© Asako Narahashi

Images of water landscapes taken from the land are common. From a different angle, diving magazines will often times show striking images images of the edge between water and the land, from the perspective of a diver or swimmer. But here it comes the work of Asako Narahashi, a Japanese photographer, that provides a perspective I have never seen before.   Her series “half awake and half asleep in the water” are just amazing.

You can see images here, here and here. A photo-book with her work was published by Nazaeli press, with the 2nd print coming this August 2008.

© Asako Narahashi

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American Surfaces by Stephen Shore, book teaser at photo-eye.

"The heroic articulation of the real", this is how photography historian Gerry Badger defined the photography of Stephen Shore. A great definition for a style of photography for which Stephen Shore became a pioneer and innovator. Few days ago I was happy to receive my copy of the new print of Stephen Shore's book, American Surfaces, published by Phaidon.

This is a formal description of the book by the publisher:

The book is comprised of a chronological sequence of photographs of vernacular America taken in the early 1970s, most of which are previously unpublished. These photographs have been widely exhibited and discussed throughout Europe and the United States. AMERICAN SURFACES is styled as a photo-diary of Shore's travels across America, bridging the gap between the road trip tradition of Walker Evans and Robert Frank and the fascination with the ordinary exhibited by Bernd and Hilla Becher and Martin Parr.

What the "official" description doesn't convey is that this is a series that compose a unique piece of work, revolutionary in ways that perhaps it is difficult to grasp today given that the work was first exhibited in 1972. At the time, formal fine art photography was very much dictated by "rigid" rules of composition and aesthetics, with prints elegantly framed and exhibited. These images broke many rules of formal composition, appearing to be snapshots rather than "fine art" images, and were exhibited as small glossy prints, of the kind that anyone could get at the photo store after a vacation.

What turns to me more remarkable is that the casual look of the images defines a distinct portrait of America in the seventies, so real and so tangible that the subjects come to live, with an immediacy that formal compositions would have never achieved. One by one, as isolated images they could be easily forgotten, but as a set, this is one of the most remarkable series that there is.

For anyone who likes the work of Stephen Shore, you will find in this publication the work of this photographer with his unmistakable style, in a beautiful book with the high quality one expect from Phaidon.

A final reference to Stephen Shore, a recent and very interesting interview of the photographer by Darius Himes that I found reading Conscientious.

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© Andreas Köerner

The work of German photographer Andreas Köerner can be defined by two qualities: elegance, with precise composition of elements creating a visually compelling image, and simplicity, where the image is stripped down to the minimal components that really matter. Elegance and simplicity create the exquisite sense of design in his work.

With both qualities he defines his style no matter the genre he explores, architecture, portraits, still life or travel photography.

© Andreas Köerner

One of his personal projects, MORNING SUN. SHANGHAI.BEIJING, was published by 25books, and now can be downloaded in pdf format (~4.5 MB) from his website so you can take a look to this excellent book in the computer.

© Andreas Köerner (pdf download)

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This is a review of perhaps the most beautiful book of the Grand Canyon I have seen: IMAGES, Jack Dykinga's Grand Canyon.

Landscape photography is not my favorite genre, or so I think, until I find books like this. Perhaps after all, it is just about extraordinary photography, no matter what the subject. Perhaps after all, it is about felling the work, about understanding the message. When the perfect mix of text and images are blended in a book, it becomes a unique piece of art.

This book is a portfolio of images but it is more than that. It is a great reference for anyone thinking to photograph the Grand Canyon, or to get a better understanding of why this place is so majestic. You can see some pages of the book here. The book is published by the excellent team at Arizona Highways.

"I'm alone. But that is the point of seeking isolated places on the Rim of the Canyon, to find that aloneness and when you do, then you realize you are never alone, because these ribbons of time, those captured in the strata and those embedded in your own life, these soft ribbons of life wrap around you and suddenly you have no schedule, you are not on the way to somewhere, you are where you began and where all the places in between are found. [...] The view can be huge [...] or the view can be little [...] when you glance downstream and suddenly realize the earth is opening itself up to human eyes for close to 300 miles. But the view is always the same as you finally look into yourself and find you can live with what you see." - excerpt from Reflections, by Charles Bowden, in the book "IMAGES", Jack Dykinga's Grand Canyon

Landscape photography is mostly about capturing space but also about conveying an emotional experience of the place. This is not a simple task, but when a picture can convey the feel of the moment, the immediacy of our primal relationship with the location, it is quite extraordinary.

