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Author Topic: Recommended Books  (Read 9197 times)

kevin.illingworth

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Recommended Books
« on: August 10, 2006, 02:56:17 pm »

I've a Birthday coming and as always the persistant comment of not knowing what to give comes up. Canon 1ds MkII is actually what I want, chances of recieving are slim!

I would like to start a photographic library concentrating on photographers rather than technical publications. I've just discovered the wish list function on Amazon so that anyone who asks me can now solve my Birthday Xmas etc gift problem easily.
Now the hard part; suggestions to be added to my wish list. What are the must have books in your opinion it would be interesting to see common titles on different peoples lists.

I know it depends upon your taste etc but consider a desert island moment you can only take 5 books with you, which ones would you take?

Regards Kevin
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alainbriot

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« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2006, 06:48:37 pm »

Quote
I've a Birthday coming and as always the persistant comment of not knowing what to give comes up. Canon 1ds MkII is actually what I want, chances of recieving are slim!

I would like to start a photographic library concentrating on photographers rather than technical publications. I've just discovered the wish list function on Amazon so that anyone who asks me can now solve my Birthday Xmas etc gift problem easily.
Now the hard part; suggestions to be added to my wish list. What are the must have books in your opinion it would be interesting to see common titles on different peoples lists.

I know it depends upon your taste etc but consider a desert island moment you can only take 5 books with you, which ones would you take?

Regards Kevin
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I wrote an essay on my favorite books a while back.  It is listed under "regular columns" then "Briot's View":

[a href=\"http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/briots_books.shtml]http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/briots_books.shtml[/url]
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Alain Briot
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Lisa Nikodym

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« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2006, 08:57:14 pm »

Galen Rowell's "Mountain Light"

Charlie Waite's "The Making of Landscape Photographs" (lots of stunning photos, with brief discussion of them focussing mainly on aesthetic issues)

Lisa
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englishm

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« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2006, 02:25:26 am »

Eric Meola, "The Last Places"  
Pete Turner, "African Journey"
Michael Yamashita, "Marco Polo, A Photographer's Journey"
Ted Grant, "This is our Work"
Steve McCurry, "South Southeast"
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Mark English
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wolfnowl

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« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2006, 01:42:13 am »

I'm a big fan of Freeman Patterson's books - 'Photography and the Art of Seeing' and the like.  I also like Tim Fitzharris' books...  a short list would be difficult as the range of topics is so immense...

Mike.
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kevin.illingworth

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« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2006, 10:19:52 am »

Thanks for the input I'm working through the titles I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Kevin
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williamtale345

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« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2006, 06:57:05 pm »

Quote
I'm a big fan of Freeman Patterson's books - 'Photography and the Art of Seeing' and the like. I also like Tim Fitzharris' books... a short list would be difficult as the range of topics is so immense...

Mike.

ditto
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svein-frode

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« Reply #7 on: August 16, 2006, 10:29:08 am »

David Hurn/Bill Jay: On Being a Photographer

A must read for any photographer! If I were to own just one book on photography, this would be it. It doesn't contain a single photograph, but the words in the book are worth a thousand!
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Anon E. Mouse

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« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2006, 05:04:58 am »

A World History of Photography will cover a lot of ground.
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Geoff Wittig

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« Reply #9 on: August 30, 2006, 11:55:47 pm »

My photo library is currently 250 volumes and growing, but there are a handful of books I turn to again and again.

1) Ansel Adams at 100— Okay, it's $150, but it's beautifully printed, with state of the art tri-tone reproduction of the images and a thoughtful essay by John Szarkowski on Adams' artistic legacy. If this won't inspire you, nothing will.

2) Alfred Stieglitz, Photographs & Writings, Bullfinch press. The second edition (1999) is still available new if you look hard enough. One of the most exquisitely produced books you'll ever see. The text is printed by traditional letterpress with superb typography, matched by lovely tri-tone photographs. Stieglitz's artistic skill, visionary passion and shabby arrogance are all here. And only $75!

3) The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques, John Shaw. The original 1984 edition inspired me and many others to take up nature photography for the sheer joy of it. Some of the techniques and equipment discussed are obsolete, but basic principles are timeless, and the book's combination of touching humility and passion are unsurpassed. Much superior to the dry 2000 rewrite.

4) Light on the Land, Art Wolfe.  Simply beautiful landscape photographs from all over the world. Shows what you can achieve with 35 mm if you're skilled enough.

5) The Hudson River and the Highlands, Robert Glenn Ketchum. Sublime landscape photos notable for soft, subtle and complex beauty. A great inspiration to those of us in the forested East. The occasional image of a squalid industrial site hits like a splash of cold water.

