kitchen life # 81-83 ~ good read / great pictures

asparagus, rubber bands, noodles ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
a second look ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

I am currently working my way through a very interesting book, Photography Today. The book is (publisher's description):

The major new survey of contemporary photography considers the work of 80–100 photographers through eleven thematic chapters on subjects such as street photography, portraiture, landscape photography and documentary. It traces the development of photography as an art form in each of these genres individually and also looks at the ties and links between them. What is revealed is a complex story with numerous tangents. Mark Durden's narrative, combined with rich illustrative content and an easily accessible design, guides a clear path through this story, showcasing the work of great individual photographers while also being able to place this into the larger narrative of the medium's development.

The book has 464 pages with 500 illustrations, aka: photographs. The author, Mark Durden, has chosen 163 living (and dead) photographers from more than 25 countries who are influencing practice around the world. 500-1,000 words accompanied by 1-9 photographs are given to each picture maker. And, despite the fact that the book was written and curated by an academic - Durden is Professor of Photography at the University of South Wales, UK - the book is, for the most part, eminently readable. No artspeak dictionary needed. In an essay / review about the book, Jörg M. Colberg wrote:

Writing a book about contemporary photography is a bit of a thankless task since the moment it’s published, there already is something else that is not included in the book. But completeness cannot be the goal of such books. Inevitably, something will be missing, for whatever reason. There will probably also be categories, resulting in debates whether artist XYZ should not have in fact been placed elsewhere, or whether some category might be missing.

The task thus is to present photography in such a way that any reader will be able to move forward after having engaged with the book. S/he might disagree with some of the choices, but s/he will know why, and – crucially – s/he will have a much easier time engaging with the medium on her or his own. Photography Today succeeds brilliantly doing just that.

I have a virtual small-town library of books on photography - monographs, theory and practice, photo strategies and the like (not 1 how-to books amongst them) - and this book is one of the best on the theory, practice, photo strategies side of things. In our dining room, I have the book set up on a homemade book stand, open to my current place in the book, as a constant visual reminder to keep at it - the book is engaging and can suck one into extended contemplation, re: the medium and its apparatus*, making it a book which, for me, can only be read / handled in relatively small doses.

In any event, this book is highly recommended for anyone who has a more than a casual relationship with picture making / the medium and its apparatus. I picked my copy up during my recent visit to Montreal. The book can be had in the $40-50.00USD range. A veritable bargain when judged against the $59.00USD cost of the lens shade for my recently acquired 12mm Zuiko lens.

*the word "apparatus" in this context should understood to mean "photo strategies", not gear / equipment.