Books & Projects

True North Editions is about books and collaboration. Geir and Kate Jordahl bring their love of books and passion for images to the creation of a variety of visual projects. Their books range from handmade books in collaboration with Dreaming Mind Studios to short-run books like Altamont to America: Bill Owens and the Legacy of Suburbia to finely printed commercial books like Cultures in Transition and Poetry in Motion by Oliver Klink andThe Endless Sphere of Time by Geir Jordahl.

Contact True North Editions to purchase any of our books or projects.

FROM AMAZON: Jordahl’s photographs capture the spirit & magic of the land. For three years, he explored the San Jaoquin River in all of its as a resource for agriculture & industry, as a haven for recreation’ as a wildlife habitat and as a neighbor to those who live along its shores.” (from DJ.) In this lovely book, Jordahl’s has magnificently captured the essence & unique personality of this wonderful waterway through his sensitive photography. Contains 35 duotone plates.

Available from True North Editions.

Searching for True North is about visual exploration. It is a celebration of the Earth and its interaction with human-made elements. It is also my attempt to discover the universal landscape: those places that, while separated by cultural or political borders, are united in their importance to all people. This universal landscape serves as a common language that reveres all things. Searching for True North also represents a spiritual quest for direction and meaning. I use my internal compass as a guide to understanding and a marker on the path that leads to inspiration. My personal search for meaning culminates in the creation of images—the ones in this book, and thousands of others created over more than 30 years. I am influenced by Taoist principles of landscape painting, seeking images that transcend place and time. Through the alchemy of photography, I interpret places and experiences independent of representation: A kangaroo is not a kangaroo, but a dreamtime. The vapor trail of a jet becomes a shooting star over an undiscovered terrestrial plain. A weathered sandstone arch becomes the leg of a prehistoric insect. We are all seekers by nature. My work is, in essence, my own quest for self-realization and world understanding. There is no universal path, yet, just as others have paved the way before us, we must pave the way for those to come. It is my hope that the images in this book help viewers in their personal search for true north.

Available from True North Editions.

“The Village” showcases the early photographic work of Bill Owens with Essays by Victoria Sheridan and Geir Jordahl. Owens unique photographic vision is best known from his book “Suburbia” published in 1973. This work was rooted in his Peace Corp experience in Jamaica from 1964-66. Mr. Owens received word of his acceptance to the Peace Corps one month after President Kennedy was assassinated. At the time he was teaching High School in San Jose, California. His tour in Jamaica was to represent our country as a schoolteacher in a country village. Before he left he purchased a $10 Leica Camera and taped up the shutter to make it operate. The village people moved him greatly and as he documented his experience he discovered his true passion and calling as a social documentary photographer. Owens has published many books over the decades. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship (1976) and two NEA grants. “Suburbia” has been hailed globally as one of the most important photography books of the 20th century and has been in print for 40 years, however, Owens calls his Jamaica photographs the work of his heart.

Purchase on Amazon.

getting to know the map: Forty Years of Photography: Geir and Kate Jordahl Geir Jordahl and Kate Jordahl have been photographing and working with the photographic image for over forty years. This book features their images and projects which have been shaped by decades of exploring, studying, traveling and teaching. It explores two shared lives in photography in images and stories. SEE MORE HERE.

A limited-edition publication, Bill Owens: The Legacy of Suburbia Photographs 1964-2022 is available with a special print, 4th of July Parade, included. This book features images from Bill Owens’ entire career, from his work in Jamaica with the Peace Corps to his current Digital Renaissance. The book is available in an edition of 100 – $250 plus shipping. (Paypal)

San Joaquin: River of Spirit, Geir Jordahl, Ansel Adams Gallery, 1997

Traveler, Geir Jordahl, Dreaming Mind, 2004 – Slipcased Book with 36 Handprinted Silver Gelatin Prints and Letterpress

Searching for True North, Geir Jordahl, Photography, Kate Jordahl, Editor, Modernbook, 2007

THE VILLAGE: Bill Owens – Jamaica Peace Corps Photographs 1964-66, Bill Owens, True North Editions, 2013

