Important Photo Books I should see before I die?

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rkm

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Not really gonna die anytime soon that I'm aware of. Just curious as to which books you consider to be important for the novice photographer to experience, in order to gain an awareness of great photography and to develop an aesthetic eye for photography.
 
What direction are your current taste leaning towards? There is such a diversity of great books with great photos out there that everyone's choice would be a reflection of their personal interest without knowing what your interests are.
 
Bob Michaels said:
What direction are your current taste leaning towards? There is such a diversity of great books with great photos out there that everyone's choice would be a reflection of their personal interest without knowing what your interests are.
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Candid portraits. Street, Derelict buildings/objects, some landscapes (not über pretty colour ones), gnarly and majestic trees.

...everything

I have one book, Andrew Moore's "Detroit Disassembled" which was quite a powerful experience for me.

I figure I should at least get one HCB book, and Ansell Adams as a starting point.

I am REALLY starting out here, so just about everything has a wow factor.
 
emraphoto said:
telex iran
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I was curious, and it looks as though a second-hand copy would be around 450 to 500 Euros over here. After reading the write-up on the Magnum site, I think a visit to the public-library is in order.

My suggestions would be something by Salgado ("Africa" or "Workers", for example) and don't forget "On Being a Photographer" by David Hurn.

For examples of what you may want to produce yourself, if you will strive for your own impressive-but-maybe-justabout-almost-attainable publication, then look at what members here have published eg. SimonSawSunlight, Taylan, and many others.

I almost forgot, try to see as many exhibitions as you can, both big-name and less well known photographers. It will make the book experience different, as historically many books were a result of exhibitions - or the other way round.

Also, with all the suggestions you are going to receive, it might be useful to start planning your bank robbery and/or lottery win now - or at least join the library!
;)

Edit: This was a 'crossed-post' with the OP's explanatory one above, so it doesn't exactly match up very well.
 
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rohankent said:
Not really gonna die anytime soon that I'm aware of. Just curious as to which books you consider to be important for the novice photographer to experience, in order to gain an awareness of great photography and to develop an aesthetic eye for photography.
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Have been asking myself this exact same question. I have a lot of relatives and everyone always asks what to get for gifts for Xmas and Bdays. I often say photo books.

I bought Ansel Adams Yosemite yesterday mainly because i hvae a very strong climbing background and Yosemite has had an enormous influence on climbing so its 2 birds with one stone. A plce i dream of climbing and some amazing photographs. Im stumped as to what book i buy next.
 
rohankent: since you define your tastes as "everything" I would recommend "The Imaginary Photo Museum" which contains photos from Ansel Adams to Gary Winogrand. It is from 1981 but covers all the bases. And, it should be available at a very reasonable price used. That is much better than choosing a book from some specific genre that someone else likes but you may not.
 
A nice sampler of work by a wide range of photographers is "Photo:Box" (2009), edited by Roberto Koch and published by Abrams. It includes 250 photographs, reproduced very well, along with one-page biographies of the photographers. I found the book to be a great introduction to photographers I'd never heard of, and have been having great fun tracking down more of their work.
 
Folks who guided me early and still guiding me today.
David Douglas Duncan
Ansel Adams. All titles. Even the obscure ones. The Camera, The Negative, & The Print belong in everyone's library. Seeing his photos in person is a must.
Eliot Porter. Doesn't get the notice he deserves.
Walker Evans. Gritty.
The Ladies. White. Lange. Arbus.
Stephen Shore
John Szarkowski
Philippe L. Gross & S.I. Shapiro
My wife's collection of books of gardens, plantation homes, etc.
Galen Rowell
The Ancients: O'Sullivan, Watkins, Curtis, Jackson
Contemporaries: Members of the Leica Users Group. Advice. Support. Photos.
Dr. Ted Grant. A living legend.

That should cover a few bases and keep you busy for awhile. No links. The hunt is part of the journey.

Wayne
 
Pickett Wilson said:
Inferno. The only war photography book you will ever need.
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I agree up to a point - there are many other great war photography books that are equal to Inferno, but one such book is enough in a collection from an emotional point of view (they really are that draining to look through). Inferno would be a fine choice as the sole war photography book in one's collection. It's also usually on offer when Phaidon do their sales.
 
First and foremost, "Family of Man."

As for books of work by individual photographers, here is a short list: Diane Arbus, Eugene Atget, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Larry Clark (Tulsa), Robert Doisneau, Robert Frank (The Americans), Nan Goldin, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Robert ParkeHarrison, Martin Parr, Alexander Rodchenko, W. Eugene Smith, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Garry Winogrand.
 
I'm going to have something of an American slant because of my birth...

"The Americans" Robert Frank
"American Photographs" Walker Evans
"The Portfolios of Ansel Adams" is a nice place to start

Photographers I recommend, but I don't have a particular book title to recommend.

HCB
Edward Weston (many good choices, I have (I think) "Portraits and Nudes")
André Kertész (recent large volume last year or thereabouts)
Robert Doisneau
Paul Strand (I like his later European works, but his earlier American days are what got him noticed over here. Aperture published at least one book which I enjoy)
Bill Brandt (I've seen more in person than photobooks, not sure what exists)
Diane Arbus

I'm noticing that I have nothing from someone working in color. Another bias of mine, but

William Eggleston "William Eggleston's Guide" (1973) or "William Eggleston" (2001)
 
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