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The Photobook Thread

albireo said:
I don't understand these shifting deadlines from Steidl. Why post/share them at all? They keep being pushed and pushed and sometimes it all vanishes into thin air anyway (e.g. Barney Kessel's promised reissues).
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It is frustrating. There are announced titles I've been waiting on for 3+ years.
 
Been away from this thread for a while. Ended up getting Moriyama's Quartet and Todd Hido's Intimate Distance.

I'm kind of meh on the Moriyama book. Good to see the images from his early work that made him famous but I don't think the printing is very good. I have a small Phaidon Moriyama book from years ago. Some images look better in it. Some look worse though so... I kind of just want one Moriyama book with all his best images in it. Hopefully someone will make one. Maybe MoMA or another museum. There have been so many though who knows. Maybe someone already has. Can't keep track. Still though these four sets of images were the ones that made him famous so it is a good book to have.

The Hido book is an excellent one if you are interested in Hido. For the price, if you don't already have Hido books, it is perfect. It seems like a good overview. I was never much of a fan of Hido but I think I am coming around; at least for this work. His newer work is digital now and they look odd.

I also recently picked up another (I have like 9 already) Ralph Gibson book, Overtones, that I stumbled over on fleabay still in it's shrink wrap for six measly dollars. Thirty-ish year old book still in shrink wrap... After going through it a few times I think it is one of his best. The images are presented side by side and it really works. After returning the latest Taschen book on him this one was a nice surprise. I kind of want Taschen to release a Deus Ex Machina part Deux. Continue with his work where the first one left off in the same format. Deus is probably my favorite photo book.

Another one I snagged is MoMA's Photography Until Now from the 80s. Kind of a trip to see what was considered good back then.

By the way, Getty is having a sale right now. EMAIL25 gets you 25% off.
 
Patrick Robert James said:
Been away from this thread for a while. Ended up getting Moriyama's Quartet and Todd Hido's Intimate Distance.

I'm kind of meh on the Moriyama book.
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That's too bad, I really like it and don't have an issue with the printing. It seems about on par with the other Moriyama books I have and fairly consistent with the prints I've seen in person. Hopefully it'll grow on you...
 
I've been shooting a lot of 4x5 in-studio botanical shots and recently picked up Mapplethorpe Flora: The Complete Flowers for some inspiration. I'm so glad I did. His shots really made me realize how much room there is to play with the background of a studio image - areas for visual interest beyond the subject.

This might all be common knowledge, but if you're into still life or botanical shots, it's absolutely worth checking out.
 

I wish you hadn't written that. I've been eyeing it at the local bookstore, trying to resist. Now, what choice to I have?...
 
Alex Benjamin said:
I wish you hadn't written that. I've been eyeing it at the local bookstore, trying to resist. Now, what choice to I have?...
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Oh, well consider this destiny! You'll love it. If you're even remotely interested in that kind of subject it's so worth having around.
 

Here are 2 more people who did nice botanical work (imho)


Tom Baril

A graduate of New York's School of Visual Arts, Tom Baril spent over fifteen years as Robert Mapplethorpe's master printer.
kochgallery.com
 
Also (without turning this into a recurring New Topographics thread), Subjectively Objective put out a newsletter that was a "legacy of the New Topographics at 50 years" I'm likely butchering the title. I thought it was a decent read. I can throw in a link if that's ok with the group.
 

Thanks for alerting us to it. I read it and enjoyed it, despite a spate of typos and some other grammatical issues.

The Legacy of New Topographics, 50 Years Later

An Examination of the Original Exhibition and the Term's Continued Relevance Today
subjectivelyobjective.substack.com
 
logan2z said:
That's too bad, I really like it and don't have an issue with the printing. It seems about on par with the other Moriyama books I have and fairly consistent with the prints I've seen in person. Hopefully it'll grow on you...
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Regarding Moriyama Quartet book, I saw there are 2 different publishers , being Getty Publication and Thames Hudson. the prices are different also from Amazon.ca , wondering are these 2 books identical content wise ? or one print quality better than the other ?
 

