Since it’s Black Friday today, I’ve decided to help you along with a list of photo books I’d love to find under my holiday tree this year. These are all taken from a recent ICP catalog, and you must keep in mind that I have a huge stash of books already, so these would just be new ones or ones that have somehow managed to escape my radar.
Photo books can make excellent gifts, even for those who aren’t photographers themselves. Some of these are interesting topics, some thought provoking, others just probably pretty to look at.
Here is my list:
10. Jasper, Texas The Community Photographs of Alonzo Jordan-since I live in Texas and I remember the incident that sparked this the book might be more of a personal choice, but it’s surely one to be high on the list for those of you looking for the thought provoking side of things. Jordan worked as a photographer for 40 years in Jasper, Texas, a small town that was little known until the brutal dragging death of a forty nine year old African American named James Byrd. Byrd was murdered by three white males on June 7, 1998 in Jasper and this book is an attempt at documenting the everyday life of several generations of Jasper’s African American residents.
9. Publish Your Photography Book by Darius D. Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson-With these two great authors at the helm, this book is sure to wrangle in some great tips and tricks for producing fantastic photo books.
8. America by Car by Lee Friedlander-This collection find Friedlander getting out of the city and into the car, as he drove across most of the country’s 50 states in an ordinary rental car over the course of a decade.
7. Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand by Malcom Daniel-this collection features work from three of the premiere photographers of the 20th century.
6. Palm Springs by Robert Doisneau-In 1960, Robert Doisneau was invited by Fortune magazine to shoot Palm Springs, the then hottest travel spot. This book, a collection of previously unpublished work, features Doisneau in color and in California.
5. Sanctuary by Gregory Crewdson-In this book, Crewdson ditches the large scale production and heads to Rome with a small crew to shoot the old stomping grounds of Fellini and Rossellini in black and white. Count me in.
4. The Long Now by Uta Barth-meet me at the edge of vision with the master of blur, this book might not be for everybody but it’s near the top of the list for those who lean towards the abstract minimal.
3. Hiroshi Sugimoto-what you get when you mix up long exposures, large format, and excellent printing, this exploration in Asian minimalism is a feast for the eyes.
2. Huangshan by Michael Kenna-Kenna in China, what more can I say?
1. The Gernsheim Collection by Roy Flukinger-I’m very excited about this book because it’s written by Roy Flukinger, one of Austin’s own photographic experts and scholars, about one of the world’s greatest collections of photography.
I’m sure there are a lot more books out there, but this sample might help you get things going and is sure to please even the most picky of photographic tastes on your holiday shopping list.
Until next time…
