Book Description

Book Description

In the 1960s the fishing village of Montauk became the surfer's paradise of the east coast. Located at the tip of Long Island's South Fork, the easternmost point of the Hamptons, this paradise existed primarily for locals-not surfers who migrated to the beach for the summer, but those who were out in the rocky reefs every day, year round. Today, a new tribe of surfers exists-young locals who live by their own rules. Rule number 1: Never tell anyone where the good surf spots are. Rule number 2: See rule number 1.

In the 1990s photographer Michael Dweck rented a house on Ditch Plains beach (site of the best surf break) and gained unprecedented access to this insular community. The End follows the surfers through their daily rituals from early morning wave reports to evening bonfires on the beach, capturing their youthful hedonism. Through portraits, nudes, and photographs of the landscape, this book celebrates lives lived only to surf-an endless summer of perfect weather and languorous beauty. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

visually stunning
Sensuous, seductive and unbearably sexy in its effect, The End celebrates the beauty of a group of young "all-natural" surfers in a small obscure fishing village.

Visually stunning and lavishly illustrated with duotone and color plates. "The End", is one of the sexiest photography books ever published.

Well Worth the Wait!
While visiting New York last September, I had the chance to see the exhibit at Sothebys and advance ordered a copy of the book, which was slated for a December release. Now, eight months later, the book finally arrived and I can say without hesitation that it was well worth the wait.
The End is a special work, a nostalgic chronicle of a unique and truly American place, a daring and effective foray into the relatively uncharted waters of narrative photography, and a beautiful book full of beautiful people.
Dweck has masterfully photographed young people in the most natural and unaffected ways. Here, he manages to capture the innocence and provocativity of each of his subjects without seeming exploitative. The End is destined to become one of the most sought after, if not the most referenced, photographic essays.

The End: Montauk, N.Y.
Michael Dweck's The End is a successful first book. In it, the photographer tells, visually, of his love for Montauk - the most remote point of Long Island. Indeed, The End is far more closely akin to a graphical love ode to Montauk than to a piece of photojournalism; absent is the comprehensiveness one would associate with an exhaustive look at Montauk and in its place is repeated harping on what makes Montauk - in the author's words - like an edenic "lost world."

Throughout The End, pictures of Montauk - its personalities (mostly surfers) as well as its natural features (mostly beaches) - are juxtaposed with pictures of beautiful people, often against a background of Montauk, but quite frequently indoors; witness, for example, "Julian checking out the sets, 6 A.M., Ditch Plains," which faces a posed picture of "Lilla, Napeague." This practice is quite striking - initially it seems disorienting and out of place - but it ultimately proves an effective way of conveying the sexually-charged beauty that Dweck clearly finds evident in Montauk.

Dweck's photography is effective and moving, with frequent flashes of brilliance. At its best, The End evokes Toni Frissell and particularly Martin Munkacsi. Its most successful posed pictures - including "Sonya getting changed in Gilles's truck, Trailer Park," "Lilla Napeague" (the fourth and fifth of the five pictures with that title), "Neva, Poles" (2), and the final "Shannon, Shadmoor Cliffs" - reach Peter Lindbergh-like heights in their effective portrayals of vulnerable feminine beauty.

Perhaps the most striking feature of The End is its narrative flow, which is remarkably both coherent and subtle. The book begins with several sequential historical photographs of Montauk, and moves on to illustrate a sort of "day in the life of a town," beginning with a drive to the beach - "David and Pam in their Caddy, Trailer Park" - moving on to the parking lot with perhaps the novel's most successful pair of photographs - "Sonya getting changed in Gilles's truck, Ditch Plains," and "Gilles at the parking lot, Ditch Plains" - then to the beach at dawn ("Julian checking out the sets, 6 A.M., Ditch Plains") then midday, with an extensive series of surfing pictures. The narrative, as it is, moves indoors with several sexually-charged photographs and the book ends after some brilliant evening shots (notably the spectacular "Bonfire, Trailer Park" series). Indeed, it is obvious that much care was given to The End's sequencing; even within the narrative, there are numerous visual games being played, from a figure in "Lifeguards, 1997" glancing across the page at the nude Lilla in "Lilla, Napeague" (5) to the pairing of the genuine American iconographic "Postcard I found at Joni's" with the nostalgic "Lilla, Napeague" (3).

These two themes - "watching" and iconography - recur throughout The End, a book which is seemingly obsessed with voyeurism (a perhaps unsurprising obsession for a photographer) and whose frequently-iconic images seem ready-made to implant themselves on the American conscience (with any justice, "Sonya getting changed in Gilles's truck, Ditch Plains," "Noel at Bettina's House, Turtle Cove," and "Beach dog, Ditch Plains" will find their way onto postcards everywhere and into the photographic canon).

Finally, it must be said that The End the book is a spectacular object. The photographs are printed vividly on a paper stock that is of supreme quality, the book itself is beautiful, from its cover to its binding, and it is indeed an actual pleasure to hold. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Few individuals have exerted as profound an influence on 20th-century American art and culture as Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946). This luxurious two-volume boxed set is the definitive catalogue of the Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the most complete Stieglitz holding in existence, donated to the gallery by his widow, artist Georgia O'Keeffe.

Numbering 1,642 photographs, the collection represents the full range of the master photographer's work-from early studies made in Europe, to views of the majestic New York skyline, to incomparable intimate portraits of O'Keeffe. Coinciding with a major traveling exhibition and providing complete scholarly apparatus and a chronology, this sumptuous volume demonstrates how Stieglitz absorbed the most advanced artistic concepts of his time into photography and transformed the medium forever. ... Read more

Book Description

Above Washington. The Nation's capitol is here celebrated with the eye of history and a elan of today's headlines Never before have America's monuments been so dramatically and lovingly displayed, as shown by Robert Cameron's aerial views and introduction by Alistaie Cooke. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Ordinary Joes Opinion
I sell books on Amamzon and I was listing this book and double checking it's conditon when I became drawn into the book.

