Littoral | My Photo Bookshelf
I first heard about the books created by John Ash and Paul Gotts a couple of years ago when they released a previous book called New Beginnings. Unfortunately, I was too late to bag a copy of that book before it sold out, so when Littoral was released, I made sure not to miss out again.
The typical format of the most recent books released by John and Paul over at https://makingaphotobook.co.uk is that they will commission a limited number of photographers who will shoot to a pre-determined theme. The resulting images will be curated and published in the final photobook. What makes the books even more special is that the photographers have given their time for free as the proceeds of the book are donated to a charity in keeping with the theme of the book.
Author’s Synopsis
Littoral is a stunning new hardback photobook published in June 2023.
Black and white images from three talented photographers have been reflected on and woven together by a master storyteller at the peak of his powers.
The book is about memories and personal stories – the images and words will resonate with readers everywhere.
Photographs by: Lynn Fraser, Ali Lewis and Fiona McCowan
Words by: Jeff Young
Foreword by: Jack Lowe
My thoughts about the book
As the title suggests, Littoral includes photos with a shoreline theme running through them and with proceeds going to the RNLI, it all ties together nicely. At the very beginning is a forward written by Jack Lowe. The forward is written with much thought and affection for the RNLI as those familiar with Jack Lowe will surely know about his project to photograph all 238 lifeboat stations onto glass plate. It’s a fascinating and worthwhile project you can read more about here: https://lifeboatstationproject.com.
In the book are 35 back-and-white photos taken by Lynn Fraser, Ali Lewis and Fiona McCowan. All three of these accomplished photographers had their own unique take on the brief so the photos included are wonderfully diverse. Still, with praise for the curation and sequencing, they flowed incredibly well. I particularly liked the range of subjects in the work from small, intimate rock scenes, to man-made subjects such as swimming baths and lighthouses.
Woven in among the photos are some creative words written by Jeff Young. Inspired by the photos, I found these passages worked well to both add some artistic narrative as well as to introduce a timely pause between each collection of images.
I thoroughly enjoyed Littoral, and with an important underlying message for both supporting the RNLI and protecting our oceans, it made for an even richer experience.
Book Details
Hardcover
Size: 250mm x 250mm Square
Pages: 58 pages printed on Fedrigoni 170 gsm paper.
Availability at the time of writing: Unavailable from the usual UK booksellers. Consider looking for a used copy if available. Link to the book’s original website: https://littoralphotobook.co.uk/