What inspiring photography book did you read or buy recently?

flavio81 · Dec 23, 2014

Two fantastic books, one is a classic:

"The eye of the photographer" by John Szarkowsky

the other one is not so well known but it shure SHOULD be a classic:

"Halsman On The Creation of Photographic Ideas" by Philippe Halsman

Black Dog · Dec 23, 2014

+1 on The Photographer's Eye.

Arklatexian · Dec 23, 2014

TheToadMen said:
I enjoyed his columns too. Let me know how you liked this book, please. Or forward it to me when you're finished with it

I will let you know how I liked this book but if I do like it, it will go into my permanent collection of books that I keep for reference. I bought this book through BIBLIO.com. They represent book stores with extra copies of books to sell. There were several copies available when I ordered mine.......Regards

John Koehrer · Feb 11, 2015

Unknown Halsman.

I didn't realize he also enjoyed the surreal. Learn something new every day. Sometimes.

Black Dog · Feb 12, 2015

Robert Adams-Why People Photograph. Clear and accessible but thought provoking.

Kevin Kehler · Feb 12, 2015

Mountain Light - Galen Rowell

Just a tremendous book outlining how Galen thought about taking photographs. I was amazed to learn some of the things he did to take some photographs - I knew he was a mountaineer but didn't realize he was that good a mountaineer. Some of the adventure stories buried in the text were amazing.

TheToadMen · Feb 20, 2015

I was given to choose a book for my birthday last week so I ordered the book Group f.64 (by Mary Alinder) at a local book store. It should arrive in a week. (See: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/group-f64-9781620405550/)

It came (there was a url link here which no longer exists) here on APUG and I'm very interested in the Pictorialism era and the Group f.64 that came from this era and moved away from Pictorialism. It's a interesting list of names. Can't wait to read it.

Group f.64 is perhaps the most famous movement in the history of photography, counting among its members Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Dorothea Lange, Willard Van Dyke, and Edward Weston. Revolutionary in their day, Group f.64 was one of the first modern art movements equally defined by women. From the San Francisco Bay Area, its influence extended internationally, contributing significantly to the recognition of photography as a fine art.

The group-first identified as such in a 1932 exhibition-was comprised of strongly individualist artists, brought together by a common philosophy, and held together in a tangle of dynamic relationships. They shared a conviction that photography must emphasize its unique capabilities-those that distinguished it from other arts-in order to establish the medium's identity. Their name, f.64, they took from a very small lens aperture used with their large format cameras, a pinprick that allowed them to capture the greatest possible depth of field in their lustrous, sharply detailed prints. In today's digital world, these “straight” photography champions are increasingly revered.

Mary Alinder is uniquely positioned to write this first group biography. A former assistant to Ansel Adams, she knew most of the artists featured. Just as importantly, she understands the art. Featuring fifty photographs by and of its members, Group f.64 details a transformative period in art with narrative flair.

removed account4 · Feb 20, 2015

the national (england) portrait gallery's book "camera portraits ";
radar + atget's complete works ...

Black Dog · Feb 21, 2015

Eugene Richards [Phaidon 55]-powerful stuff!

macfred · Feb 22, 2015

Ernst Haas - Die Schöpfung / The creation

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2217410.The_Creation

kier · Jul 3, 2015

I wrote up a review for Brooks Jensen's Creative Life in Photography. You can see the discussion here:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

FujiLove · Aug 11, 2015

I've been enjoying The Master Printer's Workbook.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/books/dp/2880467330/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1439307915

doughowk · Aug 11, 2015

So far this Summer I've read 3 fascinating books:
Alinder's "Group f64" was very informative on the dynamics of that very important group of photographers.
Sally Mann's "Hold Still" for understanding where she is coming from. And she is an excellent writer.
An older book, Anne Hammond's "Frederick H. Evans: selected texts and bibliography", interesting how much of the debate over 100 years ago is still being repeated.

drkhalsa · Aug 11, 2015

On Being a Photographer
David Hurn and Bill Jay

TheToadMen · Aug 11, 2015

doughowk said:
So far this Summer I've read 3 fascinating books:
Alinder's "Group f64" was very informative on the dynamics of that very important group of photographers.

I just started reading this book and it looks good.

drkhalsa said:
On Being a Photographer
David Hurn and Bill Jay

That book is the next to read.

Black Dog · Aug 11, 2015

TheToadMen said:
I just started reading this book and it looks good.

That book is the next to read.

On Being A Photographer is a long time favourite of mine-accessible and free of artspeak!

hack02 · Oct 28, 2015

carleton watkin's Photographs of the Columbia River and Oregon, pare's photography and architecture 1839-1939, frizot's new history, rosenblum's world history, robinson's architecture transformed, szarkowski's photography until now, diane arbus monograph, cca monograph on edouard baldus, palmquist's Carleton E. Watkins: Photographer of the American West, it's hard to know where to stop...

Peter Schrager · Oct 28, 2015

Sally mann biop

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Black Dog · Oct 28, 2015

Benjamin Brecknell Turner:rural England through a Victorian lens-a quality monograph on an important pioneer.

Sirius Glass · Oct 28, 2015

Nothing recently.
Rudolf Arnheim, Art and Visual Preception A Psychology of the Creative Eye
Richard d. Zakia, Perception & Imaging
Eugene Hecht, Optics Fourth Edition
Rudolf Kingslake, A History of the Photographic Lens
Warren J. Smith, Modern Optical Engineering Third Edition

Black Dog · Oct 29, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
Nothing recently.
Rudolf Arnheim, Art and Visual Preception A Psychology of the Creative Eye
Richard d. Zakia, Perception & Imaging
Eugene Hecht, Optics Fourth Edition
Rudolf Kingslake, A History of the Photographic Lens
Warren J. Smith, Modern Optical Engineering Third Edition

Sounds like it!

TheToadMen · Nov 12, 2015

A beautiful book: Truth Beauty: Pictorialism and the Photograph as Art, 1845 -1945, by Alison Nordstrom.

See also: http://www.phillipscollection.org/events/2010-10-9-exhibition-truthbeauty

HiHoSilver · Nov 12, 2015

I'm almost done w/ a book I knew I wanted.

Dead Link Removed

Its odd, because much of the author's aesthetic is quite alien to me. What Jake writes about the craft was the primary draw - largely a philosophical treatise on photo art. He calls his work 'formal' portrait, which is a different take on the concept than tradition. Subjects are exclusively from his own personal circles - people he know at least pretty well. But I said the writing was the draw. A sample:

http://codex.bluemooncamera.com/201...the-portland-art-museum-the-decisive-morning/

If you don't like the museum speach - no real point giving further attention.

So I understand more of his work, like more of it, and my respect for his approach is rather profound.

Side note - Jake owns the local shop & has surrounded himself w/ really superb people. I've bought gear there, bought the book & have been helped above & beyond reasonable - including when things went wrong. I have no interest w/ the shop other than being terribly impressed w/ how they do what they do. If you get near Portland, OR - ducking in the shop will likely be a real treat.

Pioneer · Nov 12, 2015

Hold Still

I have been reading Hold Still, Sally Mann's Memoir. Don't know if it qualifies as the typical photo book but it is very, very interesting and it does have photographs. I am not yet finished but I can certainly recommend it to anyone who is interested in a good read by, and about, a good photographer.

Kevin Caulfield · Nov 12, 2015

Currently re-reading the Geoffrey Crawley BJP articles from 1960 and 1961

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What inspiring photography book did you read or buy recently?

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