Book Description

American Photography Nine is the latest addition to the award-winning series of American Photography annuals. Within these covers a composite of 1992's most powerful and inspiring photographic work, as expressed by both established and up and coming photographers in the United States and Canada. With the work entered ranging from the finest magazine editorial to unpublished photography, the jury searched through thousands of entries to find this year's outstanding images. Seventy commercial and fine art photographers are celebrated in this beautifully produced volume.

The jury this year was led, as in the past, by Edward Booth-Clibborn, Editor and founder of American Photography, and founding Chairman of both the Design and Art Directors Association of London and the Art Directors Club of Europe.

The members of this year's jury, who are outstanding professionals in their own field, are as follows:Janet Froelich, Art Director of the New York Times magazine; Michael Bierut, Partner of Pentagram Design; Michael Brock, Creative Director of Michael Brock Design; Rhonda Rubinstein, Art Director of Esquire; and Robert Priest, Creative Director of GQ magazine.

More than 140 images by 70 photographers appear in American Photography Nine, including works by Sebastião Salgado, Albert Watson, Mary Ellen Mark, Dan Winters, Hert Ritts and Annie Leibovitz. A comprehensive index lists contributing photographers with addresses as well as art directors, photo editors and others involved in the creation and utilization of these outstanding images.

"Think positive, make negatives."
... Read more

Book Description

How do images, originally made as commissions with a commercial purpose, behave when they are presented out of their original context? Do they turn into art? Do they work as autonomous images? Here these questions arise out of photographs taken for Solar, an Amsterdam-based design agency, under the auspices of campaigns for fashion, energy, insurance, and communications companies. Essay by Ineke Schwartz.~Foreword by Wim Van Sinderen.~Afterword by Hanneke Savenije.

Paperback, 8 x 10.5 in./112 pgs / 79 color and 7 b & w. ... Read more

Book Description

Architectural photographer Gerry Kopelow created this guide on how to take high-quality photographs for architects, interior designers, engineers, heritage preservers, and professional photographers. The first half of the book starts with the basics, discussing topics such as photographing architectural models and drawings, technical considerations involving cameras, films, and lighting, and preparing materials for publication. This expanded edition also contains 13 new chapters that focus on more advanced topics, including special cameras and lenses, the creative use of filters, digital imaging and digital image manipulation, working on location, copyrights, contracts, and other business considerations. It also includes hundreds of color and black-and-white photographic examples. This practical how-to book is the definitive title on the subject.

Gerry Kopelow runs his own commercial photography business. Other titles he has written include Photography and the Performing Arts and The Focal Handbook of Commercial Photography.He is a regular contributor to Photo Techniques magazine. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

very disappointing
I bought this book because I'm venturing more deeply into interior photography after many years of portraiture and architectural/travel work. This "updated and expaned" edition has simply tacked on a couple of cursory chapters on digital photography to a tired and outdated manuscript that needs reworking from top to bottom. You won't learn much here, with a lot of topics, almost all covered inadequately. The author appears to know whats he's doing (judging from the sample photos) but he's revealing very few secrets. I've learned a lot more through trial and error. If you're interested in interior lighting, for example, consider John Freeman's Lighting for Interiors. It's dramatically more useful.

Breaking into the field
This book is an introduction to architectural photography for professionals and talented amateurs who want to break into the field. It is also intended for architectural firms who would like to designate someone to function as an in-house photographer. The book contains chapters about how to work with a professional photographer, where professional architectural photos can be marketed, and the diary of an architectural photographer when working on a project. In addition, there are chapters on types of cameras, film, lenses, lighting, and where to buy equipment. Aesthetic considerations for architectural photography are covered in a few chapters. The organization tends to jump around a bit- -sometimes it seems like the chapters are presented in an almost random order. The book includes a short section of color plates and a glossary, in addition to the index.

This book is intended for people who already have some skill in photography. I like to take pictures of houses as a hobby, and I picked up this book with the hope of learning how to make my pictures look better. After reading the book, I am better able to spot some obvious mistakes in my house photos, but I didn't learn that much that will help me on the hobbyist level- -a book for beginners would have been better for my purposes. On the other hand, professional photographers may find much of interest in this book.

