I just recevied a brief overviewof the photographic literature that will be available at the Swann Auction Galleries December 8th, 2009 in NYC, which is in conjunction with their auction of photographic prints. Some of the photobook hightlights include: Among the earliest examples of photographic literature in the sale are Francis Frith’s Egypt Nubia and Ethiopia,... Continue Reading →
Dorothea Lange – A Life Beyond Limits
Copyright Linda Gordon & estate of Dorothea Lange, 2009, courtesy of W.W. Norton & Company I had been aware of Dorothea Lange’s immense photographic body of work during the FSA (Farm Security Agency) in the 1930’s, primarily her iconic images of Migrant Mother, White Angel Breadline, which I thought was a FSA photograph (it is... Continue Reading →
Deanna Templeton – 17 Days
Copyright Deanna Templeton 2008, self-published, courtesy photo-eye There is something amiss with Deanna Templeton’s self published book, 17 Days, the photo documentary she created while accompanying a product promotional tour through Europe in 2008. I am bedeviled by all that bothers me, and I think that it is best described as an overall unevenness in... Continue Reading →
Recent Photobook auction results
For those who enjoy photobooks and have acquired a few of them over the years, one benefit is that they may also increase in value. A potentially nice counterpoint to the argument that you are spending too much for these wonderful books. Ah, yes, a mighty fine investment, indeed! Thus of potential interest was the recent October Swann Galleries auction... Continue Reading →
Gerhard Steidl inteview – Photography Now
Joerg Coberg, publisher of the blog Conscientious, is now providing English translations of the original German articles that have been published in the German photography magazine Photography Now. One of the first translations is an interview of Gerhard Steidl, who is the publisher of the well-known Steidl photobooks, and this delightful interview can be found here. I found this to be an interesting interview; if you... Continue Reading →
Doug Keyes – Collective Memory
Copyright Doug Keyes 2008 Courtesy DECODE Books In Doug Keyes photobook, Collective Memory, he utilizes the multiple images of book pages to create complex visual metaphors for memory, and indirectly the duration of time, providing a conceptual product that can only be approximated with photography. An overview of his process is nicely stated in the... Continue Reading →
Bill Jacobson – A Series of Human Decisions
Copyright Bill Jacobson 2009 courtesy DECODE Books The title of Bill Jacobson’s recent book, A Series of Human Decisions, has an interesting double meaning. Jacobson is photographing those things that can represent the artifacts of decisions we as human’s make, and the process of photographing reflects the decisions that Jacobson is making, thus hinting at... Continue Reading →
Verso Limited Editions : Book Publisher of the Year
Bruce Davidson: Central Park in Platinum Verso Limited Editions, an imprint of Santa Barbara-based Serbin Communications, Inc. has been awarded the prestigious 2009 Lucie Award for Book Publisher of the year for their publication of Bruce Davidson: Central Park in Platinum, which I had earlier reviewed here. From the press release: Renowned portrait photographer Joyce Tenneson... Continue Reading →
Gunnar Smoliansky – One Picture at a Time
Photographs copyright Gunnar Smoliansky 2008 courtesy Steidl The 55 year photographic oeuvre of Gunnar Smoliansky captured in One Picture at a Time, illustrates how this famous Swedish native continues to mine his local cultural landscape, constantly revealing the subtle nuances that have taken him a lifetime to discover. He has not veered far from his... Continue Reading →
Source magazine: more blurring of magazines and photobooks
I recently acquired the Summer 2009 issue of Source Magazine, a beautiful magazine which is not widely distributed within the United States, as I had to obtain my copy directly from Dublin, Ireland, where it is published. I had received it shortly after obtaining a copy of Volume 2 of The Aftermath Project. From a physical... Continue Reading →
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