Books of 2005: A Round-Up

As I See It Photographs by John Loengard Introduction by Ann Beattie 216 pages/130 duotones/$35

Vendome Press



It's books like this that make you truly long for the old days of Life magazine. This lovely, compact publication explores the 50-year career of John Loengard, one of the gifted image-makers who captured celebrities and brilliant everyday moments for the renowned magazine. The book features everything from quiet New England landscapes to behind-the-scenes glances into the lives of icons. His talent for candid portraits is startling. An affecting image of a sad, 40-something Judy Garland in her dressing room is heartbreaking, while a photograph of Henri Cartier-Bresson flying a kite through the fields of Provence is joyous. An introduction by novelist Ann Beattie is included, as well as long captions describing the backstory of each photograph.

?Anthony LaSala



Wide Angle: National Geographic Greatest Places

By Ferdinand Protzman

Edited by Leah Bendavid-Val

504 pages/$30

National Geographic



The third in a series of books that includes Through The Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs and In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits, this heavy tome is a round-the-world ticket for the armchair traveler. Each chapter begins with an essay by Protzman reflecting on how photography has shaped our views?rightly or wrongly?of the world's places. The rest of the pages consist of vivid and easily digestible pictures culled from the National Geographic photo archive. In many images, humans appear as tiny, anonymous figures dwarfed by sweeping landscapes or magnificent cities. The book's design falls short of the quality of the photos, especially the awkward callout phrases set in big type beneath some double-page spreads. Still, the photos do their part to remind us how vast and beautiful our planet is.

?Daryl Lang



Reflex: A Vik Muniz Primer

205 pages/85 four-color and duotone images/$39.95

Aperture



Vik Muniz never ceases to amaze. A man of numerous talents?he merges painting, drawing and photography into his creations?he has now given readers an overview of his career. He sculpts clouds, draws in chocolate, constructs new and historic images out of thousands of yards of thread and then photographs them all. Muniz, who is originally from São Paulo, Brazil, also has a wonderful gift for writing about photography. The history and impact of the art form, the work of other photographers, and, of course, his own images are all touched on eloquently in this publication.

?Anthony LaSala



Woman In The Mirror 1945-2004 Photographs by Richard Avedon

Essay by Anne Hollander

248 pages/125 photos/$65

Harry N. Abrams, Inc.



This collection offers a rare chance to examine Avedon's fashion images and portraiture side-by-side. From the post-war "New Look" era through the Swinging Sixties, Avedon's fashion images presented sophisticated, urbane models like Dorian Leigh and Suzy Parker striding, leaping and frolicking through Paris streets, New York nightclubs and Egyptian deserts like they owned the world. Utterly self-possessed, these women show not the slightest concern for the male gaze; they were meant to embody the aspirations of Harper's Bazaar's female readers. Such nonchalance, however, is harder to find among Avedon's portraits. In his stark, white seamless images of Rose Kennedy, Maria Callas, a frightened Marilyn Monroe, the carneys and housekeepers from "In the American West," he reveals vulnerability and unease. If there is a theme to this loose collection of images, it lies in the tension between the way women perceive themselves and the way they present themselves to the world.

?Holly Stuart Hughes



Irving Penn: Platinum Prints

200 pages/87 tritones, 5 duotones, and 20 color plates/$50

National Gallery of Art, Washington, in conjunction with Yale University Press



The iconic portraits, celebrated fashion studies and innovative still lifes presented here are part of a gift from Irving Penn to the National Gallery of Art and compiled by curator Sarah Greenough.

Known as a meticulous craftsman, Penn has said of his platinum prints that he must have spent "thousands of hours over the years silently brushing on the liquid coatings, preparing each sheet in anticipation of reaching the perfect print." This book is a testament to that dedication and effort, and contains some of Penn's most important photographs?reinterpreted as works of art in the rich tones and luxurious textures of the platinum process. They include portraits of Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Cecil Beaton, W. Somerset Maugham and Francis Bacon; studies of indigenous peoples in Papua, New Guinea, and Peru; and fashion work for Vogue.

?Jacqueline Tobin



The Photobook: A History, Vol. 1

By Gerry Badger, Martin Parr

320 pages/$75

Phaidon Press



After the somewhat exhaustive Book of 101 Books, The Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century, it's hard to imagine that another compendium of photo books could find a place in the market. Surprisingly, not only is there little overlap between The Photobook and Book of 101 Books, but the new volume serves as a great counterpoint to the first, supplementing the photographic canon with odd and curious additions. Co-author Martin Parr provided many of the books from his own collection, and the result is an idiosyncratic (yet still fairly comprehensive) mix. Organized thematically, the book covers the gamut from ancient travelogues to modernist art pieces to propaganda (one incredible Nazi specimen appropriates classic FSA images for an anti-American and anti-Semitic message). London-based photo critic Gerry Badger provides commentary and context throughout. Volume II is due out by the end of the year.