This is an excellent book for the history buff,school library,or for anyone who has never been to Washingtton CD.

The before and after pictures are especially interesting.

If you are planing a trip to the capitol this would be a good book to read and reread first. Then you could compare the views when you return .

This would give you an excellent "feel" for the changing "life" of the capitol.

A nice pictorial - with dated pictures
Robert Cameron is undoubtedly one of the best urban aerial photographers in the country. However, the landscape of Washington has changed so dramatically in the twenty years since this book was released that anyone with a lot of knowledge about the area will be disappointed by what's missing.
It does contain a wide breadth of pictures, some which are definitely extraordinary. However, the book needs to be updated in order to capture the modernization in architecture and planning that has proliferated in Washington D.C. and the surrounding area since its initial publication.

The best of its kind
Washington, DC is an unique capital city and Robert Cameron shares his birdeye's view with us in this marvelous volume. For residents and vistors alike, this is extraordinary record of the city, particularly the juxtaposition of old and contemporary photographs. Others try to emulate Cameron in this genre, but he is the master who makes it look easy.

A Star That Fell From The Sky - A Little Too Long Ago
Above Washington, - like all of Robert Cameron's Above books - is a superb collection of historical to present day comparison photographs. The picture quality and composition is bar-none, especially for aerial photography. Any city planning or Washington D.C. buff will enjoy this book immensely. Please be advised, though: this book has not been updated in quite a while eventhough it has been reprinted many times. The most recent photographs are late 1970-'80s era pictures. Above Washington could definitely use an update. Nevertheless, it's a great D.C. history lesson and has many unique photographs of places such as the U.S. Naval Observatory where the Vice President lives, as well as an aerial view of Marine Ones parked like ducks in a row. Need good pictures for a project - Cameron's Above Washington is the way to go. Want a current picture or coffee table book - you better reevaluate. ... Read more

Book Description

"These images are a spectacular reaffirmation that we are privileged to live in the greatest age of exploration the world has ever known."-From Arthur C. Clarke's foreword

Since the 1960s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been sending unmanned satellites to explore the planets, moons, and sun. These probes have amassed a stunning visual record of other worlds, revealing not one but scores of new frontiers, from rust-red Mars to the ethereal rings of Saturn.

Author Michael Benson has spent years compiling and digitally processing the best of these images. In Beyond this "deskbound cosmic pilgrim" (Atlantic Monthly) has pulled together the most spectacular of them into one volume that presents these photographs for the first time as art. The resulting book consists of two parts: the first is a spectacular visual tour of the solar system, with views every bit as compelling as the work of the great landscape photographers on earth; the second is a series of beautifully written essays that explain the story behind these photographs: the history of the probes' journeys, how they work, and why they were built. This book shows us how modern science has revealed the astonishing beauty and mystery of the solar system and its awe-inspiring worlds far beyond any places human beings have ever directly observed. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Stunning.
Mostly, the best images you've ever seen of our solar system companions. I love astronomy books but I've never seen 95% of these large-format images. The detail is astounding. Some would make wonderful artwork if printed for wall display. I never knew what most of the planets looked like at such exquisite detail. Though there aren't too many Earth images, the ones included are just breathtakingly sharp, detailed and, true to life like you never saw before.

In a word, in a class by itself. The best of the best.

Modern Day Icons of Cosmic Wonder
Why does anything at all exist rather than nothing?
If the amazing wonder of pure Being has struck your heart then 'Beyond' can aspire to become your meditative handbook
The images are indeed modern day religious icons that look AT you!
Each image can be contemplated for it's sheer beauty and can evoke awe and wonder at the mystery of creation and existence

Magnificent images of our solar system
Astronomy and planetary exploration have produced many spectacular pictures, often gathered together in large-format books. Beyond may be the best of them all. Benson has done more than select the most interesting images from the past forty years of solar system exploration, many of them already familiar to space buffs. He has processed those images to produce jaw-dropping pictures, some rising to the level of art. In a few cases, he has combined images to form panoramas spread out over four unfolding pages.

The book begins with the Earth and its Moon, then moves to the Sun and the other planets from Mercury out to Neptune. Some of the most impressive images show moons transiting across the faces of Mars and Jupiter. The book includes a foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. Highly recommended.

Planets become worlds
We are used to big glossy books of pretty pictures of celestial objects. This book is more than that, though. Sure, the book is beautifully produced and the pictures are pretty (and yes, they are of celestial objects) but when you look through the pages each planet (major and minor) becomes a world--a real place you could visit. The dunefields and erosional badlands of Mars are especially compelling, along with the odd and unfamiliar grooved terrain of the moons of the outer planets.

Beyond your usual book
Before I opened up my amazon package yesterday and laid my eyes upon this book, it had been a while since I had held such a well made and beauftifully put together piece. Not having looked at its dimensions before purchasing, I was impressed by the book's size. There are images on almost every page, and they are extremely detailed and vivid. In my experience, this is one of the nicest astrophotography books on the market. A true treasure. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great Book
I'm shocked by some of the negative reviews. This book has been in print for many years and gave me the foundation for my professional work. I photograph dogs (as a second career) and this book is great! I used to read it over and over again.

Poorly written, hard to follow, boring
This book is poorly written and is boring in my opinion. There are many other books on this subject that you should consider. Look at the Nation Geo or Kodak books. The writer's of this book do not know how to teach. Once you look over it, this book will sit on your shelf never to be opened again.

