‘Arctic Heroes’ by RAX Chosen Best Photography Book of the Year

Arctic Heroes: A Tribute to the Sled Dogs of Greenland — the latest book by Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson, a.k.a. RAX — has been chosen the best photography book of the year by Le Monde de la Photo, mbl.is reports.

The book is jointly published by the Icelandic publishing company Qerndu and the German publishing company Kehrer, which distributes the book worldwide.

RAX has in his work systematically recorded the lives of hunters in Greenland since 1988. In this new book, he focuses his lens on the Greenland sled dog, which has been the companion and savior of hunters throughout history in this cold environment. The book contains 138 images from Greenland, as well as the hunters’ personal stories.

In his comments about the book in Le Monde de la Photo, Benjamin Favier writes:

“Our favorite photo book, this year, goes to the superb Arctic Heroes, signed Ragnar Axelsson. The Icelandic photographer has notably been in the spotlight of the La Gacilly festival this year. This opus is a tribute to the courage of dogs, to which man often confides in his survival in areas where extreme cold prevails.”

Take a look at this video, by clicking here, where RAX himself talks about the making of this huge work. 

In the video, RAX describes what it is like to photograph in the extreme cold: “It is very challenging to photograph in these conditions, and to press the shutter with these big gloves is like sewing up a wound, wearing boxing gloves.”