Photography News | Issue 40 | absolutephoto.com
26
Reviews Buy the book In an Internet-driven world, where images and information are overwhelmingly present (and mostly free), do photography books still have a place on your shelf? Damn right they do, and here are some of our favourite technique and inspiration books from the last few months…
These elements make the book very easy to dip into wherever you’d like and allow you to dive in at any page and still enjoy it
Photographs from theEdge Art Wolfe, Amphoto Books, 288 pages £22.99
Words by Kingsley Singleton
Photographs from the Edge charts the career of nature and travel photographer, Art Wolfe, spanning 40 years of work, from his earliest forays as a professional wildlife photographer in the eighties to his latest studies. The book is co-written by Rob Sheppard, an author of over 40 photography books and formerly editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine, and his journalistic influence shows, giving the book an enjoyably accessible quality. With the book broadly broken into decades, each image is accompanied first and foremost by Art’s description of how and why it was taken, but also by small, insightful panels exploring the technique behind each shot and giving facts about the subject of the image, be it wildlife, landscape or anthropological. The former of these, called ‘pro tips’, covers information on composition, exposure and approach, and together these elements make the book very easy to dip into wherever you’d likeandallowyoutodive inat anypageandstill enjoy it. Aside from being visually arresting (as you’d expect from a photographic master), Photographs from the Edge also illustrates the changes in technology during Art’s career, and how advances in digital cameras helped him refine his style. It’s certainly a book that rewards on many levels.
Below Images of a weddell seal and Cape Agulhas, which are both featured in Photographs from the Edge .
SteveMcCurry: OnReading SteveMcCurry, Phaidon, 144 pages £39.95
crownpublishing.com
Photo books come with varying amounts of description in terms of the works they show, and Steve McCurry: On Reading falls into the classic ‘visual essay’ camp. Essentially it’s 62 of Steve’s beautiful travel photos, pleasingly presented across 144 pages, and the pictures are frames without description, bar a title. Now, don’t take that the wrong way; sure, you’re missing out on a lengthy read, but the lack of words gives you headspace to decipher each of the pictures in turn. And if you are missing some words, as a primer, there’s an introductory essay by Paul Theroux (who also appears in one of the pictures). An homage to the visionary Hungarian photo essayist, André Kertész’s own book of the same title, the theme of reading is explored across the continents, and depicts the consumption of novels, newspapers, comics and prayer books in glorious detail. McCurry’s shots, hand-picked from his
vast catalogue of travel images, can simply be appreciated for their technical and compositional excellence. However, like all good travel photography, many have a political subtext, exploring not only the joy, but the human right to literacy. Pricey, but a nice one for the collection.
uk.phaidon.com
Powered by FlippingBook