Very Good Book
Gerry Kopelow, in this book, gives lots of helpful hints about the way to shoot astonishing photos of Building and interiors, keeping in mind the main "client" of this kind of photos: Architects, Designers and so on. The most useful hints in this book are the ones about the way you can save money, correctly choosing lights, materials, compositions ... a very good book, both for the beginner and the pro. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Visionaire is a multi-format album of fashion and art produced in exclusive limited editions. Each issue is hand-numbered and released as a collector's item. Since its inception in the Spring of 1991, Visionaire has offered a forum for works by both famous and emerging artists from around the world, as well as by personalities, fashion designers, art directors, and image-makers. Artists work in collaboration with Visionaire to produce their personal interpretations on a theme and are given unparalleled freedom to push Visionaire's different formats.

Hardcover, 00/00 pgs / ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Always Intriguing
Created in 1991 from his one bedroom apartment, Stephen Gan turned a $10 per issue labor of love into a $150.00 per issue work of art. Amazingly, he still publishes Visionaire with as much intensity, creativity, and originality as the issue before and most importantly - his attention to detail is closer to a parent doting on his child, than a publisher overseeing a magazine. After all - Visionaire is Gan's brainchild. Now far removed from that one bedroom apartment and, at times, charging up to $400.00 per issue, Gan and Visionaire have become a unique fashion-publishing dynasty. Top fashion/art/photo contributors such as Karl Lagerfeld, Mario Testino, Alexander McQueen and Nick Night - among many others - willingly submit their work to Visionaire without compensation. With thirty-two limited edition issues already published since 1991, not every one has been a winner; although Visionaire is original and creative in every respect, it still doesn't make each issue worthwhile or, worth $150 - $400. However, most are fascinating in their thematic approach and satisfying as a work of art. Because of the unavailability of past issues, a current review can only contain the more recent and obtainable issues of Visionaire. "Chic" (#22) is clearly the most impressive of late, due to a theme that encompasses one of the central components in fashion. This is a fashion lover's ultimate scrapbook. Edited by Mario Testino, the issue is brimming with fashion photographs, from current to classic. Combined with these images are swatches of material from famous designer houses. As if this wasn't enough, "Chic" also contains a white napkin with Paloma Picasso's lipstick print, an envelope containing a letter from Catherine Deneuve to Yves Saint Laurent, and a tiny piece of fabric from the Versace dress Madonna wore to the opening of Evita. Toning down a bit for the next issue, "The Emperor's New Clothes" (#23) is lavishly packaged in a wooden box and contains forty 11x14 sepia-toned photographs by Karl Lagerfeld. The entire suite of nude photographs is wrapped in a satin bow. Lagerfeld's images are on par with any of today's great fashion photographs. That he is also one of the best and most well known clothing designers in the realm of current fashion, only confirms Lagerfeld as an endearing renaissance man. "Movement" (#27), as the theme implies, extrapolates on the idea of motion by using clear pages that, when turned, conveys both movement and metamorphosis. "Woman" (#28) contains various artists' interpretations on the theme - however, several of the images need such deep-seated, subjective interpretation, that one wonders why they were ever included. "Woman" is clearly the least inventive of the recent issues. Encased in a Philippe Starck designed white, plastic, pillow-like casing, "The Bible" (#29) integrates chapters from the Old and New Testament with photographs and paintings. The book's size and weight is due in part to the thickness of its cardboard pages, which turn like a children's book but reveal intense, erotic, and oftentimes nightmarish images that parallel each of the Bible passages. With each new issue, Visionaire is designed to amaze and delight. After nine years, it is a credit to Stephen Gan's 'vision' that Visionaire continues to gain popularity. Like a haute couture gown, the exclusivity of Visionaire makes it all the more fashionable, rendering it another must-have accessory for the in-crowd.

A good collection of avant-garde Biblical images
Comprised of some cool contemporary depictions of Biblical events, clever "Visionaire-esque" packaging and presentation, and a fine lineup of contributors, this book definitely has value as a collector's item. Yet, I'm torn. I really do like this book, but it could have offered so much more.

