Growing up in the Australian Outback, where he first picked up a camera as a teenager to document his surroundings in the bush, Jon McCormack developed a keen eye for the beauty and subtleties of nature. Throughout his career, he’s stepped foot on all seven continents. Yet the idea for his new book, Patterns: Art of the Natural World, emerged from a period of quieter reflection.
Like many of us during the pandemic, McCormack’s travels were limited to his immediate area. He began visiting the same spots repeatedly and “discovered a new way of seeing, using photography to reveal the hidden harmony and symmetry of the natural world,” says a statement. Patterns, forthcoming from Damiani Books, draws upon this patient and attentive approach to nature’s rhythms, emphasizing its interconnectedness, resilience, and fragility.
Golden aspens and their reflection join to shape a luminous triangle of color
The snapshots view slivers of our world from a range of perspectives, whether honing in on the recurring features of crystals or flying over a flamboyance of flamingos in Kenya. Patterns contains 90 striking images and text contributions from fellow photographers and conservationists.
Find your copy on Bookshop, and keep up with McCormack’s travels on Instagram.
Patterns of minerals left behind by volcanic eruptions in Iceland
A microscope reveals the crystalline patterns of caffeine
A prismatic waterfall at Yosemite
Flamingos in flight mirror the shifting patterns etched across Kenya’s Lake Magadi
A pod of dolphins swim near the Channel Islands
In every drop of water, diatoms are algae with glass-like silica shells that resemble tiny jewels under a microscope
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