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Tim Parkin

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

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When I think about Namibia, I visualise perfect towering dunes and dead, skeletal trees. The over photographed Deadvlei is definitely starkly beautiful but there is a lot more to Namibia than just sand and dead flora. Malcolm Macgregor has been visiting since the 1980s and knows the area more than the casual visitor so I was expecting something interesting

The first impression of the book is very nice indeed. A beautiful cloth wrapping the cover, a large photograph tipped into the front and bold block text with the name on the back. The design is continued inside, minimal but tasteful. I wasn’t surprised when I learned it was Eddie Ephraums who designed this for Malcolm, he has a great eye for a tight design that really complements photography.

The contents of the book straddle a line between documentary, NatGeo style photography, depicting the many and varied aspects of a country that contrast coastline and desert, and more “art-oriented” landscape photography that more overtly demonstrates Malcolm's artistic skills. I really enjoyed the short essays that introduced parts of the book. The anecdotes bring to life the photos as part of a larger experience exploring the country.

It’s no surprise that there are a considerable number of dune photographs given the location, but I was surprised at the variety within these. I was particularly taken with the coastal shots, some of which wouldn’t look out of place in a UK photographer’s portfolio! Another favourite place for photographers is Kolmanskopp, a derelict mining town that has been consumed by the surrounding dunes. Malcolm has captured some haunting images of the remains of this glimpse into history. The most striking image to me is the lone bathtub embedded into a dune that has the body of a building in its sandy grip.

To capture the whole of a country in a single book is obviously too big of a task for any human however, Malcolm’s book shows me many aspects of Namibia that I had not seen before and has me intrigued enough to want to find out more. That’s definitely a success in my eyes!

You can buy Malcolm’s book from his website at https://www.malcolmmacgregor.photo/books. The book is 310mm by 245mm and has 144 pages.