"Visionaire #28: The Bible," contains 41 images (e.g., photos, paintings, graphics) pertaining to verses of the Bible, submitted by over 40 artistic contributors. Each image takes up the left and right side of the opened page, complemented by the Biblical chapter, verse and text; the title of the work; and credits for the artist, stylist, model, etc. The book looks like a big, white Bible with gold-edged, stiff, cardboard-like pages.

I must say, there is good deal of striking imagery in here, especially "The Annunciation" (Gregory Crewdson), "No Room at the Inn" (Mary Ellen Mark), "Mother and Child" (Jean-Paul Goude), "Salome and John the Baptist" (Andres Serrano), and "The Ascension" (Raymond Meier). Other notables include works by Lagerfeld, Testino and Meisel. There are also several excellent paintings and computer-generated graphics.

Given the magnitude and importance of the Bible, this book could easily contain twice as much art. Also, with over half the pages dedicated to the books of Genesis, Luke and Revelations, I feel a little shortchanged knowing how much Biblical history was left out. I truly believe there was a great deal more artistic "fun to be had" that Visionaire #28 passed up.

Of the two Visionaire books I've studied, I like this one much better, even though packaging and collector's novelty weigh just as heavily (they shouldn't) as artistic merit. I may sound overly critical, but a 5-Star art/photo book has to have "wow factor" on almost every page. This is a good effort, but falls short of a top rating.

[Note that I didn't mention the price]

BITE THE BULLET AND JUST BY IT!
You don't know Visionare yet? You can't believe that a "magazine" can cost $150? Get with it already! "Visionare #28: The Bible" has to be one of the best issues of this ongoing art multiple. Incredible works created by a who's who of the avant-garde art world. This issue is worth the hefty price for the custom-designed Philippe Starck "pillow" case alone.

Still not convinced to shell out $150? Have a look at what the past issues sell for on Ebay. This is not a impulse purchase - it's an investment! Buy it before it's too late.

Karl Taps

a fantastic art book
when i bought this book,my first impresion was a shock to me, because the Phillipe starck design is a wonderfull piece of art,i didn't seen the book yet.i consider very interesting and i enjoyed so much.the meisel's pictures are stunning and "mother and son" too. if you have enought money to buy it, do it now,because you'll have into your hands a fantastic art book for all your life.

BUY THIS NOW!!!
For every fan of art and design, this is such a great object d'art, so buy this now!This was designed by French designer Philippe Starck, and as you know, Visionaire comes in a limited edition so be fast! The Meisel, Mario Testino, Karl Lagerfeld, Inez van Lamsweerde and many more. They are the ones who are making the images of the stories in the Bible. Karl Lagerfeld is responsible for the Cain and Able layout. ... Read more

Book Description

The book 'BRANSCH Magazine' is published once a year and is created by BRANSCH, an international photographers agency based in Hamburg, Germany and New York City. ‚BRANSCH Magazine‘ is mainly directed at creative professionals in advertising agencies, publishing houses and companies and to anyone with an interest in photography.

‚BRANSCH Magazine‘ will report on artistic developments of photographers, include interviews with international experts and cover trends and the latest works from the industry. ... Read more

Book Description

With information on selecting the right equipment, pricing, marketing and technology, this book provides readers with everything they need to know to take money in the photography business.It includes practical advice on common business practices and risks as well as detailed discussions of different areas of specialization.Readers will learn to take highly marketable pictures of architecture, landscape, food, children, pets, groups, real estate, fashion, calendars, weddings, and more.Also covered are techniques for shooting and marketing images for posters, postcards, calendars, puzzles and greeting cards. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An Overpriced, Shallow, Book.
This book lacks any real depth. This publisher (Amherst Media) clearly believes in leaving plenty of white space on each page. Of course, they had to considering what little material the author (David Neil Arndt) included. Anyway, most of pages are only about half filled with text and b&w pictures, with the remainder of the page blank. As a result, the entire chapter on "pricing your work," which is only two and a half pages in the book (not enough in itself), would occupy only about a single page if that entire page is filled. In my opinion, a chapter should be longer than a single page of text.

