A Journey of the Fish - Sardinha by Martin Miklas

If you are looking for a unique and compelling story about the fishing industry in Portugal, you should look no further than the story of the sardines. It is a story of tradition, struggle and hope in the face of adversity. It's a story that is unique to Portugal, but one that has universal relevance in today's world.

Journey of the Fish became also my own journey in the sardines’ pathway exploring all the aspects along the way from south to north and east of Portugal as well as from history through presence looking up towards the future.

The Sardines fishing industry in Portugal has a rich history dating back centuries. It has been an important source of livelihood for many coastal communities and a staple food source for many people. However, in the 20th century, the industry began to modernize and expand, leading to overfishing and the depletion of sardine stocks. This has had significant social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts on the communities that rely on the fishery. The decline of sardine stocks has led to a decline in the number of jobs in the fishing industry, causing economic hardship for many coastal communities and a loss of traditional knowledge and skills related to sardine fishing.

The story of Sardines fishing industry in Portugal is a story of how modernization, overfishing and disregard for the environment can have dire consequences on the local communities and the ecosystem. But it is also a story of resilience and hope, as the local communities and authorities are working together to revive the industry in a sustainable way. It allows you to dive deep into the fascinating story and explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the Sardines fishing industry in Portugal.

Tears of Scarlet © Martin Miklas

The Chromatic Secret © Martin Miklas

Ink of Tragedy© Martin Miklas

Nocturnal Symphony: Seagulls’ Ballet on the Brine © Martin Miklas

Scarlet Echoes © Martin Miklas

Martin Miklas
Lisbon-based documentary photographer from Bratislava/Slovakia whose primary focus is on sociological changes in Eastern Europe and socioeconomical and ecological impact on the fishing industry in Portugal. Presently proud father and one of the alumni of the 2022-23 VII Photo Agency Masterclass.
miklasmartin.com
@martinstudio.sk
@miklas.photo
All about Martin Miklas

Sunny Elegy © Martin Miklas

Whispers of Carnage © Martin Miklas

Spiraling Serenade: Melodies of Togetherness © Martin Miklas

Crimson Tide © Martin Miklas

The Whispers of a Fishdom Among the Stars © Martin Miklas

Diana Markosian: Father

By Diana Markosian

Publisher : Aperture

2024 | 144 pages

Diana Markosian’s Father is an intimate and engrossing diaristic portrayal of estrangement and reconnection, recounted through documentary photographs, family snapshots, text, and visual ephemera.

Diana Markosian: Father presents the photographer’s journey to another place and another time, where Markosian attempts to piece together an image of a familiar stranger—her long-lost father. The book explores her father’s absence, her reconciliation with him, and the shared emptiness of their prolonged estrangement. The images, made over the course of a decade, take place in her father’s home in Armenia. In Markosian’s first monograph, Santa Barbara (Aperture, 2020), the photographer recreates the story of her family’s journey from post–Soviet Russia to the US in the 1990s. Father uses both documentary photographs and archives of objects, letters, and vernacular images to probe the fifteen years of absence and separation from the photographer’s childhood. In this voyage of self-discovery, Markosian touchingly renders her longing for connection to a man she barely remembers and who asks her, when she finds him, “Why did it take you so long?”

All About Diana Markosian

Race Stories: Essays on the Power of Images

By Aperture

Publisher : Aperture

2024 | 312 pages

The first title in Aperture’s Vision & Justice Book Series—featuring a collection of award-winning short essays by Maurice Berger that explore the intersections of photography, race, and visual culture. Created and coedited by Drs. Sarah Lewis, Leigh Raiford, and Deborah Willis, the series reexamines and redresses historical narratives of photography, race, and justice.

Race Stories: Essays on the Power of Images examines the transformational role photography plays in shaping ideas and attitudes about race and how photographic images have been instrumental in both perpetuating and combatting racial stereotypes. Written between 2012 and 2019 and first presented as a monthly feature on the New York Times Lens blog, Berger’s incisive essays help readers see a bigger picture about race through storytelling. By directing attention to the most revealing aspects of images, Berger makes complex issues comprehensible, vivid, and engaging. The essays illuminate a range of images, issues, and events: the modern civil rights movement; African American–, Latinx–, Asian American–, and Native American photography; and pivotal moments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when race, photography, and visual culture intersected. They also examine the full spectrum of photographic imaging: from amateur to professional pictures, from snapshots to fine art, from mugshots to celebrated icons of photojournalism.

Race Stories collects together Berger’s reader-friendly essays in their breadth and brilliance to encourage a broad range of readers to look at and think about photographs in order to better understand themselves and the diverse world around them.

The Minimalist Photographer: 50 techniques for capturing beauty in simplicity

By Antony Zacharias

Publisher : Laurence King Publishing

2025 | 144 pages

Find out how to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary with this guide to minimalist photography.

With advice on composition, balance, shape and texture, this book takes inspiration from the masters of minimalism to demonstrate how stripping a subject down to its very essence can help you craft beautifully bold and unique images.

Illustrated with the finest examples of the style from the likes of Fan Ho, Imogen Cunningham, Michael Kenna, Berenice Abbott, William Eggleston and Horst P. Horst, this book guides you through the key techniques that define minimalism and provides easy-to-follow advice for how to create your own minimalist images that are visually striking in their simplicity.

Alan Schaller: Metropolis

By Alan Schaller

Publisher : TeNeues

2023 | 240 pages

In his coffee table book Metropolis, Alan Schaller presents city life in his own individual way, setting standards in modern street photography. For all lovers of spectacular black-and-white photography, the coffee table book Metropolis is a must-have, because there is hardly anything comparable on the market. In a unique way, Alan Schaller depicts urban contrasts that big cities like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo or Istanbul hold in store in their architecture and everyday life. In the photo book Metropolis, Alan Schaller elevates city views to an art form, playing with light and perspective and creates a world in black and white that captivates the viewer. This is what fans of Schaller love about his work. The photo artist manages to capture moments for eternity. Accompany Alan Schaller in his coffee table book Metropolis on 240 pages through the most famous metropolises on earth. Look forward to impressive black-and-white photographs, with extraordinary city views in which people and architecture merge in an intimate moment.

A Journey of the Fish - Sardinha by Martin Miklas

Selected Books