THE MEANS by which landscape photographer Peter Cox raised the money for his latest book is nearly as impressive as the book itself.
The Irish Light – A Collection of Landscape Photographs is a compilation of pictures taken over seven years. They depict dramatic landscapes set against the changing patterns of light. These are no simple snapshots, however. Cox, for example, waited five years to take the cover picture of Slea Head in Dingle.
When he approached publishers, however, they said there was no market for such a coffee-table book in the present recession. So he went to KickStarter.com, an American crowd-funding site that raises money for creative projects online. Within two days he had raised about €8,500 to publish the book. He has since raised about €30,000, which will be used to fund a print run of 3,000 copies. About 800 copies of the book have already been sold at €29.95 each. "There is always money around, [it is] just a case of getting people a good enough value case to get it," he said.
Cox said he wanted to highlight the fantastic quality of Irish light, which many people do not notice. “We’re very fortunate. These photographs are not faked in any way. People don’t notice this great light we have because they are thinking of other things,” he said.
