This is such an exciting journey, and I feel incredibly happy and fortunate to have you all alongside me, so generously offering your support and encouragement.
Part Two
Rejection and filtering
It goes without saying that a task such as this cannot be undertaken lightly - or single-handedly - if it is to be produced to the highest standard and avoid costly mistakes. Over the years, I approached numerous publishers, and on each occasion, either I received no response or was told the project was too niche. The prospect was daunting, yet it became clear that I would have to do it alone!
March 2022 - November 2024
Ahead lay the mammoth task of distilling a lifetime’s work: sourcing a designer, book manager, and printer; deciding on the book’s size and paper stock; and navigating colour management so that the images on the printed page appeared as they did on my computer screen. First things first, I needed to reduce the number of photographs to a more manageable selection. It was essential that whoever assisted me with this process understood not only photography but also the natural world, so they could appreciate the context and relationships between corresponding and facing images.
Lightroom catalogue after typing Elmley into the Text Search box. This excludes the four-drawer filing cabinet of transparencies!
68,755 of 347,416 photos
One such individual immediately sprang to mind - someone for whom I had long held great respect as a photographer, naturalist, and writer, and with whom I had corresponded for some years: Niall Benvie. Much to his enormous credit, without hesitation, he accepted the challenge with gusto and, following many Zoom meetings, together we reduced the number to something far more manageable - albeit still somewhat heavy!
Next came the challenge of finding a project manager and designer who, between them, know printers, proofreaders, paper stocks, and binders. Unsurprisingly, they don’t come cheap - but whatever they charge is likely far less than you’d lose by making a “simple” mistake. Nothing replaces years - often decades - of experience.
August 2023
Two and a half years ago, I was interviewed for an eight-page Nikon N-Photo magazine article by the esteemed journalist, photographer, and editor Keith Wilson. Although we weren’t friends as such, we’d known of each other through my writing for the photographic press over the past 30 years. During the interview, I mentioned my long-held ambition to produce a book on Elmley, and how the idea had largely fallen on deaf ears. As we wrapped up, Keith kindly said that if I ever decided to pursue the project through self-publishing, he’d be happy to lend an ear. We left it at that, and life carried on.
December 2024
Sixteen months had passed, and I really felt it was time to get the project properly underway. I emailed Keith to ask whether I might take him up on his offer and seek any advice he could give on publishing the book. We spoke at length, with real enthusiasm for the project. Three hours flew by, and towards the end of the call, completely out of the blue, Keith said, “Let’s do it!!” You could have knocked me over with a feather duster! Moments later, he added that we’d obviously need a designer - and almost speaking over one another, we both said, “How about Eddie Ephraums?” “Give him a call,” Keith said, “and mention that I’ll be editing the book.”
As soon as the conversation ended, I emailed Eddie. Moments later, his reply landed in my inbox: “Hello Robert, what beautiful images and what a wonderful sense of place. I’d be delighted to work on the book with you and Keith.”
Keith Wilson
Editor of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year portfolio
Founder of Outdoor Photography: Editor from 2000 to 2007
Founder of Black & White Photography magazine
Founder of Wild Planet...
(The world’s first monthly digital magazine devoted entirely to wildlife photography)
Award-winning editor of Amateur Photographer magazine
Jury chair for the Nature Photographer of the Year awards
Co-founder of Photographers Against Wildlife Crime
Eddie Ephraums
Writer, editor, and photobook specialist
Runs Envisage Books, offering...
Photobook design and production
Mentoring for photographers creating their own books
Workshops on sequencing, editing, and printing
Was this really going to happen? Rein it in, Canis, I told myself - this was only the beginning.
For immediate updates as the book develops, you can find me on the following channels:
