Read Any Good Books Lately?

[Biber]

Slightly out of Focus. I'm not sure which category it belongs to but it was very interesting to read.

 

[sleepyhead]

A REVIEW OF "BYSTANDER: A History of Street Photography"

Hi Everyone. I've read "Bystander" recently, pretty much cover to cover, and leafed through the pictures many times. I can highly recommend it as a HISTORICAL overview of street photography (loosely defined as "photography of human activity in public places" - note this is my definition as an impression of what I read/saw in the book). One nice touch is that the editors, in general, have chosen pictures that haven't been very widely published (i.e., not the same kertez, HCB, Winograd, etc. pics that we've already seen a hundred times). The text is quite well written and not too dry.

If you're after TECHNIQUE information, then "Bystander" won't be very useful, it pretty much avoids the subject. I did learn however, that people like Winograd used Tri-X pushed to around 1200 ASA. ANYBODY KNOW WHAT DEVELOPER? His pictures don't typically strike me as GRAIN-CITY.

A small disappointment for me (being a big fan of Robert Frank), is that while "Bystander" included pretty much a whole chapter on Frank, NONE of his pictures were shown due to the fact that RF doesn't allow reporduction of his photos in books that he's not directly involved in. Interesting, huh?

FINALLY, the edition of "Bystander" that i have had a nice "Update" on Street photography from the 1970s to the 1990s. There were some great photos in that final section, but also some that weren't better than some I've seen by Rangefinder Forum members in my casual browsing. PRETTY ENCOURAGING, HUH!

Best regards,
sleepyhead

 

[thpook]

"101 Billedkunstnere" By a danish photographer named Viggo Rivad. It's 101 portraits of artists, and is really good.

I also just bought a bunch of the excellent Phaidon "55" series books on clearance, and I'm taking my time with them.

 

[thpook]

A REVIEW OF "BYSTANDER: A History of Street Photography"

Hi Everyone. I've read "Bystander" recently, pretty much cover to cover, and leafed through the pictures many times. I can highly recommend it as a HISTORICAL overview of street photography (loosely defined as "photography of human activity in public places" - note this is my definition as an impression of what I read/saw in the book). One nice touch is that the editors, in general, have chosen pictures that haven't been very widely published (i.e., not the same kertez, HCB, Winograd, etc. pics that we've already seen a hundred times). The text is quite well written and not too dry.

If you're after TECHNIQUE information, then "Bystander" won't be very useful, it pretty much avoids the subject. I did learn however, that people like Winograd used Tri-X pushed to around 1200 ASA. ANYBODY KNOW WHAT DEVELOPER? His pictures don't typically strike me as GRAIN-CITY.

A small disappointment for me (being a big fan of Robert Frank), is that while "Bystander" included pretty much a whole chapter on Frank, NONE of his pictures were shown due to the fact that RF doesn't allow reporduction of his photos in books that he's not directly involved in. Interesting, huh?

FINALLY, the edition of "Bystander" that i have had a nice "Update" on Street photography from the 1970s to the 1990s. There were some great photos in that final section, but also some that weren't better than some I've seen by Rangefinder Forum members in my casual browsing. PRETTY ENCOURAGING, HUH!

Best regards,
sleepyhead

If I had to hazard a guess, Diafine is the developer. I've been trying to find it in Copenhagen, but no luck so far. You can order it online from prophot.fr

Also, hello fellow Københavner.

 

[Hugh T]

I have recently purchased "Paris Mon Amour" published by Taschen which is large format (10 x 13 inches) with beautifully reproduced B&W photos of Paris street scenes through the history of photography by many famous photographers. It is very inspiring for rangefinder photography. Also a very good price for such a book ($20 in Canada 😱 ).
http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/books/photography/all/facts/03851.htm

Hugh

 

[RML]

Just today I ordered "Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Artless Art". No idea whether it is a good read or not but what I read on Amazon sounded good.

 

[cathy_w_J]

This is not a photography book at all but it made me laugh alot....How to Lose Friends and Alienate People by Toby Young. 😀 Toby Young gets a job at Vanity Fair and this book is about how he loses his job there and also his awful lovelife. I used to work at a publisher and it just reminded me of the old days.

My sister just leant me Shutterbabe by Deborah Copaken Kogan but is it kind of hard to read at night before bed...too gritty. She is a photojournalist and the first chapter is her experience in Afganistan. I haven't read any more yet. I need to get some free time during the day for it.

Good thread!

 

[ray_g]

Slightly out of Focus. I'm not sure which category it belongs to but it was very interesting to read.

Capa is a very good storyteller. Parts of that book had me laughing out loud 😀
Even non-photographer friends of mine liked it.

 

[MolteniOrange]

I'm thoroughly enjoying the mammoth "Magnum Stories," which is 500 pages and about 5 pounds worth of photographic insight and experience that would intoxicate any member of this forum. Dozens of Magnum photographers, past and present, talk about one assignment that meant a lot to them and why. The images—some familiar, some not—are stunning documents unto themselves. The book is expensive (about $80 USD), but is well worth it. Fortunately, I had a big coupon 😉 Phaidon is the publisher, and I am a big fan of their art and photography books. All of their books are first-rate in design, content, reproduction and assembly. Treat yourself!

 

[Justin Low]

I've just finished reading Philippe L. Gross's The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing, and found it to be a very inspiring and enlightening read (plus there are many beautiful photos within!).

Am now starting on Walker Evans: The Hungry Eye by Gillies Mora and John T. Hill.

Not too long ago, I read two books by Bill Jay which were very entertaining, as well as insightful. One was titled Occam's Razor, the other I can't remember but it was co-authored with David Hurn.

 

[andersju]

Just today I ordered "Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Artless Art". No idea whether it is a good read or not but what I read on Amazon sounded good.

I'm almost done reading it and I like it very much. The text is quite heavy (in a good way); I have to take it in in small doses. Lots of thoughtful quotes by the man himself.

Apropos Magnum, I must recommend "Magnum: Fifty Years at the Front Line of History" by Russell Miller. Many very interesting accounts of its members, especially the chapter about W. Eugene Smith.

 

[RML]

Not a book but a series of articles: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/briots_view.shtml

I didn't read "chapters" 1 to 6 but "chapters" 7 to 10 (Keepers, How to Create a Portfolio of your Work, How to Establish a Personal Photographic Style, Being an Artist) have given me a few eye openers, especially "Being an artist".

 

[wblanchard]

I am reading a book on him by Pierre Borhan. It is excellent. I am also reading on Jacques-Henri Lartigue who is also very interesting and a lot of fun. My friend who works at Yale Press gave me their giant "History of Japanese Photography" which I still want to go through carefully. Beyond that, I am reading Gunter Osterloh's "Leica M Advanced Photo Course" which is excellent.

For daily reading however, I am reading Henning Mankell's Swedish detective novels. They are fabulous. I am on book five or so -- "One Step Behind". I highly recommend them to anyone. I guess they are outselling Harry Potter in Germany, but they are still not that widely known in the US.

You would enjoy Boris Akunin's Russian detective novels. Really good stuff. 🙂

 

[StuartR]

Are there any translated into English? I can read Russian, but it takes me a long time and I would expect that it is more the story than the writing that makes him good no? I will make the effort for Pushkin or Nabokov, but for a detektivy...I don't know. Any particular ones you recommend?

 

[wblanchard]

Are there any translated into English? I can read Russian, but it takes me a long time and I would expect that it is more the story than the writing that makes him good no? I will make the effort for Pushkin or Nabokov, but for a detektivy...I don't know. Any particular ones you recommend?

Here you go: Link 🙂

 

[giulioz]

"WAR" by Vii. If you like Natchwey and Co. it's a must look at. One that I really enjoyed reading was "The bang bang gang club" (again Natchwey and Co. but no pictures).

Giulio

 

[JOE1951]

Hello

Picked up two used photo books today.

"American Musicians" (A.M.) by Lee Friedlander

Interesting because I own "Like a One Eyed Cat" (L.O.E.C.) and can see how Friedlanders' style translates to a commercial use of his photography. However you feel about Friedlander, the photography in this books put his "style" in context.

Beautiful photos

It's curious to note that some of the early photos in L.O.E.C. like "Wooden Joe Nicholas 1959" is Black and White while in A.M. the same photo is in colour! Curious if this is just a photography session where both B/W and Colour are used or colour images printed B/W?

The other book is more historical, than photographic

"Nagasaki Journey" Yosuke Yamahata

He was a Japanese photographer sent to photograph the aftermath of the Nagasaki Atomic bomb. Haven't had a chance to really look at it, as I bought as a counter-point to another photo book I have, "Picturing the Bomb" by Rachel Fermi, Esther Samara.

Also reading a biography of Arthur "Rimbaud" by Graham Robb. Apparently took up photography, amoungst other things, after leaving Europe and settling in Ethiopia/Somalia to "get rich"! His life after being an "enfant terrible" parisian poet is much more interesting!!

Anyway. That's what I'm reading

Regards

 

[RayPA]

OK. I'll add my non-photo related reading: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.
🙂

 

[JOE1951]

OK. I'll add my non-photo related reading: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.
🙂

I've seen that in the bookstores, anygood?

My understanding is that it's about how people "think and do" before actually realizing they are thinking about what they are doing...

does that make sense, or am I way off track?

Sounds like it would have a bering on street photography, responding to the moment!

As far as "non-photo related" reading. I think anything that people reads/sees/hears will always have an effect, if only subconciously, on how a persons responds to the world with a camera.

Regards

 

[RayPA]

I've seen that in the bookstores, anygood?

My understanding is that it's about how people "think and do" before actually realizing they are thinking about what they are doing...

does that make sense, or am I way off track?

...

Yeah, that's pretty close. It's about how we think without seemingly thinking, the decisions that are made in the blink of an eye, and the complexity that goes into that decision-making process. A lot about "intuition" with lots of great examples/case studies. I pre-ordered it in December after hearing a lot about it. I've and had it since January, and cracked it last week. His other book is Tipping Point, which will be next on my list. 🙂