Native American Ceremonial Dancers, Kay Franke, True North Editions, 2013

The Conversation Series, Kate Jordahl, True North Editions & Dreaming Mind – Slipcased Handbound Books with Silver Gelatin Prints and Letterpress

• Walking with Kandinsky, 2004
• Afternoons with Ruth, 2005
• Song within Kate Jordahl, 2013

PRIDE, Saul Bromberger & Sandra Hoover, True North Editions, 2014

Huangshan and Zhangjiajie, China: Photographs of Land and Culture, Kate Jordahl and Oliver Klink, True North Editions and Incredible Travel Photography, 2014

Viewpoints: Foothill College Portfolio Class, Kate Jordahl, Editor, True North Editions, 2015

Wildlife Beyond Borders: Beauty to Deeper Understanding, Oliver Klink, True North Editions, 2015

America’s Fifty-Nine National Parks: Celebrating 100 Years of the National Park Service, Quang-Tuan Luong, True North Editions, 2016

Waterfront: Longshoremen in the Era of American Labor, Frank Silva, True North Editions, 2016

Hidden Villa: A Poetic Embrace, Lucy Zhang, True North Editions, 2016

one poem books,  Kate Jordahl, in collaboration with Don Drake, Dreaming Mind – Handbound Offset Books with Silver Gelatin Print

• Elementary Geography Kate Jordahl, Poem by Paal-Helge Haugen, Translation by Roger Greenwald True North Editions & Dreaming Mind 2013
• Crystal Day Kate Jordahl True North Editions & Dreaming Mind 2013
• Wild Geese Kate Jordahl, Wendell Berry True North Editions & Dreaming Mind 2015
• Forecast Kate Jordahl, Carol Henrie True North Editions & Dreaming Mind 2015
• Here Gary Snyder, Kate Jordahl, Scott Lankford True North Editions 2016
• End Don Drake, Kate Jordahl, Kent Manske True North Editions 2016

getting to know the map, Kate & Geir Jordahl, True North Editions, 2017

Kintsugi, Leah Versik, True North Editions, 2017

Made By Hand, Geir Jordahl & Kate Jordahl, Editors, True North Editions, 2017

Cultures in Translation, Oliver Klink, True North Editions, 2018

Altamont to America: Bill Owens and the Legacy of Suburbia, Bill Owens, Photographer, Geir Jordahl & Kate Jordahl, Editors/Designers, True North Editions, 2018

Hayward Vintage Views: Photographs from the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District Archive, Geir Jordahl & Kate Jordahl, Editors/Designers, Bruce Roberts, Poet, True North Editions, 2019

Resonance: Eleven Artists Respond to the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District at Seventy-Five, Geir Jordahl, Editor, Jackson Nichols, Designer, True North Editions, 2019

La Noche, Carolina Furque, True North Editions, 2020

Finding Peace in a Restless World: Spring Book 2020, Geir and Kate Jordahl, Editors/Designers, True North Editions, 2020

Sorrow into Song, Geir and Kate Jordahl, True North Editions, 2021.

Bill Owens Cars: A Completely American Reality, Bill Owens, Photography/text; Edited by Geir Jordahl, Designed by Kate Jordahl, True North Editions, 2014/Reprint 2021

Workshop Stories: Changed through Photography, Elizabeth Opalenik, True North Editions, 2021

Bill Owens – Suburbia 50th Anniversary Collection, Geir and Kate Jordahl, Editors/Designers, 2022

Bill Owens Suburban Legend, Bill Owens, Photographer,  Geir and Kate Jordahl, Editors/Designers, 2022

Suburbia 50th Anniversary Collection – Bill Owens,  Geir and Kate Jordahl, Editors/Designers, True North Editions 2024

The Endless Sphere of Time – Geir Jordahl, Photography, Kate Jordahl Editor/Designer,  Hardbound, True North Editions, 2025

Poetry in Motion, Oliver Klink, Photography, Kate and Geir Jordahl Editors/Designers,  True North Editions, 2025

Contact Geir and Kate Jordahl for more information and to make a purchase.