?Michelle Golden



The Dodo and Mauritius Island: Imaginary Encounters

Harri Kallio

104 pages/150 color photographs/$45

Dewi Lewis



This wonderfully quirky book brings to life that heavy, flightless bird that is perhaps best known for being extinct. Photographer Harri Kallio did extensive research, digging through museum archives to find a comical 19th-century illustration of a dodo posing for a photograph and a cast of a dodo foot. He devotes one fascinating chapter to the construction of life-size dodo models from nuts, bolts, fiberglas, latex and feathers. Thanks to these models and Kallio's imagination, we see dodos rollicking through valleys, tree-shaded riverbanks and along the seashore, often staring at us with those piercing eyes, unaware that they are imperiled by reckless overhunting and the introduction of dogs to Mauritius. The images are frequently humorous, as in the headshot of a dodo with a mouthful of guavas, and sometimes scary, recalling Hitchcock's Birds. The book as a whole, however, is a sad testament to what we have lost.

?Darren Ching



Roads To Rome

Photographs by John Heseltine

160 pages/70 black-and-white images/$50

Getty Publications



Travel photographer John Heseltine's love affair with Italy is turned into a visually stunning diary of black-and-white images taken along five of the ancient roads of Rome: Via Appia to the port of Brindisi; Via Cassia to Siena; Via Flaminia to Bologna; Via Aurelia to San Remo; and Via Aemelia from Parma to Rimini.

Rich contrasts between old and new convey the unique charm of Italy as images taken along the five roads?such as centuries-old murals covered in graffiti, a once heroic tomb standing alone on the side of a highway and tourists riding a Vespa past ancient statues?prepare the reader for the examination of, as well as admiration for, the varied regions of the country.

?Jacqueline Tobin



Italia: Portrait of a Country throughout 60 Years of Photography

352 pages/Over 350 color and duotone images/$60

Contrasto



The beauty, history and intrigue of Italy can turn any person?whether they are a native or a tourist?into an instant photographer. This book proves that even the most renowned photographers in the world have been seduced by its charms. Over 150 image-makers are represented, including Henri-Cartier Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, William Klein, Paul Strand, Martin Parr and Joel Sternfeld. However don't expect only stunning photographs of Venetian canals and Tuscan fields. Italia mixes arresting photojournalism, impressive documentary work and surrealistic images among the beautiful landscapes. Essays by Carlo Bertelli, Cesare Colombo, Christian Caujolle, Roberta Valtorta, Aldo Colonetti and Paolo Pietroni are also included.

?Anthony LaSala



Borderlands

Photographs by Eirik Johnson

80 pages/31 color photographs/$60

Twin Palms



In his first book, Eirik Johnson examines the beauty in the neglected landscapes that exist on the edges between nature and contemporary society. In each image, nature is changed or scarred by human encroachment: a tree growing out of a storm drain; mudflats blemished by half-submerged, barnacle-covered shopping carts; a path of bright green Astro-turf winding under an arch of tree branches. The images possess a stark, eerie quality. Through Johnson's lush photographs we are reminded of places we often overlook, and the delicate relationship nature has with the sprawl of the modern world.

?Darren Ching



Magnum Stories

512 pages/b&w and color photographs/$79.95 Phaidon



The idea behind Magnum Stories is simple and engaging. The "Stories" are photo essays chosen by the 61 Magnum photographers who shot them, laid out to their own specifications and accompanied by a narrative in the photographer's own voice. The text should be a master class in how to get and edit a story. For example when Eve Arnold talks about how she shadowed Malcolm X, or when Hiroji Kubota reveals how he tackled his assignment in North Korea, the stories are compelling. The results are less interesting when photographers are allowed to ramble on about their career and their philosophy. What cannot be questioned is the sheer diversity and depth of the photo essays themselves. There is also a nice balance between historic stories, like W. Eugene Smith's "Country Doctor" and more contemporary work like Alex Majoli's essay from Afghanistan in 2001. Simply put: photos unsurpassable, words less so.

?Reuel Golden



A Beautiful Catastrophe

Photographs by Bruce Gilden

140 pages/85 photos/$40

PowerHouse Books



This book is Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden's riff on New York's perverse self-pride as a bruising place where only the tough survive. His quick reflexes and keen eye for detail, gesture and juxtaposition are in top form in these 85 black-and-white images of people going about their business on the sidewalks of Manhattan. But Gilden gravitates to the Central Casting types, and doesn't always use his talent kindly. He gawks Diane Arbus-like at the frail and feeble, for instance, and ambushes a good many subjects at vulnerable moments with hard, unflattering flash and wide angle lenses. In the end, too many people lose their dignity just to promote a storied notion of the city.

?David Walker



A Time Before Crack

Photographs by Jamel Shabazz

Essays by Charlie Ahearn and Terrence Jennings, Introduction by Claude Grunitzky

Afterword by James "Koe" Rodriquez

144 pages/110 four-color and duotone photographs

PowerHouse Books



This authentic, nostalgic record of pre-drug-war street culture in New York City from the mid 70's through the mid 80's embodies true inner-city life. Photographer Jamel Shabazz's unique archive is a document of hip hop before it became music for the masses. This is a time before the record industry, a time before wannabees, a time of pioneering creativity, and a time before the devastation and violence brought by crack.

