The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Wayne Swanson • Earlier this year, we lost a photographic artist with a truly unique vision when Paula Riff succumbed to cancer. Yet this diminutive Los Angeles artist with an outsized personality left us with a beautiful gift, finished just months before her death. Paula Riff: works on paper, like the artist herself, is... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • This book is part retrospective with an autobiography about the early phase of Neil Folberg’s long photographic career, and part portfolio for early unpublished body of work. As an interesting combination of biography and portfolio, it is front-loaded with his personal reflections on his career change to photography while studying at... Continue Reading →
Front Cover, Blue Bar Rear cover, Blue Bar Review by Douglas Stockdale • The humidity and occasional fog derived by the proximity of a river can create beautifully dreamlike conditions or provide a mysterious backdrop for a creepy event. Between these these two polar opposites is a low-contrast environment that elicits a kind of gloominess,... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • With its familiar yellow-and-black color scheme and blocky cover design, A Small Guide to Homeownership appears to be just another addition to the shelves of “For-Dummies” how-to books. And with a table of contents featuring chapters that progress from “Home Sweet Home: Still the Best Investment You Will Ever Make” to “Protecting Yourself... Continue Reading →
Review by Melanie Chapman · One of the rare gifts of the year 2020, perhaps the only silver lining to a deeply challenging period for so many people throughout the world, has been the opportunity/necessity to look within for a sense of mystery and adventure. We’ve all been required to slow down our frenetic modern pace... Continue Reading →
Welcome to our 26th Issue • We are midway through Spring while Summer is fast approaching. Here in Southern California that means we transition from 'May Gray' to 'June Gloom'; lots of overcast and cooler days, with the really sunny beach weather usually appearing in July. Now is a really good time to select some interesting photobooks to read by... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • This photobook is a retrospective of the collective published projects of Mona Kuhn, thus aptly titled Works. It is a compilation of her published creative endeavors that she has been laboring on for the past twenty-five years in conjunction with her principal publishing collaborator Steidl. In addition, there are also included some... Continue Reading →
Review by Paul Anderson • Imagine approaching the rim of the Grand Canyon on a bright sunny day, and watching the stunning natural scenery unfold in front of you. In Thomas Kellner’s new photo book, The Big Picture, you can expect a similar experience as you unfold his massive panorama of the Grand Canyon, made up... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • Some artists are of their time. Others, like Swiss photographer René Groebli, transcend time. From the 1940s through the new millennium, he assembled a diverse and innovative body of work, often at odds with the conventions and expectations of the moment. The Magic Eye is the first retrospective look at the... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Three street photographers and their three unique perspectives and shared interests; they came together in 2019 at the International Video Art Festival of Camagüey and this photographic book project resulted from that meeting and their time wandering the streets of Camagüey, a city on the island of Cuba. The book’s title, Camagüey, Camagüey, Camagüey subtlety... Continue Reading →
PhotoBook Journal 