The Great Wilderness by Alex Nail - On My Bookshelf S06E04
In this episode of On My Bookshelf I look at @alexnails latest self-published book, The Great Wilderness. This luxury hardback photography book covers one of Scotland's most remote regions and features images captured over a 4-year period from the Letterewe, Fisherfield and Dundonnell mountain areas.
A Masterpiece of Photography and Book Design
Over the 40 plus episodes of On My Bookshelf that I’ve made, I’ve featured books covering all sorts of genres and styles of photography. For the most part, they all have something that I like and that’s great photographs. However, every now and again I buy a book that I love. So, what separates a book with great photographs from a book that I love? Presentation!
How the photographs are printed, sequenced, and bound in a book can make all the difference on how even great photographs are experienced. If you want to look at a photographers great photographs you can do it on their website, but when you buy their book that experience should be a vastly superior.
Two of my favourite books, Beara and Kingdom (both my Norman McCloskey) are a great example of how to turn a collection of great photographs into a viewing experience to be savoured.
Another photographer that seems to be mastering this art is Alex Nail. His previous title, Northwest, was fantastic. It turned out to be one of my favourite landscape photography books.
When Alex announced pre-orders for his latest book, The Great Wilderness, I couldn’t give him my money fast enough. Alex had been hinting at the design choices he had been making for this book and it sounded like his attention to detail was going to be like no other book I would have on my bookshelf.
Now that I have the book, did Alex manage to deliver on both the photographs and the book design? Let’s find out!
You can pick up a copy of The Great Wilderness directly from Alex at https://www.alexnail.com/great-wilderness-book/
6 AMAZING Landscape Photography Books to Inspire Your Photography
Looking for a little inspiration for you landscape photography? Here are six amazing books on landscape photography that are sure to inspire your photography.
A Chance to Review What is On My Bookshelf
Over the last couple of months, I’ve had the chance to spend a lot time with my collection of photography books. While I would have much preferred to be out and about with my camera, getting the chance to look at some of my favourite photography books again is far from a waste of time.
Even on the second read, or in some cases third or fourth, I can still find inspiration and knowledge for my landscape photography in these books. This normally indicates that there is something special about them.
As I suspect I might not be the only person with a little more home time on their hands at the moment, I thought I might compile a list of my six favourite books on landscape photography and share it with you.
All the books in this list have already featured in episodes of On My Bookshelf (OMBS) so there’s a video to go with each of my recommendations.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any of the books. Happy browsing!
Beara by Norman McLoskey
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
The Landscape by Paul Wakefield
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
Tides and Tempests by Rachael Talibart
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
Mystical by Neil Burnell
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
Northwest by Alex Nail and Scotland’s Finest Mountains by Colin Prior
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
Colin Prior’s Scotland’s Finest Landscapes & Alex Nail’s Northwest – On My Bookshelf S02E01
Colin Prior or Alex Nail? In this special episode of On My Bookshelf, I look at Colin Prior's Scotland's Finest Landscapes and Alex Nail's Northwest. Which one, if any, should you buy?
Landscape Photography Books
I love a good photography book. Over the years they have inspired and influenced my photography in no small way. As I become a better photographer I actually find myself buying more photography books. This is particularly true during the winter months when I can't get out with the camera as much as I'd possibly like.
Last month, as the festive period approached, the discussion around what I'd like for Christmas came up in conversation. While options such as a new Nikon Z7 or a two week photography holiday to the Faroe Islands were quickly dismissed, a more sensible option of getting a good landscape photography book was decided.
Colin Prior or Alex Nail
There were two books high up on my list to get. These were Colin Prior's Scotland's Finest Landscapes, and Alex Nail's Northwest. Given that Colin's book was originally selling for £100, I decided that asking for Alex's book at £36 would be much more sensible.
With that all sorted I just needed to wait for Santa to deliver my copy of Northwest. During the run up to Christmas though I spotted a post on Facebook by Colin Prior who was doing a Black Friday sale and that his book Scotland's Finest Landscapes was on sale for £50. This is still a lot of money for a book, but I've wanted to own a copy of this book for some time now, so I decided to treat myself!
On My Bookshelf
As regular readers of this blog know I have series of videos on my YouTube channel called On My Bookshelf. After reading Colin and Alex's books over the festive period I thought I would share my thoughts on both books. However, rather than do separate videos for each book, I thought I would produce one episode of On My Bookshelf that looked at both books.
Both titles are on similar themes and areas of landscape photography, and neither title is inexpensive, so I thought it would be useful to look at them both in the same episode. So which one should be on your bookshelf? Let's find out.
I really hope you enjoyed this episode of On My Bookshelf. Both these books are some of the finest books on Scottish landscape photography I have and it was a joy being able to read both of them.
Do you own either of these titles? Will you now buy either of these books? Let me know in the comments below.