The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Wayne Swanson • From the first images, it’s obvious that this is a book of photographs from the war-torn Middle East. Iraq perhaps, or maybe Afghanistan. It’s hard to tell. But the desert settings, harsh desert light, and stark desert compounds make the location clear. Except that it’s not. The setting is actually... Continue Reading →
Welcome to our 19th Issue •We have a another broad selection of photobook reviews this past month for your continuing consideration; social commentaries, urban landscape studies, environmental call to action and narratives about life, while we also found ourselves going to the dogs this month.Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic is getting worse and we hope for a new American... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • What might occur when one decides to investigate something very foreign that is additionally complicated by the fact it is also an unseen entity? The Polish photographer Lukasz Rusznica took on this slightly impossible task when he ventured to Japan with the hope of revealing the spirit of kami, the Japanese... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Ubiquitous. The use of plastic is everywhere and has become a classic double-edged sword. Its properties enable food and beverages to last longer, while its inherent chemical structure allow it to last almost forever. While many plastics can be recycled, getting the used plastic containers to the proper destinations for... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Poland is a country that has been subjected to tumultuous ups and downs for many hundreds of years, with particular trauma inflicted in the 20th century by occupying forces, and most especially the horrors of genocide, as well as ever-changing borders. In the 21st century, with more open arrangements within... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • “Landfall” is a term to describe an approach to or a sighting of land that signals an arrival at one’s destination at the end of a journey across the sea. Landfall is a physical event, or in Sal Taylor Kydd’s recently released artist book, Landfall, it is both a physical as well as a... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • As the title makes abundantly clear, this is a book about dogs. Purebred, rescues, dogs of all shapes and sizes. But the other parts of the title — “Palm Springs,” “Modern,” and “at Home” — make this much more than just another answer to the question “Who’s a good boy?”... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Sometimes a photobook can really get to you, with a narrative that is quite real. At the same time, while it may be full of mystery, the visual and verbal narrative that expresses the truth behind the mystery with all its unsolved challenges is so direct and insistent that it... Continue Reading →
Review by Steve Harp • I visited Albania in 2009. Until opening – slowly – to Western tourism in the mid-1990s, Albania had been known as the most tightly closed, inaccessible country in Europe, a blank spot on the map, even after the fall of the East bloc. So imagine my wonderment, while walking one night on... Continue Reading →
Review by Rudy Vega • Satoshi Hirano’s Reconstruction documents the large-scale redevelopment of Tokyo’s Shibuya station. Reconstruction is the culmination of a photography project Hirano pursued from 2014 to 2018. Portraying a nocturnal view, Hirano provides an insider’s look to the ongoing expansion of the station, offering the viewer access that would otherwise be difficult if not impossible... Continue Reading →
PhotoBook Journal 