On My Bookshelf
I recently presented at an online conference on the subject of “Cultivating Connection: Techniques for More Expressive Imagery.” I shared with the group about the importance of connecting with landscapes and nature, and why I consider it a critical pre-requisite to creating expressive landscape and nature photographs. I consider books an important part of this process. During one of the Q&A sessions, someone asked the question: What reading material would I recommend to photographers seeking to make these connections with nature? And that was when I decided to start sharing my own reading choices with my followers.
I envision doing this semi-regularly, maybe every few months, as I browse and read through books already in my collection, or books I’ve recently bought and am currently reading. My choices will generally be naturalist titles, conservation-minded titles, or artistry/creativity titles, although occasionally I may go off on a bit of a tangent. The links are affiiliate links but they are also books I’ve bought myself that are currently in my library (as seen in my video).
I try to surround myself with inspiration, and to live a creative, inspired life. Integral to both of these goals is reading. My husband and I have a huge collection of books with a dedicated library in our home filled with books of every flavor. My hope is that by sharing our collection with you, I will spend more time in the library learning from our beautiful collection.
I hope you find some material here that interests you! Happy reading!
The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris
From me: "The Lost Words" is a captivating masterpiece that beautifully bridges the gap between language and the natural world. Each page is adorned with spellbinding illustrations that evoke the serene, minimalist scenes I cherish as a nature photographer. The poetic “spells” breathe life into forgotten words, inspiring a deeper connection with the flora and fauna that often escape our notice. It's a poignant reminder of the quiet wonders that exist all around us, waiting to be rediscovered through the lens and the written word.
From Amazon: From bestselling Landmarks author Robert Macfarlane and acclaimed artist and author Jackie Morris, a beautiful collection of poems and illustrations to help readers rediscover the magic of the natural world. In 2007, when a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary ― widely used in schools around the world ― was published, a sharp-eyed reader soon noticed that around forty common words concerning nature had been dropped. Apparently they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. The list of these “lost words” included acorn, adder, bluebell, dandelion, fern, heron, kingfisher, newt, otter, and willow. Among the words taking their place were attachment, blog, broadband, bullet-point, cut-and-paste, and voice-mail. The news of these substitutions ― the outdoor and natural being displaced by the indoor and virtual ― became seen by many as a powerful sign of the growing gulf between childhood and the natural world. Ten years later, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris set out to make a “spell book” that will conjure back twenty of these lost words, and the beings they name, from acorn to wren. By the magic of word and paint, they sought to summon these words again into the voices, stories, and dreams of children and adults alike, and to celebrate the wonder and importance of everyday nature. The Lost Words is that book ― a work that has already cast its extraordinary spell on hundreds of thousands of people and begun a grass-roots movement to re-wild childhood across Britain, Europe, and North America.
The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris
From me: This mesmerizing continuation of the enchantment found in "The Lost Words," brings the natural world to life with exquisite illustrations and evocative poetry. As a nature photographer, I am deeply moved by the vivid imagery and rhythmic verses that celebrate the beauty and magic of the wilderness. Each spell feels like a whispered secret from the heart of nature, encouraging a deeper appreciation for the fleeting, quiet moments and details. This book is a treasure trove of inspiration, perfect for anyone who finds solace and wonder in the natural world.
From Amazon: The follow-up to the internationally bestselling sensation The Lost Words, The Lost Spells is a beautiful collection of poems and illustrations that evokes the magic of the everyday natural world. Since its publication in 2017, The Lost Words has enchanted readers with its poetry and illustrations of the natural world. Now, The Lost Spells, a book kindred in spirit and tone, continues to re-wild the lives of children and adults. The Lost Spells evokes the wonder of everyday nature, conjuring up red foxes, birch trees, jackdaws, and more in poems and illustrations that flow between the pages and into readers’ minds. Robert Macfarlane’s spell-poems and Jackie Morris’s watercolour illustrations are musical and magical: these are summoning spells, words of recollection, charms of protection. To read The Lost Spells is to see anew the natural world within our grasp and to be reminded of what happens when we allow it to slip away.
The Art of Acadia by David Little and Carl Little
From me: "Art of Acadia" is a breathtaking celebration of the stunning landscapes and natural beauty of Acadia National Park. As a landscape and nature photographer, I am captivated by the book's exquisite visuals and rich historical context, which together paint a vivid picture of this unique region. The detailed artistry and photography within its pages inspire a deeper appreciation for Acadia's rugged coastlines, serene forests, and majestic mountains, and have served as a wonderful source of information for my soon-to-be-released eBook on Acadia. This book is an invaluable resource, evoking the park's essence and motivating artists to explore and capture its timeless splendor.
From Amazon: The Mount Desert Island and Acadia region of Maine has been the subject of artists for hundreds of years and many of America’s most celebrated painters have been inspired here. From Thomas Cole to Richard Estes, painters have captured the exquisite beauty of the island on canvas. Their work has drawn visitors year after year and helped inspire the preservation of its extraordinary natural beauty through the creation of Acadia National Park. This view of the region through the works of talented artists grants a new perspective to our collective appreciation of this unique convergence of land and sea.
