Recently my children gave me a book of photographs as a gift. It was "Pictures From The Surface Of The Earth" by the great movie director Wim Wenders. He is the director of one of my favorite movies, "Wings Of Desire". It is a beautiful black & white film that never fails to move me with it's compassion for our failings and frailty and its respect for the human spirit. Apparently he keeps a panoramic camera with him most of the time and the results are in the book. They are beautiful to look at but are more than that. Like his films they leave one with the feeling that Mr. Wenders truly enjoys the world and respects his fellow inhabitants. But he is not above being critical or sharing a joke. Many of the photos are from the American southwest where he shot, "Paris, Texas" and "Don't Come Knocking". "Don't Come Knocking" was especially beautiful to watch, with the richly textured landscape, architecture and light of the western desert area. Mr. Wenders sites Edward Hopper as a strong influence. There will be more on Mr. Hopper in the future.
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