"Serious" photo books done with Holga, Diana, etc.

[nhabedi]

Hi,

Being an avid collector of (a certain kind of) photo books, I recently acquired two I like a lot and which both were obviously done using a "toy" camera, likely a Holga or a Diana. One is Tangente by Laurent Chardon and the other one is Elsewhere by Øyvind Hjelmen.

I'm wondering if there are other, similar photo books done with toy cameras. When I say "serious", I'm a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I'm mostly thinking about "real" books done by artists and/or professional photographers as opposed to websites with "fun" pictures or private print-on-demand projects. Also, I'm mainly interested in black and white, but that shouldn't stop you from mentioning interesting books with color photos as well.

Looking forward to your recommendations.

Thanks,
Edi.

 

[richardvanle]

In my opinion, one of the best photo books done with a Holga is "Island of the Spirits" by John Stanmeyer. He's a founding member of the photo agency VII. Here's a write up: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/high-balinese-ritual-low-holga-technology/

I have a copy of the book and it's really well done. Nice printing and presentation.

 

[nhabedi]

Thanks a lot! I even remember that I read the article you linked to, but I somehow missed that there's a book too. Just ordered it.

One book I forgot to mention above is Angels at the Arno by Eric Lindbloom. I don't have it myself (yet), but seemingly it was made with a Diana.

 

[wray]

"The Last Harvest" by Perry Dillbeck.

 

[gns]

Didn't Nancy Rexroth sort of start the whole toy camera craze with her Diana pictures in the mid seventies? Look for her book, Iowa(1977).

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Bob Michaels]

"The Last Harvest" by Perry Dillbeck.

+1. I know Perry and own the book of course.

Wray: One of my favorite photographers, Doug McCulloh, lives there in Riverside. I initially met him on boardwalk at Daytona Beach when we were working on similar series. His was a major touring exhibit and book. Mine was a minor exhibit. Did you see his series "Dream Street" when it was at the museum there? Absolutely first class. And I have seen part of the exhibit by totally blind photographers that he curated.

 

[nhabedi]

Thanks to both of you for these suggestions! Unfortunately, it seems that Iowa is already old enough to command collector prices... 😱

 

[shadowfox]

I'm a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I'm mostly thinking about "real" books done by artists and/or professional photographers as opposed to ... private print-on-demand projects.

Edi,

I wouldn't hold on tightly to the above distinction much longer, especially if I am interested in collecting interesting photobooks.

The print-on-demand technology has opened a lot of venues for people with talents and dedications. Already, I've seen some superb photobooks done that way. A few even surpass some "real" books by artists and/or professional photographers.

 

[nhabedi]

Addition: Two well-known photographers that at least sometimes use "toy" cameras are Michael Ackerman and Sylvia Plachy. I should have known about Plachy as I have most of her books...

And for the sake of others interested in this thread, the two Plastic Cameras books by Michelle Bates list several other interesting photographers. You can take a look at these books online, via Amazon.

 

[lofiphoto]

magnum photographer Christopher Anderson printed a book done only with a Holga : nonfiction