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Book tip: The Stillness of Life
Book tip: The Stillness of Life
November 24, 2025
A beautiful dew pond in my village with a strange sky, Somerset
Most of the motifs in this new photo book are being published for the first time. Don McCullin has been putting together still-life arrangements in his garden shed in Somerset, since the early eighties. Each of these tastefully-staged images is composed of natural elements, such as garden flowers, fruits or mushrooms, combined with special souvenirs from his travels. These range from such items as a bronze dragon from the Orient and a vase found by chance, to a Hindu goddess. He positions the objects on a table with the fruits and flowers, or arranges them as a kind of shrine. It seems to be primarily all about the idea of transience versus permanence. The subtly designed altars appear to pay homage to beauty, the changing of the seasons and the passage of time.
The landscapes that also feature in The Stillness of Life were taken throughout McCullin’s long career – from early photographs of Great Britain’s industrial north to India, Africa and, more recently, close to his home. The pictures, which emphasise a metallic glare, low-hanging clouds and bare trees, convey a sense of darkness and desolation, as if the photographer were observing the aftermath of a battle. All the people in the images seem to be there by chance, and merely contribute to the composition – a great contrast to the documentary portraits, dramatic scenes and concepts of humanity that McCullin was primarily known for during his long career.
Sir Don McCullin was born in London on October 9, 1935. After doing his military service, he began to work as a photographer, becoming one of Britain’s best known photojournalists over the following decades. He worked for the great British newspapers and for international magazines, reporting on some of the most violent conflicts of the 20th century, including Vietnam, Biafra, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Northern Ireland and, in more recent times, Iraq and Syria. He has received many awards and was elevated to Knight Bachelor in 2017.
In both genres – still lifes and landscapes – found in the new photo book, McCullin demonstrates his masterful use of light. His black and white motifs thrive on their sensitive design – whether it be the delicate textures of the surfaces of objects or the contrasting areas in the landscapes. In the precisely-arranged images of objects and landscapes, his concern is always with the beauty of the mundane, and the timelessness of his aesthetic vision. The pictures, however, reveal even more: they offer insight into McCullin’s rather private photographs, as he considered those a sort of therapy. They comforted him, and allowed him to draw back into a space where he was able to process the terror, wars, starvation and traumata that he documented. They are contemplations on those painful experiences and the memories they leave behind, overcome in a vision of stillness, in a sphere significantly more harmonious than that which is found in reality. A present to himself for his 90th birthday and a great gift to the world.
Ulrich RüterThe landscapes that also feature in The Stillness of Life were taken throughout McCullin’s long career – from early photographs of Great Britain’s industrial north to India, Africa and, more recently, close to his home. The pictures, which emphasise a metallic glare, low-hanging clouds and bare trees, convey a sense of darkness and desolation, as if the photographer were observing the aftermath of a battle. All the people in the images seem to be there by chance, and merely contribute to the composition – a great contrast to the documentary portraits, dramatic scenes and concepts of humanity that McCullin was primarily known for during his long career.
Sir Don McCullin was born in London on October 9, 1935. After doing his military service, he began to work as a photographer, becoming one of Britain’s best known photojournalists over the following decades. He worked for the great British newspapers and for international magazines, reporting on some of the most violent conflicts of the 20th century, including Vietnam, Biafra, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Northern Ireland and, in more recent times, Iraq and Syria. He has received many awards and was elevated to Knight Bachelor in 2017.
In both genres – still lifes and landscapes – found in the new photo book, McCullin demonstrates his masterful use of light. His black and white motifs thrive on their sensitive design – whether it be the delicate textures of the surfaces of objects or the contrasting areas in the landscapes. In the precisely-arranged images of objects and landscapes, his concern is always with the beauty of the mundane, and the timelessness of his aesthetic vision. The pictures, however, reveal even more: they offer insight into McCullin’s rather private photographs, as he considered those a sort of therapy. They comforted him, and allowed him to draw back into a space where he was able to process the terror, wars, starvation and traumata that he documented. They are contemplations on those painful experiences and the memories they leave behind, overcome in a vision of stillness, in a sphere significantly more harmonious than that which is found in reality. A present to himself for his 90th birthday and a great gift to the world.
All images on this page: © Don McCullin; from: The Stillness of Life, Gost Books
The Stillness of Life+-
112 pages, 58 black and white images
28 × 36 cm, English
Gost Books
A beautiful dew pond in my village with a strange sky, Somerset
A pear and an apple in my kitchen sink
Copying the Dutch masters in my garden shed
Early morning, Gandak River, The Elephant Festival, Sonepur Mela, Patna, India
Fishermen collecting worms, Hinkley Point, Somerset
Foxgloves with Chinese figures and dragon
Gladioli in my garden shed
Hadrian’s Wall, moments after a snowfall, Northumberland
Industrial playground, the disused steel town of Consett, County Durham
Self-portrait in Crowthers Reclamation yard, Islesworth