Face to Face: Polar Portraits

by Huw Lewis-Jones

A lavish account of pioneering polar photography and modern portraiture, 'Face to Polar Portraits' brings together in a single volume both rare, unpublished treasures from the historic collections of the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), University of Cambridge, 'face to face' with cutting-edge modern imagery from expedition photographer Martin Hartley. The first book to examine the history and role of polar exploration photography, 'Face to Face' features the first portraits of explorers, some of the earliest photographs of the Inuit, the first polar photographs to appear in a book, and rare images never before published from many of the Heroic-Age Antarctic expeditions. In addition to this remarkable collection is a foreword written by Sir Ranulph Fiennes; a fascinating exploration into 'photography then' - the history of photography and its role in shaping our vision of the polar hero by historian and curator of art at SPRI, Dr Huw Lewis-Jones; a discussion between Dr Lewis-Jones and Martin Hartley about 'photography now', focusing on the essential role that photography plays in modern polar adventuring; and an afterword entitled 'The Boundaries of Light' by the best-selling author Hugh Brody.

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2008

About the author

Huw Lewis-Jones is a British historian, editor, broadcaster and art director. Formerly a historian and Curator of Art at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lewis-Jones left Cambridge in June 2010 to pursue book and broadcasting projects. He is the Editorial Director of the independent publishing company Polarworld.

Lewis-Jones is now working on an exploration of classic mountain photography and a large photography project for the national charity the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. His most recent books as an author are a new history of the South Pole and an Arctic travel narrative for television with popular BBC presenter and adventurer Bruce Parry.

Lewis-Jones' first book was Face to Face: Polar Portraits, an account of historic and modern photographic portraiture, published in 2008. British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes wrote its Foreword. The book was The Sunday Times 'Book of the Week' and a 'Book of the Year' in The Observer and received much praise elsewhere. It was also published in Italy by De Agostini and in Germany by Geo and Frederking and Thaler. The Explorers Journal described it as 'one of the most stunning books of photography in recent times'.

The next in his series, Ocean Portraits, a celebration of the sea told through rare historic imagery and modern maritime photography, was released in the United Kingdom in late 2010 by Conway, an imprint of London-based publishing house Anova Books. It is understood there will also be French and German language editions. Its Foreword was written by pioneering yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Described by Wanderlust magazine as a trove of 'portraiture at its best; personal, insightful and delightfully intriguing', it was selected by The Guardian as one of 'the year's best photography books'. Lewis-Jones has now completed Mountain Heroes: Portraits of Adventure, with a significant international team of authors and mountaineers including Doug Scott, Sir Chris Bonington, Stephen Venables, and the celebrated National Geographic photographers Gordon Wiltsie and Cory Richards. It won the Adventure Book of the Year at the World ITB Awards in Germany.

He is also the author of children books (Blue Badger, Bad Apple, Croc o’Clock, etc.).

Reviews

[Claudia Vannucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bel librone fotografico con un'altrettanto bella idea a monte: raccontare la storia delle esplorazioni polari attraverso i ritratti fotografici dei protagonisti, dalla fine dell'800 fino ad oggi.

[Elaine Meszaros · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant and gripping collection of photos, some almost 150 years old, of the brave (and possibly insane) women and men who explore the poles. The book gives a wide range of vignettes - the big names like Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton - but also their crew, modern explorers and scientists, Inuit residents and guides and other integral people. Beautiful, often unreal, photos accompanied by gripping stories.