A tribute to Mother Earth
MOTHER is a large-format nature photography book, showcasing Marsel van Oosten's personal favorites and his most popular and award-winning images from the past 15 years, taken on five continents: Africa, North America, Antarctica, Asia, and Europe. MOTHER is Marsel's personal visual ode to Mother Earth and a celebration of her incredible biodiversity.
Successful conservation starts with awareness, and Marsel hopes that the images in this book will reconnect people to nature, make them realize that Mother Earth desperately needs our protection, and inspire them to take action.
While MOTHER is primarily a large coffee-table-style photo book that aims to awe and inspire you, it is also a wake-up call. Marsel writes extensively about the various threats our planet is facing to show the situation is much more serious than people think. We need to do more about conservation, and we need to up our game fast before it's too late. The latest IUCN Red List confirms Marsel's alarmist views. The animals and wild places in MOTHER are what we stand to lose if we don't act now.
Editions
There are currently three editions, with more to come. The international edition is bi-lingual (English/German), there is a Dutch edition, and there is The Collectors' Edition (limited to 100 copies) which will be in English only.
Images
The international edition of MOTHER features 320 pages with 170 large format images — Marsel's personal favorites, his most popular shots, as well as most of his many award-winners. The pandemic gave Marsel extra time to process images that have never been published before, so there's exciting new material in there as well.
Foreword
The beautiful foreword for MOTHER is written by world-famous evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein from the United States. His interview on the Joe Rogan podcast got over 7 million views on YouTube within a week. Marsel has described him as "a voice of reason in times of mass hysteria". Weinstein is also a member of 'the intellectual dark web' and an avid photographer himself.
Interview
MOTHER features a lengthy interview with Marsel by Aleena von Storms. Von Storms is a writer, environmental activist, and adult actress. In this in-depth interview, Marsel talks about his life and career, about what he loves and hates, and about the current state of the world in general and Mother Earth in particular.
Wildlife and landscape images
from 5 continents
5 Continents, 5 chapters
The book is divided into 5 chapters — one for each continent. Each chapter opens with an introduction text written by Marsel.
Captions
In the back of the book, you can find thumbnails of all the images in MOTHER, each with an informative caption as well as the EXIF information.
Recommendation by Art Wolfe
When Marsel first started with photography, Art Wolfe was a huge inspiration. Not only is Art a terrific photographer with a great sense of composition, but he is also very all-round mastering landscape, wildlife, and travel photography. This is something Marsel always wanted to do as well, and Art showed him it is possible. This is why it's extra special for Marsel that Art has written a recommendation for MOTHER on the back cover.
320 pages | 170 images | 27 x 36 cm
What's so special about The Collectors' Edition?
This unique edition of MOTHER is different from all other editions
The Collectors' Edition has a whopping 72 extra pages compared to the international edition! That means a lot more space for images, especially since this edition has only one language: English. This is why The Collectors' Edition contains no less than 392 pages and weighs a hefty 4,2kg/9.3lb!
Limited to only 100 copies, this is where Marsel unleashed all his creativity to create something truly unique for the lovers of fine art and exquisite photo books. Unlike most limited editions, this is not just the same book in a different jacket. With 58 extra images, 5 double fold-outs of over 1 meter (3 feet) wide, and an oversized handmade clamshell box, it is an entirely different experience.
There are 3 different editions of MOTHER
1 - The Dutch Edition (352 pages + 5 double fold outs) - SOLD OUT
2 - The International Edition (320 pages, bilingual in English & German):
a) with an English cover OR
b) with a German cover
3 - The Collectors' Edition (visit mother-limited.com for all the specs!)
Please use the links below to order your copy, as we are affiliated with them.
English & German (bi-lingual)
The International Edition
320 pages, English & German, now already in the third (and last) print run!
Please use the links below to order your copy now!
We get a small kick-back from Amazon if you order your copy through the below links. Your purchase is appreciated!
Amazon USA: https://amzn.to/4cbgLAn
UK: https://amzn.to/3Aadns9
Germany: https://amzn.to/3SDAH81
English only
The Collectors' Edition
It's the ultimate edition; the absolute director's cut of MOTHER. It consists of 394 pages! This means 72 more pages than the international edition, and 5 beautiful double foldouts of 1 meter length (3 feet) were added to it!
We used special printing techniques for this edition, it has a unique cover and it is presented in a beautiful hard case clamshell. The collectors' edition also comes with a large format fine art print.
There are only 100 copies available of this English-only edition!
About Marsel van Oosten
Marsel van Oosten is a professional nature photographer from The Netherlands, with a background in advertising and graphic design.
Marsel is a nature lover with a deep concern for the natural world. Successful conservation starts with awareness, and he hopes that his images will make people aware that Mother Earth needs our protection and inspire them to take action. In his work, he tries to simplify, to get rid of the extraneous: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
His images have won many awards around the globe, and he is the world’s only photographer to have won the Grand Slam: the grand titles Wildlife Photographer of the Year, International Nature Photographer of the Year, and Travel Photographer of the Year.
His images are featured in galleries and museums, are used worldwide in advertising and design, and he is a regular contributor to National Geographic. He is also a Nikon brand ambassador, a death metal connoisseur, and a recovering Nutella addict.
Marsel currently lives in South Africa with producer Daniella Sibbing.