Book Reviews

The recent book Transformational Imagemaking: Handmade Photography Since 1960 is a groundbreaking survey of significant work and ideas by imagemakers who have pushed beyond the boundaries of photography as a window on our material world. These artists represent a diverse group of curious experimentalists who have propelled the medium’s evolution by visualizing their subject matter as it originates from their mind’s eye. Many favor the historical techniques commonly known as alternative photographic processes, but all these makers demonstrate that the real alternative is found in their mental approach and not in their use of physical methods.

Our Beautiful, Fragile World: The Nature and Environmental Photographs of Peter Essick (hardcover, 124 pages, Rocky Nook, ISBN: 978-1-937538-34-7) features a career-spanning look at the images of photojournalist Peter Essick taken while on assignment for National Geographic magazine. In this book, Essick showcases a diverse series of photographs from some of the most beautiful natural areas in the world and documents major contemporary environmental issues, such as climate change and nuclear waste.

From the late 1940s through the 1960s (the golden age of advertising), noted photographer William Helburn was the popular choice for the top advertising agencies in New York City. He was a photographic pioneer who helped to revolutionize the advertising business—ushering in a more modern look—but after the 1960s he simply seemed to vanish.

Capture the Magic uses a structured approach to teach the art of creating interesting, well-composed images. It provides solutions to problems that often get in the way of producing great photographs and emphasizes the importance of training the eye to exclude the extraneous. Examples of strong images are juxtaposed against flawed images, illustrating how to create a successful composition. Topics covered include light and shadow, lens choice, framing, negative space, and many more.

From the 50s into the 80s, nearly everyone had a Polaroid instant camera at home and most of our family pictures were captured with one. We all had a great time with this ingenious device because it was easy to use, economic and provided fast results. Polaroid cameras were also an indispensible tool of pro photographers before the invention of LCD screens and the ability to “chimp” the shot. 

Admittedly, toy cameras were never designed to produce the professional quality crystal clear, razor sharp images we so often strive to create. They are simply toys but because of their unique nature they do have a lot more to offer than one might suspect. They are amazingly good at producing wonderfully blurry, strangely distorted images marked with the odd streak of light but—for some photographers—these aren’t unwanted or undesirable traits at all. These quirks add an entirely new dimension of creativity to their work.

In our modern society, urban centers around the world are home to thousands of people. The streets of those cities and towns are alive with a tide of humanity that ebbs and flows according to the clock. This presents photographers with an endless treasure trove of images simply awaiting discovery.