Excellent introduction to the basics of composition
This is an excellent resource providing both insight and instruction. It also explains the artistic side of photography and shows various effects of composition, lens and selective focusing e.g.The pronciples descibed apply to the whole gamut of photography black and white, print vs slide, medium format, 35 mm etc. Every new and not so new photographer should have this in their library.

Well organized, and professional
This is a very well organized and concise book on photocomposition. It has a very thoughtful progression of the covered subjects, taking the reader from basic concepts of graphic design to the practical presentational and psychological principals. From the 5 main chapters of the book I found chapters 2 "Graphic Controls" and chapter 5 "Total Control" the best chapters from the point of view of richness of presentation and its practical value. The other chapters seemed to me shallower and less focused. I share the dissatisfaction of other reviewers with the presented photographs. Even though I understand that those photographs are carefully selected not for their extreme photographic value, but rather for their association with the subject of the topic they are presented for, I assume that the authors could had done a better job of finding or making more appealing pictures. Without a rich set of photographs this books seems to be a bit more "theoretical" then a book on photography, I believe, should be.

On the other note, I noted that despite the very careful selection and sequence of presentation of the main subjects, most of them are not covered as deeply as they deserve to. This being a disadvantage on one hand could easily be considered as an advantage, because the book does not overwhelm the reader with details, leaving enough space for creativity.

Overall I consider the book to be very useful and educational, especially for high end amature and beginner professional photographers.

Despite some criticism presented, I still rate it with 5 stars, which I think the book fully deserves.

Very Good but not the best
This book has a very good discussion of Photographic Composition covering all the basics needed for those desiring to improve. The pictures are excellent and illustrate the principles well. However, some of the discussion lacks the depth that I would like.

The best book I've found is "Image:Designing Effective Pictures" by Michael Freeman. This has a thorough discussion of all the techniques with excellent illustrations and diagrams. Unfortunately, it is no longer in print. I was able to get a used hardcover copy in very good condition for [$]. It's a must read for those desiring a firm grasp of the basics. Worth treasuring. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Richard shares his quest with us all
Richard has access to places most people do not. Take, for example, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness is not accessable to you and I on the level that Richard has. Richard shares private photos, such as plate 63 where His Holiness is in meditation. The photo alone portrays a depth of intensity that the experience offers. Richard also has a true sense of the tragedy of the Tibetan people and can deliver that in a light that few people can ever grasp, even after several trips to the region. Richard is the Pilgrim and we are fortunate to be able to see things in a way he does. Very few photographers can say that of their work. Perhaps it is due to his experience in film, perhaps as a result of his practice as a buddhist, maybe just because the openness of his sharing is felt in his work, regardless of the medium. Thank you my friend for sharing your life with us and a wonderful book.

Truly inspirational!
This is a fantastic book! The photographs stir a number of emotions in you. Only a true artist like Mr. Gere could convey these feelings and capture them in his shutter. The book also features excellent text and was a very nice present. I think everyone should peek at this book. A great book for religious souls and open minds.

These images broke my heart.
This book was exactly what I expected from such a sensitive and intelligent man. Thank you, Mr. Gere. We need our hearts broken now and then.

pictures of compassion
I cannot look at this book without crying. It is very beautiful yet pierces my heart with sadness, I believe that the plight of Tibet is the canary of our planet. This book is about an amazing and gentle people and my hope and prayer is that it will generate more compassion . The text is very direct and simple and is not next to the photos but at the back. One quote stuck in my mind, "It's all ego." You can see these photos with your heart and they will melt it, if you are open.

Pictures with soul
The pictures are not supposed to show images but meanings. That's exactly what they do. They are visual metaphors, inviting us to see what is not visible. The first one, more than any other, in its deep beauty, allows us to catch a glimpse of a spiritual state or an epiphany. If I had taken it I would feel forced to share it with everyone, as Mr. Gere kindly did. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (15)

A classic, though somewhat dated, collection of essays
I am not a big fan of artistic criticism: I often find it pretentious and prolix. Sontag's essays can be described by these adjectives, at least on first reading. I suspected that critics are inherently like this (until I read Nancy Newhall), but I reread "On Photography" recently and have changed my opinion slightly: critics can be pretentious, but that is the nature of the task.

Sontag's essays are complex and thought provoking, eliciting a flow of ideas that one needs to think about deeply: what is a photograph and how does it convey its message? How much truth does a photograph contain, if any? The answer to that last question is much more difficult with the advent of digital photography and the wonderous (or evil, depending on your viewpoint) manipulations that can be done in the digital darkroom.

An issue that isn't discussed in great depth is the relationship between candid snapshots on one end of the spectrum, and fine art photography on the other; Photography as a medium for artistic expression vs. a medium for recording reality (or unreality or surreality).

The book is not trivially understood: references to philosophy and art history abound, and a dictionary of philosophy and art is almost a requisite. You should also expect to read this a couple of times to get the full impact: do not make your judgement based on a first reading.

An interesting look into the societal meaning of photography
Photography, probably more than any other medium, is emblematic of the nature of modern Western society. Photographs are concerned chiefly with appearances, they are deceptively nuanced but essentially narrow, yet somehow they find great breadth in their mechanization and ubiquity. And, like our society, they tend towards an ultimate reduction of the dimensionality of time. Through photographs the past blends into the present, flattening into an omni-present "now" in which history loses its philosophical weight as it increases in familiarity. In a sense photographs are the ultimate invention of a humanist-capitalist society: they provide the commodification of memory itself! And like the society which originated them, they provide equal portions of help and harm, of truth and of fiction; they have undeniable value, but they also result in a certain loss of innocence, and of deeper values.

