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Superior, Journeys On An Inland Sea
By Gary and Joanie McGuffin
Boston Mills Press, Erin, Ont 1995.
160pp. $50 (Cdn) $40 (US)
Review by MICHAEL PEAKE --
Che-Mun Editor
Canoelit Home Page
Gary and Joanie McGuffin have resurfaced again as they seen to every few years with a book or special project of note. I first saw the slide show that entailed much of this book at the Maine Canoe Symposium in 1994 and was tremendously impressed. It was Joanie McGuffin who showed it, she's the writer of this book and the model for dozens of her husband Gary's excellent photographs.
Gary seems to be the silent partner of this northern duo. They first came to light in 1984-5 just after they were married with a two year cross-Canada canoe trip which was subsequently published as Where Rivers Run. While that book was a narrative of their trip with photos thrown in, Superior is primarily a picture book which contains a complete detailing of their circumnavigation of Lake Superior. And that's what the slide show was presented as - a trip around Lake Superior - but in reality it's a collection of the couple's four-season travels around the vast and beautiful inland sea.
The pair have some stiff competition when it comes to picture books on Superior. Many have tackled this rugged subject but McGufffin's photos stand out. He is a very talented photographer specializing in long exposures which create whether through film reciprocity or unusual light, starkly unique views of the great lake. Also, the photos are superbly reproduced and a long way from the standard "postcard" views found in many efforts.
The couple are also to be congratulated on the production of the book. Generally glossy photos books of this type are printed in the Orient where cost are lower. But the McGuffin's have not only printed in Canada but sought out a paper source which does not use bleached pulp and therefore emits no dioxins into waterways such as Lake Superior. There are numerous pulp mills along Superior's shores pumping in toxic effluent - notably the James River plant in Marathon. That's the one Bill Mason used in Waterwalker - but the pipe is now buried underwater way out into the lake. I suppose the McGuffin's realized the cruel irony of producing a book on Lake Superior which might help to add to it's already considerable environmental burden.
There's a big tip of the hat to Bill Mason with the surprising exclusion of any photos of Cascade Falls. There's just one taken from the top of them looking down. These favourite falls of Bill Mason were used in many of his films and books and should probably be called Mason Falls. And frankly they've been done enough. The editors are to congratulated for their willpower in trying to top Mason.
Superior reminds me of something Pat and Rosemarie Keough might have produced. They are also a married couple who did three books in their Portfolio Series including the Ottawa Valley, Nahanni and the Niagara Escarpment. Like the McGuffin's, the Keough's did a great job of photography but presented more written and historical background on their subject. But the Keough's have not been heard from since they packed up and moved out to the Gulf Islands in British Columbia a couple of years ago.
The book contains 134 wonderful photos and many are breathtaking. About half of them are of Joanie which is one of the problems when just two people are involved. She's is nice to look at but there's a lot of her. One problem I had was reading the text. The column width runs to seven inches in most places - far too wide a line for comfortable reading. Joanie's prose is crisp and readable but lacks any supporting maps or historical photos that would add subtext to her story. But these are small points.
Superior is a book which manages to translate the feel of that lake's vast rocky stretches and surreal, dappled light. Gary McGuffin's superb photographs will make most photographers envious and all canoeists rarin' to go.
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