The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Hans Hickerson · Move over, Alec Soth. The iconic photo of Airplane Man that helped make your reputation has been updated and is now set in Russia, on the Kola Peninsula. Instead of a man, he is a young boy wearing only a colorful swimming suit and flip flops. He is standing in... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian O’Neill · In his 2024 book, A Race to the Bottom of Crazy,[1] journalist Richard Grant chronicles beginning a new journey in life with his family after moving to Arizona, the 48th state in the U.S., from Mississippi. As he begins the narrative, he attempts to describe the unease that seems to... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • How much of a country’s culture can we discover in a shop interior, a worn work shirt, or a face glimpsed on a train? Walker Evans: Now and Then, edited by David Campany, invites us to examine how Evans made such encounters significant. His photographs preserve the appearance of American... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • This photobook clearly demonstrates that there is a relationship between our inner self and the outer environment, with a strong impact on our vision. For many years Xavier Nuez traversed cities at night, photographing many forlorn places, a pursuit that helped him overcome his own issues as he learned to... Continue Reading →
Review by Lee Halvorsen • Breathtaking! Stunning! Immersive! And that’s just the cover. This art object, the book itself, the printed pages, the images, the text…their fusion; this book is one for the generations. The volume is large, 12.5” x 15” but the size isn’t awkward or intimidating…rather, it’s striking and compelling, a wonder in... Continue Reading →
Review by Lee Halvorsen • Captivating! Exotic! Breathtaking! Yes, this book is all of that, but those words understate the exquisite view into nature’s beauty Thomas has wrapped into these pages. The reader experiences relationships among people, horses, eagles, and the land. This isn’t a book about an exciting apex predator or a beautiful but... Continue Reading →
Review by Matt Schneider · What does limestone have to do with the history, development, and politics of Malta? Apparently quite a lot, as this is the undergirding (and extremely) compelling question at the center of Marcin Piekałkiewicz photobook, Built on Sand. Perhaps as you would expect, Built on Sand opens with images of crystal... Continue Reading →
Text and photos by Hans Hickerson · The 13th edition of the Fiebre Photobook Fest took place in Madrid from September 18 to 20. More than 130 exhibitors from some 20 countries exhibited their books. In addition to the book market there were book signings, presentations, catered lunches, and panel discussions. Photobooks from Mexico were... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · OK, another senior photographer has just published a book of their early work. So let’s check it out. Is it like similar books? Is it murky, derivative student work that hasn’t yet found its voice? Would it see the light of day if not for the photographer’s name recognition and... Continue Reading →
Review by Lee Halvorsen • Jerusalem is a city like no other…traditions, faiths, races, separation, strife, love, hate, all living, loving and lasting together for 5,000 years. Gabay describes these city attributes as “layers” where places and people share the same space, sometimes the same frame and in that "captured in the camera" moment lives... Continue Reading →
