*** The first thing you notice about photographer Roland Skinner's newest book, Picturesque Bermuda, Volume II, is the luxury of the production, whose interior begins and ends with a photograph of rippled sand through water -- an attractive departure from the traditional white, blank end pages -- and continues through page after page of superb layout design and immaculate printing on high quality stock.
It takes the eye but moments to succumb to the beauty of Skinner's Bermuda, the subject matter of which has been cleverly divided into four sections: Lasting Impressions, More than a Passing Glance, The Artist's Eye, and The Gloaming, the "index'' for which is eye-catching little colour photographs set against the icing-thick whitewash of the roof of Carter House.
Each section is a journey in its own right, and while one could be forgiven for thinking, "How many more ways are there to say `Beautiful Bermuda'?'', Skinner provides an abundance of stunning answers.
At first glance, it may seem that, yes, we've seen translucent waves, shimmering seas, elements of Bermuda architecture, flowers and trees countless times before, but in this compendium there is always something to surprise -- a sunset's rays turning shards of glass on a darkened seashore into diamonds, a pompano swimming in the clear curve of one breaking wave, a tiny rainbow glistening at the end of another and, unusually for Bermuda, a fog-shrouded gazebo in the Arboretum, the dank coldness of which is almost palpable.
While Bermudians take the beauty of the Island's waters for granted, Skinner remains fascinated by their clarity, the endless palette of colours, their ever-changing moods, and the sand patterns beneath them.
There is, for example, a seine stretching in a languid arc over an expanse of near-Nile green sea, while on the opposite page the seine is heaped to dry, with mottled blue-green waters stretching away to the horizon.
Elsewhere, the dull greyness of the waves and the flying spume suggest unbridled fury at the wind's disturbance.
Long tongues of spent surf stretching over unmarked sand are another source of the photographer's interest, as are pools of water, whether of golden oiliness, or teeming with fry.
From concept to reality "There is more design in the photographs. It will appeal to people who have more of an eye for design, whereas my first book would have more appeal to someone who has never been to Bermuda.'' Picturesque Bermuda, Volume II has been printed in Hong Kong because, Miss Herrmann says, the quality of their colour separations is "far superior'' to those in the United States, and Chinese proofing methods give a much closer representation of what the final printed page will look like.
"It is more a quality issue than a pricing issue,'' she says of the printers her firm has used for decades.
And will there be a third volume? Mr. Skinner neither confirms nor denies the possibility, but perhaps a clue lies in the passion of this statement: "I have never gotten over the excitement of what the shots are going to look like on film. When that goes I will be finished.'' Picturesque Bermuda, Volume II is now available in all bookstores, department stores, and major retail outlets. For further information telephone 292-1452.
