The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Hans Hickerson · “Fifty years from now, they won’t believe this shit.” * There are lots of photobooks about interesting, even important subjects. But there are few, such as Doy Gorton’s White South, about vitally relevant subjects. Gorton’s photos are a viewing experience that you want your kids to have. The book documents... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian F. O’Neill · The range of the willow oak tree species includes New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Washington, DC area of the United States. It also extends to Florida and Texas. The species (Quercus phello) is most often found in environments where there is some year-round moisture. As it is a deciduous tree,... Continue Reading →
Review by Evan Odom with Douglas Stockdale • We were fortunate enough to receive a copy of Gytis Skudžinskas’ photobook Print of Truth/Truth of Print, which is an intriguing look into the mind of a multimedia artist who bridges photography and text-based art into one hybrid concept. Each part of this project is compelling on its... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · I am not the only photographer out there with decades behind the viewfinder who finally is able to deal with their accumulated collection of images. Photographer Suzanne Winterberger is in the same situation and has been evaluating and shaping her archive into books. When I first considered writing about Winterberger’s... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian O’Neill · Alleghania: A Central Appalachian Folklore Anthology is Michael O. Snyder’s first major monograph, published in 2025 by The Bitter Southerner (press based in Athens, Georgia). The book is a culmination of a larger 13-year effort called “The Mountain Folk Project,” which began as a collaboration between Snyder and folklorist Dr.... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · You can think of Robert Dunn’s Tokyo Cool as a challenge to solve, with different kinds of puzzle pieces that fit together. It is about Tokyo, but it isn’t just about Tokyo. It is also about using a camera to create blurred rectangles of liquid color, pattern, and movement, mostly... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian F. O’Neill · Simultaneously with the expansion of the universe of image-text photobooks, so too have we seen a rise in research-oriented photographic projects in which the photograph is not left to stand on merits apparently internal to it. In this second modality, the photographs and the larger sequence within which the... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · An unflinching, comprehensive exploration of the current situation of women in Afghanistan, No Woman’s Land is an important book. It reminds us that while we take our personal possibilities for granted, women and girls in Afghanistan are treated barely better than slaves. Along with mutually reinforcing images and texts, the... Continue Reading →
Review by Olga Bubich · Domestic violence, emotional neglect, parental mental illnesses and substance abuse are family conditions that might lead to childhood trauma, which, if left unprocessed, risks having a profound and lasting impact on a person’s emotional well-being and self-perception in adulthood. One of the ways of addressing trauma, whether it is of... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Rich-Joseph Facun’s 1804 examines Athens, Ohio, an Appalachian town whose economic and cultural life is closely tied to Ohio University. Rather than constructing a conventional documentary narrative, Facun structures the book through a carefully paced sequence of portraits, architectural observations, and quiet still-life fragments. As the images accumulate, the photographs... Continue Reading →
PhotoBook Journal 