Hemeria – förlag

"When I picture my region, I simply look, I don't think: I let my heart direct me and life unfold. This country awakens in me a deep emotion. There, time stops. I become a child again, everything amazes me. This is timeless Italy", explains Emanuele Scorcelletti. Emanuele Scorcelletti's book thus presents a deep and meticulous photographic journey in black and white that touches on one of the most current reflections of contemporary man on the importance of places as fundamental elements to define his personal approach. of existence. The Marches are therefore the protagonists of research on the notion of place, studied in the relationships it establishes with the individuals who live there, who have lived there or who have forged strong ties with it.As the title of the project suggests, the book is offered as a poetic composition which, as in the most refined elegies, is divided into two parts: that of memory and that of vision, the first melancholy and evocative, the second fiery and exalted. Classic images with balanced geometries characterize the first section of the book, while the shots in the second section are loaded with expressionistic and vibrant tones.

In 2018, the VII Foundation asked more than a dozen renowned reporters and photojournalists to revisit countries with which they had become achingly familiar during times of brutal conflict. The task was to see peace through the prism of their journalistic experience; to survey familiar towns and villages; to reconnect with women, men, soldiers, civilians, statesmen, and students who had survived the conflict or grown up in the postwar society; to discover what the lived experience of "peace" feels like. To augment this reportage, the VII Foundation sought input from academics and peacemakers. And they invited citizens of those countries to give their very personal narratives, in their own voices. Hard edges were not softened nor unpalatable impressions deleted. They wanted to show the truth as seen and experienced by those that lived and those that reported on seemingly intractable civil wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina Cambodia, Colombia, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, and Rwanda. The result is Imagine: Reflections on Peace - a curation of searing images and trenchant essays that show both micro and macro views of peace, with its uneven degrees of economic success, political stability, and social harmony. In this stunning collection, worldrenown journalists and authors take us into societies that have suffered searing conflict - and survived. Photographic essays make the stakes during war and peace grippingly palpable. Compelling backstories about negotiations, tales of survival, and accounts of the search for inner peace make the big picture personal. Imagine offers a rare glimpse into the unvarnished story of peace, a window into what it takes for societies and individuals to move forward after unspeakable brutality.

How best to tell the life story of a fashion photographer? What was the common thread composing his career? How does his body of work and progression tie into the history of fashion photography? Regards spans 4 decades of the extraordinary professional career of a photographer whose discretion and elegance are reflected in thisdedicated retrospective: a tribute to womanhood, to women in all their diversity, showcasing their timelessness, universality, sophistication, boldness, seductiveness, provocativeness and even at times their inaccessibility. A hymn exalting their beauty. This one-of-a-kind book, offering numerous iconic images, also delicately narrates how perception of this femininity has evolved over the years. But above all else, this book tells the story of a man’s love for women, who have always left him fascinated, amazed, overwhelmed and inspired. This work is a confession of love for what women represent to him, a testimonial to how they move the photographer, who has never ceased to admire them with passion.

Maryam Ashrafi is a social documentary photographer who believes in long term projects, she chooses to stay behind the front lines and observe the daily lives of combatants, which includes a lot of waiting around. She is above all involved in documenting the everyday life on the Kurdish front. Her work puts a face on a widely commented war which remains, from afar, perceived mainly by the West in terms of the number of refugees. Maryam documents the war in her own way, stressing its complexities and the actual building of a new social model based on equality where women occupy the same roles as men, which is remarkable in this area of the world. This is why, over the years, she has returned to the same places, from Kobane to Tabqa, to show the unique power of the resilience of the population and the will to live and change.«The struggle of the Kurdish people and their fight for freedom and fundamental rights have not come to an end, and therefore this book cannot portray all of their journeys, nor shall I stop documenting what is still to come. Yet I believe, as a witness, I owe it to history and to those I have met for sharing some of these images in this book to show part of their journey to freedom and equality», Maryam believes.The book is built on the chronology of the events as documented by Maryam Ashrafi, to understand the evolution of the conflict and its consequences on the populations and their living environment. Photographer James Nachtwey once made a point about such war photographs shown in museums, or in a book; it is "a space for reflection on the universality of the dramas that humanity is going through in its entirety". During her travels, Maryam Ashrafi has created a body of images which highlight very important topics as they are an immediate consequence of war, from the sheer destruction to the refugee camps, as they evoke the foundations of the culture and the identity of the Kurdish people - the ceremonies in honour of martyrs, dances around fires, New Year celebrations etc. Finally, Maryam Ashrafi’s work is also about empathy and about invisible wounds; it is obvious that one could not witness a conflict without being caught up in the daily suffering, especially children and women. Maryam finds emotions and feelings, in simple gestures, smiles and dances, these moments of intimacy. The presence of the photographer is forgotten, there remains only the reality of their fight and the resilience of a people. In these moments, she captures expressions that speak so much more than long speeches.Let’s listen to them in the midst of ruins, dancing amid bullets.

