From the Postcards from America website:

“Postcards From America Box Set

In May 2011, five Magnum photographers –Paolo Pellegrin, Jim Goldberg, Susan Meiselas, Alec Soth, Mikhael Subotzky – and a writer, Ginger Strand, set out from Austin, Texas, in an RV. Two weeks and 1750 miles later, they arrived in Oakland, California.

The resulting limited edition book is a collection of objects – a book, five bumper stickers, a newspaper, two fold-outs, three cards, a poster and five zines, all in a signed and numbered box – that collectively document the experience. Edition of 500, signed by all five photographers and the writer.”

I received my copy this past week and it has exceeded all my expectations of what a photobook can be. It’s like receiving a care package from your college friends who just went on a road trip – but this one is filled with photographic goodies. Aside from the typography the box is unassuming and it could have said Fedex or DHL instead. This sets the overall tone of what’s to follow as you open the box and discover its contents.

Even the sticker where the photographers and writer have signed their names is stuck on in a very non-ornamental way. The “cover page” as shown in the photo above is comprised of high contrast images of the objects and “postcards”. It gives a sense of cohesiveness to the disparate jumble of materials. This is definitely not Robert Frank’s “The Americans” as there is no singular view imposed but instead multiple disparate narratives. Whereas “The Americans” focuses on what can be seen “Postcards” is more about what is absent and searching without finding.

I think what the authors are getting at is that only in America can such contrast exists side by side. That America is a whole bunch of parallel universes both perceived and actual all wound up into one big hodge podge. This reading of the work is strongly alluded to in Ginger Strand’s writing in the various zines. And also in the “I went right, Jim went left; I went left, Mikhael went right” wherein we meet a conflicted character that is both a caregiver and abuser?

One of my favorite photos is the abandoned pool that is filled with turf and grass. It’s about making do and turning contradictions into something that seems almost natural. You don’t see that it’s a pool until you realize where the diving board goes. It’s photos like these that provide the anchors to the entire collection. I’m sure I’ll find some more gems as I digest the work over the next few weeks.

“East” is a photographic record of the historic events that occurred between August 1989 and January 1990 that brought down the Berlin Wall and reunited East and West Germany.  However instead of using cliched newsroom photos of people standing on top of the Wall, it is the everyday lives of regular people during that time that is featured in the foreground and the “historical events” that serve as the backdrop.

The book is mainly written in German for a German audience however it does contain an English translation of the Forward, essays and photo captions to be found at the very end of the book.  The main body of the book is the Photography section which is divided into the months August, September, Oktober, November and Dezember.  Each spread is spaciously laid out with photographs, the Day. Month., name of the contributing photographer and a short caption.  The overall effect is one of non sentimentality letting the photos individually stand on their own but all the while contributing to the overall tone and momentum.  90 % of the photos are in black and white with color serving as accents here and there.

It is a powerful testament to how history is written by regular people just by living the way they choose to and changing the course of history in the mean while.  Would be great to see more photobooks like “East” that gives a clearer view of the everyday context that accumulate and add up to momentous events that affect all our lives.

If you like this review enough to buy the book, please purchase from the Amazon link here:
“EAST: FOR THE RECORD”

Received a copy of “Photographers A-Z” published by Taschen over the Christmas holidays.  It’s a great book for getting to know more about the masters as well as some up and coming photographers.  Although a hefty tome it is by no means exhaustive in scope and professes to be selective rather than encyclopedic.

It’s similar to “The Photobook” by Parr and Badger in that it showcases the photobooks of the photographers.  For aspiring collectors it also contains some selected exhibitions and bibliographical info as well.  The writing is a little rushed and summarized for my tastes but it does contain some useful information (the writing in the Parr and Badger book is much better).

It’s a good collectors item in and of itself and is definitely well made.  The font and layouts are elegant and very accessible for the reader.  Plenty of white space surrounding text and images which is good.  Overall I am quite happy with “Photographers A-Z” and highly recommend it for your bookshelves.

Photographers A-Z on Amazon.com

What a wonderful way to enjoy a lazy summer Sunday with a fine book/magazine and an ice cold beer out in the yard!

I’ve yet to finish “Words Without Pictures” but it is highly recommended. The book covers a wide range of contemporary photography topics in a very informal and online-forum-like style. Each chapter starts with an essay or discussion on a particular topic followed by “audience’ response and Q&A sections (which is not necessarily related to the chapter topic).

I found the overall tone to be refreshing and largely avoids the heavy verbiage associated with photography discourse.

Kirin Beer is golden – brewed for good times indeed!

Being completely clueless about photographers and the development of photography as a means of artistic expression and document, finding this book is like striking gold.

