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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.
Peter Richter recently sent us a small book made using KOZU’s new printing service MAKEBOOK. I was interested in the quality of their latest digital printing and also wanted to take a look at what Peter had made, both in his photography and in his design choices.
Firstly, Greg from Kozu has obviously got a lot of experience printing books and, as I commented in my recent review of Michael Gordon’s book, digital printing has progressed a great deal over the last decade or so. At its best, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and litho printing. But not all digital printers or individual presses are created equal, so it was reassuring to see that in Peter’s case, the book printing quality is excellent. There is a bit of ink sheen on the 170gsm silk paper, an indication of a particular type of digital press (this would be a dry-toner printer rather than the HP Indigo’s wet inks, which tend to look more like litho). This slightly glossy look is a small price to pay for significantly lower production costs.
Peter’s book is a compilation of forest work, mainly collected near his home in Vienna, Austria. The aesthetic portrays a dense woodland interior, with little evidence of sky visible between the leaves or at the forest's edges. The result could be claustrophobic, but Peter's obvious passion for his subject gives a feeling of being enveloped in a blanket of forest.
The book’s design is simple: Peter has chosen to eschew captions, letting the photographs do the talking, and he’s arranged them in seasonal order, beginning and ending with winter snows. The book is given some variation in rhythm through the use of alternate blank facing pages and the occasional spread of a pair of related images. A beautiful cluster of cool, mossy-green branches, a spread of midwinter beech leaves, a facing pair showing the sun piercing through a coniferous forest.
The result is understated and relaxing in expression. I would have preferred a more consistent geographic location and some narrative to support the choice. Still, the work is more about the photographer's relationship than about the subject's narrative.
You can buy the book from the KOZU website by following this link. You can also see more of Peter Richter's work at his website peterrichter-photography.net.
I’d like to hear more about what Greg is offering through this MAKEBOOK service and will be keeping an eye on how it progresses.
