Legendary Sailboats

Through an extraordinary selection from the Beken Marine Photography Archive of the work of four generations of famous photographers (the Beken family), this book retraces the fundamental stages of the evolution of the unsurpassable Beken style , bringing together some of the most artistic images of sailboats ever shot. These wonderful and legendary pictures, accompanied by detailed texts and plentiful information, will lead the reader through time, to discover the wonderful world of yachting photography.

The Bekens began their love affair with marine photography in 1888, when Alfred Edward (1855 1915) moved from Canterbury (Kent) to the Isle of Wight with his son Frank (1880 1970). He purchased a pharmacy in Birmingham Road in the seaport of Cowes, a town that was already famous for international yacht racing and for the world s oldest regular regatta, the renowned Cowes Week. Alfred and young Frank started shooting photographs to capture sailing yachts at their best (learning how to achieve the most favourable angle), and racing yachts in action, a real challenge at that time as it still is today.