The Photobook Thread

Pieter12 · Sep 14, 2023

albireo said:
Does anyone have pointers on where to get ahold of the work by Henry Wessel Jr at reasonable prices?

I only have Waikiki by him and I'm eager to find out more about his neo-topographic work, but everything seems out of print?

I have Traffic / Sunset Park / Continental Divide. Although I like Wessel’s work, he tended to print flat, and the books reflect that.

albireo · Sep 15, 2023

Pieter12 said:
I have Traffic / Sunset Park / Continental Divide. Although I like Wessel’s work, he tended to print flat, and the books reflect that.

I don't have that particular one. Do you suspect it's down to Steidl's printing or Wessel's preference?

In terms of Wessel's work, I only have Waikiki, and find the printing/ high key tonality beautiful. If I could use one word to define the visual impact of his technique would be 'lithe'. I have found I enjoy it and his work (but also Robert Adams' of course) makes it difficult for me to stomach overly-dramatised, heavily interpreted prints such as those by Ansel Adams or Koudelka.

I opened 'Exiles' the other day. I was shocked at how much dodging/burning is going on. Gypsys is even worse. All those people in dim rooms with unnaturally bright faces. Those chalky shadows. The pathos is just too much for me. Same with those dark grey Yosemite skies. At the moment I don't really like photographic work that rubs drama in my face or follows the Church of the Orange filter teachings.

Pieter12 · Sep 15, 2023

albireo said:
I don't have that particular one. Do you suspect it's down to Steidl's printing or Wessel's preference?

In terms of Wessel's work, I only have Waikiki, and find the printing/ high key tonality beautiful. If I could use one word to define the visual impact of his technique would be 'lithe'. I have found I enjoy it and his work (but also Robert Adams' of course) makes it difficult for me to stomach overly-dramatised, heavily interpreted prints such as those by Ansel Adams or Koudelka.

I opened 'Exiles' the other day. I was shocked at how much dodging/burning is going on. Gypsys is even worse. All those people in dim rooms with unnaturally bright faces. Those chalky shadows. The pathos is just too much for me. Same with those dark grey Yosemite skies. At the moment I don't really like photographic work that rubs drama in my face or follows the Church of the Orange filter teachings.

Steidl's printing is quite good and accurate as far as I can tell. What surprises me is Wessel has stated that he was taken by the "California light" yet his prints don't seem to reflect that in my point of view. And I live in one of the areas he photographed extensively and would probably not make the same prints of the same or similar subjects To each his own. Although I may not wait as long as Wessel did between taking and proofing a photo and making a final print, I do like to separate the experience of taking the photo from making the print as I might want to interpret the scene differently under the enlarger rather than what I saw in front of the camera. Personally, I like being able to dodge and burn to render a print to my liking, not trying to reproduce nature--it is black and white after all, so it can never be true to the scene.

This video shows some of this work and his take on what he sees and photographs:

MTGseattle · Sep 19, 2023

Is anyone sitting on a copy of "New Topographics: Photographs of a Man Altered landscape" and perhaps you haven't pulled it off of the shelf in quite a while? I have a decent selection of some of the work by the individuals in the show, but I am interested in the writing in the book.

logan2z · Sep 19, 2023

MTGseattle said:
Is anyone sitting on a copy of "New Topographics: Photographs of a Man Altered landscape" and perhaps you haven't pulled it off of the shelf in quite a while? I have a decent selection of some of the work by the individuals in the show, but I am interested in the writing in the book.

I don't have a copy, but Steidl is supposedly reprinting the book. No telling when it will be released, however, the status has been 'Reprinting' on their site for a long while.

New Topographics

This book is dedicated to the exhibition New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape, held in 1975 at the International Museum...

steidl.de

Nitroplait · Sep 19, 2023

logan2z said:
I just bit the bullet and picked up a copy of W. Eugene Smith's The Jazz Loft Project. ...

