SOME OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2023
The Art of Waves
By Clark Little
A book by one of the world's best ocean photographers. It is a combination of images of the wildlife that makes the world below the waves its home, and artistic images of the waves themselves. These are stunning photos by someone who really knows their craft.
As a person with an irrational fear of the sea, I have nothing but admiration for Little, his photography and the efforts he goes to in creating such images. So, I am more than happy to let this book transport me to places I would never go myself.
In an era when many photographers using the ocean as their muse, ever increasingly, this book is refreshing in that many of the photos are highly original. A feat that is even more impressive given that they have been captured over a fifteen year career, before such a time that ocean photography became as in vogue as it is today.
This book offers us an unique glimpse into a word that many of us will never experience.
Wild City: Encounters with Urban Wildlife
By Florence Wilkinson
Ask anyone to think of wildlife and they will probably picture animals in vast wild landscapes. They certainly won't imagine the creatures that inhabit underground train lines, the voles in our inner-city rivers, the birds that make tower blocks their home. But Wilkinson surfaces all these and more.
This isn't a photo book, but a useful insight into urban wildlife and one which would be highly valuable to a wildlife photographer. It is fascinating to understand just how much wildlife surrounds us in cities, if we just take the time to look for it.
Wilkinson's beautifully written book offers us a clear glimpse into the urban wildlife of today as well as some of the challenges it faces in our ever expanding cities.
As wildlife photographers we can support Wilkinson's core message by making this urban wildlife our photographic subjects. And why shouldn't we care just as much about the wildlife on our doorsteps as the wildlife in the countryside? This book will both inspire you and enable you to get out, find and photography the nature in our cities.
Chasing Light
By Stefan Forster
Forster is one of the most highly regarded nature photographers with an enviable portfolio of landscape images from all over the world.
This book doesn't only show those epic vistas but has sectioned dedicated to tress, rivers, coasts and more. With images captured all over the world from the North American cypress forests to the Namibian desert. It includes some wonderful photograph from the Canadian Rockies and of the Greenland glaciers.
Forster's efforts must be applauded: sometimes hiking for weeks in order to be in the right place at the right time
This is probably my favourite landscape photo book of 2022. It will appeal to, and inspire anyone with an interest in spectacular landscapes.
How I Make Photographs
By David Yarrow
Before we get into this book, let's just get this out there... David Yarrow is one of the most controversial figures in photography. If you don't know Yarrow and his controversial work, you can search for him online. But can you separate the man from his art? And can this man teach you something, regardless of his infamy?
In this book Yarrow provides 20 bite-sized lessons and ideas. He covers everything from lighting to composition, from capturing emotions to achieving engaging close-ups. There are tips on working in challenging conditions, collaborating with others and conveying a sense of place.
This is quite a small book - 6" x 8" postcard sized, but in terms of photography education it is punching above its weight. Almost every photographer can learn something from Yarrow.
Extinct & Endangered
By Levon Bliss with the American Museum of Natural History
A master of macro photography - Levon Bliss highlights some of the more overlooked victims of the extinction crises - insects.
This is beautiful book with photos of 40 extinct or endangered species in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History from the millions of specimens in their collection. This is focus stacking in the extreme with each image from a stack of 10,000 photos revealing intricate details that would elude the human eye.
The amazing clarity of images in this project blew my mind almost as much as understanding of the rate at which we are losing these tiny and precious creatures that we share this planet with.