The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Melanie Chapman • As the saying goes: You can’t judge a book by its Cover. In the case of the new Thames and Hudson publication “Face Time: A History of the Photographic Portrait”, edited by Phillip Rodger, the cover itself agrees. Two youths are photographed with slight variations in perspective so that each looks... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Not too long ago, the term “abandoned moments” meant images that we would toss aside: subject not significant enough, not sharp enough, some blurring or out-of-focus areas, camera movement, and more. Well, nowadays that is the stuff that the finest photographic art is made of; they are the central techniques... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • I may not be a relationship expert, but I highly suspect that stating the reason for another person to stay in a relationship is that otherwise if they left all of the plants would die may not be the most enticing of rationales. The book’s title appears to be a retrospective... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • Many people see melancholy in the dying of the light, but French photographer Philippe Ciaparra sees utopia. At twilight he finds himself “in a chiaroscuro theater, immersed in the daydreams of my inner journey.” Ciaparra is a Paris-based fashion and portrait photographer, but in his personal work he focuses on long-exposure... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • This photobook presents quite a challenge, and I found it also deeply touching in many ways, having spent several weeks with it ... and I am not done yet, by far. So many discoveries ... Helga Härenstam came upon a nearly 300-year-old poem, James Thomson’s The Seasons. That work, popular... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • A friendship that can be traced back to our youth and has lasted into the present is something to be treasured and celebrated, if we are lucky enough to have such close ties to another person. Solarski and Liboska can share recollections that go back 30 years, to their early... Continue Reading →
Welcome to our 34th Issue • This is our first Issue for 2022 that includes a review of Ken Light's Course of the Empire and Peter Puklus's The Hero Mother. How to Build a House, both of which are featured in our Interesting Artist and Photobooks for 2021. Please enjoy Douglas StockdaleSenior Editor ____ Books featured in January 2022: Ken Light - Course of the Empire Perhaps... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Throughout the 20th Century there were some artists that overcame the traditional rules of “straight” photography and dared to take liberties with their interpretation of reality by means of special effects. Those working in the style of pictorialism come to mind, as well as the forerunner of digital manipulation, William... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Living in Southern California, I have a familiarity with border walls, specifically the American-Mexican wall that lies less than 100 miles south of my home. After relocating to California, a trip to the Tijuana tourist shops in near-by Mexico was usually on the list of go-to places for visiting relatives, parking... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Winning a competition is surely the goal of the participants. If the outcome is not what one expected, disappointment is often the result. When one is very young and has raised a special animal for a competition at a county fair, this emotional roller coaster can be most intense. Pride... Continue Reading →
PhotoBook Journal 