On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor
From me: A thought-provoking exploration of the paths we traverse, both physically and metaphorically. The book's rich narrative parallels the photographer’s journey of capturing the perfect shot, emphasizing the importance of patience, observation, and understanding the landscapes we move through. It's an inspiring read that deepens my appreciation for the trails we follow and the stories they reveal.
From Amazon: New York Times Bestseller • Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award • Winner of the Saroyan International Prize for Writing • Winner of the Pacific Northwest Book Award • “The best outdoors book of the year.” —Sierra Club
From a talent who’s been compared to Annie Dillard, Edward Abbey, David Quammen, and Jared Diamond, On Trails is a wondrous exploration of how trails help us understand the world—from invisible ant trails to hiking paths that span continents, from interstate highways to the Internet. While thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Robert Moor began to wonder about the paths that lie beneath our feet: How do they form? Why do some improve over time while others fade? What makes us follow or strike off on our own? Over the course of seven years, Moor traveled the globe, exploring trails of all kinds, from the miniscule to the massive. He learned the tricks of master trail-builders, hunted down long-lost Cherokee trails, and traced the origins of our road networks and the Internet. In each chapter, Moor interweaves his adventures with findings from science, history, philosophy, and nature writing. Throughout, Moor reveals how this single topic—the oft-overlooked trail—sheds new light on a wealth of age-old questions: How does order emerge out of chaos? How did animals first crawl forth from the seas and spread across continents? How has humanity’s relationship with nature and technology shaped world around us? And, ultimately, how does each of us pick a path through life? Moor has the essayist’s gift for making new connections, the adventurer’s love for paths untaken, and the philosopher’s knack for asking big questions. With a breathtaking arc that spans from the dawn of animal life to the digital era, On Trails is a book that makes us see our world, our history, our species, and our ways of life anew.
A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit
From me: "Field Guide to Getting Lost" by Rebecca Solnit is a lyrical and profound meditation on the beauty and necessity of losing oneself in both the physical and metaphorical wilderness. Her evocative prose captures the essence of wandering and discovery, encouraging a deeper connection to the landscapes we spend time in. This book is a poignant reminder that getting lost is not a setback but an invitation to see the world—and ourselves—with fresh eyes.
From Amazon: “An intriguing amalgam of personal memoir, philosophical speculation, natural lore, cultural history, and art criticism.” —Los Angeles Times
From the award-winning author of Orwell's Roses, a stimulating exploration of wandering, being lost, and the uses of the unknown. Written as a series of autobiographical essays, A Field Guide to Getting Lost draws on emblematic moments and relationships in Rebecca Solnit's life to explore issues of uncertainty, trust, loss, memory, desire, and place. Solnit is interested in the stories we use to navigate our way through the world, and the places we traverse, from wilderness to cities, in finding ourselves, or losing ourselves. While deeply personal, her own stories link up to larger stories, from captivity narratives of early Americans to the use of the color blue in Renaissance painting, not to mention encounters with tortoises, monks, punk rockers, mountains, deserts, and the movie Vertigo. The result is a distinctive, stimulating voyage of discovery.
Anne Brigman: A Visionary in Modern Photography by Ann M. Wolfe (Contributor), Susan Ehrens (Contributor), Alexander Nemerov (Contributor), Kathleen Pyne (Contributor), Heather Waldroup (Contributor)
From me: A captivating tribute to a pioneering artist whose work redefined the genre of fine art feminist portraiture. As a self-portrait photographer, I am inspired by Brigman's bold integration of the human form with the natural world, creating images that are both intimate and transcendent. Her innovative use of composition and symbolism resonates deeply, offering a powerful testament to the expressive potential of self-portraiture. This book is an essential read, showcasing Brigman's enduring influence and her trailblazing vision that continues to inspire contemporary photographers. My copy of this book came with a small volume of Brigman’s poems - Songs of a Pagan - and I find it inspiring in equal measure to her photographs. This set is one of my most treasured volumes in our library!
From Amazon: A look at one of the first feminist artists, Pictorialist photographer Anne Brigman, best known for her iconic landscape photographs made in the early 1900s depicting female nudes outdoors in rugged northern California. This main volume of a previously published slipcased edition is the catalogue of the major retrospective exhibition that took place in 2018 at the Nevada Museum of Art, and remains the first comprehensive book to chronicle the photography of Anne W. Brigman (1869-1950), one of the most important of all American women photographers. This monumental publication rediscovers and celebrates the work of Brigman, whose photography was considered radical for its time. For Brigman to objectify her own nude body as the subject of her photographs in the turn of the 20th century was groundbreaking; to do so outdoors in a near-desolate wilderness setting was revolutionary. Brigman's significance spanned both coasts: in northern California, where she lived, she was known as a poet, a critic, and a member of the Pictorialist photography movement, whose practitioners employed various methods of manipulation to achieve images that were considered beautiful and romantic. On the east coast, her work was promoted by Alfred Stieglitz, who published her photographs in Camera Work and elected her as a Fellow of the prestigious Photo-Secession.
The beautifully produced large-format book is devoted to Brigman's entire career, covering such topics as Brigman's work within the contexts of the California Arts & Crafts movement and New York Modernism; her relationship to High Sierra mountaineering and early 20th-century poetry; and the relevance of her work to contemporary conversations regarding gendered landscapes of the American frontier.