Alex Benjamin
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Hi, just found this amazing forum. I‘m from Germany and we don‘t have a forum on photobooks here. At least I don‘t know one. So thanks a lot for this.
To be honest. I like both Parke and Hido. It‘s mostly repetetive stuff. That‘s true. But the production is not cheap and the quality of „The end sends advance warning“ for example is really georgeous in my opinion . There are 6.000 copies of it. That‘s much. But Hido is really well known. So I think it will sell out again very fast like all the other 1st editions of him too.
Art is to a great part marketing. Was ist in the past and will be in the future. If you like it or not.
BTW: Merry Christmas !
Hi, just found this amazing forum. I‘m from Germany and we don‘t have a forum on photobooks here. At least I don‘t know one. So thanks a lot for this.
To be honest. I like both Parke and Hido. It‘s mostly repetetive stuff. That‘s true. But the production is not cheap and the quality of „The end sends advance warning“ for example is really georgeous in my opinion . There are 6.000 copies of it. That‘s much. But Hido is really well known. So I think it will sell out again very fast like all the other 1st editions of him too.
Art is to a great part marketing. Was ist in the past and will be in the future. If you like it or not.
BTW: Merry Christmas !
If I had the choice to spend 10.000 Euro either in gear like a Leica lens or in good photobooks I would prefer 100 good photobooks for 100 € each. I think it would help me to get a good photographer much more than the fancy lens.I’ve spent so much on photobooks but it’s money well spent. Otherwise, I’d be throwing money on gear… my sorry excuse lol
I agree that looking at good photos in a good way to improve your photography. But there is no substitute for going out and shooting pictures, no matter the camera or lens.If I had the choice to spend 10.000 Euro either in gear like a Leica lens or in good photobooks I would prefer 100 good photobooks for 100 € each. I think it would help me to get a good photographer much more than the fancy lens.
I agree that looking at good photos in a good way to improve your photography. But there is no substitute for going out and shooting pictures, no matter the camera or lens.
Totally agree if your goal is to get a better photographer. For me this is also a goal, but I’m only a hobby photographer. So basically I make photobooks of my family and my vacations. That’s it. They are not very sophisticated and I wouldn’t think they are art. Most of the time I just enjoy good photography. And that‘s ok for me. I don‘t want to make money with this stuff.
As for the Japanese photography books mentioned earlier in the forum, I would highly recommend the work of Issei Suda.
Photofile is cheap but sadly his monographs are rare and tend to be pricey.
Since you’re from Germany, I’d also like to recommend a few German photographers I really admire: August Sander, Herbert List, and Toni Schneiders.
I’d also suggest checking out the “Photographers” thread. There’s an incredible amount of information there, along with opinions, images, and lively debates about some of the most classical and well-known photographers — a great place to start as well.
Since you’re from Germany, I’d also like to recommend a few German photographers I really admire: August Sander, Herbert List, and Toni Schneiders.
And welcome
Speaking of German photographers and photobooks, I'm deep diving these days into Thomas Struth's Unconscious Places. Got it a few month ago but only now have time to fully enjoy it.
I assume you are talking about the Jazz Loft Project and Dream Street.Does anyone have suggestions for a book with good prints of W Eugene Smith's work? The two easily available on Amazon have mixed reviews with some suggesting they've had issues with bindings.
There aren’t many good photobooks of German photographers.
Speaking of German photographers and photobooks, I'm deep diving these days into Thomas Struth's Unconscious Places. Got it a few month ago but only now have time to fully enjoy it.
There aren’t many good photobooks of German photographers. I like exhibitions of Gursky and some others of the Duesseldorf school, but except the Bechers they haven‘t published many good photobooks in my opinion.
Are you familiar with the work of Michael Schmidt? His last book Natur was published by Mack Books in 2014 and is still available.
Does anyone have suggestions for a book with good prints of W Eugene Smith's work? The two easily available on Amazon have mixed reviews with some suggesting they've had issues with bindings.
I have both Dream Street: W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project and The Jazz Loft. Quality of reproduction is excellent — not to the level of what you'd find in a Steidl or a Mack, but really excellent. I haven't had any problem with the binding of the books, but I do find the earlier version of Dream Street, published by Norton, of a slightly better quality than the new edition by University of Chicago Press.
If you're into W. Eugene's Smith, try to find W. Eugene Smith and the Photographic Essay by Glenn G. Willumson. Print quality of the photos is just above OK, but the text is quite interesting, and you go through many of Smith's early photo essays such as "Country Doctor", "Spanish Village" and "A Man of Mercy".
A good find is also Aperture's W. Eugene Smith: Master of the Photographic Essay, edited by William S. Johnson. You go for that one for quantity, not quality. There's a huge amount of photos, but they are small (usually 9 per page), and none are them are titled. You get a complete overview of his early works, his work during WWII and the Life essays. It's not that expensive on the used market (found mine for 15$ in a use book store in Montreal a few years back).
I'll fess up to acquiring Willam Eggleston's The Last Dyes and Friedlander's Kitaj for Christmas.
Are you familiar with the work of Michael Schmidt? His last book Natur was published by Mack Books in 2014 and is still available.
Yes. I know him. Just bought a copy of the 2nd edition of Waffenruhe for 14€ something. Really cheap. It‘s a little bit depressing in my opinion. I don‘t really understand whats going on to be honest.There is a young man sitting in his kitchen with a rabbit, but you can‘t see the rabbit. You can only see the Berlin wall and lots of weed like a mixture of Gossage „The Pond“ and „Stadt des Schwarz“ (City of Black) and a few portraits.I grew up in East Germany and Schmidt in West Berlin. And for me even East Berlin was colorful at that time compared to the rest of the country. So it‘s not easy for me to understand, but maybe it was his personal situtation. His wife had left him before.
I don‘t know his other work yet. So thanks for sharing.
I’ve looked at these photographs from "Natur" too, and honestly, they feel a bit like what you might get if a child wandered through the forest with a camera. I say that because in my opinion even a curious 10 year old might capture something more compelling. Sorry if this comes across as harsh. I just believe that if I can enthusiastically share what I love about certain books, I should also be able to share my honest opinion when something doesn’t resonate with me at all.
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