Picturing the landscape benefits enormously from three technical aspects: perfect lighting, perfect composition and the right equipment, the view camera. And all of these components need to blend into a emotional magnet that captures the viewer. Like always in photography, it is about eliciting a the response from the viewer. All these qualities define the extraordinary work of Jack Dykinga, a photographer located in Arizona whose photography has become a storytelling of this magnificent state in the USA. His books are more than a collection of images, they are a reflection of a passionate relationship with and commitment to the environment.

I have driven 1500 miles just to re-photograph a certain subject. I've waited weeks for the right light conditions, and I have hiked 40 miles, lugging a ton of camera equipment, only to later discover the best composition right next to my truck. But I wouldn't have known that without hiking the area to establish a contextThe view camera's ability to control the perspective and plane of focus makes it the perfect choice for landscape photography [...] but there are two other aspects for using large format. One is the "zen" of the focusing cloth over my head, isolating me from outside distractions. The second reason is that in this world of faster and better everything, the cumbersome, tripod-mounted, venerable view camera is an asset. It demands a slower, contemplative approach. This format teaches planning, patience, perseverance and the ability to pre-visualize. Large format allows full involvement with light and its influence on form and color. - Jack Dykinga [from Rangefinder magazine].

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© Christopher LaMarca

A good idea for a photojournalism project should have relevance, should have immediacy, should cause controversy, should touch a topic outside of the mainstream media and should affect the emotions of the viewer. Pair that with beautiful photography, images that drive the narrative with beautiful aesthetics, and the result is work with significance and impact.

I am describing "Forest Defenders" by Christopher LaMarca, a great project that exemplifies all these qualities and has served to launch further Christopher's career, with numerous awards and publications. In this project, Christopher LaMarca has been photographing environmental activists who protest logging in the once protected areas of pristine national forests.

These days I am particularly sensitive to logging and the destruction of trees. Few weeks ago I went to "my" canyon for a run in the afternoon to find it fenced, access totally restricted, the trees destroyed and cut in pieces, and all the signs of new multi-million dollar houses coming in. It happened in few days, just few days to destroy it. Anger is not enough to describe what I felt. A sense of loss that I will not forget.

Remember the "qualities" when you search for ideas of your next project: relevance, immediacy, controversy, unconventional, emotional. This will be a good start for the project.

I have been photographing these activists and loggers since the summer of 2003. My connection to this project revolves around the passion and endless work that consumes these people who live in the back-country for months at a time; and who are willing to sacrifice their comforts' to stand up for their beliefs. Although these activists are often seen as radicals or eco-terrorists, little has been documented about their activities outside of these stereotypes. These stunning landscapes will continue to be decimated due to political pressure and lack of education, these are some of last truly wild places left in America.- Christopher LaMarca

© Christopher LaMarca

This project garnered him numerous awards, including PDN's 30 New and Emerging Photographers To Watch and NPPA's Best of Photojournalism. His Forest Defenders project was featured in the 2006-2007 ICP triennial, Ecotopia, along with being published in Aperture and Art Review.

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from Blurb.com

The world of on demand photo-book publishing keeps evolving, with one of the main players here in the USA, Blurb, moving into the right direction. In the coming future they will be launching a new service [they call it B3] tailored to photographers that do care about color managed printing. At this stage the B3 program is still closed to a restricted number of photographers, but it is expected to lunch as a paid service this year. It will be interesting to see how it comes along. They are even considering to use printers with GRACoL certification.Lack of color managed printing has been, in my opinion, the key limitation of the current publishing system followed by Blurb. No color management has meant unreliable printing, with some images coming out very well and others resulting in unacceptable color shifts. When part of a photo book, even few poorly printed images have a very negative impact in the feel of the photo-book, thus my reluctance to use the service as much as I would like to.

Talking about Blurb, they are launching a photo-book competition, "Photography Book Now" where anyone can create and submit a book using their service and win a number of important prices, with the Grand Price being $25,000. The deadline for applications is July 14th 2008, and the rules and submission guidelines are here. It is a good opportunity to get visibility for your work and perhaps even hit a major score with a price.

If you care about copyrights [and you should] for the images that are submitted, it looks to me that the conditions for submission are a reasonable compromise. Copyrights belong to the contestant and the images can be used only by Blurb for advertisement and promotional purposes.

Copyright and all other rights remain those of Contestant and/or any third parties from whom Contestant has obtained permission to use the third party's material(s). Any book or image of the book used by Sponsor shall carry the photographer's credit line. Use may include publication in any Blurb publication or web site. All Contestants understand and agree that any Submission may be used by Sponsor for marketing and promotional purposes including in any media such as exhibitions, print and digital media. All winning Contestants understand that their name, likeness and winning Submission will be used for marketing and promotional purposes including in any media such as publicity, exhibitions, print and digital media. [from the rules of submission]

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© Darin Mickey

Darin Mickey has a photographic style that is intriguing. His work focuses on photo realistic images, with subjects being ordinary people and ordinary places, but they turn to look unusual. The people in his photographs look lifeless, although they are indeed well alive. The people and the street scenes in his images appear artificially frozen, immobile, isolated. I am not sure on the visual clues that convey that feeling. Perhaps it is the lighting, the isolation of the elements in the composition, perhaps the fact that the people never look at the camera. What ever it is, I like it a lot.