As she crosses Asia on her own, the path of a 30-year-old French girl accidentally crosses that of a unique religious community, tiny and composed exclusively of women. They live in Puntsokling: one of the ten totally destitute Buddhist nunnery of Zanskar, a valley on the edge of the Himalayas in northwestern India, still isolated from the rest of the country by its inhospitable geography.This meeting at the end of the world will change the course of her existence and, without a doubt, that of the nuns. A revelation and a long human as well as spiritual journey.Caroline Riegel's book is a two-sided journey. Through the story she tells us, we discover both the charm of a unique "tribe" with astonishing sorority (a journey into the intimate) and the masterful beauty of their territory (a journey into the landscapes). But humans are inseparable from the environment in which they live. Here, the harshness of the elements did not generate that of the characters but their dazzling vitality. The hostile environment strengthened hearts, embracing in one movement the spirituality and uncompromising beauty of Nature. Devoid of the superfluous, these Sowers rub shoulders with the essence of the soul, the awareness of Happiness.Caroline Riegel's photographs demonstrate the closeness that she has created with her "subjects", giving photographic work the power to reveal the Other and to make him access the universal. The still image gives them a voice and opens up intercultural and intergenerational dialogue. Caroline Riegel is not just a simple spectator, her photography is not sidelined, it does not freeze the Other. On the contrary, it is the source of life, and testifies to the flourishing of bodies, faces and souls. Her camera is a tool she uses to testify to the uniqueness of this extraordinary community to as many people as possible.Caroline Riegel delivers a luminous tribute, in images and words, to these women who have found, in the heart of the Zanskar mountains, far from the modern world, a balance of life. Faced with destitution: joy. Faced with loneliness: solidarity. In the face of autarky: authenticity.In the same way that Matthieu Ricard - the preface's author - speaks of wonder to the world, the smile of The Sowers of Joy testifies to their singular gaze on what surrounds them, on the meaning of existence, on simplicity of life.In the great tradition of books by traveling photographers, The Sowers of Joy is both an ode to Nature, a unique encounter with otherness, an openness to the world, a quest for meaning, a tribute humanist, a family album where love, respect and benevolence burst out on every page.Photographer Caroline Riegel has lived day after day with these nuns from afar. His photographs are snapshots of simple gestures in a mostly agrarian community, where each activity gives its rhythm to the unfolding of the days, according to the seasons. Often ancestral practices, carried by a Buddhist culture almost 1000 years old.

Why criss-cross Iceland in all directions, in all seasons, when the world is so vast? For the inner exile offered by this walk on the heights. For the first snows that upset the landscape and teleport us into a charcoal painting. For the spring which will bring back with the birds a forgotten sweetness. For the summer with days without night. For the rare men and women I have been lucky enough to meet. For the infinite range of emotions aroused by these boreal steppes. For the space, the freedom, the omnipresence of natural forces, which help to breathe deeper. To find the oldest living All Black in a hospice in Auckland, to share a vintage wine with Jim Harrison in his house in Montana, to draw the portrait of penguins in Antarctica, to cross the rivers of Iceland on foot… Photographer, journalist, author and speaker, Olivier Joly has always let his steps guide him towards emotions and encounters. Surveyor of large geographical spaces and human intimacy, he saw over time his intimate compass pointing to the cold and windy ends of the world. This is how he found his promised land. Twenty trips and a year on the spot have made him one of Iceland's most knowledgeable connoisseurs. After the success of his book Four Seasons in Iceland, he now looks at it in black and white.