The six essays in this book (all of which were originally published in the New York Times Review of Books) provide a critical evaluation of these themes. Ms. Sontag is concerned with what she sees as the cheapening of experience that the proliferation of photographs in our society has caused. She argues that photography has enshrined a superficiality of experience and contributed to the overvaluation of appearances to a point where image has (subconsciously) replaced reality as reality. In many ways this shift in our modes of cultural perception is shattering; it is also completely inevitable and irreversible. As an example: who after seeing Ansel Adams's stunning photographs of Yosemite could help feeling slightly underwhelmed when experiencing the real thing? Certainly, Yosemite in person retains a certain cachet simply for its "bigness", but the mystique, the mysticism of the Adams photo is going to be missing from most people's experience of the real place. The image genie is out of the bottle... and Sontag is here to tell us that we have to live with the consequences of its release. On Photography is a lengthy exploration of the implications of the genie's (photography's) work on society. The book is full of insights into the meaning of an image-saturated society, but you won't find many conclusions at the end. It is, as a good work of criticism should be, a collection of numerous deep and provocative statements with few prescriptions. Sontag leaves it up to you, the reader, to sort out the pieces for yourself.

In fact, one of the things I found most interesting about the essays was that although Ms. Sontag evaluates many of these societal trends she doesn't seem to have a strictly negative response to any of them. Her attitude seems to be that if, for instance, the easy availability of images of Half Dome makes us enjoy Half Dome itself somewhat less, that rather than stopping looking at pictures of Half Dome or photographing Half Dome we should instead re-evaluate what experiencing Half Dome really means to us. Since we've invented a new society, and new ways of looking at society and nature, it's requisite upon us that we also invent new ways of understanding our experience of life and society. I actually agree with her on this: it's okay to wax nostalgic about the idyllicism of life before the advent of the image-saturation that we have today, but there's no way to go back to that idyllic society. Our time would be better spent in learning to deal with (and shape) our present society than in trying to shift back to an older, now completely lost, ideal of society.

Sontag wants photographers to reach a deeper understanding of the implications of their work. She's not asking the photographer-reader to put down his camera and take up a brush or pen instead, but she is saying that without some grasp of the meaning of photography to society photographers are not very helpful or socially desirable creatures. One of the points that she makes, touching on this, is that our traditional understanding of photography in relation to the other arts is flawed. Photography itself isn't actually an art-form, like painting or music. Or in her words, "Like language, it is a medium in which works of art (among other things) are made. Out of language, one can make scientific discourse, bureaucratic memoranda, love letters, grocery lists, and Balzac's Paris. Out of photography, one can make passport pictures, weather photographs, pornographic pictures, X-rays, wedding pictures, and Atget's Paris." Artistic photography without theme, photography without intent, is about as valuable as fiction without characters or plot. Photographers persist in photographing meaningless objects and minutiae, simply because this is what the "great" photographers have done, instead of trying to draft their own statements and follow their own visions. (Curiously, Edward Weston's photographs of his toilet are actually art; however, my pictures of my toilet would not be art, because I cannot photograph my toilet with any understanding of the meaning of these photographs, and so cannot have any pretensions towards the artistic value of these photographs.)

I believe that anyone who photographs should read this book, whether they merely take casual photos while on vacation or are pursuing photography as their career. We all need to reach an understanding of the act of picture-taking, because only with some sort of understanding can we give our work a sense of direction. And only with direction can photography become more than cultural noise, desensitizing us through over-exposure to cliches and making banalities out of the profound.

Pompous, elitist crap
What a load of garbage. Equating a camera with a gun and the act of photography with a violent crime, is so ridiculous it does not even deserve to be discussed. She has no idea waht she is talking about.

Still pertinent and thoughtful
Ms. Sontag's collection of texts (which I believe were originally published as separate newspaper articles) still offer food for thought despite their age. Her thoughts on history, current events, and the modified perception of both through the medium of photography continue to be pertinent. This is an interesting read for those unaquainted with theoretical texts, and an important reference for those with more experience.

AN PARODY OF FEMINISM
To be photographed is not the equivalent of being raped. Ask any rape victim. This book is insulting and moronic. ... Read more

Book Description

Twenty-five thousand Swazi virgins dance for the Queen Mother. People who have had near-death experiences in Spain ride in open coffins and thank Santa Marta for their lives. Half-a-million Bolivians pray to Mother Earth and the Virgin Mary for cell phones, sewing machines, televisions, and Tudor houses. Polish girls float wreaths of wildflowers on the river. Berber divorcées invite Moroccan shepherds to marry them. In Thailand, an entire city honors the women who saved their ancestors from invaders. Couples from across the world race over obstacles in Finland's World Wife Carrying Championships. In China, seafaring families ride in boats as a tribute to the Goddess of the Fishermen. And in the United States, women represent each of the fifty states in a competition for the famed title, Miss America. In Celebrating Women, photographer Paola Gianturco trains her eye on the world's most vibrant festivals that honor women as goddesses, warriors, lovers, healers, and athletes, among many other roles. These moving celebrations, idiosyncratic to their indigenous roots, take the form of parades, parties, competitions, and religious ceremonies. Gianturco spent five years photographing seventeen festivals in fifteen countries across five continents. Collected for the first time ever in a single edition, Gianturco provides insightful text describing the specific occasions and detailing their historic and cultural significance, culled from her extensive interviews with musicians, dancers, vendors, mask makers, costume designers, journalists, priests, governors, and spectators-not to mention a bona fide princess and king. Exhibition to appear at One Market, Concourse Lobby, San Francisco, October 4-December 17, 2004. This is the first exhibition to be curated by the International Museum of Women, San Francisco. Author tour across the United States, October-November 2004 ... Read more

Book Description

The kitchen of Henrietta Levine in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where chopped liver is sautéing. Ben and Betty Lee Lamensdorf's farmland in Cary, Mississippi, where cotton, wheat, and pecans are harvested. The New Americans Social Club, a group of Holocaust survivors that meet regularly in New Orleans. The historic and flourishing Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Alabama.

