. As she writes:

 

 

L'Oeil
DEFOTOGRAAF

The Eye:  The daily magazine of photography

 

Barbara Yoshida: Moon Viewing, Megaliths by Moonlight

 

15 October 2014

 

[Yoshidas] photographs of the stones in the middle of the countryside, isolated moors, and deserts against the backdrop of brilliantly clear and starry skies are revelatory, emphasizing their sculptural qualities, power, and distinct and enduring presence. . . . In a world that many see as spinning out of control due to a lack of respect for and connection to our natural environment, the stones in Barbara Yoshida’s monograph remind us of our humbleness in the universe and our need to live in more harmony with our Earth before it’s too late.

 

 

 

Book review in De Fotograaf, the premier Dutch photography magazine:

 

Fotoboeken

 

Megalieten zijn uit een of meer grote stenen bestaande monumenten uit prehistorische tijden.  Losse rechtopstaande  stenen worden vaak menhirs genoemd en kun je onder meer tegenkomen in Bretagne.  Ze zouden een religieuze functie gehad hebben maar weinig staat vast.  Er hangt een geheimzinnige sfeer omheen, zeker als je ze bijvoorbeeld in de schemering op een verlaten vlakte ziet staan.

 

© 2014 by BARBARA YOSHIDA

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