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Tim Parkin

Amateur Photographer who plays with big cameras and film when in between digital photographs.

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Dan Baumbach / Haiku

I have to admit to being a big fan of Dan Baumbach’s work. His eye for a complex but elegant detail and commitment to working in small geographic areas have really paid dividends over the years. You can read more about Dan’s background and working methods in our featured photographer article from a few years ago.

Dan kindly sent me a copy of this self-published book a few weeks ago and I’ve been enjoying dipping into it now and again whilst having a coffee break. Dan has worked with Paul Jonathan Rowland to create a book that contrasts Haiku with photography. The Haiku are short ‘poems’ that conform to a rhythmic structure, a skeleton onto which words sit to evoke moods or feelings. They work exceptionally well set alongside Dan’s images which, although it sounds cliched to say so, have the feel of visual haiku themselves.

This is only a short book of 20 photographs but it is one which I really enjoyed. You can buy a copy directly from Dan’s website.

Joseph Holmes / Natural Light

I’m a bit late finding out about this book but I’m very happy I finally did as it’s a bit of a treasure. Joseph Holmes is an absolute guru as far as image quality, colour management and camera technology are concerned. But he’s also an excellent photographer and one of the only ones I know that fairly seamlessly migrated from large format to digital capture. This book was supposed to be the first and showcase release for “The Nature Company” and they seemed to have thrown a big budget at it. Sadly they stopped shortly after producing this. The quality is amazing and the reproduction is exquisite - although I would expect no less from Mr Holmes. The selection of images include some of Joseph’s best work of the time and many of my absolute favourites. There is a fantastic introduction by Barry Lopez, touching on themes of the environment (a cause which JH has long been vocal about) and referring to photographers such as Joseph with the fantastic title, “Historians of Light”. For ourselves, sitting looking for a book to buy nearly 40 years later, we stand a good chance of finding an absolute bargain. When I purchased my copy, I paid only £5 for it with free postage in the UK. There are a couple on Abebooks and Ebay at the moment for around £10 delivered. Snap them up!! If you can’t find one for these sorts of prices, I’d still recommend a purchase for four or five times the price. If they’re all gone as well - buy “Arctic Dreams” by Barry Lopez and read it while you wait for one to appear, you won’t regret it. Highly recommended!