May 2023 MBR The Photography Shelf

The Photography Shelf

American Industry
Kim Steele
Goff Books
c/o ORO Editions
31 Commerical Blvd., Suite F, Novato, CA 94949
www.oroeditions.com
9781951541705, $40.00, HC, 124pp

https://www.amazon.com/American-Industry-Kim-Steele/dp/1951541707

Synopsis: "American Industry" by photographer Kim Steele is as much a celebration as it is documentation. Through his unique vision and privileged access, Steele has achieved a visually spectacular distillation of a variety of icons of power.

Some of these places of power are literal: sources of hydro-electric energy, such as dams or atomic and accelerators. Other places of power are more metaphorical: the might of massive construction as only heavy industry can achieve, whether in architecture or ships; or the romance of aviation and the exploration of space.

The photographic images are as iconic as their subjects. Formally pure and powerful in their scale and clarity, they mirror the ambitious and inspirational quality of what are now understood to be quintessential and classic symbols of American ingenuity and drive. Together, the seven chapters, Hydro Power, Aviation, Heavy Industry, Energy, Space, Atomic Energy, and The Future, create a visual tapestry of American industrial power in the twentieth century. A testimony of a guilded age of American Industrial might.

Critique: Photography as art, photography as a celebration, photography as documentation, "American Industry" is a coffee-table style (10.25 x 0.75 x 10.25 inches, 2.21 pounds) volume that is a fascinating, informative, thought-provoking browse from cover to cover -- making it a very special and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library American Photography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Kim Steele (http://kimsteele.com) is a San Francisco-based American photographer. whose work is in the collections at MoMa, New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, LACMA, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Denver Art Museum, Seattle Art Museum, and many other collections. As well as in corporate collections such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Goldman Sachs, and New York Life. In addition to fine artwork Kim Steele has also taken on editorial assignments from clients such as Life, Fortune, Forbes, Smithsonian, Paris Match, and Stern. Steele also produces unforgettable images for corporate clients include such as EDS, Mobil Oil, Mead Paper, AT&T, Frito-Lay, and Exxon.

Reclaim the Street: Street Photography's Moment
Stephen McLauren, author
Matt Stuart, author
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500545379, $70.00, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Reclaim-Street-Photographys-Moment/dp/0500545375

Synopsis: Featuring stunning imagery, "Reclaim the Street: Street Photography's Moment" is a vibrant visual survey of the trends and talents fueling street photography today and a fresh take on what street photography can be.

A world tour of the very best street photography today, "Reclaim the Street" showcases work from more than one hundred contemporary photographers, ranging from the established to the emerging, and from all corners of the globe.

With the publication of "Reclaim the Street", professional photographers Stephen McLaren and Matt Stuart present a multilayered overview of street photography's constantly evolving form. Together, they interweave individual photographer portfolios, in-depth case studies, and surveys of the hot spots where communities of street photographers are thriving today. Great photographic minds don't think alike, nor are two streets identical: follow these photographers as they capture snapshots of people and places perpetually in flux.

Truly diverse in scope, "Reclaim the Street" also pays long overdue attention to flourishing scenes beyond the West, including workby Indian photographer Swarat Ghosh, Thai photographer Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet (aka Poupay), and Brazilian photographer Gustavo Minas. The global, humanistic edge of "Reclaim the Street" is a kind of love note to photography, as well as to the places and people captured through today's sharpest lenses.

Critique: A coffee-table style (10.2 x 1.3 x 12 inches, 5.03 pounds) and comprised of 500 color illustrations, and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Photography collections, "Reclaim the Street: Street Photography's Moment" by the team of Stephen McLaren and Matt Stuart is a fascinating, informative, appreciative, thought-provoking, and inspiring study that will have immense appeal and value to readers with an interest in street photography and its photographic equipment/techniques.

Editorial Note #1: Stephen McLaren (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_McLaren) is the editor of Magnum Streetwise. A writer for the British Journal of Photography, he has also curated histories of street photography at Tate Liverpool, the School of Life, and various international street photography festivals.

Editorial Note #2: Matt Stuart (https://www.mattstuart.com) is one of the leading street photographers working today and the author of All That Life Can Afford and Think Like a Street Photographer. He has exhibited his work and taught street photography all over the globe.