6) Any of Richard Brown's photo books— Pictures from the Country, The View from the Kingdom, Richard Brown's New England. Beautiful yet honest and quiet images of (mostly) Vermont's farms and forests, matched by Brown's gentle and perceptive writing about rural life. Another example of 35 mm work that looks like medium format, it's so good.

7) Voices of Light, Yousef Khanfar. Large format color photographs, astonishingly beautiful, glowing with light and mood. Inspirational.
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DarkPenguin

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« Reply #10 on: August 31, 2006, 12:34:32 am »

Not books but William Eggleston in the Real World and Henri Cartier Bresson: The Impassioned Eye are both great DVDs.
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pixman63

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« Reply #11 on: August 31, 2006, 08:23:55 am »

Quote
What are the must have books in your opinion it would be interesting to see common titles on different peoples lists.
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Wow! tough question.

Recommending photography books is such a personal thing, but FWIW here's my attempt (in no particular order except the one in which they sprung into my head) split into general, 'how to' & retrospective photobooks titles, and monographs.

1. Colin Westerbeck & Joel Meyerowitz - Bystander: A History of Street Photography (the hardback edition)
2. Martin Parr & Gerry Badger - The Photobook: A History Vol. 1 (and the second volume coming soon)
3. Martin Harrison - Young Meteors: British Photojournalism 1957-1965
4. Don McCullin - Unreasonable Behaviour: An Autobiography
5. Diane Arbus - Revelations
6. Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image & the World
7. Roger Hicks & Frances Schultz - Perfect Exposure
8. Roger Hicks - A History of the 35mm Still Camera (long OOP, but turns up now & again)
9. Arthur Morris - The Art of Bird Photography
10. Five Thousand Days: Press Photography In A Changing World (photographs by members of the BPPA)
11. Don McCullin - Don McCullin
12. Fay Godwin - Landmarks
13. Jane Bown - Faces
14. Greg Marinovich & Joao Silva - The Bang-Bang Club
15. Reporting The World: John Pilger's Great Eyewitness Photographers

and...

1. Tom Stoddart - iWitness
2. Steve McCurry - South Southeast
3. Homer Sykes - On The Road Again
4. Denis Thorpe - On Home Ground
5. Robert Frank - The Americans
6. Ian Berry - The English
5. Stephen Shore - Uncommon Places
6. Alec Soth - Sleeping by the Mississippi
7. Josef Koudelka - Chaos
8. Lee Friedlander - Self Portrait
9. Garry Winogrand - The Animals
10. John Sexton - Places of Power
11. Michael Kenna - A Twenty Year Retrospective Vols. 1 & 2
12. Don McCullin in Africa
13. Robert Polidori - Zones of Exclusion: Pripyat and Chernobyl
14. William Eggleston's Guide
15. Sebastiao Salgado - Workers

I haven't seen the HCB DVD mentioned earlier, but would also recommend "War Photographer", the film about James Nachtwey
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Rob C

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« Reply #12 on: September 08, 2006, 06:04:43 pm »

Hi Kevin

Yes indeed, as has been stated here already books are about personal likes; also, they are very much about putting your money where your mouth is!

A further complication that comes into play is availability. I happen to live on a Spanish island and that makes English language purchases slightly more difficult; I would have little problem with French, Spanish or Italian editions (simply because of family and location factors, not any great talent for tongues) but getting these factors together is one pain in the proverbial butt. For example, I buy the French - and greatly superior parent - edition of Photo (American Photo in the States) and they do reviews of so many books that I'd love to buy, but when I go to the local bookstore, that glazed look comes into the guy's eyes...

So, for what its worth, my personal collection of great books is as follows:

Jeanloup Sieff (Taschen, 2005 production, ISBN 3-8228-4647-3)
The Pirelli Calendars Complete (Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-28102-5)
David Hamilton, Twenty Five Years Of An Artist (Aurum Press, ISBN 1 85410 266 4)
Don McCullin (Jonathan Cape 2003, ISBN 0-224-07118-1)
Henri Cartier-Bresson - Apropos de Paris (Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-28023-1)

There are many more, of course, some of which I have and others I'd love to have; there are also technical ones, such as the John Shaw works on Close Ups in Nature and also his  Landscapes, excellent teaching material (much superior to anything I was offered in photography classes at the start of my career), with beautiful images too! Many of my other book buys were great at the time but faded onto a lower level of personal esteem as the years roll on, so I won't list them...

Another problem I have come to face is storage space. Books take up a lot of it!

Ciao - Rob C
« Last Edit: September 08, 2006, 06:06:53 pm by Rob C »
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