I can’t say for sure, but I believe they’re the exact same book. It appears to have been released by Getty Publications in the US and Thames and Hudson in the UK.
 

Oh, these are stunning! This is exactly the kind of work I'm hoping to get inspired by.

Really, really appreciate you sharing these, thank you very much.
 

"A graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, Tom Baril spent over fifteen years as Robert Mapplethorpe’s master printer."
 
grainfall said:
Oh, these are stunning! This is exactly the kind of work I'm hoping to get inspired by.

Really, really appreciate you sharing these, thank you very much.
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No problem. Throughout the history of photography many of the big names have done some botanical work. A few Sunflower portfolios come to mind. I think Kenro Izu also did some decent botanical work, but I wouldn't call it his focus by any means.
 
MTGseattle said:
No problem. Throughout the history of photography many of the big names have done some botanical work. A few Sunflower portfolios come to mind. I think Kenro Izu also did some decent botanical work, but I wouldn't call it his focus by any means.
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Unreal...

Kenro Izu - Flora

This is absolutely remarkable. I'll be venturing into 8x10 platinum palladium printing this year and this portfolio is absolutely inspiring. Again, thank you so much for introducing me to such incredible work!
 
I'm glad I could post some work that someone is jazzed about.

Giving some of these a long delayed second look makes me want to order some supplies and do some still life work since I am sort-of stuck at home these days.
 
I've fallen victim to the PNW's rain season and I've certainly had less opportunities to get out, as well. I think my brain would be in a pretty rough spot if I weren't able to shoot in the studio and print in the darkroom.

Being introduced to these artists and their respective books has been hugely helpful in getting me off the couch and making something.
 
logan2z said:
That's too bad, I really like it and don't have an issue with the printing. It seems about on par with the other Moriyama books I have and fairly consistent with the prints I've seen in person. Hopefully it'll grow on you...
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I've never seen any Moriyama prints in person so there is that. I think I am probably just being a bit harsh on it. The last few books I've picked up were Weston and Robert Adams types. Moriyama is about as far away from Adams as you can get! I wish I could see the prints in person though.
 
Patrick Robert James said:
The last few books I've picked up were Weston and Robert Adams types
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Speaking of which... Got lucky on the used-book market lately and found Edward Weston and Charis Wilson's California and the West, as well as Robert Adams' Skogen.

Skogen is a bit strange, as the high-contrast photos — deep shadows and highlights that are always on the edge of being blown out, with not much in the middle — do not look like what Adams has gotten us used to. One does recognize his quest for light, but it's done in a very different manner than elsewhere. Beautiful and well-crafted photography, but I don't quite know what to make of it. Fraenkel's website describes it as "a body of work that is among the most pictorially complex of Adams's distinguished carreer," and I can only agree with that. I'm going to need time with this one.

Amongst my other finds on the used-book circuit are a few fantastic books of essays that I got at very cheap prices, EW 100: Centennial Essays in Honor of Edward Weston (contains a great piece by Robert Adams), and Alan Trachtemberg's Reading American Photographs: Images as History — Matthew Brady to Walker Evans, and Szarkowsi's Mirrors and Windows: American Photography since 1960.

Skogen | Fraenkel Gallery

While the dense woods featured in Robert Adams's most recent series of photographs grow near his home in Oregon, the pictures evoke a wild utopia...
fraenkelgallery.com
 
I went to SHOW L.A., the new photo show in Los Angeles for Art Week. There was a long room lined on both sides with book vendors. I just looked straight ahead and proceeded to the next booth. I have no more room for books, plus my wife was with me!
 
Pieter12 said:
I went to SHOW L.A., the new photo show in Los Angeles for Art Week. There was a long room lined on both sides with book vendors. I just looked straight ahead and proceeded to the next booth. I have no more room for books, plus my wife was with me!
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You clearly have more self control than I do
 
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