
Astronomical prices © John MacPherson
Cristina de Middel being interviewed on Lay Flat by Pat Padua about her award-winning book The Afronauts:
CM: One of the aspects of the Afronauts story that excited me the most was that I was going to create new images of Africa to tell a positive story coming from that continent. It is very simple… just Google “Africa news” and look at the images. I react against that, and it’s been always my starting point……..
PP: The photo book market has gone nuts, and prices for The Afronauts are outrageous. How do you feel about the collector madness?
CM: I wish I could answer your question firmly, but the truth is that I still do not know how I feel about all this. On one hand I would never spend that money on a book, not even on the last copy available in the world of The Afronauts. I just cannot understand that collectors’ mentality because I don’t belong to that world. On the other hand I can’t help feeling flattered by the whole idea. It is weird, crazy, uncomfortable, scary. At this moment I cannot afford my own book, which is kind of freaky.
Now call me stupid if you want, but I wonder if perhaps Oxfam, Save the Children and others are missing a fundraising trick here, and could at the same time significantly change perceptions of The Dark Continent?
				 
									
					 
					Author — John Macpherson
					John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges,  trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.