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 →
Paul Nicklen — Reverence
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 →
Claire Thomas — Altai, Hunters and Herders of Mongolia
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 →
Marcin Piekałkiewicz – Built on Sand – On Malta’s Construction Boom
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 →
2026 Fiebre Photobook Fest
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 →
Mike Mandel – Myself: Timed Exposures
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 →
Sharon Gabay — Jerusalemites, Jerusalem 2011-2026
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 →
Hans Hickerson — Far From Finland
Review by Lee Halvorsen • I was gifted this book by the author and PBJ editor, Hans Hickerson who expressly did NOT want a review, only for me to enjoy his journey down this tortured and touching trip down memory lane. The vibrant colors of the small book’s cover capturing a computer screen were familiar and... Continue Reading →
Ali Haydar Yesilyurt — the face of europe and the other
Review by Lee Halvorsen • This fascinating book blends striking photography with human sociology, using the metaphor of a two-way mirror to reflect a Europe beyond postcards—and the people at its margins looking back. It is puzzling, yes, but undeniably compelling. In Yesilyurt’s opening manifesto, he makes clear that his aim is not to present... Continue Reading →
Lorenzo DeStefano — The Magic Hour…La Hora Mágica, A Photographer’s Journeys Through Cuba
Review by Lee Halvorsen • A gripping tale of friendship and a hidden land is preserved in this story with stunning images from Cuba some thirty years ago. DeStefano traveled to Cuba in 1993, 1996 and again in 1998, during Cuba’s “Special Period” where everything for Cuba’s common person was hard to get…food, gasoline, currency,... Continue Reading →