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Book reviews
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
 
Ian Jeffrey - Revisions, an alternative history of photography
With a title like that I was half expecting to read about new revelations on the history of photography,
about how in the 12th century in China or Brazil or New Zealand, some guy invented photography. But the book starts with the
usual suspects :
Daguerre and Talbot. It does cover the subject in an interesting way, and does talk about areas of popular photography
that are not discussed in the usual history books, like stereo-photography or astro- and micro-photography
and that what makes it an alternative.
This book has been written as the catalogue of an exhibition shown at the National Museum of Photography and
Television in Bradford, UK, in 1999. It thus reads like a walk through a museum. Small pieces of text explaining
or accompanied by images. An very interesting book for anyone interested in the history of photography.
Buy it From: Amazon.com |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 November 2005 )
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Contributed by Deniz Merdanogullari
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Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
 
Lois Connor - Landscapes of the Far East
Lois Connor, USA born photographer. This book features amazing photos from her far East trip to China,
Japan, Nepal with her 7x17” panoramic camera. She works with panoramic- banquet cameras of 7x17, 8x20
and 12x20 size. Many of the photographs are vertical, which is pretty impressive considering the size
and the format of the cameras she is working with.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
Steve Simmons, Using the View Camera
This is one of the very good basic manuals for beggining LF photographers, and another bookcase essential for LF photographers in general !
Buy it From :
Amazon.com
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
Ansel Adams, The Print
The concluding chapter of Adams master series. He takes us through the printing process, with detailed examples.
The three books form a coherent whole that is a solid basis for any beggining photographer that has the courage to tackle them.
They can be a little dry and technical at times, but overall very good books.
Buy it From :
Amazon.com
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
Ansel Adams, The Negative
Adams continues his exploration of the photographic process by going in depth into the process of creating and developping the negative in
order to get the best possible material to be able to create stunning images. The trilogy should have a place in every photographer's bookcase,
or at least be worth a visit to your local library...
Buy it From :
Amazon.com
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
Ansel Adams, The Camera
Ansel Adams classic trilogy (it's kind of the "Lord of the Rings" of Photography...) begins here, with a comprehensive account of what photography is...
Granted, it's a little out of date, but the basics of photography don't change over the years, and
for Large format photography it's still one of the references. It's also the basis of the famous "Zone System"
that has been the blessing and the curse of the beginning LF photographer.
Buy it From :
Amazon.com
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Wednesday, 16 November 2005 |
Leslie Stroebel, Ira Current, John C. Compton and Richard D. Zakia, Basic Photographic Materials and Processes
When looking for a textbook to brush up on the basics of photography : optics, photochemistry, color adjustments, sensiometry, I came across this volume. It's a college-level textbook, so don't expect easy reading, but everything is there. From a basic history of the photogaphic process to a very technical explanation of the measurement of light and how the exact look of the print can be precisely calculated even before the exposure is made...
A must for anyone interested in brushing up on the basics.
Buy it From :
Amazon.com
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Thursday, 10 November 2005 |
  This book, written before the advent of digital photography, reflects on our relation to photography as a society...
Some of the ideas might not be to everyone's liking, and some of the reflections would need to be reviewed and pushed further for the digital age, but it is a book that should be part of every photographer's list of books to read.
In short a good introduction to the philosophy of photography.
Buy it from: Amazon.com |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Monday, 07 November 2005 |
Photo Icons I (1827-1926) The story behind the pictures
Photo Icons II (1928-1991) The story behind the pictures
These two books, part of the "Icons" series by Taschen, are a useful and interesting introduction to the history of photography through some of the most influential images or significant images from the last one and a half century.
From the Early Images of Niepce and Daguerre in the 19th century to Sebastiao Salgado's portraits of the oil fires in Kuwait in the early 1990's, each iconic image is accompanied by a text describing it's background and significance.
 Volume one covers many pioneers in various styles, up to Man Ray in 1926. Volume two goes on with some other familiar names: Lange, Cartier-Bresson, Doineau, Newton... Of course many big names are absent, Talbot, Weston and Adams for example, are not among the photograpers presented, but it is to be expected from two small books, each less than 200 pages. The whole of photographic history has produced such an ample body of work that expecting it to be covered thouroughly in less than ten times that space is utopic.
Once again Taschen produces a very interesting book at a very affordable price.
Buy Volume I From : Amazon.com
Buy Volume II From : Amazon.com
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Monday, 07 November 2005 |
Atget's Paris
Eugène Atget is one of the legends of LF. For thirty years at the beggining of the 20th century, he roamed the streets of Paris, carrying an 18x24cm wetplate camera around at recording the city.
His images are sometimes technically imperfect, showing for example some vigneting from too much movement, but they are an impressive catalog of what Atget saw as the remains of a dissapearing way of life.
It is interesting to know that he himself didn't see his work as art. He was making a living selling his images for historical societies and museums. He died virtually unknown, leaving behind a huge body of work of thousands of glass plates.
This book, part of the Taschen Icons series, provides an affordable introduction to Atget's work, and an intersting first step in the universe of this amazing photographer.
Buy it From : Amazon.com
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Monday, 07 November 2005 |
Man Ray, Portfolio
Taschen, with it's "Portfolio" series, provides an interesting alternative to traditionnal books. In a large 11x14" format, printed on heavier stock than their other books, Tashen offers 14 images than can be either enjoyed as a book or taken out of the binding and put up on a wall.
The quality of the reproductions is not perfect, since they are of course not photographic prints, but they offer tremendous value for the money.
This particular one presents images from Man Ray, whose images, such as the cello-woman (Violin d'Ingres), are so well known. It's interesting to see them in a larger size than the usual reproduction in a book.
And of course the cheapest way to start a photography museum in your living room !
Buy it From : Amazon.com
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 November 2005 )
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Monday, 07 November 2005 |
Polaroid Book
In 2004 Polaroid celebrated it's 50th anniversary, and this book celebrates those five decades with 287 images from 224 artists, all out of the Polaroid collection...
Once again Taschen offers a beautiful book at an affordable price. And they even manage to present it in a very original way. When you buy the book it's sealed in a gray plastic package that will be very familiar to anyone who ever used Polaroid film. Even the fonts on the package look like a polaroid film pack.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 December 2005 )
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Book reviews 
