Articles

‘Farewell Photography’ is a significant photobook by Daido Moriyama that established his reputation beyond his Provoke work. The reviewed edition is the 2020 Akio Nagasawa canvas-bound reprint of the 2012 version, featuring one image per page. This edition uses 78 images selected from lost negatives of the original series and emphasizes the beauty of photographic 'mistakes' such as light leaks and blurs. While not as revolutionary today as at its release, it remains a powerful statement rejecting strict photographic rules and celebrating imperfection. The book is recommended as a secondary Moriyama work, with a moderate rating of four stars. Read Article

Daido Moriyama, a prominent figure from Japan’s Provoke era of photography, is known for his spontaneous, grainy images that express social and political upheaval. Farewell Photography, first published in 1972, explores Moriyama's vision of photographic reality, blending personal and street images alongside photographs of photographs. The work challenges traditional photography by focusing on fragments of reality and rejecting polished imagery, reflecting Moriyama’s critical stance against detached, complacent photography styles. The 2019 edition includes a translated conversation with Takuma Nakahira and expanded notes on each photograph. Read Article

Robert Adams' 1974 photographic essay The New West captured the emerging suburban developments around Colorado Springs, documenting tract houses set against vast natural landscapes. While Adams initially saw these homes as symbols of anonymity and environmental threat, decades later, many of these houses remain, surrounded by mature trees and integrated into expanding cityscapes with playgrounds and malls. Adams believed the enduring beauty of the land transcended human intervention. The 40th anniversary edition of The New West highlights how landscape photography has evolved, emphasizing the ongoing environmental impact on the American West and beyond. Read Article

The New West, originally published in 1974 and reissued by Steidl in 2015, is a seminal photographic work by Robert Adams. It includes black and white images documenting urban and rural landscapes of Colorado during the early 1970s, reflecting mankind’s impact on the environment. The book is divided into five sections: Prairie, Tracts and Mobile Homes, The City, Foothills, and Mountains. Notably, it captures an anti-Modernist view that offers a "normal" perspective on landscape photography. The Steidl edition features high-quality printing and binding, making it a recommended read for those interested in contemporary landscape photography history. Read Article

Robert Adams is renowned for his black-and-white photographs documenting the American West over the past four decades. His work reveals the impact of human activity on wilderness and open spaces, often capturing desolate or sparsely populated scenes marked by human traces such as garbage, deforestation, and suburban sprawl. Despite the visible scars of development, Adams finds inherent beauty in the landscapes through his camera's lens. His series Turning Back (1999-2003) highlights deforestation in the West, which Adams views as a spiritual exhaustion beyond mere resource depletion. Adams explores the balance between environmental degradation and aesthetic recognition in his work. Read Article

Michael Kenna’s black-and-white photographs of the Huangshan Mountains in eastern China capture the dramatic interplay of light and cloud over this legendary landscape. Named after the Yellow Emperor, the range is famous for its mountains rising through seas of clouds. Kenna’s forty-six-image series, made over three years, highlights contrasts between luminous light beams and shadowed crevices, offering a meditative perspective on nature’s autonomy and grandeur. His work reveals intimate, less obvious views of this remote environment, evoking a sense of the heavenly and timeless. Read Article

Sebastião Salgado’s new book, Amazônia, showcases a 20-year photographic journey through the South American rainforest. Using his signature black and white style, Salgado captures stunning images of the Amazon’s landscapes and indigenous tribes, some of which have remained largely isolated. The book combines documentary photography with formal portraits and aerial views, supported by detailed text about the tribes' cultures and challenges. Salgado worked closely with the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) to ensure respectful access and protection for the communities depicted. The publication aims to highlight the importance of conservation and the preservation of these indigenous peoples and their environment. Read Article

The Scent of a Dream is a 2015 photo book by Sebastiao Salgado, showcasing stunning black and white images centered around the theme of coffee. It follows the entire coffee production process from cultivation to shipment, featuring workers engaged in various stages. Salgado’s expert use of natural light and composition highlights the humanity and depth in each scene. The book’s concept, design, and editing were managed by his wife, Lelia Wanick Salgado, emphasizing a collaborative artistic effort. This work provides not only a visual narrative of coffee but also insight into global labor conditions. Read Article

‘The Scent of a Dream: Travels in the World of Coffee’ by Sebastião Salgado is a photographic book commissioned by Illycaffè, documenting the coffee production process from planting to early distribution across Africa, South America, India, Indonesia, and China. The book features consistent style and message, a matte linen cover, and high-quality printing, showing an improvement over Salgado's earlier work ‘Genesis’. The images present a lighter, more positive mood, reflecting the care in curation and the hopeful theme tied to coffee's cultural significance. Read Article

In 1986, Sebastião Salgado photographed the Serra Pelada gold mine in Brazil, capturing powerful black-and-white images of 50,000 manual laborers working amid harsh conditions. Unlike previous photographers who used color and brief visits, Salgado spent weeks living alongside the miners, producing an epic photo essay that highlighted the dignity and hardships of manual labor. His work challenged the dominance of color photography in magazines and revived interest in monochrome for serious storytelling. The Serra Pelada project became a landmark story, widely published and praised for its scale, composition, and humanistic portrayal of labor. Read Article

This article highlights eight influential photobooks that document authentic street style from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Unlike today's staged street style photos around fashion shows, these books showcase candid, real-life fashion moments captured in cities like New York, London, and Tokyo. Featuring photographers such as Garry Winogrand, Amy Arbus, and Shoichi Aoki, the collection captures diverse subcultures, everyday looks, and evolving stylistic expressions from punk scenes to Japanese street fashion. These tomes provide valuable historical insight into how individuals expressed their identity through clothing beyond the high-fashion spotlight. Read Article

Sealskin by Jeff Dworsky is a photographic monograph documenting life in a small fishing community on a remote Maine island during the 1970s and 1980s. Using Kodachrome film, Dworsky captures intimate moments of his family and community, weaving his images into a narrative inspired by a Celtic folktale about a selkie—a seal creature that transforms into a human. The story parallels Dworsky’s own life, exploring themes of love, change, and the passage of time in a world that no longer exists. Read Article