Nature - Stilled

Jane Ussher MNZM is one of New Zealand's best-known photographers. The staff photographer for the New Zealand Listener for many years, she now has her own photography practice and regularly works for leading magazines and book publishers. Her many books include Coast: A New Zealand Journey (with Bruce Ansley), Worship: A History of New Zealand Church Design (with Bill McKay), The New Zealand Horse (with Deborah Coddington), Face to Face (with Paul Moon), Hillary's Antarctica (with Nigel Watson), Islands: A New Zealand Journey (with Bruce Ansley) and Still Life: Inside the Antarctic Huts of Scott and Shackleton (with Nigel Watson).

'People say "stunning" lightly but that's really what it felt like, the first time I opened Nature - Stilled. There is no flicking through. You sit and you look properly and it is a pleasure, to pause like this over images, to be still' - Catherine Woulfe, Spinoff Books; '... awe-inspiring volume.' - North & South; 'Despite having a luminary photographer guiding the project this Nature-Stilled is more than a photography book. This beautifully conceived document is an opportunity to learn about the natural history of New Zealand beyond the museum's displays.' - Design Assembly; 'Ussher, and the Te Papa Press team, have created a true treasure, bringing these pieces of history out into the light' - NZ Booklovers; '... an astonishingly beautiful volume of both great scientific and aesthetic interest' - Scoop; 'An impressive 364 page volume Nature - Stilled is generous and inclusive. Photographs of the various members of ten different species make up the photographic sections which are the bulk of the book, with an introduction by Ussher and a text section at the back where the Te Papa natural history team give a description of each image in non-scientific language. This is clearly a book designed to interest the general public in what Te Papa have behind the scenes. The work put into producing such an impressive tome is clear, and it is obvious that all involved put a great deal of care and love into this book' - Caroline McQuarrie, photoforum. Author feature in Canvas, NZ Herald, 10 October 2020. “A stunning book, with subtle and defining features throughout. Jane Ussher’s careful yet expressive photography has been treated with immaculate production and sensitivity.” - 2021 PANZ Book Design Awards comment

• 007 Introduction011 Chromatic Plates313 Species Information314 Birds, Colin Miskelly321 Bryozoans, Rick Webber322 Cnidarians, Rick Webber325 Crustaceans, Rick Webber328Echinoderms, Rick Webber334 Fishes, Andrew Stewart344 Insects, Phil Sirvid353 Molluscs, Rodrigo Salvador358 Plants, Antony Kusabs / Bridget Hatton364 Collection Ephemera366 About the Photographer367 Acknowledgements