Photo Book Wildlife 2021

Creating a photo book became an annual routine of mine. Here’s a little insight into Wildife 2021.

A Photo Book as a Personal Memory

Many photographers have thousands of images collecting virtual dust on their hard drives. Barely are they ever touched again. At the crucial moment of showing off these fantastic moments, there is no suitable, readily available image to display. To escape this calamity, I found a solution in the creation of an annual photo book. This photo book is a personal memory, which allows me to physically collect memories from my book shelve.

Last year's photo book Wildlife 2020 — Last year’s photo book Wildlife 2020

Wildlife 2021 Photo Book

Although 95% of all images in this book are taken by me, there are a couple that were shot by friends during an excursion together. I indicated photos from other people by stating their names below the picture. In total the book has 56 pages including roughly 24 different species of animals.

Let’s start with my favourite photo book spreads.

Favourit Double Pages

Favourite spread in my Wildlife 2021 photo book — From left to right: young chamois, long-eared owl, kingfisher in snow, full moon silhouette by Ian Porter.

Panoramas of landscapes are also included in the photo book depicting the fascinating harsh environment these animals live in.

Memories of the Swiss National Park in the photo book — Memories of the Swiss National Park. From left to right: spotted nutcracker, crossbill, and a juvenile golden eagle.

Camera Trap

In 2021, I also started my journey into the world of camera trapping and trail cameras. However, the results so far are mediocre. In contrast, the difficulties I encountered were manifold: First, I had several technical issues regarding batteries, flashes, and wireless receivers. Next, the animals either passed the traps in the opposite direction than I anticipated or were too close when the sensor triggered the camera. To top it off, the hunters that were informed about my cameras changed their mind and threatened to destroy them. Therefore, I had to remove all of them. Hence, I am back where I began.

Analogue photography by Andrzej

This year, I also received the digitalized analogue black and white pictures by Andrzej. We undertook a fly fishing trip together and he caught his first trout ever. Meanwhile, he also took awesome black and white pictures with his retro film camera. I just love those shots.

The Analogue black and white photography by Andrzej gives wonderful contrast to the vibrant colors in the previous spread.

Behind the Scenes

Apart from showcasing my best work, I also feature some behind-the-scenes impressions. This allows me to show the circumstances of how these images were created and oftentimes rekindle funny memories.

Photo Book Summary

At first, I underestimated the effort that goes into the design of a photo book. Not only do you have to match photos together, but also every page with the adjoining ones. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable process, and I cannot wait for it to arrive. Last year, I designed the photo book with the software of Whitewall. However, given that you do not receive any PDF nor have any reproduction possibilities, I opted to use Adobe InDesign from now on. This allowed me to be creatively independant and can copy and share my work independently. Other than that, I am very convinced by the quality the Whitewall photo lab provided.

I wish you only the best for 2022, may all your wishes come true.

Cheers

Tom