From Levy, Arkansas, to Kaplan, Louisiana, Southern Jewish culture is alive and well below the Mason-Dixon line. In Shalom Y'all, award-winning photographer Bill Aron provides a vibrant portrait of contemporary Jewish life, dutifully recording the heroic, funny, and sometimes tragic experiences of a people who have long settled in the Bible Belt.

With a moving foreword by Alfred Uhry, author of Driving Miss Daisy, this book covers all aspects of the Jewish experience, from food (chopped liver, of course, but also bagels and grits) to occupations to religious practices to friendships. Together, the text and photographs tell a story of a culture that has managed, with a mixture of good humor, perseverance, and faith, to make a home. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Southern Jews - a diverse view
I found this book to not only be informative, but also quite introspective. I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity that the photographs depicted, and the first-hand stories added flavor, too. Good job!

Disappointing
If you are from Mississippi and Louisiana, then you may like this book. If you are from other the southern states, you will wonder why there are no photographs -- or very few -- from these states.

I was raised in the 1930s and 1940s (until I went into the seervice in 1944) in a small Georgia town located in southwest Georgia. I find the foreword misleading in that the author implies it was normal for Jews in the south in the 1940s not to observe the Jewish traditions of bar mitzvahs, sabbath dunners, seders, etc. Atlanta and Savannah had sizable Jewish populations in those days. The largest congregation in Savannah was orthodox (and it is still that way today). Ours was a reform congregation, but we had Hebrew school and Sabbath school on Saturday. Bar mitzvahs were common in Savannah and Atlanta -- we had confirmations. For Passover, my parents drove 170 miles to Atlanta to buy their kosher groceries (the meat was shipped by train as needed). I did not know any Jewish family in my home town that had a Christmas tree, contrary to the author's statement that "We kids were raised with Christmas trees..."

I found the book disappointing, although it had inclusive photographs of Jewish life in two states -- just not THE SOUTH.

A joy to simply page through
Shalom Y'all: Images Of Jewish Life In The American South is a unique treasure trove of black-and-white images by professional photographer Bill Aron in which he expertly capturing images of Jewish daily life, culture, and tradition in America's southern states. Homes, shops, places of worship, and people young and old are vividly portrayed in these striking visuals, with a bare minimum of commentary by Vicki Reikes Fox (Founding Project Director of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience) rounding out the collection. A joy to simply page through, Shalom Y'all is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to both personal and academic photography collections, as well as Judaic Studies reference collections.

Wonderful
I thought the book was a wondeful portriait of a vanishing world--it was really interesting to see how these Jews bridged the gap between their two identities. The pictures and text were really beautiful. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

Beautiful and extraordinary nature photography
This is one of if not the most beautiful book of nature photographs I have ever seen.

Best nature photos I have ever seen
All photos are done in the field---No staged photos. The patience required to obtain these photographs is hard to believe. This book has the finest nature photos I have ever seen.

Breathtaking photography
Not only were the images beautiful, the descriptions and articles on the photographs were very informative. As a nature lover and artist this is a book that I would recomend having for reference ... Read more

Amazon.com

Henri Cartier-Bresson spent four decades traveling the world as a photojournalistin search of what he called "the decisive moment"--the instant when visual harmony and human significance coalesce. Published in honor of his 95th birthday, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, The Image & The World is a handsome volume that reproduces more than 600 photographs, film stills, and drawings and includes essays by art, photography, and film experts. Trained as a painter in his native France, Cartier-Bresson began his photography career during a trip to the Ivory Coast in 1931. After shooting his way through Europe, Mexico and the U.S., he became an assistant to filmmaker Jean Renoir and directed documentaries in support of the Spanish Civil War. Imprisoned by the Germans during World War II, he escaped to document the liberation of Paris. More than a quarter-century of magazine photography followed—-including vivid glimpses of modern life in India, China and the Soviet Union—-before he put aside his camera in favor of his sketchbook. Cartier-Bresson's ability to capture peak moments resulted in unforgettable single photographs, like that of a woman in a group of former concentration camp prisoners who suddenly recognizes her Gestapo informer and reaches out to hit her. His constant watchfulness led to images that capture fleeting emotion—-lust, pride, despair, expectation, glee—-on the faces of people going about their daily lives in grim cities, sleepy villages, and vast landscapes. Shaped by compassion and a self-effacing absence of personal judgment, these photographs reflect a worldview no longer fashionable but forever relevant to human understanding. —Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Very well-done Cartier-Bresson retrospective
I am a big fan of Cartier-Bresson's photography, so this review could be considered a little biased. This is a great book -- lots of Cartier-Bresson's photos (all my favourites, and there are many), well-printed, with just enough text to add some substance to the book without overwhelming the images. There are even a bunch of photos of Cartier-Bresson at the end for those who are curious what he looks like. A few of his sketches/paintings and some information on his films are also included, which may interest some. The only downside is the book weighs a ton, and is an awkward size that doesn't fit in my bookcase. ;-) Highly recommended.

