Press/Reviews

Selected Press (Debut Exhibit)

Born in Paris of Vietnamese parents, Quang-Tuan Luong has seen America the beautiful through the fresh clear eyes of a discoverer. As a photographer, he combines Kit Carson’s passion for exploring, Alfred Bierstadt’s infatuation with lush panoramas of the West and Teddy Roosevelt’s belief natural treasures should be preserved in national parks. These separate strands of Luong’s artistry come together in “Treasured Lands,” a gorgeous exhibition of his color photos of all 58 national parks in the U.S. at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington. – Chris Bergeron
Explore U.S. National Parks through National Heritage Museum Exhibit
Daily News Tribune, March 18, 2010 full text (pdf)

Quang-Tuan Luong gave up his career as a computer researcher to take large-format color photographs of national parks. Seeing big, he thought big and shot big. Over the course of a decade, he visited all 58 parks, from Acadia to Yosemite, amassing more than 7,000 images. There are life lists, and then there are life lists. Luong’s undertaking is the life list as epic. Treasured Lands: The Fifty-Eight US National Parks in Focus’’ consists of one example of Luong’s work from each park. The show runs at the National Heritage Museum, in Lexington, through Oct. 17. Large-format cameras are cumbersome to use and require long exposure times. They compensate for those shortcomings by producing images of unrivaled clarity and detail. Luong contributes to the process an exacting eye, a knack for finding delicacy within grandeur, and discipline of heroic proportions. The extremes of climate that can appear so attractive on these gallery walls couldn’t have felt so attractive being recorded in the wild. – Mark Feeney
America the Beautiful
The Boston Globe, March 26, 2010 full text (pdf)

[T]he highlight . . . is Treasured Lands, an exhibition of 58 photographs by the French-Vietnamese photographer Quang-Tuan Luong – one of each the United States’s 58 national parks. “Photos of National Parks – I can get that on Flickr,” you say? Not even close. Mr. Luong’s large-format camera creates images of beaches and glaciers and deserts and waterfalls from American Samoa to Maine that were so astonishingly sharp and mesmerizing that my father was convinced there was some special 3-D technology involved. There’s not: they’re just awesome photos. – Seth Kugel
Frugal Traveler Column: History Beyond Boston
The New York Times, Dec 21, 2010

Few people visit all of America’s national parks from Maine to Alaska, let alone capture their majesty in photographs. Photographer Quang-Tuan Luong is believed to be the only person to have done so, and the remarkable results can be seen in the exhibit “Treasured Lands: The Fifty-Eight U.S. National Parks in Focus” at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington. Each 34-by-43-inch photo makes you want to linger before it, taking in the richness of detail, light and color. He captures the grand vistas and panoramas you’d expect, but also the small areas of beauty. And he is a poetic, engaging guide in his brief descriptions on the wall text next to each photo. – Jody Feinberg
Photographer Captures the Beauty of America’s National Parks
Patriot Ledger, March 31, 2011 full text (pdf)

Selected Press (Traveling Exhibits)

Picture perfect: ‘Treasured Lands’ photo exhibit featured at Meadow Lakes
Central Jersey, January 13, 2017 pdf

San Jose photographer captures images of all 59 national parks
San Jose Mercury News, June 23, 2017 pdf

Cataloging beauty of national parks
San Francisco Chronicle, Nov 15, 2017 pdf

Recommendation Letter from the Debut Venue

Over the months that Treasured Lands has been there, we have had many, many visitors let us know how much they have appreciated the exhibition … […] From the planning stages of the project through the installation, Tuan was a pleasure to work with.
Richard Travis, Executive Director, National Heritage Museum full text (pdf)

Press Reviews for the Companion Book

The centennial of the National Park Service has been the occasion of […] many books. The most glorious of these is Treasured Lands . . . No one has captured the vast beauty of America’s landscape as comprehensively.
The New York Times — Dominique Browning

[A] treasure trove of vivid images from every national park, hundreds of them from sea to shining sea, in large format… Luong’s visually stunning book reminds us to look at what we’ve already seen … but with a new appreciation. A fresh perspective.
The Chicago Tribune — Jerry Davich

To be sure, it is a visual feast. But it’s much more than that, because of its geographic completeness and the attention to detail that only someone who has lived and breathed the parks for a long time could provide.
High Country News — Glenn Nelson

[G]orgeous . . . Luong’s 300 excursions across a quarter century are a remarkable gift to nature lovers.
Shelf Awareness — Tobias Mutter

If you’re a fan of our National Parks and want the best book about them yet to be published, I recommend you beat a path to your bookstore and buy it.
Independent Publisher Magazine — Jim Barnes

The book not only serves as a marvelous example of what this talented photographer has accomplished after many years exploring some of the most beautiful places in America, but it also acts as a guide for his fellow photographers who may want to travel to the parks too.
Outdoor Photographer Magazine – William Sawalich

Recognition from California Legislature