The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Douglas Stockdale • While reading one of John Steinbeck’s many novels did you at one time attempt to visualize his Salinas Valley landscape that was seriously impacted by the pervasive drought conditions of the 1930’s? Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother may have come quickly to mind or perhaps the Dust Bowl photographs of Arthur Rothstein... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • Ah, street art and graffiti — the color, the raw energy, the in-your-face graphics. They are such inviting targets for photographers. But how do you make them your own? Photographer Bill Wishner succeeds by going beyond mere documentation to turn them into collaborations. Wishner spent seven years traveling to cities... Continue Reading →
Welcome to our 23rd Issue •We have a diverse range of book reviews this month: biographies of photo legends, reflections on the act of photography, an artist book and a new zine collection.Looking ahead: In conjunction with Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP), I will be leading a virtual (Zoom) Book Development Workshop over four days (two consecutive weekends), March 13... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • I will need to admit up front, I have been a long-term fan of the book artist Julia Borissova and was very intrigued with announcement that she was reimagining her artist books in a new Zine Collection. She has assembled the first five of her Zine Collections as a group... Continue Reading →
Review by Paul Anderson • Deep purples and blacks, satiny reds, rich oranges- the night photography of Hanoi by Wouter Vanhees treats the reader to a rich range of colors that he finds in his well-composed urban night scenes. His is a unique look at a big city. The photographs are austere, lonely, and haunting. Some... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Antarctica, the South Pole, a forlorn, and icy desolated location that is not on very many individual’s list as an idea of place to vacation with the family. Julia Borissova takes on the subject of this hostile and unfamiliar environment, called the White Blonde by polar explorers, in a dreamy and... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • How do you decipher the unfamiliar and the unknown? What cues from your past can be applied to new, unfamiliar shapes and textures, seemingly incomprehensible, yet eerily demanding your attention? Do you need to design your own new personal visual system or “language” to deal with such new information that... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a Saul Leiter photograph? The soothing atmosphere, the soft, light and, most of all, the gentle painterly color palette of a pioneer in color street photography. As Yumiko Izu discovered, Leiter not only shot such images, he did indeed live in them. The... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • There are many stories related to the pervasive adaptions in response to the COIVID-19 pandemic, which has changed and impacted so many lives. Everyone has had to make numerous changes, whether travel plans, conferences, exhibitions, or art fairs due to this pandemic. It has impacted livelihoods and relationships, and sometimes... Continue Reading →
Review by Debe Arlook • The gently layered experience of Tanpa Izin begins with the cover: an untitled forest green and black abstract photograph speckled with the Ben Day dot technique, mirrored on the back cover. Bound by a four-sided kelly green rubber band; I make note of the color green. In her first photobook, Ohemaa Dixon offers... Continue Reading →