Many job specialities, such as jewelry, fashion, theater, and so on, is covered in only a paragraph or two. Accounting is covered in eleven short paragraphs, with taxes getting seven and insurance eight. Even worse, nothing of real substance is covered in those paragraphs. For example, the paragraph on fashion photography says, "Fashion photos are a subset of advertising photography. They generally attempt to make the clothing look good. Some fashion pictures attempt to set a mood and let the advertising copy make the sale. Still others merely attempt to get attention and show the company logo."

With the exception of three photos with captions ("children can also model fashions"), that's the entire discussion about fashion photography in this book. Since entire books have been written on the subject of fashion photography, surely this author could have found something more to say about how to "make money with your camera" in this field.

In the end, the "recommended reading" chapter is longer than some other chapters in this book, with most of those books not at all related to the subject of this book. I recommend others skip this book and find something else to read. ... Read more

Book Description

In its third volume, Best Rejected Advertising introduces a new concept. While the previous two volumes selected only campaigns that were cancelled by clients on aesthetic, commercial, or strategic grounds, this third volume focuses on rejection for reasons of censorship. Perhaps in an effort to reach an ever-jaded audience, advertising has frequently resorted to increasingly jarring and provocative campaigns. Calculating the benefits of eye-catching provocation against the detrimental effects on public opinion caused by disturbed sensitivities, many of these campaigns were pulled. Comparing accepted products with work that never reached the public, Best Rejected Advertising Volume 3 allows for a view behind the scenes of a self-regulating industry that encourages mass consumption, while itself being driven by the rules of demand and supply. At its best, advertising is artful seduction. Though it might appear that the rule of reason is often by-passed by advertisers, serious consideration has gone into this appearance of effortlessness and nonchalance. The third volume of Best Rejected Advertising, edited by a jury of creative directors from leading international advertising agencies, draws attention to the often cynical calculations that reject outright provocation in favor of the more insidious influence of gentle manipulation. Essay by Klaus Zwangsleitner. Hardcover, 11.5 x 9.5 in. / 248 pgs / 250 color. ... Read more

Book Description

Every year American Photography presents images--hundreds of the best, selected by a jury of outstanding publishing and design professionals--that capture the spirit of the year. Each year's selection becomes a time capsule of events, people and issues, as well as a periscope view of the medium and its evolving technologies. Regarded by creative professionals as the number one source for the best talent in the business, American Photography 19 showcases legendary photographers alongside established and emerging ones. Included in this volume are Richard Avedon, Gregory Crewdson, William Eggleston, Katy Grannan, Lauren Greenfield, James Nachtwey, Paolo Pellegrin and Taryn Simon, to name just a few of the more than 140 shutterbugs showcased.

Clothbound, 9.25 x 12.25 in./360 pgs / 170 color 145 BW0 duotone 0 ~ Item D20297 ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Photo Lover¿s Delight - If You Can Tolerate the Book Design
Like the previous books in the American Photography series, this one presents the winners in an open juried competition. The photos had to have been published or taken in 2002. Only those "selected" photos with a majority vote of the six-person panel were reproduced in the book; those "chosen" with two votes are only on a Web site.

I am not fond of several aspects of this book. First, the designers have apparently decreed that there shall be no unused space on any of the pages. Therefore, you see on the right side of some pages a duplicate of the left side of the photograph on the next page, and you see on the left side of some pages a duplicate of the right side of the photograph on the preceding page. I find this distracting rather than artful. Second, many of the photos are turned sideways. This causes you to have to frequently rotate the 6-pound, 9"x12"x1" book 90 degrees to no good purpose. Third, the placement of the (sideways) captions in a section after the plates requires you to flip back and rotate to discover the significance of some scenes. A good example is the set of Sicilian mummies by Paolo Ventura which is confusing without the caption. I would have preferred captions next to the images. Fourth, two jury members (Harris, Ryan) were editors for some of the photos in the book, and one jury member (Crewdson) shot some of the photos in the book. It's not clear that they recused themselves from voting on their own work. Finally, I do not like the inclusion of obvious digital photo illustrations or of video captures (as in "key frame[] from the video... of people reacting to Ground Zero World Trade Center site" on the book's cover). To me these are not really still photography.

