Walter Iooss has one of the most enviable jobs in the world– he’s been shooting for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue since 1972. A new book features a showcase of the best Iooss photos from these shoots.

 

Iooss’ model resume is impressive. He’s photographed Cheryl Tiegs, Kathy Ireland, Paulina Porizkova, and Bar Refaeli among others. The photos in the book are truly fantastic, world-class images and the large format is a bonus.

 

But I wish the book had more text. For example, the photo of Petra Nemcova on the left was shot by Iooss on a 2005 trip to Honduras.

 

It’s a cool photo and read the description of that shoot: “It was dark and rainy all the time; it felt like a place where a plane might crash. To get to this spot, we took a van down a rutted road to a narrow-gauge railroad to another car to a boat an then an hour-and-a-half boat ride to the Islas de la Bahia.”

 

What a story! The photographer geek in me wants more stories like this in the book.

 

So is Iooss’ book worth buying? YES! Iooss is definitely an iconic photographer. His work is really fantastic and inspiring.

 

Pete Springer Photographer, Portland, Oregon