This book offers an incomparable spectacle, that of an intimate face-to-face with the animal, here treated as a subject in its own right, on an equal footing with man, and it encourages us to take the time to contemplate it, to better question our relationship to the wild world and our place in it. And if the photographer has long since chosen black and white, it is to better play with the incomparable light of Africa, its singular purity that gives the feeling of being in direct contact with the material, without filter. Laurent Baheux's approach is not that of a naturalist or ethology-loving photographer, he does not seek to describe behavior or to unravel the mystery of a sensitive area of the animal that has remained unknown until now. What he finds with African elephants is the feeling of a rediscovered plenitude, of wonder at the world, of a rebirth, of a reconnection with the living. Far from the crowds and the urban world, it is in the heart of African national parks that he experiences the deep meaning of life, and that he offers himself the luxury of slowness, essential when he is 'is about letting the animal approach. The elephant obliges man to humility. We are nothing compared to his power and his intelligence. It is he who decides on the meeting, or, on the contrary, who imposes his distance. We are only "tolerated guests", as Laurent Baheux reminds us. The elephant is not a predator and it is the man who threatens its existence today, competing with it for the control of a territory which is shrinking more and more every day. The pressure of human activities, the demographic growth are the dangers which endanger its survival. As an extension of his militant commitment and his anti-speciesist discourse which seeks to break down the psychological barriers linked to the categorization of animals – wild, farmed, domesticated – according to their degree of utility or their "nuisance" power, Laurent Baheux provides new proof of the need to save elephants and protect their environment, not just because they populate our collective subconscious, from illustrated children's books to the travel stories of early explorers, but because they are closely linked to the balance of our planet and that they refer us, like mirrors, to our own finitude, ineluctable, we who resemble them so much, so strong and so fragile at the same time. "Courage is the reverse, the armed arm of wonder. [...] Where many, cynical or disillusioned have retreated, [Laurent Baheux] has this power to rely on the beauty of things, to believe in it and to be enraged at seeing it mistreated. He has that faith."

INSIDE VIEWS is a monograph that traces the reflection that photographer Floriane de Lassée has made on the city as we know it today: disproportionate, vertical, it is that of the megalopolis where the individual has been slowly caught up. Through her images of a fantasized city, Floriane de Lassée does not make any inventory. But constructs her own aesthetic of the city, a falsely neutral point of view, marked by a visual game with several planes, by the preponderant role of color, the geometrization of facades, by the choice of perspectives and daring frames. The city becomes a field of experimentation that she transforms into a reservoir of signs by the choice of a specific device. “The city as a privileged photographic territory appears from the birth of photography (even if the first image, that of Niepce, is rural),” recalls Gilles Mora. “From then on, the medium never ceases to accompany and document the city and its transformations, the events that punctuate its existence, the monuments, and more rarely the banality of its daily life or its spaces without qualities,” adds Thierry Bonzon. Floriane de Lassée, as an attentive observer of the world and social relationships, brings her stone to the fascinating edifice of urban photography, which is only a confrontation of the medium with reality. As for any artist, it is always and still a question of “coinciding with the contemporary world and integrating it into art (...) and inventing absolutely new forms of expression”. Here, each “view”, like a Hopper painting, is a story in itself where one can project oneself until the night fades and the lights disappear.

