Professional photographer based in Toronto, Canada, Simon Shirley, is to release a panoramic photo book on the southern community of Soufriere entitled ‘Soufriere: Land of Angels’.
The book features poetry, written by Shirley, himself, to accompany the photos.
He told DNO on Tuesday that he began the project in 2013, hoping to showcase the beauty of Soufriere, the home of his ancestors, and completed the prototype in the same year.
“It’s targeted towards people who’ve never been to Soufriere — people who are tourists from all over the world — and the title of the book is to entice them, first of all, to pick it up… so that they can open the first page, and discover where is Soufriere: Land of Angels,” he said. “I’m hoping by the end of the book, they want to come to Dominica to see the Land of Angels. After that, it’s up to the people of Soufriere to represent, and become angels.”
The author, trained in Journalism and Media Management, revealed that work is still being done on the pocket-sized work.
“I will be adding pages to it, such as Scott’s Head, and the sulfur springs, and the Kubuli Trail,” he noted.
Shirley explained that the poetry present in the book was inspired by the beauty of Soufriere, captured in the pictures, and the emotions evoked by the photos.
“They say ‘a picture says a thousand words’, but maybe a paragraph will help the pictures say those words. And I’d like to think that the words are what you feel when you look at the pictures,” he stated.
To emphasize, he read a line from his work, describing the golden sunset on the Caribbean Sea: “The visage of God smiles down on the land of angels, saturates the terrain with awesome wonder.”
The author hopes to collaborate with Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) to publish his book.
For more information visit: www.syclx.com
Home is where the heart is…..thank you for capturing the beauty of our village.
Couple comments on your book cover: that is NOT the Dominican Flag. It is supposed to be forest green, the 10 stars are supposed to be lime green, and the vertical yellow on the cross is supposed to be on the left. Secondly, maybe the name of the book should be in a different colour because it fades into the clouds.
Yes. That is an outdated flag of Dominica. Changed since about 1983. And it is the Waitukubuli National Trail, not the “Kubuli Trail”…hope there are not more little errors when I read the book. Although one should praise the effot but information must be accurate.
Mr Shirley
This is truly awesome!
I have always considered Soufriere as being a gem of Dominica.
You have encapsulated the glorious and bountiful beauty of this verdant and scenic home of ours.
Soufriere sits proudly like an angel on the south of Doninica looking out to the beautiful and mesmerising Caribbean Sea.
I am waiting impatiently to purchase multiple copies of your book to donate to friends.
Thanks Mr Shirley for providing those of us who are far away with a tangible reminder of our magnificent Soufriere!
Soufriere attracts one of the world’s best photographers in Mr Simon Shirley – his creative work shows sensitivity and imagination. In doggedly pursuing the many wonders of Soufriere to take candid pictures for showcasing the ‘Land of Angels’.
This hidden gem in my beloved Soufriere village epitomises a tranquil being, who acts as an attendant, agent and messenger of the heavenly almighty God or as a guardian of human beings. Earth has never presented a scene quite so beautiful as ‘Soufriere: Land of Angels’. Specifically, I compare the morning sunlight falling on Soufriere to the sunlight that might cover more remote parts of the countryside, such as a valley, a boulder or mountainous cliff or a hillside.
Get out the microscope and go through ‘Soufriere: Land of Angels’, searching for it’s beauty in every Nook and Cranny, until you find your ultimate place on planet earth like Mr Simon Shirley.
good job bro that the best village in da
This is beautiful and great work.. However if it’s not totally completed I’d suggest getting updated photos that would carry the true beauty of Soufriere.. My village.. We can assist.
This is just a protype there. There is also a website in the news item. The news speaks of the book but it is not showing the book inits entirety. So visit the website and would persons buy if they can see all the photos??? Food for thought Royalty. I am looking forward myself to purchase the book.
If you read the article in it’s entirety, you would have seen where it states that it’s not completed.