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Tim Parkin

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

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Alongside the exhibition by Joe Cornish and Simon Baxter detailed elsewhere in this issue, the two photographers also collaborated on a book to work alongside it (and as a showcase for those unable to visit the exhibition). Designed and printed very quickly, the book follows the structure shown in our recent article but with a few extra chapters and many more photographs.

Although Joe and Simon are working in the same area and on approximately the same timescale, the differences in their images are still very clear. Joe’s exquisite attention to compositional detail and eye for serendipitous associations is clearly present in most of his images. And Simon’s natural graphic design recognition of broad shape and structure and his love of the natural beauty of the woodland locations is clearly on display here as well. Browsing through this showcase book is a good way of clearly demonstrating how two ‘mature’* photographers bring so much of their identity to their work.

Many exhibitions are, in the grand scheme of things, relatively transient affairs. In a national sense, they are often difficult to access and, inevitably, only a subsection of a photographic community (never mind the population at large) gets to access the results. Although it is absolutely true that seeing a photograph in person, printed, framed and illuminated well, is still the very best way of appreciating a photographer's work; being able to see that work arranged in a well-printed book is still infinitely better than browsing through a slide show on a website. The cost of printing a book is still a major investment, and as such, I applaud Joe and Simon for their commitment to creating something permanent from their joint project.

I would highly recommend buying a copy of this book as a great showcase of what woodland photography can be.