Nevertheless, this book has a number of extraordinary photographs, all reproduced in a large format. Besides the 9/11-related pictures, among the most remarkable are the following. In photo 63 by Henrik Knudsen ("Pool") we see the back of a man standing in the water with a woman's hands around his back (it's ambiguous whether he is loving or killing her). Hans Neleman in photo 110 (from a "Body Transformed" project that apparently has yet to be published) shows a nude woman who has burns on her shoulder and some markings on her back and who is lying in a chair; it's reminiscent of an oil painting. Photo 147 of Fredrik Broden depicts two chairs in a "suggestive pose." Rodney Smith's photo 232 has a woman doing a painting on a canvas of her own back ("even the blind people can draw"). Beach volleyball has a completely new look in photo 238 by Claudio Edinger. The portrait of the really strong young boy with a samurai sword by Danielle Levitt (which Amazon has chosen for the graphic on this page) is found large and sideways as photo 311, but is not on the cover.

You'll find a lot to like about the book. Buy it at Amazon.com!

BTW Number 1, here's a quick rundown of the previous four years of American Photography.

#18 (2002, cow saying "cheese" on the cover, but Amazon graphic is a painted portrait of a Taliban soldier with sunglasses): The best design of the bunch. Photos grouped into sections such as "sexxx," "2by2" (animals), and "911"; interesting juxtapositions of work by different photogs on facing pages. Don't have to rotate the book to read captions.

#17 (2001, ketchup packet on the cover, but Amazon graphic is a computer classroom): Notable for some photos whose meanings are quite obscure, sometimes due to inadequate captions (e.g., per a Web site #297 by Ron Haviv is a photo of a photo of a Muslim family that was methodically defaced presumably by Serbs, but this is not stated in the book). Captions are sideways.

#16 (2000, toy car on stove burner on the cover, but Amazon graphic is two children at a pool): Great photographs by Gilles Peress, Larry Sultan, and others, but I'm not sure why Ariko Inaoka got eight pages. Don't have to rotate the book to read captions.

#15 (1999, multi-colored vertical stripe on the cover, but Amazon graphic is a baseball player): Some attention-grabbing abstract, conceptual, and experimental shots. Captions are sideways.

BTW Number 2, some photogs get published in AP year after year. Here's my list of those who had "selected" photos in #17 of 2001, #18 of 2002, and #19 of 2003: Josef Astor, Nelson Bakerman, Chris Buck, Craig Cutler, Jim Erickson, Larry Fink, Katy Grannan, Lauren Greenfield, Kyoko Hamada, Mark Heithoff, Antonin Kratochvil, Hugh Kretschmer, Catherine Ledner, Robbie McClaran, Greg Miller, Frank W. Ockenfels 3, Platon, Martin Schoeller, Mark Seliger, Derek Shapton, Taryn Simon, Peggy Sirota, David Harry Stewart, David Strick, Michael Waring, and Dan Winters. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

SUPERB
All you have to do to see a photograph by Bruce Weber is look in any glossy magazine or on any big city billboard or in the Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue. These are his works for advertising, but there is much more to Weber. "Hotel Room With a View" is one of the paperbound photography collections in the Smithsonian series and is, as usual with this series, superb. The fascinating, informative interview with Weber (uncredited interviewer!!) lets us know where, why, when he gets his inspiration and how he makes it happen. Alot of the pictures in this book are of celebrities like Brad Pitt, Chet Baker, Axl Rose, Harry Connick, but there are also a good number of examples of Weber's unknown models, animals and even a few color landscapes. There is also a brief bio and technical info for other photographers.

There are better hotels
I have to say that I was a little disappointed when I received my copy of this book. I am a devoted Bruce Weber fan, but I found this book to lack any sense of cohension or purpose. It was a montage of photos - kinda like a "best of" without any of his best photos really included. I guess I expected it to be similar to "Bear Pond," "Chop Suey Club," or even the A&F catalogues. It was not. There are much better examples of his talent out there - don't lose any sleep if you miss a this one.

Excellent book for prospective photographers.
As a photographer who basically idolizes the work of Bruce Weber, I know I have a strong bias for anything he releases. Yet, this book is a great insight into the mind of Weber by having interviews at the begining of the book. These interviews with Weber came at the early part of his fame so it also shows a very realistic and down toearth Weber that is not so affected by fame like some other photographers. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more than your basics about what Weber is about, or at least at that time was about. ... Read more