The Bookshelf #15 - Highland Wilderness - Colin Prior
Highland Wilderness
Colin Prior
Published by Constable
Available on Amazon from £5.84
I am a bit ashamed to admit this, but I didn't know much Colin Prior’s work, prior (see what I did there?) to seeing him in videos on the Sigma UK YouTube channel, where he and Joe Cornish have been out together shooting. This led me down a bit of a rabbit hole and to several purchases on Amazon, which have led me to fall in love with his work.
I don’t live very far from Scotland (I do live a long way from The Highlands) and it’s a place I didn't think I visited enough, and this has book has served to confirm that notion. I have another book of Prior’s to write about in a couple of weeks, but I am going to intersperse it with some of the Joe Cornish and Charlie Waite books I have added to my collection in the last week.
I must admit that these are the first books by at least of 2 of these photographers I have collected, and given the price of them and the value for money they represent, I will no doubt be adding more in the not too distant future.
The prices are very appealing; you will see at the top of this page that I paid the princely sum of £5.84 for this book. I bought 6 books and this was the most expensive of the six with the grand total of all six being less than £30. It feels criminal to be paying so little for so much high quality photography.
I have a copy of the 2004 edition of this book, I couldn’t afford the £300+ that the original 1993 version commands, but I dare say that even at this price, it’s worth the money, if thats the kind of money you have.
What I love about this book, other than the quality of the whole thing, is the huge number of panoramic images it contains, and these are, for the most part, printed across double page spreads, most of which don’t lose any of the photo in the gutter of the book, and on the rare occasion it does happen, it’s not so much that it becomes an issue.
One of my favourite images can be found on pages 219-220 (of the 2004 version); a vertical panorama of Beinn Align, Upper Loch Torrid. Prior has absolutely nailed the colour of the sky in this shot, the clouds create the feeling of the cold weather I imagined at the scene and there is a bit of movement in the foreground/midground water which creates a subtle blur on the reflections which we see in the water - this is a picture I would happily hang at home, which is weird as it’s a stark contrast to a lot of the moody work which already adorns the walls.
There is a brief cover note in the front of this book, from Lasla Buhasz, a journalist at the Scotsman newspaper at the time the book was published and it desribed the beauty of the Highlands of Scotland, their feeling of isolation, their absence of humanity and their remoteness. He also says “Highland Wilderness is the record of this land”, and that quote, I think, sums this book up really succinctly. It records these places and preserves their beauty for future generations to see, and no doubt will be looked upon fondly by many readers for years to come.
The book is divided into sections; The Islands, North-West Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Central Highlands and Southern Highlands, so if you’re planning a visit this is a really useful book to have - at least from a photography point of view; there are some fantastic view points and a lot of inspiration.
Highland Wilderness isn’t just a celebration of the beauty of the Highlands, or indeed of Colin Prior’s ability to capture this beauty, scale and character. It’s a celebration of why these places matter, and for photographers, it offers inspiration and a masterclass in observation.
You can get your copy on Amazon from around £5.00
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If you have enjoyed this, you can check out other entries in my bookshelf series below.
