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Tim Parkin
Tim Parkin is a British landscape photographer, writer, and editor best known as the co-founder of On Landscape magazine, where he explores the art and practice of photographing the natural world. His work is thoughtful and carefully crafted, often focusing on subtle details and quiet moments in the landscape rather than dramatic vistas. Alongside his photography and writing, he co-founded the Natural Landscape Photography Awards, serves as a judge for other international competitions. Through all these projects, Parkin has become a respected and influential voice in contemporary landscape photography.
I bought a range of books last year to survey the photographic landscape. One genre of book was the ‘pseudo portfolio’; a vanity publication posing usually as a geographic guidebook.
The photographic section of most bookshops normally has a range of these from various publishers and they typically consist of a short narrative section at the front followed by a cobbled together slew of photographs tied by a geographic location (How many 'guides' to Dorset do we need to be able to find Durdle Door? [66 by my search]).
One book that I thought was going to be just that turned out a little different though. Although it follows the usual formula, in this case ‘The Ribble’ instead of ‘Cornwall’ or ‘West Highlands’, the subject has a little more depth in that it follows the course of the Ribble from the Three Peaks to the salt marshes near Preston and Lytham St Annes.
I scanned through the book at first, noting that the photography hit some highs well above that I had seen in the rest of my clutch. It was only when I returned to the book later that I started to see a consistent look throughout the book.
Although it does have a bunch of ‘filler’ images scattered throughout (who knows if the publisher had a hand in this), a large proportion of the images are very satisfying and accomplish that most important of tasks, showing you the subject through the photographers eyes.
I have to admit that I have come back to this book on more than one occasion and spent an enjoyable half hour, scanning through and resting on some of the best pictures. I can recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the area and I would also say that about 1 in 4 pictures really float my boat. Have a look at the extracts below and take a look at Andy Latham’s website at http://www.andylatham.co.uk/ and if you want to buy a copy – please buy direct from Andy’s website using this link.
