Ecstatic Nature

Tim Barber’s “Ecstatic Nature,” published by France-based Études Books, is a diary-like meandering through natural scenes and urban landscapes. A mix between digital and analog photography, the book wanders between everyday moments (a girl’s head resting on the dashboard of a car, a group of friends walking down a street as the sun sets behind them), deliberate stagings (two hands touching with an unnatural gesture, a fishbowl held as if to replace a head), and spectacular views (a car burning on the side of the road). The title “Ecstatic Nature” refers not only to the book’s subject matter but also to the cyanotype process used for some of the images, tinting them a monochromatic shade of blue. “The cyanotype process emphasizes how when an image is simplified, it can reveal itself, be more emotionally resonant, truer to form (…). Photographs are like rubbings of three-dimensional reality, translations of impressions.” ― Tim Barber