A beautiful photobook that embodies and supports the inextricable link between an Indonesian fishing village and the coral reef on which its survival depends. A photographic history in 130 photographs and four chapters like a relational sequence that plays out (and knots) infinitively. The book is presented in four stages: the coral, the human, the link and the actions of protection, like a chronological, didactic and circular journey, a relational sequence that plays out ad infinitum. Each one introduces a text and sometimes opens on a questioning. No legend here, only the humble testimony of the photographer, sharing the daily life of a community of former nomads, without water or roads, and on their dependence on this hybrid character, an animal living with a plant, which is coral. A total of 130 color and black& white images - a bias that exploits the full range of photographic renderings - constituting this advocacy carried out over six years of work and reporting. Martin thus mixes simple and shimmering scenes from the daily life of fishermen, catching their smile, capturing their gaze, with monochrome shots of materials, reliefs and textures like an x-ray vision of the coral animal.

How do you tell the story of a country, and even more so of a city as fantasised as Tokyo, if not by getting up close and personal with the people who live there? Following in the footsteps of the masters of Japanese photography from Provok and the French humanist photographers, Bruno Labarbère takes us on a deep-black wander through the streets and alleys of Japan’s capital, following the rhythm of the mizuwari as he meets them.

Almost thirty years after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, photographer Fabrice Dekoninck has explored the most intimate aspects of the memory of those who survived the siege of Sarajevo, the ethnic cleansing of the Prijedor region, and the genocide in Srebrenica. Like a memory anthropologist, he documented the ‘living’ memory of the war on the very sites where the events unfolded, in close contact with surviving witnesses.This long-term work paints a portrait of a Bosnian society traumatised by the legacy of the war, which, in the absence of historical truth, takes the risk of seeing it resurface. In the light of the return of war in Europe and the resurgence of nationalism worldwide, this book provides crucial insights into the risks posed to peace by instrumentalisation of war memories.

FINALIST OF THE 2024 LUCIE PHOTO BOOK PRIZE“An epic new book... the photographs, often in jarring juxtaposition, underscore the cruel bargain of Western 'progress'—and the paradoxical damage brought on by a half century of conservation and preservation efforts.” —David Friend, Vanity FairA groundbreaking investigation into wildlife conservation, environmental transformation, and efforts to preserve Africa’s natural wilderness by French-Madagascan documentary photographer Guillaume Bonn.Paradise Inc. offers an unvarnished glimpse into the realities of Africa’s ecosystems and our collective future, as the disruptions of climate change, economic expansion, and environmental efforts reshape the world before our eyes.For decades, Bonn has told the stories that the world is afraid to hear, championing the silenced and refusing to turn away from the truth. Paradise Inc. is the culmination of twenty years dedicated to documenting the last days of Africa’s vast natural landscapes, where countless expeditions have taken the photographer deep across nearly every country on the continent. Far from tired stereotypes, “greenwashing” efforts, and ready-made solutions, Paradise Inc. shines an unblinking light onto the paradoxes, consequences, and truths that lurk in plain sight behind the environmental “paradise” in Africa. Featuring an introduction by world-renowned journalist Jon Lee Anderson and foreword by founder of Across Maasai Land Initiative and Maasai elder Ezekiel Ole Katato, Paradise Inc. continues the work Bonn began as a player in the Africa State of Mind project (Thames & Hudson, 2020), now presented in its entirety.While beautifully and poignantly illustrated, Paradise Inc. is more than a visual journey. Nostalgic and critical, it is declaration of the photographer’s love for Africa—which Jon Lee Anderson (The New Yorker) calls his “inescapable muse”—an expression of his fear that it might one day disappear, and an impassioned call to action. In this latest work, Bonn defies the clichés of a wildlife wonderland that haunt the collective imagination, instead asking uncompromising questions and inviting us to strive for sustainable solutions together.Born in Madagascar and raised in the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, and Kenya, Bonn brings a unique perspective rooted in his French and Malagasy heritage and diverse upbringing, exploring the idea of “Africanness” in his work. It is through this intimate duality that Paradise Inc. delivers its urgent critique, unveils nuances, and captures the thrill of being in the wild.

