Our favorite monographs and why

[Jim_3565]

"On My Doorstep" by Paul Strand probably had the most profound effect on me. Printed by Richard Benson from Strand's negatives, but Strand approved the finished prints. You can see it at the Library of Congress.

[JohnnyV]

As far as books go Joel Meyerowitz's "Cape Light" and "The Arch" - mostly Cape Light - was my biggest push into photography.

[Huib]

I especially like David Plowdon's 'Imprints', why? who cares :-) :-) I just like it.

[David Kashuba]

The Work Of Atget Vols. I-IV. Szarkowski and Hambourg. Moma New York. Great artist, great writer, and great historian. The best reproductions of Atget's work. Anyone bought the Tree book yet?

-David Kashuba.

[tim atherton]

"The Work Of Atget Vols. I-IV. Szarkowski and Hambourg. Moma New York. Great artist, great writer, and great historian. The best reproductions of Atget's work. Anyone bought the Tree book yet? "

Definite agreement on that (although I'm one volume short of the set...) On the Trees book, I am completely intrigued by Atget's tree. park and country photographs. However, Geoffrey James took a look at it somewhere and figured it wasn't worth it - it wasn't done very well and it wasn't a good selection. And at that price I'm not willing to buy sight unseen!

That said, below is a very interesting book on Atget that just came out - it basically re-constructs his working method - how he worked a location or building etc and his method for documenting a particular site or building (and it was quite methodical once you sequence the images - it also goes into how his vision changed over time, looking at places he re-photographed, often after a quite substantial break)./ The paperback is a decent price + lots of good reproductions. As someone who is photographing an urban environment, I am finding it fascinating.

Eugene Atget: Unknown Paris by David Harris

In Canada http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565848543/qid=1075764911/sr=1-39/ref=sr_1_0_39/701-3099697-3596367

[Tom Westbrook]

Just two that jump to mind:
<ol><li>Bob Thall's The New American Village. It opened my eyes to modern architectural and urban photography.

<li>The big fat Gingko Atget Paris. It immersed me in Atget's work to the extent that I finally 'got it' about his work. I certainly appreciated him before, but once I make it through this tome, I really saw what the big deal is. The man was a genius.
</ol>

[David E. Rose]

"Paul Strand: An American Vision" published by the National Gallery of Art. This is the most beautifully printed book I have ever seen (Richard Benson). It is very much like holding Strand's masterpieces in your hands!

[Bill_1856]

Tim, after reading your glowing assessment of "Atget: Unknown Paris," I literally hopped in the truck and sped to the local Barnes & Noble, money in hand (so to speak). I found myself quite disappointed; the reproductions are so much poorer than the MOMA books, and there was a lot less factual information, or even deduction about Atget's actual working methods, than I expected. Mostly several views of specific locations, sometimes over years, much more interesting from a historical perspective than a photographic one.

I did surprise myself by discovering from reading the above posts, that my own preference in Photography books is not purely about the pictures, but the imagery explained or illuminated by accompanying text.

My favorites are Paul Strand's "Time in New England," Weston's "Daybooks," "Walker Evans at Work," Adams "40 Examples," Avadon's "Evidence 1944-94," Bullaty's "Sudak," ICP's two-volume "Concerned Photographers," and just about anything with Cartier-Bresson's work.

Hmmm, that's all B&W. Gotta add Marie Cosindas' "Color Photographs," Dr. Paul Wolfe's "Color Photography," and Ernst Haas' "The Creation."

[KenM]

The first 'fine art' photography book that I felt was worth my money was Ray McSavaney's book Explorations. He is such an intelligent man, with deep convictions and an incredible sensitivity - his images speak to me very strongly.

I've since purchased quite a few others, but Ray's book is still my favourite; I go back to it again and again for inspiration.

[John D Gerndt]

Sometimes it is more about when it strikes that makes for a books impact. Emmit Gowin’s Photographs 1976 (Alfred A. Knopf) and Ralph Gibson’s Days at Sea of about the same era showed me how an intense personal vision could be brought into being. I think Sally Mann’s Immediate Family and Jock Sturges’ Last Day of Summer are of the same ilk. It took me a long time to realize that part of that intimacy was due to the large format of the images as well as the complete confidence of the sitters.

Funny, I do not do as they do, I do not photograph persons, but the above photographers visions gave me heart so make my own come to life.