Since the invention of the camera in the mid nineteenth century, photographers have found much to inspire them in the Suffolk landscape. Today, with digital cameras so widely available, almost everyone has an opportunity to capture mementos of a favourite place, or a chance event. But not all of us have the skill, or patience, to wait for that single moment when all the conditions fall into place and the perfect image is captured.

Suffolk remains one of the most remote, attractive and unspoilt counties in England, as the photographs included here amply portray. While its largest towns have all the vibrancy of modern life, much of the county is rural, retaining its character founded in earlier times: pretty villages with timbered and brick-built cottages, and isolated farms as they have endured for centuries, set solidly in the rolling landscape.

It is a county that is imbued with history at every turn. From the picturesque coast to striking inland vistas, and from impressive townscapes to tiny hamlets, Mark Staples has been able to find a scene or scenery to arrest our interest.

Address books tend to be well used and have a long life. Along with important contact details, they keep track of the user’s friends and acquaintances, tracing their lives over time and from place to place. And, if properly attended to, an address book eventually becomes a journal in itself, and an attractive and permanent keepsake. Whether you have bought this book for your own use, or receive it as a gift, we hope this Suffolk Address Book, with its superb pictorial reminders of Suffolk, provides years of pleasure.

Mark Staples moved to Suffolk fifteen years ago as a newly qualified teacher of Modern Languages and has remained ever since. His interest in photography began on seeing some photographs taken by friends using a simple digital compact. Inspired by these images and having enjoyed drawing and painting as a youngster, Mark decided to pursue this newly discovered interest in digital photography, and couple it with his other love of travel.

Imprint: Halswood Stationers. ISBN 978 0 85717 019 4, hardback, 214x230mm, 112 pages. Published May 2010.