Product Description

In The Northumberland Coast acclaimed photographer Joe Cornish records his visual impressions of a landscape that has enchanted him: its vast sandy bays and some of the most beautiful beaches in England, great castles such as Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh that are windswept memorials to a bygone age, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne with its compelling tidal causeway, fishing boats, colonies of seabirds, and uncommercialized coastal towns and villages. Supported by a commentary that blends recollections with historical anecdotes, his photographs capture the region's subtle beauty, intimacy and space.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17795 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Review
Cornish's images of this unspoilt shore are full of subtle colour, atmospheric light and feathery textures. It's a book to gaze at and be transported by. (Coast )

To bring this beauty to life takes a special eye and a brilliant talent. Thanks then to the photographer Joe Cornish. In fact, please take a bow Joe, for in your recent book you have brought together a glorious collection of photographic scenes that will surely move all of us who have a knowledge, however intimate or fleeting, of this gloriously remarkable coastline, and perhaps equally significantly, inspire those of you who have yet to appreciate its glorious temperament. (Living North )

A well-crafted collection of images that capture Northumberland's special atmosphere as well as its many and varied charms. (Amateur Photographer )

His photographic journey covers many subjects familiar to Northumbrian readers but it is given added dimension and impact by compositional perfection and quality of light. (Northumbrian )

A fine example of the breed - few could do this type of photography better [3 stars] (BBC Countryfile )

About the Author
Joe Cornish is a travel photographer specialising in landscapes. He has worked for the National Trust and many environmental agencies, as well as producing articles for photography magazines. He lectures widely in the UK and abroad.

To visit Joe's website click here

Customer Reviews

Northumberland's Coast at its best
Those familiar with Joe Cornish's work are likely to have already read his previous titles First Light: A Landscape Photographer's Art and Scotland's Coast: A Photographer's Journey.

First Light is a guide on how Joe approaches his photography. It includes photos from all over the world and has an extensive commentary on each photo explaining what was special about each location and how he's learned to improve over the years.

Scotland's Coast is less of guide to photography and more about what Joe finds inspirational about Scotland's Coast. Limiting himself to Scotland's 6,000 mile-long coastline over a short period of time the light is less than ideal on many photos, but you can still see the quality shine through, page after page.

With this book Joe limits himself even further - to just a 50 mile stretch of Northumberland's coastline. As a result the book is slimmer (128 pages) than the previous two (160 pages). The commentary is also significantly reduced, which is a great pity; the previous two books are packed with useful information about each location and his musings often increase the intensity of the emotional impact of each image.

So, with a reduction in size and commentary, is this book still worth buying? Undoubtedly - yes! Anyone familiar with this coastline will not fail to be astounded by the quality of images he has managed to collect from this tiny section (0.5%) of the UK's coastline. I thought I was familiar with Northumberland's coast, but having read this I realised I'd only scratched the surface. Beautiful scretches of beach at Ross Sands and Cheswick & Goswick Sands, rock formations at Cullernose Point and Howick had all been overlooked by me for the last 20 years. Having bought this I've changed all that and a completely new Northumberland has been opened to my eyes.

I'm sure that if you have an interest in Northumberland or photography you will not be disappointed with this purchase.

Disappointing Picture Book
After having purchased 'First Light' and 'Scotlands Coast', a book based upon Northumberland I felt was going to be a hit. Joe is considered to be one of, if not, the best landscape photographer in Britain, and yet despite this 'tag' to his name, this book has left me feeling numb and bored.

The book is no where as descriptive as the others, with a few sections having more detailed text about the areas photographed than others. Otherwise the photographs have very minimal text if not, no text at all.

This really is a picture book in the sense of the words, and yet does not live up to the quality associated with it. Maybe more like 'coffee table book' would be better suited. I can see this book in doctors waiting rooms, rather than being kept carefully in someones photography book collection.

The photographs are printed on a relatively decent paper, however it is not up to the standard of other books. Clarity and sharpness are not quite as expected, and the images do not leap from the pages as with Joe's other books. This obviously is not down to Joe, however, the publishers Francis Lincoln could of achieved a better quality I am sure. This is probably down to the low selling price of the book, and maybe is not being aimed at photography buffs, but rather the general public?

This book doesn't cover camera techniques, filtration, composition etc etc so anyone desiring this will be disappointed, however there are a few pages at the back detailing camera and film choice only.

I don't think this book engages the viewer through the photographs, and many of them are, well, rather boring? Joe is an extremely competent photographer as most know, but there is a slight feeling that even though the book showcases some unpublished work, you come away feeling, what was the real purpose of publishing such a book? It doesn't have the integrity of past works, and the photographs have that 'same, Joe Cornish' style and look throughout. I can't help but feel that this is dull? I desire more from such a well known respected photographer, like monochromes perhaps, just something different than just 'near foreground, 30/70 compositions!

Was this book just for the money? Who knows...It could of been so much better.

Very good...but not his best.
Those familiar with his work won't be in for any surprises here.
It's good stuff but, maybe because the subject matter isn't always as dramatic, not as inspiring as Scotland's Coast: A Photographer's Journey or his first book First Light: A Landscape Photographer's Art.
In summary - very good but if you don't have the others, get them first.