Henri Cartier-Bresson: the Man, the Image & the World
"I have never been interested in photography," asserts the greatest image-maker in the history of the medium, and he put his camera away, thirty years ago, in order to focus on drawing, his first love. Perhaps Cartier-Bresson was more interested in the act of seeing than recording an image on film, but this massive portfolio of images from the 1930s through the early 1970s shows his mastery of composition, his fusion of candor and humanity, and his gift for capturing the decisive moment. It's superbly produced, and every architect will delight in his brilliant sense of shadow and light, and his interweaving of figures and buildings-notably in the opening spread of the church of San Francisco in Ranchos de Taos. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

A superb comprehensive collection of HCB's photography
This title is in my opinion by far the best, most comprehensive single book on the works of Henri Cartier-Bresson ever published, or ever likely to be published. The selection of photographs is huge and they are printed superbly on very heavy fine art paper. The accompanying essays provide a very useful insight into Henri Cartier-Bresson's approach to photography, in particular into his concept of the "decisive moment". The sections on his life provide further substance to the book and raise it well above the level of a coffee table publication. My only (very slight) reservation is that because of the huge number of photographs included, not all could be printed at full-page size and several of my favourites are reproduced a little small. However, the title in its present form is already the heaviest in my collection by a considerable margin and to make it any thicker would have made it too difficult to manage. This title is great value for a fine art book of such quality - if you have any interest in HCB at all, get it!

An essential for every photographer's collection
"Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World: A Retrospective by Peter Galassi, Robert Delpire" is an essential purchase for anyone with more than a passing interest in photography.

As the images and essays in this retrospective of HCB's work make clear, Cartier-Bresson invented 35 mm photography as a visual form. What studying, or even browsing through this massive collection makes clear is that despite being known as a "photographer," Cartier-Bresson is not being disengeuous when he eschews that descriptive: he is not a photographer; he is an artist whose primary tool for about 50 years was a camera. But he wasn't "taking pictures," he was creating art, and happened to use a camera to do it.

A careful examination of this collection of images leaves one with the impression is that the reason HCB has had such an enormous impact on the history of photography in many different forms - including "street photography," "photojournalism," and "documentary photography," is the fact that he is one of the great artists of the 20th century.

Even if you think you know all Cartier-Bresson's work; even if you own all the books in which most of these photos originally appeared over the past 50 years, "Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World: A Retrospective" is a book worth owning because of the overview it provides, and because of the insightfulness of several of the essays included. ... Read more

Book Description

The human physique has always been a central theme of the fine arts. Every body possesses its own singular beauty, and a photographer must recognize this unique style in order to express it. The simple bending of a knee or the tilt of a chin brings out new forms and character traits. Arising from the interaction between artful technique as well as a trusting relationship between photographer and model are veritable masterpieces of nude photography. Top contemporary photographers from Europe and America present their excellent art: from elegant to boldly erotic to provocative. ... Read more

Book Description

The big, bold, seductive, and surprising color photographs of German photographer Andreas Gursky set forth a stunning image of our contemporary world of high-tech industry, international markets, big-time sports, fast-paced tourism, and slick commerce. Tracking the zeitgeist from his native Germany to such far-flung places as Hong Kong, Brasilia, Cairo, New York, Shanghai, Stockholm, Tokyo, Paris, Singapore, and Los Angeles, Gursky has earned acclaim at the leading edge of contemporary art with a polished signature style that draws upon a great diversity of ideas, precedents, and techniques. Created in collaboration with the artist, this oversize book surveys the fullness of his work to date with gorgeous colorplates, generous two-page details, and a wealth of supporting illustrations. The first in-depth study in English of Gursky's art, this book was published in conjunction with a major retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Essay by Peter Galassi.
Foreword by Glenn D. Lowry. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Utterly jaw-dropping
The Andreas Gursky exhibition at MoMA (and beyond) and its attendant book will be remembered as one of the biggest splashes that a photographer has made in the art world in nearly a decade.
His mentors Bernd and Hilla Becher devoted decades to the formulaic documentation of industrial archetypes. Gursky takes a similarly cool precisionist vision and blows it up to satelite simulcast proportions: everything is saturated color, super-scaled and hyper-detailed in this collection of hyper-mega-super-synthetic 'modern world as lurid theme-park' landscapes. His depiction of discount stores, sports arenas, hotel lobbies and stock markets are so crisply rendered that every dollar sign and pock-marked cheek are clearly seen. Images haven't had this kind of imformation density since Jackson Pollock was at his height. Then he follows it with images of such minimalist austerity as to turn a Prada boutique into an object of Zen contemplation. As his work has evolved, Gursky has made increasing use of digital manpulation to clean-up and enhance his environments. But it hardly serves qualify the veracity of these artificial spaces. This is our age with the volume turned to high shriek.

At Last: -a book that does justice to Gursky's work
Again and again, devotees of Gursky's work find themselves struggling to describe the sheer physical impressiveness of his prints. Pristine, perfect and awe-inspiring as they are; they ... in the viewer, challenging one to see more, to make sense of this information overload.

Previous coffee-table monographs on Gursky failed pitifully to convey the experience of viewing his finest work: such as the retrospectives at the Tate Liverpool (UK) or this latest show at MOMA NY -from which this book arises.

This MOMA book succeeds where others have failed: thanks to its designer's skill in taking portions -sometimes very small portions- of Gursky's images and placing them in the book as visual puzzles. They challenge the reader to recognise what they are, from which images -and where they belong. They also serve as an implicit yard-stick. "my God" the reader realises, "if this double page spread is only that tiny part of the whole image, I can imagine just how big and detailed the whole picture must be".

So, if you've not seen Gursky's actual prints yet, then please do: there is no substitute. But -having seen them - this is the only book that will come anywhere near to reminding you of that delightful experience.