“Armelle Martignoni’s camera is never used to impress, shock, or embellish reality. It is used to connect, to raise awareness, and to contribute to causes that matter. Her vision is honest, showing unfiltered respect for the people she meets and the stories they carry. Through her work, she reminds us that compassion is not a luxury but a responsibility. Each frame quietly insists that we, too, share in the duty to look, care, and act.” —Steve McCurry, from the forewordAn ode to the human connection that emerges we stop to listen and care, opening our eyes, minds, and hearts to others across the world.One World is a poetic and humanist monograph exploring the richness of life and the common thread that connects people across cultures and continents. Through authentic, intuitive portraiture and thoughtful narrative, this photo book reflects on shared experiences, dignity, and resilience, while highlighting the work of local organizations and change-makers striving to improve lives around the world. Featuring a foreword by Steve McCurry, One World takes us on journey across South and Southeast Asia, Maghreb, the Middle East, and East Africa, documenting the shared spirit that connects us all and endures despite despair, harsh conditions, and inequalities in healthcare, education, and environmental security.One World is an invitation to listen, care, and engage with the broader human story in celebration of our differences and the compassion that unites us. A portion of the book’s proceeds supports the dedicated initiatives and NGOs featured within its pages.

An unprecedented encounter with international music icons through the lens of photographer and director Anthony Ghnassia.For years, Ghnassia has turned his camera on world-renowned artists (David Guetta, Pharrell Williams, DJ Snake, Justice, PNL), accompanying them on tour. While audiences are dazzled by electrifying stage performances, the photographer also experiences the unseen periods of reflection and release while traveling the four corners of the globe.Sound of Silence offers an intimate glimpse into this world, with all its ebbs and flows. In this backstage pass, Ghnassia confronts the dizzying juxtaposition that is the daily life of touring artists: the transition from the contained set to the boundless road and sky, from the crowd to close companionship, from the lightning storm to the lull.This book is an international tour of the world’s concert halls, legendary festivals, and music capitals, from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Las Vegas, as well as the sprawling landscapes that connect them. With a foreword by Pedro Winter, a key player of the French Touch movement who turned an international spotlight on Daft Punk, Sound of Silence immortalizes once-in-a-lifetime experiences and presents musical superstars as never before seen, featuring exclusive, personal insights and over a decade’s worth of photographs from Ghnassia’s archive.

A comprehensive collection of the artwork created by Oslo’s legendary studio, Guttestreker.Known for their distinctive fusion of surrealism, symbolism, and intricate line work, the artistic duo Guttestreker crafts visually rich and thought-provoking illustrations that invite viewers into a world of hidden meanings and layered narratives. For the very first time, illustrations and stories from ten years of partnership have been brought together in a single volume. Each piece is deeply rooted in historical events, scientific discoveries, and academic literature, offering a compelling visual interpretation of complex ideas.Accompanied by insightful descriptions and a cohesive narrative, this book provides a deeper understanding of the inspiration and intellectual depth behind each illustration, making it both a visual delight and a stimulating journey through history, knowledge, and imagination. This portal into the art duo's imaginations also features uncolored line drawings for readers to fill in, immersing themselves in the Guttestreker universe and personalizing their copies.In an elevated seek and find style, every drawing is meticulously composed, featuring an abundance of details, each contributing to the broader meaning of the artwork and encouraging multiple levels of interpretation.

Norwegian edition | En omfattende samling av kunstverkene skapt av Oslos legendariske studio, Guttestreker.Kjent for sin særegne kombinasjon av surrealisme, symbolisme og intrikat linjearbeid, skaper kunstnerduoen Guttestreker visuelt rike og tankevekkende illustrasjoner som inviterer betrakteren inn i en verden av skjulte betydninger og lagdelte fortellinger. For aller første gang er illustrasjoner og historier fra ti års samarbeid samlet i ett enkelt bind. Hvert verk er dypt forankret i historiske hendelser, vitenskapelige oppdagelser og akademisk litteratur, og tilbyr en engasjerende visuell tolkning av komplekse ideer.Ledsaget av innsiktsfulle beskrivelser og en helhetlig fortelling gir denne boken en dypere forståelse av inspirasjonen og den intellektuelle dybden bak hver illustrasjon, noe som gjør den både til en visuell nytelse og en stimulerende reise gjennom historie, kunnskap og fantasi. Denne portalen inn i kunstnerduoens forestillingsverden inneholder også ufargede strektegninger som leserne kan fylle inn selv, slik at de kan fordype seg i Guttestreker-universet og gjøre boken personlig.I en opphøyd «finn og oppdag»-stil er hver tegning nøye komponert, med en overflod av detaljer som alle bidrar til verkets overordnede betydning og oppmuntrer til flere nivåer av tolkning.

