I had an opportunity recently to discuss with Darius Himes, co-founder and editor of Radius Books, about his role as lead judge for Blurb's Photography.Book.Now contest. The deadline for entries is July 16, 2009. DS Darius, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to discuss your involvement with Blurb's Photography.Book.Now competition. This is your... Continue Reading →
Roger Ballen – Boarding House
Copyright Roger Ballen, 2008, courtesy Phaidon Press For most of the photobooks I review, they usually are stand alone books, but I feel that Roger Ballen's recent book Boarding House needs to be placed into a larger perspective. Specifically to the content of his two previous books, Shadow Chamber, published in 2005 and Outland, published in 2001, both by Phaidon Press. Otherwise, it feels... Continue Reading →
Graciela Iturbide – El Bano de Frida Kahlo
Copyright Garciela Iturbide, 2008 courtesy ROSEGALLERY This an interesting little book, perhaps two books within one set of covers, a fictional story, complemented by a related photographic body of work. The fictional story is written by Mario Bellatin, titled Demerol, Without Expiration Date and is about the "recent" artistic work being completed by Frida Kahlo. Except of course that Kahlo... Continue Reading →
Linda Connor – Odyssey
Copyright Linda Connor, 2008, courtesy of Chronicle Books and Joseph Bellows Gallery; Astrophotograph, copyright of the Regents of California, the Lick Observatory Plate Archive In Homer's Odyssey, an early Greek poem, Odysseus is on an epic journey and encounters endless trials and tribulations during the ten years it takes for him to reach his home. Odysseus was not only trying to reach his home during his struggle... Continue Reading →
PDN’s PhotoAnnual 2009 – book list
I was turned onto PDN (Photo District News) magazine about a year and a half ago at the Palm Springs Photo Festival. Before that, I just saw it as a professional photographic magazine, for wedding and commercial advertising photographers. Wrong. In PDN for May 2009, they have issued their PhotoAnnual for 2009. I think that the September issue... Continue Reading →
Eiji Ina – Emperor of Japan
Photographs copyright of Eliji Ina, 2008, courtesy of Nazaraeli Press Eiji Ina's recent book, Emperor of Japan, is part documentation, part examination, and part aesthetic observance. He has documented the burial sites, miasai, of the Japanese Emperors since the Kofun period, which reaches back approximately 1,600 years into history. While Ina was at each of these sites, which are spread... Continue Reading →
Todd Oldham – Bedrock City
© 2008 Todd Oldham Studio - Courtesy of http://www.ammobooks.com Driving along US Interstate 40 across the Western U.S., I might have seen the signs announcing the opportunity to visit Bedrock City and my thoughts would have drifted off to one of the many Flintstones cartoons I enjoyed as a child. Or perhaps you had a car load of kids driving along this same endless stretch of road, and... Continue Reading →
Photolucida Critical Mass publications
One of potential opportunities of participating in Photolucida's Critical Mass juried event is becoming published, as the top three photographers will be rewarded with a book. For the person who scores the highest, their book will be in hardcover, not softcover. All of the books are the same size of 8 1/2 x 10", although... Continue Reading →
Humble Arts – Collectors Guide to Emerging Art Photography
Humble Arts has published at the end of 2008 an informative softcover publication, Collectors Guide to Emerging Art Photography. This is by no means inclusive of all of the emerging fine art photographers, but it does provide an interesting selection of many photographers who are starting to create a presence. This 10 1/4 x 13" softcover, 180 page book... Continue Reading →
Bruce Davidson – Central Park in Platinum
Verso Limited Editions has recently published their latest title, Bruce Davidson: Central Park in Platinum, which I had an opportunity to review at photo la last week. This book is really an object de arte, considering the exquisit use materials for its construction. But first, I want to discuss the photographs of Bruce Davidson in this book, which are from his... Continue Reading →