(NOAH) Book review ~ "PHOTO the LIVE"

Noah have not released a photobook since probably "The Golden Era" when KENTA & Marufuji were a tag team ("Shin Uchi") and Kenta Kobashi had one.
"PHOTO the LIVE" is a series of photographs taken by Wakako Miyaki, Noah's official photographer responsible for the match photography and for the wrestler photo portraits (she also used to be the official photographer for Big Japan and has worked with other promotions besides that); in 2013 she started teaching photography and has taught more than 500 students in four years.

The book covers the period from August 2017 to roughly the late spring\early summer of 2018, just after Global Tag League wrapped up. The photographs, all color (some black and white) are mainly taken in the ring, although there are some studio shots. None of these present wrestling through a filter or in any kind of idealised setting; sweat flies, faces contort on punches, bruises are seen coming up after matches, spit comes out of mouth on impact. These pictures are not flattering, but they were not designed to flatter, they were designed to be raw.
They show the blood, the sweat, the toil, the grind of professional wrestling, and they also illustrate just how hard Noah have worked to get back on form after the "dark era".

There is no text (aside at the back which gives bios of the wrestlers), so this is perfect for anyone who does not speak and\or read Japanese.
If you can get hold of a copy (you may be able to source it on Amazon or else Ebay), then I highly recommend it to anyone who follows Noah, or else likes either wrestling or sports photography books.