Witness the ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles in ALTAI: Hunters and Herders of Mongolia in this debut photobook from photojournalist and fine art photographer Claire Thomas.Up in the Bayan-Ölgii province of western Mongolia, the land and wildlife set daily rhythms, and traditions are practiced, not merely preserved. Horses, once ridden by Mongolian warriors across frontiers and battlefields in the time of Genghis Khan, are now anchors of nomadic life. For centuries, they have also been inseparable from eagle hunting, with horse, bird, and hunter performing a tightly choreographed dance in symbiosis, each with a role to play, perfected over time. The eagle: the eye in the sky. The horse: the heartbeat that carries hunter and tradition across the landscape.ALTAI is an invitation into the highlands, homes, and hearts of ethnic Kazakh golden eagle hunters, where captivating photography meets thoughtful essays shaped by experience. The fruit of nearly 7 years of riding, flying, and growing alongside these nomadic families, this book pays tribute to ancient traditions in action, passed down through generations, and documents a world in flux as living heritage adapts in the name of progress and survival.Explore culture in the Altai mountains across four themes:Horses: A tribute to the partnership between people and horses, essential to work, travel, and heritageHunting: A window into the trust and companionship between hunter and golden eagle at the heart of this centuries-old traditionHerding: A glimpse into a world where the herd remains the foundation of everyday lifeHome: A celebration of the intimate, domestic moments that anchor rural life, where Kazakh culture lives on in the warmth of home and the closeness of family.ALTAI holds a world in suspension within its pages, inviting us to treasure what must be cherished and carried forward and to consider how to live in balance with animals, our environment, and one another.

From 1839 when it was invented, photography has served to create portraits of individuals, and soon thereafter portraits of families, later placed in photo albums. Photography, collected and archived, entered the intimate sphere, enabling people to arrange the fragmented images of their lives as they saw fit. Following its forerunners (miniature portraits, silhouettes, physionotraces), the photographic portrait also served the new expectations of the emerging urban bourgeoisie and its need for social representation. Studios opened up in cities everywhere to meet the fast growing demand. In addition, the new medium distinguishted itself with its esthetic superiority. "Even as it emerged, although the technique was still very primitive, photography enjoyed an exceptional quality of artistic finish (Gisèle Freund)". What can photography show us to day of the visible and invisible aspects of family sociology? "How do the roles we expect them to play betray the emotional realities and complexities of lived life?" wonders Daniel Mendelsohn, in his introduction entitled "Unknown Faces/ Redeeming Structures". By creating this corpus of fixed black and white images, each composed in a large 5'x7' frame, the photographer has produced a work of anthropological scope, reaching beyond representation by placing the subject at palpable distance, thereby objectifying it. What should we think of these seemingly impassive faces and their hypnotic gazes, what should we think of these postures, seated or standing? What goes on within these families and outside the frame? The use of a rigid protocol similar in all sessions makes every family portraits intriguing, and encourages our reflection. Inspired by the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, whose esthetics of objectivity tended towards minimalism, Isabelle Boccon-Gibod, a self-made artist, with an interest for technique, has played with a frontality quite similar to that of the Bechers, resting on the idea that our bodies, when joined together, form a sort of architecture. The idea, also, that a face, deprived of its smile, offers a neutrality of expression worth considering: masks fall and reveal a nakedness (naked truth?) to be admired and deciphered beyond the appearances of social games. She was guided, yet not limited, by this principle: the image of a family seen as a façade-like structure, in which faces are the windows.

