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Tim Parkin
Amateur Photographer who plays with big cameras and film when in between digital photographs.
James Bell’s path to the production of this book on the Lake District has been quite the tortuous one.
After a spell of Glandular Fever turned into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which understandably brought on anxiety and depression, James must have thought that the chances of doing anything major with his photography was pretty much over. When he managed to create the beginnings of this book and then had to fight to get a truly quality book it seemed like there was no happy end in sight. Fortunately, with a little help, the final production of the book went through and the James has created a final product he should be very happy with and found ways to cope with his new life.
This is isn’t a perfect book, nor is it a creative tour-de-force, but it is an honest testimonial of a single person's love of the landscape of his birth. On top of this, the hardback binding is very high quality, the paper is thick with no print through and the colours and bold and bright if a little contrasty at times.
Most of the classic locations in the Lakes are represented, and if James likes an area, you’ll get more photographs of it. And rightly so! James has some fantastic images of Buttermere for instance and talks about it with a passion you can feel. Why limit that to just a single image?
If you’re looking for a book as a present for someone with a love of the Lakes, you could do much worse than buy this. It's available directly from James Bell's website for £40 and you can see more of James' images .
