The Wind in My Face

A well-known naturalist, forester and nature photographer, Don MacCaskill died in May, 2000 while out for a walk in the forest he loved, his camera as ever at the ready. Faced with a collection of between three and four thousand transparences, his wife, Bridget felt that so many of these were outstanding examples of both a gifted photographer and a dedicated naturalist, that some should be made available to others interested in similar pursuits. It quickly became apparent that they also formed a kind of photographic autobiography of the man himself, his concern for nature and his need to try to demonstrate, through his photography, the responsibility of Man to that natural world of which he is a part. Don's 'mate' in most of his endeavours (and a keen naturalist herself), Bridget has put together a book of stunning photography, with text that gives the reader a delightful taste of Nature throughout the seasons and an appreciation of the nature photographer's tasks over the year. The whole work is complemented by the poetry of Jim Crumley, each poem inspired by one of Don's photographs. 'He was a professional forester and a brilliant self-taught naturalist and wildlife photographer. Above all, from our point of view, he could communicate his enthusiasm to others...a huge portfolio of nature photographs of the highest quality. Now we are able to share some of them with her [Bridget]. What I find uncanny, is that in writing the text, she has found and reproduced Don's distinctive 'voice'. Extract from the Foreword by Julian Pettifer.