The book is very elegantly designed and laid out.  It is divided into nine chapters organized around various photobook themes.  The first three chapters starts with photobooks from America, Europe and the “Rest of the World” citing important differences and pre-occupations in these different cultures.  The remaining six chapters are less geographically based and more theme oriented.

The chapters start with a few introductory pages to set the scene before delving into the photobooks themselves which are presented in either one, two or three photobooks per spread.

Each photobook feature is comprised of page previews, a caption with some basic book info, and a short blurb about the significance of the book.  This catalogue of photobooks approach makes for a good compliment to your more standard textbooks such as “A World History of Photography”.

Here’s some more info on Amazon:

The Photobook: A History, Vol. 1
The Photobook: A History, Vol. 2
A World History of Photography

It is the same exact size as the “Buenos Aires” one which is also a re-release.  You can refer to my previous post on that book here.

To be honest with you I have no idea how to interpret this book. It is a dense and constant bombardment of low-fi black and white images. But that’s exactly why I love it because it’s a celebration of just that: Light & Shadow.

From what I can tell, there’s no story or theme running through it but pure unadulterated visual stimuli of the black and white variety. It’s a great way to teach yourself to see things in their own context as pure graphic elements.

I can recommend this book without any reservation!

As much as I love this copy I do envy those who own the original version:

For previews of the book you can check this link out here.

Other books by Daido Moriyama:
“Buenos Aires”

Here’s the link to the first edition of Buenos Aires on Amazon

Other books by Daido Moriyama:
“Light & Shadow”

[UPDATE] Be sure to check out the book preview with sample images here

On my recent trip to Tokyo I picked up a bunch of photo books three of them by Daido Moriyama: “Buenos Aires”; “Light & Shadow” and “Erotica”.  I’ll first review the “Buenos Aires” in this post.

This 2009  edition is a re-release of a larger and more expensive book initially published in 2005 by Kodansha.  The original edition’s dimensions are 11.5 x 8.5 inches while this one being more portable and easy to flip through stands at 7 x 4.5 inches. Though cheaper than the original it is no less well packaged as it has an obi band and a softcover dust jacket.  The green cover you see in the photo comes off to reveal a darker greenish gray cover which on closer inspection is a subtlety printed photo.  All pages have matte finishing.

The book’s first dozen pages depicts sparsely populated streets and open spaces.  As it progresses the visual rhythm picks up and the streets get more crowded and frenetic activity starts taking over.   The restaurants and the bars become full with couples dancing – legs and bodies entwined.  Packed subway, cluttered storefront displays and a merry go round spinning wildly at night bring the book to a crescendo which then begins to finish the way it started.  Desolate streets, a pile of garbage and stray dog mark the final pages.

What I most appreciate about “Buenos Aires” is that it begs to be picked up and flipped through revealing new details and insights each time over the course of several readings.  It’s a great book for those who enjoy street photography whether Daido fan or not.

Here’s the link to the first edition of Buenos Aires on Amazon

“Buenos Aires” Picture Previews

Great book about digital darkroom and printing.  Reading now Chapter 4 on Basic Printing Workflow:

1. Good print starts when you press the shutter button!
2. Save as TIFF or PSD to preserve the most quality.  Can go back to this master file later if necessary
3. Suggests to crop and rotate early to remove distractions and avoid influencing adjustments
4. Getting the black and white points right using levels in Photoshop or Exposure and Blacks in Lightroom
5. Adjusting Tone Curve in Lightroom to get midtones right
6. Correct the White Balance
7. Color adjustments with Saturation should be kept to minimum of 10-15.  Better to adjust colors individually so as not to affect other colors
8. Make a work print early so that further adjustments can be made
9. Then make local adjustments using layers and layer mask (gotta find that Wacom tablet pen!)
10. Should only clean up spots and dust marks now since doing so earlier might cause problems while making adjustments
11. Save a Master copy now before sharpening and flattening image.  This file can be used for adjusting sizes
12. When resizing should keep the Resampling option turned off.  Then enter 200 ppi or 360 ppi to see if it’s the right size if not turn back on Resample option and enter new size and use Bicubic Smoother for size up and Bicubic Sharper for size down.  For very big enlargements should be done early while in RAW
13. Sharpening should not be done early because it can cause problems with later adjustments.  Sharping does not make an out focus photo clearer but increases the inherent contrast between light and dark pixels.  Unsharp Mask is the most common

That’s just a quick summary but you really need to read the book to get the specifics and how tos.  Here’s a link to Amazon for more product details: New Epson Complete Guide to Digital Printing (A Lark Photography Book)