ENTERING THE REALM OF ABSTRACT ART...

This 48-page, softcover 8.25" x 6" book contains 20 samples of my computer-generated abstract art. Mind you, the computer's just the tool. These are highly original artworks, reproduced in full color.

For more information, or to order a copy, please click the book cover image at left.

An Afternoon in a Japanese Garden
Dean Rathje's latest photography book chronicles a meandering walk through the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois. 69 highly composed photos taken on a brilliant fall afternoon detail the colors and formsof a tranquil environment created to promote serenity. For more information, please click the book cover image above.

These words and images come from a life lived in rural eastern Iowa, near the Wapsi, Cedar, and Iowa Rivers. A 44-page, full-color softcover book, Benign Neglect captures the humble aesthetic of rural life: the woods, rivers, pastures, timbers, skies, barns, and country roads. Interspersed with the photos are stretchees of light verse, intended to amuse and provoke. For more information, please click the cover image above.

Benign Neglect was an introduction to the imagery of the rural Midwest. Benign Neglect Revisited carries that a step further, with more beautiful, serene Iowa landscapes, more homespun verse, and more images of rural abandonment and decay. For more information, please click the cover image above.

Benign Neglect III carries forward the themes of the previous two books, with special attention to the colors of the fall and late fall in Iowa. This book includes photos of the Welsh Church and Cemetery south of Iowa City, the town of Kalona, and some beautiful fall landscapes along the Cedar River in Linn County. For more info, click the cover image above.

November Light continues the themes begun in the Benign Neglect series. These are photographs taken in Iowa's parks and countrysides, emphasizing the wan light of November. For more information, click the cover image above.

November Afternoons continues the series of photo books with light verse, depicting the beauty of the rural Iowa lansdscape. The images in this book were composed during a series of late fall afternoons. For more information, please click the cover image above.

What I See is a further exploration of the rural and small-town life. In addition to scenes of rural tranquility, this book features photos from Eden Valley Nature Refuge and son John's in-tight floral images. For more information, click the cover image above.

Winterscapes is a series of portraits of Iowa in winter—low light, snow cover on the fields, and a narrower color palette dominated by whites, golds, and blacks. Think of this book as a long and relaxing drive through the countryside. For more information, click the cover image above.

Winterscapes II continues the theme of the beauty of the Iowa landscape in winter—the icy Cedar River, outcroppings of stone, panoramic farmsteads. For those who love the serene beauty of the countryside shrouded in snow. For more information, click the cover image above.

Circle Tour of Lake Michigan, starting in Ely, Iowa is an informal record of a driving tour beginning near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and progressing to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, over the top of Lake Michigan, and down its eastern border. For more information, click the cover image above.

Eastern Iowa Rambles is a series of photos depicting life in rural Iowa. Just images and labels: scenes from along the Mississippi, Hoover Birthplace in West Branch, and out in the country. For more information, click the cover image above.