Book 3
’645’
The third of my handmade books for Yvon Lambert’s bookstore had a simple concept: to gather a body of work created over seven years with a single camera - one of many in my toolkit. This particular one joined me on countless adventures with friends, collaborators, lovers, and the world at large
20 x unique covers Edition of 20 11 x 14 inches This book was entirely created while living in a 800 year old farm house named Ebbio near Monteriggione, Tuscany, Italy during the lockdowns 2021.
The title of the book comes from the format of the medium format travel camera I used—645. Its compact, lightweight design made it an ideal companion on the road, offering a particular rhythm that suited the spontaneity of travel. It wasn’t a camera I overthought; it was the one I reached for instinctively. Over time, the images it produced came to feel like entries in a quiet, personal diary—unassuming, consistent, and deeply reflective of the moments I found myself in.
Unlike the digital workhorses I often used for commercial or editorial assignments - cameras that encourage shooting in bursts, almost like wielding a machine gun- this one demanded a slower, more deliberate approach. I was reminded of William Eggleston’s method of taking a single frame of a subject, trusting his eye and instinct.
The limitation is liberating. I find myself framing more carefully, waiting longer, and walking away after one exposure.
The tool, I’ve come to realise, makes a profound difference in the style of photographs I make. This camera’s quiet restraint shaped the tone of the images - and, in turn, the emotional rhythm of the book.
As with all the books in this series, they began as maquettes - early experiments for titles I hope to one day publish more formally. When the funds are available, I plan to bring these works to a wider audience. But somehow, through my ongoing dialogues with Yvon, they’ve become something else altogether: objects.
The act of making each one - again and again-has turned into a kind of meditation on the work itself. With every cover trimmed, image sequenced, and title drawn by hand, I find myself deepening my understanding of the photographs, and of the time they represent. It’s hard on the back, yes, but it brings me to a place of clarity and connection I wouldn’t reach otherwise. The repetition isn’t just physical; it’s reflective. Each copy becomes a new reading, a new encounter with the same material.
in preparation for the launch in Paris, I stayed in a 400 year old Tuscan farm house making the books. Weekly drives to collect supplies from nearby Sienna were the highlight given it was the Pandemic and all these beautiful roads let alone towns were empty.