The Mediterranean… Knowing that man has been traveling these waters for thousands of years, it’s easy to imagine that the sea no longer holds any secrets. Knowing that it has been conquered and mistreated, easy to imagine that it’s also been devastated. And yet, theMediterranean remains a thriving body of water still waiting to be fully explored. Over its depths lie extensive and abundant territories that mankind has barely gotten to know: the coral reefs. These biodiversity ‘hotspots’ whose beauty rivals that of the reefs lie in the "twilight zone" between 60 and 120m (196 and 393 ft) below the surface, where less than 1% of light actually penetrates. Study, illustrate and expose the unfamiliar part of the teeming undersea life of the Mediterranean: such is the challenge undertaken by Laurent Ballesta, famous photographer, biologist and leader of expeditions.Mediterranean Planet forms a sequel to Laurent Ballesta's latest works: Secrets d’Océans (Oceans' Secrets), Adélie Terre& Mer (Adélie Earth & Sea) and 700 requins dans la nuit (700 Sharks in the Dead of Night). It represents the accomplishment of his personal endeavors during the eponymous July 2019 expedition, while also providing closure to the more comprehensive effort underway in the Mediterranean. This publication is thus a compilation of the biologist-photographer's most spectacular shots from 2010 through the present day. Accompanied by minimal textual content, the photographs of rare creatures never before illustrated exhibiting unusual behavior tell the story with each page turned of natural history and lived history. From the extraordinary biodiversity of the coral reefs to the seascapes far beneath the surface, Laurent Ballesta has embarked on an excursion into these otherworldly ecosystems that actually exist on Earth and make up the Mediterranean Planet.This book also conforms with the longstanding tradition of works that pay tribute to the marine world by offering unique insights into an ecosystem that has not yet unveiled all its secrets. After several deep-sea diving expeditions spanning the globe under the "Gombessa" flag, the Gombessa V "Mediterranean Planet" campaign is Laurent's last at the helm. A World First, this expedition meant Laurent Ballesta and three other divers would cohabitate for 28 days inside a 5-m2 pressurized module designed for both saturation diving and deep sport diving, from Marseille to Bandol, Carqueiranne to Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime to Antibes, and finally from Antibes to Monaco.

By using an older form of technology, French artist Éric Antoine strips away modern-day conceits in the quest for simplicity, solitude, and core truths. The works speak to the passage of time but also to a sense of timelessness. Useful Lies brings together several series among the last he produced. Aside from a single cardboard box in Les Intrus - a series that highlights the human body and the fragility of shelter - nothing in the photographs dates them. And yet, his framing and cropping are entirely modern, subverting any suggestion of nostalgia. These are not attempts to replicate nineteenth-century photographs but rather forays into unchartered territory that use the past to draft new stories.The collodion process also helps visually convey the feeling of being caught between two forces: the drive toward perfection and the desire to embrace flaws. More specifically, Antoine is drawn both to German New Objectivity of the 1920s, with its rejection of Expressionism, and to the movement known as pictorialism. His medium dovetails with his interest in New Objectivity by allowing for great precision and very fine detail. At the same time, the process is highly pictorial in that the artist essentially paints the glass plate with a sensitive coating, which pools and drips and must be controlled. This tension between exactitude and imperfection opens up the works, creating scenes that are both true to nature and evocative of their own realities.

The high mountains is a world that remains unknown to most. A few seasoned climbers have access to it, but some do not associate this dizzying passion with a practice of artistic photography. Thomas Crauwels is an award-winning photographer and a mountaineer. With ABOVE, he gives us access to these extraordinary landscapes and images of summits all located more than 4,000 meters above sea level. The repetition of black and white images underlines the fascination he feels for the vertigo of a summit, the pure line of a ridge, the white light of a hanging glacier, the harmony of a peak, the slope of a precipice, or the verticality of a wall. ABOVE proves to what extent geography and photography are closely intertwined when the mountain becomes the theatre of their union; a territory of beauty and of chaos to be overcome. Crauwels’s mastery of contrasts and lights and a maturity acquired through his explorations allow him to capture the mountain without ever freezing it in a stereotypical representation. Each of his images is the result of a decisive moment, carefully thought out and elaborated, whether it concerns the organisation of his expeditions, cartographic studies, keen awareness of weather, or the mental construction of the images he creates. ABOVE is not a mountain book like any other. Above all, it tells the story of a photographer’s consuming passion for a massif whose sumptuous beauty he has captured.

