latest additions to your library

mrtoml said:
Yes it is worth a look.

Magazine - Black+White Photography

www.blackandwhitephotographymag.co.uk www.blackandwhitephotographymag.co.uk
Click to expand...
I get it online. One of the great pleasures in the month is the tiny notification that another issue is ready for download. Or, I revisit an issue and as I look at the cover, it suddenly changes to the latest issue and Read switches to Download.

Thanks to your post, the cover was roses, I discovered an issue I’d never downloaded.
 
I’d like to add something about my reading of “How I Take Photographs,” FWIW.

I’m not a fan of Moriyama’s pictures - generally neither his subject matter or post-processing. But I’m very partial to what he calls the “snapshot” way of working that is the real subject of this book. It’s probably obvious to say this, but I think we must separate the way we take photographs from what we photograph and how we process our pictures.

I think in my head I had somehow bundled them all together as a Moriyama aesthetic, when they are really separate, and the so-called “snapshot” way of shooting can be applied to any subject matter and way of processing. Probably a “duh” observation, but nonetheless for me an important takeaway from this book.
 
JohnWolf said:
I’d like to add something about my reading of “How I Take Photographs,” FWIW.

I’m not a fan of Moriyama’s pictures - generally neither his subject matter or post-processing. But I’m very partial to what he calls the “snapshot” way of working that is the real subject of this book. It’s probably obvious to say this, but I think we must separate the way we take photographs from what we photograph and how we process our pictures.

I think in my head I had somehow bundled them all together as a Moriyama aesthetic, when they are really separate, and the so-called “snapshot” way of shooting can be applied to any subject matter and way of processing. Probably a “duh” observation, but nonetheless for me an important takeaway from this book.
Click to expand...
I like Moriyama, though his subject matter isn't always for me. But there's something really vital and compelling about the work, that keeps drawing me back. Maybe it is, as you mention, his snapshot working style. I've long enjoyed snapshot photography (in Japan it's called "snap" photography, and has a bit more art to it than the often dismissive connotation of the "snapshot" in the West). I think Moriyama has a genius for being moved by, and snapping, compelling scenes and details. Better than me, by a huge margin. But he also has a genius of curation of his own work, I think, to produce the books he has made.
 
The imperfections are what appeal to me in Moriyama's work. I love the look, the charcoal and snow contrast, the casual focus. But I especially like how he doesn't "prettify" the world in his pictures. What I see too much of today are photographs that aspire to be on calendars, wedding albums, advertisements, glorified nature magazines. I dunno...I like reality--dirty, ugly, twisted yet beautiful. Moriyama is one of those photographers who shows us that an imperfect world is more interesting than a polished one.

I have the book "How I Take Photographs" around here somewhere. I haven't read it, having shelved it after buying it and forgetting about it. Must rectify that.





.........................................
 
Dogman said:
The imperfections are what appeal to me in Moriyama's work. I love the look, the charcoal and snow contrast, the casual focus. But I especially like how he doesn't "prettify" the world in his pictures. What I see too much of today are photographs that aspire to be on calendars, wedding albums, advertisements, glorified nature magazines. I dunno...I like reality--dirty, ugly, twisted yet beautiful. Moriyama is one of those photographers who shows us that an imperfect world is more interesting than a polished one.

I have the book "How I Take Photographs" around here somewhere. I haven't read it, having shelved it after buying it and forgetting about it. Must rectify that.





.........................................
Click to expand...
I agree 100%, coiuld not say it better!
 
Hi all, latest books bought, The years photography 1961,Royal photographic society. 2x vintage bound volumes
of Amateur photographer 1960 plus 1961,both 26 issues in each. The Rollei Way 1965 by L.A Mannheim, Rollei year book 1951,The Rollei manual 1957, Exakta manual 1966, plus The Rollei Book !939 by DR Walther Heering.
This is the problem of looking through ## bay late at night when one gets bored of youtube.
 
_DSC6707.jpg
The Complete Nikon Rangefinder System by Robert Rotoloni
An Alternative History of Photography by Phillip Prodger which I heard about on this podcast. Thumbing through it now little disappointed as looks like only six and half pages of history and then a lot of the images have commentaries from various people. I thought it would walk through a non-Europe/US centric history of photography, with relevant connections and influences. Will have to give it a read.
Nikon A Japanese History by Giulio Forti - Unfortunately the translation and/or copy editing from Italian is horrendously bad so only recommend if you are doing research - I wrote a mini-review here.
Cristobal Hara’s Spanish Colour 1985-2020 because I saw this video
 
agentlossing said:
I like Moriyama, though his subject matter isn't always for me. But there's something really vital and compelling about the work, that keeps drawing me back. Maybe it is, as you mention, his snapshot working style. I've long enjoyed snapshot photography (in Japan it's called "snap" photography, and has a bit more art to it than the often dismissive connotation of the "snapshot" in the West). I think Moriyama has a genius for being moved by, and snapping, compelling scenes and details. Better than me, by a huge margin. But he also has a genius of curation of his own work, I think, to produce the books he has made.
Click to expand...
Sorry about the slow response. Something I find particularly interesting about him is that he has a singluar underlying driving force to his work: human desire. He calls cities "stadiums of desire" and says that's what his work is about. We all have subjects, of course, but I like that his is so fundamental and universal to human beings. It's a very Buddhist notion, where desire is the root of everything.

The thing is that Buddhism asserts two dimensions of desire - "unwholesome," which leads to attachment and suffering, and "wholesome," which fosters spiritual growth. I think I'm not much a fan of his work because it seems to me concerned more with the former. Like a lot of Japanese photography, I find it a bit nihilistic. Nonetheless, I really admire that he has this broad underlying concept to drive his work. It's something I think we all should ponder in our own artistic aspirations.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

aizan
photography reading list (not really "of" or "how")
Replies
7
Views
2K
mrtoml
mrtoml
Back
Top Bottom