Your Favorite Photography Book (non-educational)

[tim atherton]

Hmm - almost impossible to say

1. I'd have to say John Gossage's Berlin in the Time of the Wall (or possibly the quieter Romance Industry). Never tire of them

But if this was Desert Island Discs, I'd also probably have to go for the MoMA 4 vol Atget set (the Mozart of photography as I just heard described on the Genius of Photography) - some of the most luscious printing of any photography book for one thing

or American Photographs - probably the best (and most important) single book of photographs of the 20th Century :-)

[P. Yee]

I don't have an all time favorite book. Currently, the book I considered the most fascinating for me is Robert Adams' "Listening to the River".

[Jim Jones]

I'm rereading Through Another Lens by Charis Wilson. No Weston fan's library is complete without it. The new video, The Eloquent Nude, adds icing to Charis' cake.

[Bruce Watson]

Eliot Porter's self titled book from an amazing retrospective at the Amon Carter Museum that ran the last two months of 1987. Lots of his writing, 128 plates. It includes a few of his early B&W efforts too.

Porter is the "forgotten master."

[Joseph Kayne]

Eliot Porter's Glen Canyon....
Joel Meyerowitz's Cape Light

[paulr]

For me there's a difference between books that happen to have a lot of pictures that I like, and books that are great examples of visual bookmaking ... ones that through their design, editing, sequencing, and printing, constitute a work of art that's much greater than the sum of its parts.

That's why I picked Frank's The Americans. It's such a mindblowing example of a book as a finished work. I often go back to it to study the sequencing and each time learn something new.

This is different from a book like the huge Friedlander retrospective, or the 4-volume Atget series, which are great simply because they're filled with so much great work. It's the difference between a great book and book that's filled with great work. Plenty of room on my shelves for both, but I get different things from each.

[Mark Sawyer]

"Re: Your Favorite Photography Book (non-educational) "

Non-educational? Definitely "On Photography" by Susan Sontag. No matter how much thought I put into reading it, I never learn a thing...

[Gordon Moat]

Currently viewing a book called Driven: The Racing Photography of Jesse Alexander. This is not large format, and definitely before my time, but I find myself greatly interested in what he captured.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

[Jim Ewins]

How can a good book of photographs or about photography be "non-educational"? Man Ray - oh I didn't say that

[Tim Hyde]

What a great question! Can we list out top five?
1. Sternfeld, American Prospects
2. Shore, Uncommon Places
3. John Gossage, The Pond
4. Frank, The Americans
5. Diado Moriyama, Compete Works
6. David Goldblatt, Particulars

Of course, this list of five will change tomorrow.