Human Conditions
Olaf Heine
Prestel Publishing
www.prestel.com
9783791389035, $60.00, HC, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Olaf-Heine-Human-Condition/dp/3791389033

Synopsis: Whether he's capturing Elvis Costello in a pensive moment, going one-on-one with Iggy Pop, gazing into the eyes of Don Cheadle, or visiting Julian Schnabel in his studio, Olaf Heine has a photographer's talent for making larger-than-life subjects appear sensitive, vulnerable, and approachable.

"Human Conditions" is a career-spanning monograph showcasing dozens of Heine's signature portraits, impeccably staged and meticulously detailed. Printed in brilliant duotone on coated matte paper, each image is presented on its own page, allowing viewers the pleasure of lingering over the features that characterize a Heine photo: rich and varied tones, clean lines, subtle humor and pathos, and classically informed composition. Accompanying the images are texts from the artists or from Heine himself, affording a nuanced glimpse into the ongoing dialog between the gazer and the gazed-upon.

A sumptuous feast for the eyes from one of the world's leading photographers, "Human Conditions) is a visual celebrates of the artistic photographer's process, images, and the inspirations behind them.

Critique: "Human Conditions" is a coffee-table style (9.75 x 1.18 x 12.13 inches, 3.62 pounds) volume comprised of black/white full page photos representing some of photographer Olaf Heines' best work to date. Of special appeal and value to readers with an interest in celebrity photography and surrealist literary criticism, "Human Conditions" is a singular and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Contemporary American Photography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Olaf Heine (https://olafheine.com) who lived in Los Angeles for over ten years, is currently a Berlin-based photographer and filmmaker known for his portraits and music videos. He has worked with the likes of Iggy Pop, Chris Cornell, Jon Bon Jovi, and the band Rammstein, among others. Heine has published a number of books, including Leaving the Comfort Zone (2008), Brazil (2014) and Rwandan Daughters (2019).

Michael Freeman on Color and Tone
Michael Freeman, author
Ilex Press
c/o Octopus Books
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781781578711, $29.99, PB, 176pp

https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Freeman-Color-Tone-Photography/dp/1781578710

Synopsis: Color isn't 'just there' in photography, an ordinary fact of life. It is far more special than that and can be a subject and pursuit in its own right, because it triggers an emotional and aesthetic response like no other. Color is processed not in the eye, but in the mind, and that makes it personal.

"Michael Freeman on Color and Tone: The Ultimate Photography Masterclass" is the third book in the series by professional photographer Michael Freeman, who talks about color in photography in a completely fresh, thoughtful and useful way, unlike any other instruction guide or 'how to' manual on the market.

In recent years, photography-about-color has exploded as a shooting phenomenon, taking inspiration not just from the great colorist photographers like Outerbridge, Haas, Gruyaert, Leiter, Eggleston and Porter, but from the new freedom that modern sensors and processing software give.

Fully living up to the promise of its subtitle, "Michael Freeman on Color and Tone: The Ultimate Photography Masterclass" both celebrates and advises this new trend, drawing on Freeman's long experience editorially and professionally, spanning the two eras of film and digital color.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Michael Freeman on Color and Tone: The Ultimate Photography Masterclass" is exceptionally well written, organized and presented, making it an ideal DIY resource for aspiring photographers and especially recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Contemporary Photography collections and supplemental curriculum Photography studies lists. It should be noted for both photography students and practitioners that "Michael Freeman on Color and Tone: The Ultimate Photography Masterclass" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Michael Freeman (http://www.michaelfreemanphoto.com) is a professional photographer and author who was born in England in 1945, took a Masters in Geography at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and then worked in advertising in London for six years. In 1971 he made the life-changing decision to travel up the Amazon with two secondhand cameras, and when Time-Life used many of the pictures he came back with, he embarked on a full-time photographic career. Since then, working for clients that include all the world's major magazines, most notably the Smithsonian Magazine (for which he has shot more than 40 stories over 30 years), More than 60 of his titles are on the practice of photography. For this photographic educational work he was awarded the Prix Louis Philippe Clerc by the French Ministry of Culture. Freeman's books on photography have been translated into 27 languages.

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