Book Review - Tuning into Nature
Think of Andy Rouse and you immediately associate him with photographing bears, tigers and other megafauna in far-flung places around the globe. If by any chance you have been hiding away in a cave for the last 20 years and have never seen any of Andy’s amazing work, then go and check him out on social media under Wildmanrouse and you’ll see what I mean. Andy is part of the amazing WildArt judging team of course.
A couple of weeks ago, Andy sent me a copy of his new book, Tuning into Nature, a volume inspired by his personal experience of lockdown and the way Covid has changed his and all our lives. This book is full of amazing images as you would expect from such a talented professional, but the emphasis isn’t on the large mammals he is famous for. And this is where this book is different, as (by his own admission) is the post-Covid version of Andy himself.
I’m going to be honest (as I always am) and say that if you are looking for yet another celebration of the poster boys of the animal kingdom, all staring back at you on glossy page after glossy page, interspersed by homogenised text eulogising about how fabulous the photographer is and what they went through to get the shots, then this book isn’t for you. There are plenty of those out there if that’s what you want.
No, this book is different. It’s honest and raw, and that makes it relatable – for me at least, but I’m guessing that it will be that way for many of you too. This book is personal; it’s one man’s journey through lockdown and the changes that were enforced on all our lives; it’s a battle with inner demons and a search to find a new and more content version of Andy Rouse in a remodelled world.
As much as this book is about looking for all the positives that came about from lockdown and the focus this gave to us on the things on our own doorsteps, it also deals with Andy’s personal battle with what he terms his ‘inner saboteur’. A lack of confidence and creeping self-doubt can lead to bouts of depression and loss of self-motivation. I know, I’ve been there and it’s a place that I don’t like, but also realise that it’s a place that I’ll revisit again and again in my life. I think Andy is the same, but the last year or so has given him the directions to get back home – to find his happy place.
His map it seems is the reconnection with the local wildlife on his own doorstep, wildlife he neglected for years. This book is a visual and written representation of Andy’s epiphany, and it is full of stunning images, all of which were captured close to home. Andy has traded his hallmark polar bears and tigers for the likes of (wait for it…) damselflies, bees, butterflies, kingfishers, goldfinches, little owls, hares and all manor of local wildlife. I mean, I never even knew Andy owned a macro lens!
And if you think this is just a picture book, then you’d be wrong and be missing the whole point of it. Andy bares his soul and tells it as it is, warts and all. But that’s the magic of it; here is a person who is prepared to admit he’s not perfect, but has found a way to be better, found a way to cope with the mental health issues we all face at times. All our journeys through life are different of course and require our own individual map; sharing someone else’s journey just might make it easier to plot a successful route. When I picked up this book, I hadn’t taken a worthwhile picture in weeks, having hit one of my flat spots. It’s inspired me to create again and, like Andy, that’s where I’m most content.
If all you want are cracking images of local wildlife and the stories behind how Andy took them, then the book delivers this too. But, do yourself a favour and read it with an open mind and you may find that Andy’s experiences beyond the lens resonate in ways you hadn’t realised. Honest, raw, emotional - that’s what you get from Andy who, even if at times he doubts it, is a bloody fabulous photographer. This collection of images is all the evidence you (and he) will need, and I know he will look back on this book in years to come with the same pride he has taken in the images it displays.