The World - Michael Poliza

Limited and numbered XXL photo book in a large format

With previously unpublished images from the acclaimed nature and landscape photographer

With texts by the renowned travel journalist Sophy Roberts

Available as two special editions and two collector۪s editions

This book has an ambitious title:THE WORLD. It is by no means to imply that I have been everywhere and seen everything. There are many places I have not yet visited and others where I have not taken photographs professionallyplaces where my iPhone creates the only memory I want. I very rarely take images of cities, for instance. That۪s because my eye has always been drawn to nature and remote places. This book documents some of those experiences. If it is an incomplete version of this planet, that۪s because it is a very personal rendering of what I have witnessed of this world and have enjoyed. Although I۪ve seen around 180 of the world۪s countries, this book isn۪t trying to be a bucket list, which is a style of travel I feel uncomfortable with. In the course of my travels, I have seen too much evidence of the damage made by tourism-for-tourism۪s sake. So while this book is above all a celebration of nature, I need to address my misgivings upfront. I often worry if I should be taking these pictures, and that if in doing so, I۪m encouraging people to come to these places and contributing to the ecological demise. I also wonder if it is morally wrong to travel to ends of the Earth and pretend we were never there. We were, and so was I. Do I feel any guilt about disturbing nature۪s silence? Contributing to climate change? Of course, but I also feel compelled to capture the unbelievable beauty of this planet. This book is my grateful homage to all that glorious diversity. Part of me wants to keep these landscapes hidden, a secret shared between myself and the wilderness. But I also hope that in showing these picturesand in beginning to take people to my favorite spots in the world on private toursmore people will be motivated to protect something of the beauty, and fragility, they see in the world.

Michael Poliza

Michael Poliza is more than a seasoned globetrotter who has traveled through almost 170 countries. He is also a collector of the world, always on the lookout for breathtaking landscapes, remote regions, and intact nature reserves. With his camera ever on hand, Poliza does not only want to experience the beauty of the planet, but also to make it accessible to all.

In his two great books,AfricaandEyes over Africa, as well as his single volumes on South Africa, Kenya, and Namibia, Poliza opened our eyes to the diversity of the African continent. InAntArctic, the WWF ambassador created a sensitive double portrait of the polar regions. And in his characteristic aerial photographs, he even opened up new perspectives on well-known places like Mallorca.

Over the last 10 years, Poliza has set out again and again to find, interpret and photograph his favorite places on all seven continents and to collect the pictures in his treasure chest. Now the moment has come to share his remarkable travel portfolio. With this book, we voyage with him to Australia and New Zealand, to Vietnam and Myanmar, to the west of the USA and northern Canada, to Bolivia and the Galapagos Islands, to Antarctica, and through Africa. Together, these pictures form a spectacular portrait of our planet in all its beauty, diversity, and its vulnerability.

Life has always shownMichael Polizanew paths: from actor to entrepreneur, from professional photographer to travel designer. After a career in the IT industry, Poliza launched a three-year multimedia expedition on a ship around the world. In 2002, he settled in Cape Town, traveled across Africa, and quickly became a world-renowned nature and landscape photographer.

Sophy Robertsis an award-winning writer based in West Dorset, England. She holds two degrees from Oxford University, and an MSc in Journalism from Columbia University.She is a regular contributor on travel conservation issues toThe Financial TimesandCond̩ Nast Traveler, among other titles.