‘We all experience the tranquil feeling of being present in a forest”

Writes my good friend Dorin Bofan his second book.

‘It’s an environment familiar to us, which we evolved in.
’The sounds of birds, insects and the wind gently moving the branches,
’the air filled with the scent of plants,
’all indicate the possibility of food and shelter

I first met Dorin in his home country of Romania back in 2018. He struck me as someone who’s passion for the outdoors is just as strong as his passion for photography is.

His new book ‘Terra Silva’, is a book about forests. He says that ‘Terra Silva’ is latin for ‘the land of the forest’. The book has a beautiful collection of naturalist images of forests from arctic Norway, Romania, Patagonia, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Scotland and also dare I say it - Iceland! Yes, Iceland has forests!

A keen hiker, and much fitter and younger than I am, Dorin is someone who makes images whilst camping inside the forests he shoots. It’s something I would like to do more of myself. Dorin’s photographic style is closer to realist nature photographer Elliot Porter. More verbatim, closer to an accurate account of what one would feel and see if spending time in and around the forests he has photographed in all seasons. I really enjoyed stepping into his realm, even if it was just for a short time. That’s the beauty of books: you can lose yourself in them, in a way that you don’t whilst browsing websites.

Occasionally we see images with hints of graphic qualities to them which help the collection in general feel more varied. Some images are close ups, others vistas. Regardless of this, the level of intimacy he has with his subject is always present in each image, no matter if the image is of a close up branch or a vista. I always sensed Dorin behind every exposure in the book.

I think it is quite difficult to photograph forests. They are certainly a subject matter that I have personally avoided because it takes a special eye to be able to make sense of their busy and often complex nature. While looking through Dorin’s images I slowly became aware that I was not struggling to enjoy the compositions. There are no awkward views, no untidy, ill-conceived shots where I could feel my belief that shooting forests is always a compromise if not impossible. It’s something most would find difficult to do well - to hide the complexity, and to present such complex subjects in a pleasing way. He does it so well, that I almost didn’t notice that he was doing it.

Being a self employed photographer, Dorin and I share the same aspirations: the need to show others what we saw, but also to be able to keep the economic plates spinning in order to keep on doing it. One of the ways we are able to continue with our imagery is by running workshops and selling books, and this is something I must commend him on: he did all the design work on his book, and also oversaw the project without any help from anyone else. It takes a lot of time and effort to make your own book, and also to work with a printer, to iron out all the issues and to hopefully end up with something that is close to what you envisioned. His book is a modest one. Aproximately A4 in size, ,but conceived to work on so many levels. I wish Dorin all the success with it.

The book has reminded me that I still have unfinished interest in Romania and I would love nothing more when my time permits, to go back out there and spend some more time with Dorin. Until then, I will happily be looking through his book and imagery. I will be dreaming of camping in some far off distant forest, in all kinds of weather, and in all seasons, with my camera just like Dorin has.

You can view, find out more, and buy the book here.