The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Brian Arnold · “[Dabac] didn’t need explanations for motives he shot; he was moved by their weight alone and he responded with deep compassion.” Ješa Denegri The horse is clearly emaciated, its dark silhouette ghostly as it is pulled across the streets of Zagreb; its skeletal figure is both poetic and menacing. The... Continue Reading →
Photo essay by Hans Hickerson · Hosting 74 publishers from 13 countries and 11 states, the International Center of Photography in New York staged its fifth annual Photobook Fest May 8 through 10. Along with lots of conversation and looking at photobooks, the 2026 event featured book signings, lectures, popups, and workshops. A past report... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · Less can definitely be more. Vladyslav Krasnoshchok’s Documentation of the War, for example, views like visual grunge rock – sound stripped down to its core. Like other successful photobooks it is a happy partnership of photography, texts, and design. How to describe Krasnoshchok’s photographs? Adjectives like bleak, dark, raw, primal,... Continue Reading →
Review by Olga Bubich Spilt Milk is a debut photobook by American photographer, teacher, and photo editor Andrea Birnbaum. As its title suggests, the themes it addresses belong to the intimate sphere of regret: actions taken and responses withheld, things done, planned, postponed, overlooked, or deliberately ignored – in other words, the emotional baggage one... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian F. O’Neill · It is December 9, 2025 and it is my first time in Japan. As a photobook collector, I head to Jimbocho, the well-known neighborhood for books (I actually revisited on December 18 too). Most of what I find on the shelves as I peruse the stores are Japanese novels.... Continue Reading →
Review by Matt Schneider · “Inhabitants of the industrialized world have become hunter-gatherers of material goods—we seek, we find, we acquire. Our possessions reveal who we are and tell stories of our aspirations, our nostalgia, our past; each piece is a fragment of the identity we wish to project or preserve.” - David Ricci (p.... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · “Fifty years from now, they won’t believe this shit.” * There are lots of photobooks about interesting, even important subjects. But there are few, such as Doy Gorton’s White South, about vitally relevant subjects. Gorton’s photos are a viewing experience that you want your kids to have. The book documents... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian F. O’Neill · The range of the willow oak tree species includes New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Washington, DC area of the United States. It also extends to Florida and Texas. The species (Quercus phello) is most often found in environments where there is some year-round moisture. As it is a deciduous tree,... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · I am not the only photographer out there with decades behind the viewfinder who finally is able to deal with their accumulated collection of images. Photographer Suzanne Winterberger is in the same situation and has been evaluating and shaping her archive into books. When I first considered writing about Winterberger’s... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian O’Neill · Alleghania: A Central Appalachian Folklore Anthology is Michael O. Snyder’s first major monograph, published in 2025 by The Bitter Southerner (press based in Athens, Georgia). The book is a culmination of a larger 13-year effort called “The Mountain Folk Project,” which began as a collaboration between Snyder and folklorist Dr.... Continue Reading →
PhotoBook Journal 