Bill Hirst

***Andreas Gursky; Modern Master of Photography***
First you must understand why this book was put together. Peter Galassi, the Museum of Modern Art in New York's Chief Curator in the Department of Photography made this book as a sort of large catalog to accompany the Gursky retrospective which was in May 2001. The Gursky's photos are huge, the exhibition at MOMA was huge and the book is - well, big, but other's will more than likely agree, it could be bigger especially in context to Gursky's work. (12" x 13.5")

Inside you'll find two things Gursky's photos and Peter Galassi's essay. More than likely you'll thumb through the book ogling the photos first, only to find the treasure of Peter's research about Gursky much later. Galassi's writes with authority and intellect as he discusses the "artistic contexts and origins of the work" in detail. In the preface Galassi admits that the introduction is lengthy but is only meant to encourage further study. Indeed, you are curious, you are pulled in. Here is a sample "Andreas Gursky's best pictures of the past decade knock your socks off, and they're meant to. They're big, bold, full of color, and full of surprise. As each delivers its punch, the viewer is already wondering where it came from - and will continue to enjoy the seduction of surprise long after scrutinizing the picture in detail." Galassi continues with bringing non-photo experts up to speed on the environment of the European aesthetic over the past 150 years, with much of the focus being on the 1950'6 - 60's. Fortunately attention has been paid also the Becher's, one of Andreas Gursky's mentors from the Kunstakademie (art academy), as well as the changes that had occurred in the practice of what was being taught there. Influential artists are named and noted and neatly woven into the grand picture. There is more, but for my purposes here, the result is a writing that so thoroughly saturates the history of the artist and his medium, that it is indispensable to the book as a whole. If it were only a book of slick, meticulously composed scenes on a gargantuan scale, it would be just another coffee table book; left to collect dust in some neatly arranged corner.

The discovery of Gursky's photos is a big one. (Quick note, anyone who has ever been remotely associated with graphic design will appreciate the clean lines and layout of text and photos.) Not only is the book highly readable, it looks modern. Pages 43 -186 are entirely the color plates. They are huge. They are fascinating.

I have read a variety of descriptions of Gursky's works, many of them come from very different starting points and all come to the conclusion that he is a master artist. The photos are everything from "...modestly scaled, infallibly exposed, sharply focused images..." and "focus on the recent phase of capitalism, reified leisure, consumerist fantasies and global transformation of production." His works are "complex and labor intensive process", "Olympian" in their "detached observation of setting and stilled activity," and " overwhelmingly dense image(s) rendered with astonishing visual clarity." My point being, that you cannot escape something mesmerizing, which is the view on the world only Gursky can offer. He shoots everything from alpine landscapes to stock exchange rooms, sunsets and shoe racks, rock concerts to factories, all with the same omniscient eye. The result is astonishing; it is a sucker punch. Urbanscapes, which encompass both, views of the micro and the macro, and often render a feeling of disbelief.

There is something in these photos for EVERYONE. Literally in the sense that Gursky has traveled the world to capture these scenes. Figuratively because there is something here that everyone can relate to. Above and beyond shopping for candy, watching a sunset, standing on the mezzanine of a hotel balcony, this work conjures big questions about: commerce, ultra-consumerism, mass development and cultural homogenization, the feeling of being alone in a crowd, great energy spent on insignificant things and more. The conclusions are here for you to discover.

In summary, the book is wonderful. It is eye candy and it is brain candy. In no way is the book a substitute for seeing the artwork, but if you have to take "the next best thing" surely this book is it. I highly recommend this book for students who are actively pursuing a degree or career in photography, for art historians, teachers of art or photography, and anyone interested in social - political - environmental - or spiritual commentary by a modern artist.

Awesome!
The best photo book I've seen in a long time. I only wish the book were bigger.

A Revelation
Every photograph in Andreas Gurskey's book is a revelation. It's not a page turner-you'll linger at length over each photograph's wealth of detail, painterly composition, and absurd landscape. The images in this book have an amazing ability to startle and provoke. They are at once humorous and full of despair, alienating and invigorating. Traveling all over the globe to capture these moments, Gurskey has created a discourse about utopiansism, mass culture, work, consumerism, nature, and modern design. While the reduced size of the photographs (in contrast to the MOMA exhibit) means they lose some of their power, the book is ordered in a way that puts the images in dialogue with each other. And it reads better than any novel I have read in recent memory. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

On specialization and hero worship
Lance Armstrong: Images of a Champion is squarely aimed at the growing market niche made up of die-hard Lance Armstrong fans, and if you count yourself in that crowd it's hard to imagine you won't be thrilled by what this well-made volume has to offer.

But if you are more of a general cycling fan -- as I am -- then chances are you'll decide that this collaboration between Mr. Armstrong and Graham Watson, cycling's photographer of record, is a bit too much of a good thing, a level of hero worship that borders on awkwardness.

That said, Mr. Watson's photography is as always excellent and even if the level of detail in the text doesn't rival that of Mr. Armstrong's two autobiographies (It's Not About the Bike and Every Second Counts) it is really more of a commentary than a narrative, and that saves it from being redundant to the other efforts.

The book has an undercurrent about specialization as a factor of Mr. Armstrong's success -- the same level of specialization that resulted in the book itself.

While Mr. Armstrong's legacy as one of cycling's greatest champions is secure, history may also remember him as the man who proved once and for all the value of focusing on one big race each year rather than simply trying to achieve a good level of fitness and then racing as often as possible, as most previous champions did.

This book is just as specialized: it's not about it's not about a sport, or an event, or a team, or a race. It's not even about a man and all the dimensions that implies. It's about a great cyclist. Now, is that good or bad? The way you answer that question will determine whether or not you should buy this book.

All Lance, All The Time
The following is a well written review that appeared in cyclingnews dot com:

Lance Armstrong: Images of a champion
by Graham Watson & Lance Armstrong
Reviewed by John Stevenson

Essential reading for Lanceaholics
Lance Armstrong: Images of a champion combines over 250 of Graham Watson's images of the five-time Tour winner with commentary by the Boss himself on the progress of his long and varied career.