Pop art, urban art, painting? Kasia Wandycz’s work is on the border of all these arts. If the final image is a photograph, the artist plays with codes to better give us free rein to our interpretation. By restoring a part of the collective memory that is written in urban space, it allows us to re-enchant an entire world prey to oblivion or destruction.Each work tells a new story, which everyone can write. A creative gesture through a look, it is available for a new appropriation by the person who looks at it, inspired by the treasure hunt that it has created: what posters are these, what are they? what we see, who does it make us think of? We thus rediscover the pleasure of looking, of questioning ourselves, of searching. As we are faced with the profusion of images, this downtime is a precious gift given to us.Kasia Wandycz’s goal remains above all to make us perceive the beauty of a shape, a color, a thickness of tears. To apprehend the beauty of these battered but living papers, to feel their volume, their relief. Distortions of reality, poetic works, these photographs compose a visual and graphic universe that gives rise to emotion, joy and nostalgia. Leaving the anonymity of the street, they enter a new space of contemplation when the walls of the city give way to the walls of a gallery.

“HOPE is a manifesto of human interrelationship with Nature and gives a gentle and optimistic perspective on the environmental issues.”—Caterina De Biasio, VogueA MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM RENOWNED CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHER CRISTINA MITTERMEIER, WITH A FOREWORD BY ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST AND ACTOR ROBERT REDFORD.From ocean shores and Arctic glaciers to some of the most remote indigenous communities in the world, HOPE explores humanity’s relationship with the planet and possibilities for a mindful, sustainable future.This artistic manifesto is a celebration of the beauty of our planet’s biodiversity and a tribute to indigenous wisdom and stewardship, weaving photographer and marine biologist Cristina Mittermeier’s personal narrative with meaningful visual stories from a journey spanning over 130 countries, across every continent. Through her lens, Mittermeier explores the complex relationships that tie us to the natural world and to each other. Her images reflect a commitment to environmental conservation, cultural preservation, and social equity.With its radiant photography and candid prose, HOPE explores the beauty of an interconnected world: the majesty of a whale surfacing to catch its breath, the wise power of Madagascar’s baobabs, and the extraordinary resilience of people like the Kayapó fighting to save the Amazon rainforest.This impressive, bilingual English-French volume is divided into six sections—Indigenous Wisdom, Oceans of Hope, Icy Realms, The After Life, Heirs to the Earth, Interconnected—and features a foreword by legendary American actor and environmental activist Robert Redford. Part of the proceeds of this book will directly benefit the people, communities and projects featured in its pages.

"A vivid reminder of the shared history that connects us all."—Jasmine Bager, Arab NewsThe Silk Road: A Living History is a vibrant visual journey from renowned travel photographer and writer Christopher Wilton-Steer, allowing readers to explore the cities, landscapes, and communities along the storied Silk Road with the turn of a page.In 2019, Christopher embarked on an ambitious 40,000 kilometer overland expedition. Camera in hand, he followed the historic trade route from one end of Eurasia to the other. As he traveled across 15 different countries via car, bus, train, ferry, horse, and camel, his lens captured the essence of the Silk Road, from the Renaissance masterpieces of Venice to the bustling bazaars of Iran and the serene landscapes of Kyrgyzstan.The resulting collection of 160 photographs offers an intimate glimpse into the richness of cultures and the enduring legacy of connectivity that define the legendary trade network. Featuring thoughtful essays by the photographer and a preface by Oxford historian and bestselling author Peter Frankopan, The Silk Road: A Living History tells the story of one journey across Eurasia. It is a celebration of diversity, the traditional practices and customs that live on today, and the flourishing connections that endure along this historical, human network.