There are plans for an English edition - the authors were even talking specifically whe I spoke to them, but it would be wrong of me to go into details here.
Here is my text from my review that was published in UWP Magazine at the start of the month, that covers what I know:
Planète MERS – Laurent Ballesta & Pierre Descamp
I must start with an apology because I am reviewing a book that I have not read! It is in French and I can’t read French. But I have looked at every page of this phenomenal book and I just had to tell you about it as soon as possible!
Fans of the Antibes Festival will surely have marvelled at Laurent Ballesta’s multi-award winning photography, but outside his native France he is not that well known. This is a pity because, to put it simply, I think he is currently the world’s best underwater photographer. His new book, Planete MERS, a collaboration with writings from fellow biologist Pierre Descamp is a large format (330x280mm), 400 page coffee table book, featuring the best of Laurent’s images. It is a triumph.
Laurent is a master of balanced light photography, mixing high impact foreground marine life with beautiful depth-giving backgrounds that immediately transport you beneath the waves. His animal portraits, of both large and small subjects, are perfectly composed and full of character. Alongside these achingly beautiful shots are marine life images of rare and previously un-photographed species and behaviours all precisely lit, framed and exposed. But what sets Laurent apart is that not only does he seek out the ocean’s most magnificent creatures he also produces captivating images from the mundane and everyday subjects, such as seagrass beds. The photographs truly come from around the world: Polar - from both the Arctic and Antarctic, Temperate – from Northern Europe (including freshwater) and North and South America, and Tropical – mainly Jordan, PNG and French Polynesia.
I am struggling to think of a negative point, but perhaps the book is about 5% too long. Such is impact of each image, that going through it first time from cover to cover is emotionally exhausting. That said 400 pages of lavishly reproduced images seem very reasonable at 39 Euros. This is certainly a book that will continue to reward the reader time after time.
Currently this book is only available in French in France. Laurent and Pierre told me that they are hoping to get an English edition out next year (but despite not speaking French I could not resist buying it now). Since writing this review the book has gone on to win the Antibes Festival prize for the best underwater image book, which will undoubtedly help this process.
In my opinion there have been two books of underwater images that have stood head and shoulders above what has gone before when they were released: Newbert’s Within A Rainbowed Sea and Doubilet’s Water Light Time. Maybe we now have a third book to add to this esteemed company?
