“Oh To Apricate!”
Like many people, I struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder. You know every winter is going to be a battle. And every winter you tell yourself you've learned from the last one and will deal with it better. Then the months go by, and despite your best effort, you feel the weight of the darkness. Ultimately, as some guidelines I once came across on the web said, one must "see the light". It's the whole crux of the problem really. And sometimes there's only one way: do like migrating birds and head south in hope of sunnier days.
That's what I did in February 2024, heading to Athens for the first time. All I wanted was to disconnect, find some sun and walk around a new city with camera in hand. There was no project in mind then. I was basking under a cloudless sky in a relaxed state of mind, making photos for the pleasure of it. It felt wonderful.
This project is an ode to those days, as well as a reminder that sometimes it's OK to take the most obvious and easiest route to solve an issue, especially when it's linked to one's well-being.
Book specifications:
Self-published in an edition of 50, numbered and signed
Photos and design by Boris Hamilton
Text by Boris Hamilton
Size: 19x13 cms
42 photos
Soft-cover (200g/m) with flaps + a gold endpaper
HP Indigo digital colour printing by @buroform.print
Hand-stitched by Boris Hamilton
Comes with a postcard with a text on the back
Price €27 + shipping from Belgium
Order by sending an email to borishamilton@gmail.com or here
The Linn
In late 2022 Matthew Young suggested I photograph the Linn Botanic Gardens, which he was restoring after they had been left to the elements for numerous years. Following a first brief visit in February 2023, we decided I would return every season to document the changes in the gardens. I made trips in April, August and October of that same year, as well as a quick one-day visit in January 2024 to get some more winter shots.
The images in the book are from all four seasons and purposefully jumbled and sequenced so as to mimic the passing of a day rather than the passing of seasons. My aim is for the viewer to get a feeling and sense of the gardens rather than a clear understanding of its topography or the fauna on display. It's an invitation for the reader to visit and explore the location with their own eyes and hopefully lose themselves in the space.
Book specifications:
Self-published in August 2024 in an edition of 100
Photos and design: Boris Hamilton
Texts by Boris Hamilton, Matthew Young and a poem by Emily Dickinson
30 x 22cms
144 pages - 114 images
Hardcover with deboss and tip-on image
Cover and binding by Gomer Press
Printed digitally on 120 gsm Munken Polar Smooth uncoated paper by Gomer Press
Price €35 + shipping from Belgium. Copies are also available at the Linn Botanic Gardens for £30.
Order by sending an email to borishamilton@gmail.com or here
