“For years I felt unable to express the language of my heart in words. Perhaps that is why I began taking photographs,” writes photojournalist Nino Herman in the introduction to his debut book, The Windswept Mountain: Har Haruah – an Artist’s Book, which features both poems and photographs.

“This artist’s book,” writes Herman, “combines two languages: the language of words and the language of images – both are rooted in the language of the heart. The poems and photographs in this book were written over the last two decades following the death of my son, Yair. The dialogue between Yair and me has never ceased, and I am grateful for his presence in my life. Through writing and photography, I approach the pain and transform it into beauty. That is how art goes on creating life.”

The book’s editor, Hadas Gilad, writes: “Nino is, first and foremost, a photographer. He had a breathtaking career as a photojournalist and later became a successful artistic photographer. The nature photographs in The Windswept Mountain reflect another dimension of his work – a psychological one – where he revisits the site of his greatest personal pain. This place symbolizes loss and questioning, but also the journey home in its most literal sense. Har Haruah is a mountain along the road to Nataf, the village where Nino lives and which he helped build.

Writing came later in his life, arising as another form of expression after the death of his son, Yair. The poems in this book are a gateway inward, illuminating the profound process of grief, a depth that perhaps photography alone cannot capture. The Windswept Mountain touches the depths of pain. Yet, it is not just a book of bereavement. It is also a celebration of life and nature.”