A couple of series worth to mention are "on land" and the great "Stuff I Gotta Remember Not To Forget". This last was a photographic recording of Darin's father at work and at home. It is a unique visual story that shows with incredible candor the everyday life of his father while working as a salesman. It is a remarkable work; even when the images look sort of lifeless, they convey humor and tenderness. The work was published as a book by J&L Books.

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I purchased a camera and together we dedicated ourselves to the clandestine task of taking photographs in the parks, together with a Mexican who had a small laboratory where we developed our photographs. We got to know the whole Mexico City, walking from one end to the other to deliver our dreadful photographs, fighting with every kind of client to convince them that in truth the little child in the photograph was very beautiful and that it was worth paying one Mexican peso for this wonder. - Che Guevara

I got this one from a very interesting book, with more than 250 of photographs [many never published before] and more than 100 quotations from Che Guevara's writings, personal correspondence, and speeches.

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© Wakaba Noda

I like photography of unremarkable subjects that become "remarkable images" because they make me think, they make me wonder, they make me search for the meaning of what I see. Wakaba Noda, a young photographer from Japan and residing in Sweden, has good examples of images that intrigue me. His recent work, Making a Map, has just been published by Farewellbooks.

"Trying to create a perfect place by assembling photographs of small wonders, Noda makes a map of a world not defined by geography, but by the possibilities that photography offers." - Farewellbooks

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There is no better way to promote tourism than to use great photography to convey the beauty of the location, the experience of the place, and the charm of the people living in the region. Strangely, it is very uncommon that organizations in charge of promoting tourism will ever use photography effectively. It seems that photography is not an area of expertise in tourism boards.

Sometimes, there are exceptions to the rule. Few months ago, the government of Thailand launched an initiative to promote their country with the contract of 55 top travel photographers around the world to photographs their land a people, the result of which was published in a fabulous book "Thailand: 9 days in the Kingdom" [images]. I found this initiative extraordinary in many ways, because of the novelty, the hiring of so many great photographers, and also because the understanding of the power of photography to illustrate their culture and their land.

Today I like to refer to another example. The Arizona State of Transportation (Estate of Arizona, U.S.A.), and its publication Arizona Highways, is a great model for efficient use of photography to promote the beauty of this state. At their website you will find portfolios of images, photo tips, fine art prints, photographic tours and photoworkshops. They do understand that by using great photography they can convey the magnificence of the Arizona and they can inspire travelers to visit their state. Just recently they have expanded this effort with the publication of a book, Photography Guide to Arizona, that serves to both educate about the use photographic techniques when traveling but it is also a guide to find the best locations to make great pictures.

"This book is about insights and photographic experiences shared by a group of remarkable individuals, Arizona Highways magazine's contributing photographers. For more than 80 years we at the magazine have worked with amazing talent, the likes of Ansel Adams, Esther Henderson, Josef and David Muench and jack Dykinga. Within these pages we share with you lifetimes of hard work translated into knowledge, all presented in a user friendly manner. We covert photographing the magnificent landscapes of Arizona, complemented by shooting the state's wildlife, architecture, people, and cultures. We delve into motivation, personal philosophies, and, what inspires some of the best working professionals in the photographic community today."- Except from the book, by Jeff Kida, Arizona Highways Photography Editor.

In this book you will find extraordinary travel and nature photography - the book is extensively illustrated, there is not a single page without a photograph-. This is the travel photoguide with the best photography I have ever seen in a book like this.

The first part of the book is dedicated to the use of composition, light, and a range of photographic techniques. Although this is a section that may appear "irrelevant" to people with extensive photographic experience, I found myself enjoying the writings quite a bit. The chapters are very well written, they relate to the places and subjects of interest and they are full of personal insights and anecdotes from the photographers and writers. The second part of the book is dedicated to describe how best to explore photographic opportunities in a number of beautiful places in Arizona: Grand Canyon, Colorado Plateau, Navajo Land, Red Rock Country, Mountain Country, Sonoran Desert, and Sky Islands. If you have never been in Arizona [I have been there multiple times] you will be amazed by the beauty of these places.

If you ever plan to travel to Arizona or you live in Arizona, make yourself the gift of this wonderful -and inexpensive- book. Here after the jump you will find the press release for the book.

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