Cycling photographer Camille McMillan crowdfunding book through Kickstarter (+ video)

Photographer Camille McMillan, a one-time editor at large of cycling journal Rouleur, is planning a book of his reportage style documenting of the sport over the past two decades – and wants your help to fund its publication via Kickstarter.

The London-based snapper is aiming to raise £20,000 for the project through the crowdsourcing site by Saturday 2 May.

Pledges start at £20, which will get you three 5 x 8 postcard-size prints signed by McMillan, while £25 will secure you a first edition copy of the book, which will be called The Circus.

Other pledge amounts range from £100 to £1,000, all of those including an invite to the launch event in London – the latter also comes with five 20 x 24 fine art prints, a special limited edition copy of the book (and name inside cover) plus post-launch dinner.

Here’s McMillan talking about his approach to photographing the sport.

The book’s presentation on Kickstarter says:

Whether shooting from within the Peloton, or partying with the fans on Mont Ventoux, the pictures in this beautifully-produced book reveal some of the many stories McMillan has witnessed. Sometimes intimate, other times aggressive, always beautiful, his images are unique. This exclusive anthology, with many never before seen reportage images, spans some two decades of life at the sharp end of world cycling.

This high-quality photography book is destined to have 240 pages of shoots ranging from the slopes of Alpe d’Huez to the velodrome in Ghent; from inside team cars to the cobbles of Paris Roubaix – all captured in both colour and black and white. Shot from the road – and the gutter – relive the excitement and drama of two decades of top professional bicycle racing. This most innovative and surprising of photographers takes you on a journey fuelled by his own passion for the sport.

John Herety – former British champion and national team director and now in charge of JLT Condor, said of meeting McMillan: “I think it was early 2008, at a launch for a photographic exhibition for Rouleur magazine.

“I had just taken over the Rapha Condor team, and I’d been invited along to the event. As is the case in back alleys in winter, it was pretty dark outside where people were mingling, and while I was chatting this figure loomed out of the darkness, drink in hand, and said pointedly ‘you’re the reason I stopped cycling.’

“In my job I meet a lot of people, and deal with many faces old and new, some who on occasion I struggle to remember.

“When this seemingly aggressive stranger approached me, I had no idea who I was talking to. I was even more surprised to know that I’d been responsible for stopping his racing career. But then he broke the tension with a laugh and an introduction. Here was the man, of course, who was responsible for the whole exhibition.

“Camille has always pushed the boundaries with his photography. I’ve always thought him highly respectful of the traditions of the sport in his work: you don’t take pictures of toe clips and straps unless you really love cycling,” Herety added.

The Circus remains open on Kickstarter until 2 May 2015.