Wish You Were Here by Vanda Ralevska | My Photo Bookshelf

Photobook
Written By Trevor Sherwin

I’ve always loved spending time by the British seaside in the warmer months. I love the energy, the vibrancy and who doesn’t love eating a traditional fish and chips on a deck chair while staring out to sea? But, as I’ve grown a little older, I’ve started to visit the coast more often in the colder (and wetter) months. Nothing beats grabbing a hot coffee and having a relaxed wander along a quiet promenade with just the sound of the distant waves breaking on the beach.

So, when fellow photographer (and now friend) Vanda Ralevska released her Wish You Were Here book set featuring some outstanding photography of the British Seaside, I knew I had to purchase myself a copy.

Author’s synopsis

This companion book set explores the nostalgia of the English seaside throughout the seasons, from the sombre beauty of winter months to its restored splendour in the glorious days of summer.

There is a melancholy about the English seaside in winter. No matter what Mother Nature throws at it, there is a resilience that enables it to resurrect its full magnificence in summer months.

It goes into hibernation, it falls into slumber and sleeps dormant like a perennial plant, just to flourish when the sun and warmth come back.

Wish youy were here photo book by Vanda Ralevska

Like trees that are bare and stark in winter. But in the summer they become beautiful, vibrant and everything we love about them.

What started as a pure fascination and attraction turned into a lifelong passion. There isn't any other place I would rather be than a beach. Though I enjoy the peaceful and quiet wintertime most, I find the bright and sunny weather as captivating as the bleak and gloomy days. Therefore, I felt I needed to capture both sides of the English seaside and separate them into two books that complement each other.

My thoughts about the book

First things first, and I’m not just saying this, but I love these books. The photos included are well-crafted, and expertly composed, with subtle seaside humour and ironies implied throughout. As I mentioned in the intro, I love both sides of the seaside experience, from the fun, warm, summery days to the calmer but much colder days in the winter and this companion book set encapsulates those experiences perfectly.

Kis me quick photo book by Vanda Ralevska

The book set is comprised of two books. Kiss Me Quick is fun, vibrant, and full of photos of blue skies and seaside colours. The pictures included are colourful but well-controlled and have an aesthetically pleasing but subtle high-key processing applied to them. The photos are all in square format, which, as you may have read here, is one of my favourite aspect ratios and works incredibly well for this collection.

The image sequencing throughout is, in my opinion, a bit of a master class and taught me a thing or two about how well a book can be pulled together. There is a good mix of clever, humorous, and more subtle pairings. I know first-hand that Vanda invested a considerable amount of thought into sequencing the images for both books and the results speak for themselves.

The second book, in contrast to the first, represents a more subdued, desolate seaside experience and with the lack of blue skies and vibrant summer tones, Vanda chose to process this collection in monochrome, which suits the work well. Having recently embarked on my own black-and-white journey with my Timeless City project, I felt a deeper connection and was able to appreciate this collection of work far more than I might have before when processing predominantly colour work.

Individually, these books hold their own as separate collections of photographic work, but putting them together as a single book set was a master stroke by Vanda as together, they tell the complete seasonal story of the British seaside that most of us in the UK have experienced at some point in our lives.

Book Details

Trevor Sherwin
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