?John Gimenez



Nice to Meet You

Photographs by Txema Salvans

380 pages/$52

Actar (Barcelona)



The premise here is that you can tell by looking at family snapshots who is strong, who is weak, who will come to an early end, or a bad one. Salvans explores that idea by photographing groups of people from all over Spain, attempting to capture the essence of family snapshots without the main ingredient (actual families). He gets an A for effort. Unfortunately, the premise is flawed. Family snapshots reveal little by themselves. They conjure up what kin already know, which is why they're compelling to nobody except actual family members. Where Salvans succeeds in faking snapshots, his images are just boring. But he fails plenty, and paradoxically ends up with a lot of interesting images.

?David Walker



Katy Grannan: Model American

120 pages/$40

Aperture (January 31, 2006)



In 1998, while still an MFA student at Yale University, artist Katy Grannan began placing ads in small-town papers seeking photo subjects. Her portraits of the strangers she discovered?often nude, posed in spartan surroundings?were surprising in their beauty and vulnerability. The pictures were mundane and magnificent at the same time. Five years, and several solo and group exhibits later, comes Grannan's first monograph, "Model American," which collects over 70 portraits from the project. But is it a case of too much, too late? While her individual photographs have an undeniable intimacy and directness, they seem to have lost some of their power now that more and more photographers are making similar work. And while it was always a treat to see one of her oversized prints in a gallery setting, the smaller scale and the sheer number of photos included in the book somehow reduces the impact of the individual images.

?Michelle Golden



Witness: The World's Greatest News Photographers

By Reuel Golden

256 pages/L25

Carlton Books Ltd. (available through amazon.co.uk)



This survey of the life and work of more than 50 leading photojournalists is arranged alphabetically rather than chronologically. The result is a blending and merging of all the different styles and strains that have shaped the history of photojournalism: hard hitting war photos by Dmitri Baltermants and Larry Burrows, social documentary work by Dorothea Lange and Lewis Hine, the ironic insights of Martin Parr, the artistic explorations of the new generation of photographers like Jan Grarup and Alex Majoli. All the expected greats are covered: Capa, Smith, and Cartier-Bresson (represented here by some of his lesser known news photos). But the book also has a refreshingly international flavor, thanks to the inclusion of Liu Zhensheng's images of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, South African photographer Peter Magubane's documentation of apartheid and its unraveling, and much more.

(Full disclosure: The book's author is an editor at PDN, and his coworkers are kindly mentioned in the acknowledgements. )

?Holly Stuart Hughes



All The Mighty World: The Photographs of Roger Fenton, 1852-1860

304 pages/85 images/$65

Yale University Press/Metropolitan Museum of Art



The Victorian photographer Roger Fenton was a pioneer in forging a commercial market for the fledgling medium of photography: organizing exhibitions, forming the Photographic Society, selling portfolios of his prints and cultivating increasingly privileged patrons, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Supported by superb reproductions of his salted paper and albumen prints, the scholarly essays in this new book persuasively argue that Fenton was also an artistic visionary who saw that the camera could be more than just a machine for recording facts. Fenton shot everything: Still lifes, haunting architectural studies, landscapes in England, Scotland, Wales and Russia, war photos from the Crimea, studio shots of the British Museum's collection. But his celebrity was short lived. By the 1860s, new competitors had entered the field, driving down prices. In less than a decade, Fenton's career had ground to a halt, but not before he had created some of the most forward-looking images from photography's infancy.

?Holly Stuart Hughes



Nazar: Photographs From The Arab World

268 pages/168 four-color and 132 duotones/$40

Aperture (co-published with Noorderlicht)



In Arabic, nazar means "seeing, insight, and reflection," definitions which are at the heart of this revealing and personal record of everyday Arab life. Divided into three sections, Nazar delves deeper?past the often violent and disturbing images of this culture that the media has saturated us with in recent years?to deliver to the reader a rich weave of vibrant colors, smiling faces from within pristine homes, and a deep sense of honor and pride for a people's customs and rituals, even when Western influences prevail.

The book, published in conjunction with an exhibit organized by the Noorderlicht Festival in the Netherlands, includes the work of 56 Arab and Western photographers challenging preconceived views about the regions from North Africa to Lebanon and Palestine, and from Egypt to Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

?Jacqueline Tobin



Magnum Ireland

256 pages/color and duotone images/$60

Thames & Hudson



If I were Irish, I'm not sure how I would feel about this book. On the one hand there are some stunning landscapes and arresting portraits taken by some of the Magnum greats such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka and Inge Morath. Yet time and time again the book reduces this remarkable country (interestingly, the book makes no distinction between Northern Ireland the The Republic of Ireland) into cliché. So we get religion, horses, men drinking, sectarian violence and grubby children?lots of them. The book covers the last five decades, but its soul is rooted in 1950s Ireland. The Republic is now cosmopolitan and wealthy?especially Dublin?but you wouldn't know it from this book where almost every photo could be an outtake from Angela's Ashes.

?Reuel Golden