What do you think?
The new The Jazz Loft Project and Dream Street are on my check-out list but have not reached shelves in shops I visit. I've been a bit reluctant to buy online as reviews seems lukewarm when looking at the books from a "photobook perspective". Those who loves them appear to be looking at them as historic documents.
Any thoughts?

Alex Benjamin · Sep 19, 2023

Nitroplait said:
What do you think?
The new The Jazz Loft Project and Dream Street are on my check-out list but have not reached shelves in shops I visit. I've been a bit reluctant to buy online as reviews seems lukewarm when looking at the books from a "photobook perspective". Those who loves them appear to be looking at them as historic documents.
Any thoughts?

I have the first edition of both. The Jazz Loft Project is a great complement to the documentary movie The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith, and not so much about photography itself, even though it does contain a reasonable amount of photos.

If you're interested in Smith's photography, get Dream Street, which is mostly photos with a couple of essays. You really get the sense that had Smith been able to complete the project and publish it he would have produced something at least as major and influential as Robert Frank's The Americans.

Alex Benjamin · Sep 19, 2023

Mark Steinmetz. He was evoked earlier when we talked about Nazraeli Press. I keep reading great things about him, notably by other photographers that think very highly of his works. I should at least get one of his books, but since they aren't cheap, wondering if anybody here can recommend one that's representative of his work.

logan2z · Sep 19, 2023

Alex Benjamin said:
Mark Steinmetz. He was evoked earlier when we talked about Nazraeli Press. I keep reading great things about him, notably by other photographers that think very highly of his works. I should at least get one of his books, but since they aren't cheap, wondering if anybody here can recommend one that's representative of his work.

There are several flip-throughs/overviews of his books on YouTube. I personally feel he's a bit overrated but many people seem to like his work a lot. I'm sure the books printed by NZ are top notch, however.

snusmumriken · Sep 19, 2023

Any recommendations for intelligent and perceptive books about photographs? Something along the lines of Bill Jay's essays. I read Susan Sontag a few years back, but nothing seems to have stuck, so perhaps it was too intelligent?

Alex Benjamin · Sep 19, 2023

logan2z said:
There are several flip-throughs/overviews of his books on YouTube. I personally feel he's a bit overrated but many people seem to like his work a lot. I'm sure the books printed by NZ are top notch, however.

Thanks.

Pieter12 · Sep 19, 2023

snusmumriken said:
Any recommendations for intelligent and perceptive books about photographs? Something along the lines of Bill Jay's essays. I read Susan Sontag a few years back, but nothing seems to have stuck, so perhaps it was too intelligent?

I like Janet Malcolm's Diana & Nikon.

Alex Benjamin · Sep 19, 2023

snusmumriken said:
Any recommendations for intelligent and perceptive books about photographs? Something along the lines of Bill Jay's essays. I read Susan Sontag a few years back, but nothing seems to have stuck, so perhaps it was too intelligent?

My top-desert-island-8:

Tod Papageorge: Core Curriculum
John Berger: Understanding a Photograph
Stephen Shore: Modern Instances
Stephen Shore: The Nature of Photographs
Robert Adams: Beauty in Photography
Robert Adams: Art Can Help
Robert Adams: Why People Photograph
Geoff Dyer: The Ongoing Moment

Other interesting ones:
Luigi Ghirri: The Complete Essays
Philip Gefter: Photography After Frank
Sasha Wolf: Photoworks: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice
Peter C. Bunnell: Inside the Photograph: Writings on 20th-Century Photography

Pieter12 · Sep 19, 2023

snusmumriken said:
Any recommendations for intelligent and perceptive books about photographs? Something along the lines of Bill Jay's essays. I read Susan Sontag a few years back, but nothing seems to have stuck, so perhaps it was too intelligent?

logan2z · Sep 19, 2023

Pieter12 said:
View attachment 349346

Nice!

snusmumriken · Sep 19, 2023

Thank you so much @Alex Benjamin and @Pieter12 ! Lots to investigate there.