For readers of English-language cycling magazines, Graham Watson is their eyes at the world's biggest bike races. Ever since he took his first major race photos, of Eddy Merckx riding his final Tour in 1977, Watson has brought his clarity of composition and ability to capture the moment to every major race on the calendar.

Not surprisingly, then, he has a rather massive collection of images of Lance Armstrong - and not just of the lean, post-cancer stage race specialist Lance Armstrong, but also of the earlier, brash young rider who won the world championships at just 21 and had, it's fair to say, a rep as being, in his own word, a bit "impetuous".

Lance Armstrong: Images of a champion is laid out in chronological order so it starts with images of that almost-forgotten incarnation of Armstrong. Armstrong's commentary on his early days with Motorola covers his victory at the world's and his burning desire to win the one-day Classics, and interestingly a name keeps cropping up: Viatcheslav Ekimov. Writing about his second place in the Zurich world cup in 1992, Armstrong says, "I'd gone into the Swiss race believing the course wasn't as hard as people said, that the entire opposition was no better than me, and that therefore I had a chance to win. As it turned out, a great Russian cyclist was more clever than me - Viatcheslav Ekimov." After his early-career tussles with Ekimov, it's no surprise that the Russian is now a valued lieutenant on US Postal.

As well as Armstrong's commentary and captions on Watson's fine pictures, there are tributes from Miguel Indurain, Johan Bruyneel, and Eddy Merckx among others. As in Armstrong's own commentary what comes across in these comments is the man's total determination to win, self-belief and utter disappointment when he loses. As losing is what usually happens to bike racers, even ones as talented as Armstrong, Watson has captured plenty of the less-great moments in Armstrong's career as well as the triumphs.

Of course the bulk of the book comes from the period 1999-2003, chronicling Armstrong's five Tour victories, the preparation that went into them, and the incidents along the route from left-field surprise winner in 1999 to marked man battling just about everything a bike race can throw at you in 2003. Armstrong admits the huge difference between his dominant performance in 2002 and struggles in 2003, and Watson's images show a marked contrast between the confident, smiling Armstrong of 2002 and the worried man of the following year.

Of the difference between those races, Armstrong writes, "2002 was a Tour with little or no mishap at all, 2003 was like a battlefield each and every day - and I was the main target. In hindsight it is hard to know whether I was lucky to make Paris at all or unlucky to have so much get in my way." Watson's images perfectly capture everything that got in Armstrong's way, including his astonishing crash and recovery on the Col du Tourmalet.

Watson says he and Armstrong had to choose from over 1000 pictures, initially selecting 400, then whittling it down to 300 and letting the book's designer choose the final 250 or so that comprise the book. Was it worth it? It's hard to imagine a Lance fan who won't want a copy of this book on his or her coffee table, and even if you're not a died-in-the-wool Lanceaholic, this is a rare and fascinating look at the way a top rider develops both mentally and physically. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This revised and updated portfolio includes nearly 200 images by the master portrait photographer. The best known faces of our time have been memorably "Karshed"--a glowering Churchill (his trademark cigar having been just snatched out of his mouth), a beaming Khruschev peeking out from a massive fur coat, a serene Helen Keller reading a book of Braille with quiet delight, a pensive Tennessee Williams at his typewriter, an impish Margaret O'Brien yanking at her pigtails. Karsh's portraits of fellow artists--especially sculptors and architects--are among his most sensitive and intuitive. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An insightful and sensetive look at famous 20th cent. people
A wonderful retrospective view of Karsh's most famous photographs.Most portraits are in black and white and capture rare insights of the most influential people in the arts, politics, academics and entertainment. All photographs are brilliantly reproduced, most in full page format. The comments by Karsh reveal personal insights adding a dimension of accessibility to the most revered in our century. There are also numerous excellently reproduced color portraits, which along with the black and white portraits, are reproduced in a wonderful satin finish. There are many portraits from the 40's and 50's including his most famous portrait of Winston Churchill and powerful portraits such as the back of Pablo Casals playing the cello in an austerely but masterfully lit setting.

This book is a genuinely beautiful work of art. It will bring joy to the young and old at heart and will prove to be one of those treasures which one is proud to cherish for generations.

Exceptional photographic studies of familiar faces.
This is a must have book for the portrait photographer. Or for anyone who just enjoys famous faces.Years of wonderful portrait studies of people we all know and admire. These portraits make us feel as if we are really getting to know these people up close. Such emotions are rare to be captured as still images. A SUCCESS in portraiture!!! ... Read more

Book Description

A chronicle of the struggles, bravado, and irrepressible sexuality of young men.

Will McBride, an American who has spent his adult life in Germany, has made one of the great extended photographic portraits of male adolescence, created over the course of his forty-year career as a photographer. In his studio work and in his reportage for such magazines as Twen, McBride has focused on young men as they come to terms with their inner and outer development.

McBride creates a portrait of the young male that is more revealing than those available in countless books, plays, movies, and television shows. In his work, young men discover the power of their own sexuality, fall in love, suffer the imposition of the regimentation of study and religion, seek comfort, flaunt their courage, and play with the unfettered, goofy energy of boys. Clearly made in collaboration with his subjects, McBride's photographs are as telling and sensual as they are unforgettable.
... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good book for boy entering adolecens!
I bought this book when I was looking for some puberty material for my 12 year old son. I thought at first that it was a bit too pornographic for a pre-teen to see,but the reality is,this book is just perfect. My son and I looked inside the book together and it was a lot easier for me answering any question about his body when you have p