civilized ku # 2444 ~ a mother lode of picture making delights
Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 05:24PM ;)
Reading material ~ Hotel room / Philadelphia, PA • click to embiggen
Photo - wisdom. the bookWhile I was in South Jersey over the Holidays and as luck would have it - although I didn't know it, luck wise, at the time - I came across a fantastic photo book, Photo - wisdom. Master Photographers on Their Art, at the local Barnes & Noble store.
The luck part was that there was just a single copy of the book and, as I later discovered, the book is rather hard to find. It was published in 2009 and is still in its first edition so copies are scarce. That written, FYI, I did find 2 online sources here (Daedalus Books) and here (MoMA Store). No guarantee they are in stock but, if it is, Daedalus Books lists it at $14.98, which is a steal when compared to full list price - $50.00 - at the Moma Store.
The book - 12.25×12.25 / 220 pages / very nice heavyweight paper - is a wonderful overview of the work of 50 contemporary picture makers from a wide spectrum of picture making persuasions. The pictures, beautifully printed and selected by the picture makers themselves, are accompanied by insightful and informative commentaries from original (for the book) interviews with each of the represented picture makers.
The book is, quite simply, an incredible peek inside the minds behind the art.
I had a few hours of unaccompanied down time while in our Philadelphia hotel room and was able to skim through the book. That written, I can write with assurance that I will be spending many hours working my way through this superb collection of work.
The book is truly amazing and is very highly recommended.
IMO, if you don't lay your hands on a copy of this book, you might consider poking your eyes out and never again making another picture. Seriously ... this book should make a better picture maker (and viewer) out of just about anyone. It's that good.
FYI, the link under the picture of the book goes to a good review of the book. Check it out.
Reader Comments (4)
And I recognise you have the book open at the work of Arno Rafael Minkkinen. I was getting pretty discouraged by what I saw as my inability to develop any sort of coherent personal style when I came across an article describing his Helsinki Bus Station Theory talk (http://www.fotocommunity.com/info/Helsinki_Bus_Station_Theory). The simple central admonition of the talk is so easy to remember that I've done my best to follow it ever since. I think it's working for me, at least I can see some sort of common vision now in place of the styles I used to mimic so badly. And I feel like I'm moving forward rather than in circles.
I ordered one through B&N for $15.00, sounds really good Thanks Mark
Thanks for the recommendation, Mark. I ordered my copy from Amazon Germany, choosing the German version, which was unexpectedly less then half the price of the English version - usually it's the other way round.
Re. the "Helsinki Bus Station Theory" Peter mentioned: I, too, found it both comforting and encouraging. As a Learner, it's all too easy to see other's signature look as a solution for the own problems instead of recognizing it as a marker for a (non-permanent) position in someone else's development.
Mark I went in the garage this weekend, saw this and thought of your "Disgust and Decay"
http://cooperscavephotography.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/ode-to-the-landscapist/