MTGseattle · Sep 19, 2023

logan2z said:
I don't have a copy, but Steidl is supposedly reprinting the book. No telling when it will be released, however, the status has been 'Reprinting' on their site for a long while.

New Topographics

This book is dedicated to the exhibition New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape, held in 1975 at the International Museum...

steidl.de

Thank you. Someone printed it back in 2009. (I may have this mixed up with another title). Obviously the first edition is quite pricey these days, and I'd like to see a copy before I throw cash at it. The exhibition itself does seem to be a bit of a "boys club" minus Ms. Becher.

albireo · Sep 19, 2023

snusmumriken said:
Any recommendations for intelligent and perceptive books about photographs? Something along the lines of Bill Jay's essays. I read Susan Sontag a few years back, but nothing seems to have stuck, so perhaps it was too intelligent?

I'm enjoying these two currently

MTGseattle · Sep 19, 2023

@snusmumriken you were asking more about photographic criticism and interpretation rather than photographic technique right?

I scanned the cover of the Charles Moriarty title above, and I haven't heard of any of the artists. That could be interesting.

Sorry for the Amazon links, it's just too easy.

logan2z · Sep 19, 2023

Nitroplait said:
What do you think?
The new The Jazz Loft Project and Dream Street are on my check-out list but have not reached shelves in shops I visit. I've been a bit reluctant to buy online as reviews seems lukewarm when looking at the books from a "photobook perspective". Those who loves them appear to be looking at them as historic documents.
Any thoughts?

I haven't spent a lot of time with the book yet, but I enjoyed the photos on my first passthrough. I love Monk and many of the other jazz musicians pictured and Smith's photos of these players are terrific. I could probably live without so many photos of the street below Smith's window, but that's not the end of the world.

I don't have Dream Street as recommended by @Alex Benjamin so I can't compare the two books. As in most cases, the right answer is probably "get both" I think that Amazon has a pretty good package price on now if you buy both books (if you're willing to accept poor packing for shipment and the likelihood of shipping damage).

snusmumriken · Sep 19, 2023

MTGseattle said:
@snusmumriken you were asking more about photographic criticism and interpretation rather than photographic technique right?

I scanned the cover of the Charles Moriarty title above, and I haven't heard of any of the artists. That could be interesting.

Sorry for the Amazon links, it's just too easy.

Thanks! I haven't heard of any of those artists on the Moriarty cover either. Not one. Regrettably Amazon doesn't show us inside. I shall have to Google them individually.

Pieter12 · Sep 19, 2023

MTGseattle said:
I scanned the cover of the Charles Moriarty title above, and I haven't heard of any of the artists. That could be interesting.

Right off the bat I recognized Norman Seef and Douglas Kirkland. They were quite popular for making celebrity portraits last century.

Alex Benjamin · Sep 20, 2023

I believe it's been mentioned before, but I'll still add to the list of essays To Photograph is to Learn how to Die, a curious, very personal and very original book by photographer Tim Carpenter.

TO PHOTOGRAPH IS TO LEARN HOW TO DIE - The Ice Plant

Tim Carpenter’s book-length essay often feels lit from within — thanks to his own insights sagely illuminated by gems from his fellow photographers, poets, musicians, painters, curators, and others. I keep the book on my bedside table near the poems of Emily Dickinson and Tomas Tranströmer, for...

theiceplant.cc

logan2z · Sep 23, 2023

If anyone is in the New York area today, Jungjin Lee will be signing her new book Voice at the opening of her show at the Howard Greenberg Gallery. According to the email I received, they also have a bunch of her other books for sale at the gallery, although prices are, um, a little on the high side (copies of Unnamed Road are $475!).

logan2z · Sep 24, 2023

For Lee Friedlander fans, a new book entitled Real Estate is due out in October. Published by Eakins Press. More details available here.

The Photobook Thread

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