Over the last year, together with my close friend Stian Klo, I have built quite a nice collection of photo books. It has become almost an obsession and these days I find myself searching through the dark corners of the world wide web , looking for rare editions of Japanese landscape books. I have become a book junkie, constantly chasing the next fix.

So i figured I might put out some recommendations on which books are worth getting. There are so many books out there and its easy to get lost in the jungle of mediocre books. It could be worth keeping in mind that in my opinion images that look great on screen, don’t necessarily work so well in printed format. There is also so many other factors that have a huge impact on the final result when it comes to books. Most importantly i find the choice of paper to be crucial. This is where many self publishing photographers choose to save money. Because there really is a lot of money to be saved when choosing a cheaper paper. When I decided on the paper for HEIME I went for the most expensive, heaviest matt paper I could find. Compared to choosing a semi glossy thinner paper, it doubled the cost of the book. So it makes perfect sense for many to go for a less expensive paper. But it is such a wonderful experience working your way through a book printed on thick non-reflective paper. I cant get enough of it!

So why should you invest in photo books? For inspiration! Great books can provide you with fresh inspiration and make you grab your camera and get lost in nature again. I find so much joy and inspiration, and a great deal of learning elements, through books.

The book that really got me into all of this is this first one that i will recommend. Vincent Munier is a French wildlife and landscape photographer specialized in photographing harsh and challenging environments in the Arctic. Camping out for weeks and months waiting for the moments where animals and landscape becomes one, its a highly impressive accomplishment. Most of the images are high key ,colorless and captured in almost white-out conditions. The use of contrast is sublime and its so simple, yet extremely effective. A great photograph, to me, is one that leaves you with feeling something. Munier’s work leaves me impressed, speechless, wondering and daydreaming of photographing something remotely as stunning as what I’m looking at. His images of polar bears and wolves in particular are next level stuff. But also his landscape work speaks to me deeply. As a child of the arctic, living my entire life in the north being closely connected to winter, snow and ice, his way of showing the beauty in the harsh and quite “common” arctic scenery is just highly impressive. Composition is always flawless, his processing is tastefully kept to a minimum. Just quality work from start to finish.

The book itself is pure quality. The matte heavy paper is the perfect match for these images. Its like you can feel the rocks through the snow on paper. Presentation is so elegant and tasteful and i just flipped through the whole thing in awe. It also comes with a behind the scenes booklet, describing what it was like capturing these images. It makes you realize that what most consider adventuring, is nothing but a walk in the park compared to what Munier put into his work. That’s inspirational, it makes me want to push my own limits and get out there to battle the elements.

If you ever want to buy a photo book, this is the one you should start with.