This page features a selection of some of the magazine and book covers illustrated by Chris Howes (with some of the quirkier stories about publications linked here). In 2017 the Royal Geographical Sciety in London presented a special weekend of lectures organised by the British Cave Research Association, one of which was on the history of cave photography and may be viewed on YouTube (any adverts are nothing to do with Chris). In 2018 a more general lecture was presented when Chris was invited as a Luminary Speaker at that year’s National Speleological Society Convention. In 2024 Chris was interviewed on camera for a Voyageur Media film about early photography in Cincinnati, drawing on his knowledge of Charles Waldack, a pioneer in cave photography. The Big Picture was shown at local theatres with a general release due in 2025. EOS Magazine published an interview in the January 2025 edition (opens new window).
The following books were written by Chris:
Cave Photography. A practical guide
Softback, 68pp, Caving Supplies, 1987
ISBN-10: 0-9512204-0-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-9512204-0-5
To Photograph Darkness. The history of underground and flash photography
Hardback, 352pp, Alan Sutton Publishing/ Southern Illinois University Press (UK / USA edns), 1989: more information appears here
ISBN-10: 0-86299-649-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-86299-649-9
Images Below. A manual of underground and flash photography
Hardback, 280pp, Wild Places Publishing, 1997: more information appears here
ISBN-10: 0-9526701-1-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-9526701-1-7
The Spice of Life. Biodiversity and the extinction crisis
Hardback, 192pp, Blandford Press, 1997 (also bound as softback): more information appears here
ISBN-10: 0-7137-2390-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-7137-2390-8
Radical Sports. Caving
Hardback, 32pp, Heinemann / Reed (UK / US edns), 2002: more information appears here
ISBN-10: 0-431-03690-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-431-03690-8
(The UK edition was also published in softback, and as a hardback translated into Swedish as Tuffa Sporter. Grottkrypning)
In addition, Chris has contributed chapters or forewords to a number of other titles, including A Man Deep in Mendip (1989), A Guide to Speleological Literature of the English Language 1794-1996 (1998), Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science (2004), On Caves and Cameras (2005) and The Oxford Companion to the Photograph (2005).
Articles have also appeared in widespread titles such as Amateur Photographer, Caves and Caving, Country Quest, Descent, Flash, The Photographic Journal, Photography, New Scientist, Scuba World, Underground Photographer, Walking Wales and Window on Wales. Additionally, many magazines and books are illustrated with Chris’ photographs, from diverse titles such as Focus and Wildlife in Britain to Cosmopolitan, Practical Fishkeeping, Waitrose Kitchen and BBC Wildlife, aside from even more widespread publication in newspapers in Germany, the USA and prominently in the UK, including commonly in The Guardian. Books containing such photographs include Deep Into Blue Holes, Encyclopedia Britannica, Advanced Biology (plus many other textbooks) and a number of Rough Guide titles. In total, published photographs number in their thousands.
As well as writing articles for magazines and forewords and chapters for books, plus licensing photographs as illustrations, Chris worked for 34 years as the editor of the caving magazine Descent. To purchase his books and learn more, follow the link to Wild Places Publishing or make contact with the author. Images on this site are © Chris Howes and available for licensing for publication. We also undertake commissions: the results from two of these photo shoots, in the Brecon Beacons and Cuba, may be viewed on this site.