"7 Rooms" and "In the Car with R" by Rafal Milach

Rafal Milach has been a busy guy this year, bursting on to the photobook scene with two stellar offerings. His book 7 Rooms was shortlisted for the Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation First Book Award. Here is Joel Coberg's video presentation of the book.



However, it may not even be his best book of this year. His other brilliant book, In the Car with R, documents Rafal Milach and Huldar Breidfjord's trip around Iceland. Breidfjord's writing provides an interesting and amusing counterpoint to Milach's photos. See the video below for a sense of the experience!



IN THE CAR WITH R from x on Vimeo.

Here is Joel Coberg's video review of the book:


Given that the regular editions of both books have already sold out, it is worth noting the production value differences between the two special editions. 7 Rooms is a hardback book from an established publisher. The quality of the printing in notably better than found In the Car with R. The special edition comes in a nice presentation box and includes one, small, signed original print.While the production values are high, there is a odd disconnect between the overall effect and the book's subject matter. There is something unsettling about turning a reflection on recent Russian history -- with all its attendant ups and downs -- into a precious and

The special edition of In the Car with R was self-published and lacks some of high end production details of 7 Rooms. The book itself is soft bound with the binding displayed and a red fabric strip along the edge that identifies the author and title. In place of the presentation box, the book is enclosed in two 1/8 inch mat covers held on with red rubber bands. The back cover has labels with hand written text while the front cover has a photo mounted on it. Despite the poorer (albeit still relatively high) quality of the reproductions, In the Car with R has arguably stronger content and comes with more goodies -- two, small, signed original prints and a fold out poster.More importantly, the handcrafted feel of the book perfectly matches the road-trip diary concept.