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André Kertész:The Polaroids
A powerful collection of the luminous last work by one of the true giants of twentieth-century photography. After the death of his wife, André Kertész consoled himself by taking up a new camera, the Polaroid SX70. As with earlier equipment, he mastered the camera and produced a provocative body of work that both honored his wife and lifted him out of depression. Here Kertész dips into his reserves one last time, tapping new people, ideas, and tools to generate a whole new body of work through which he transforms from a broken man into a youthful artist. Taken in his apartment just north of New York City’s Washington Square, many of these photographs were shot either from his window or in the windowsill. We see a fertile mind at work, combining personal objects into striking still lifes set against cityscape backgrounds, reflected and transformed in glass surfaces. Almost entirely unpublished work, these photographs are a testament to the genius of the photographer’s eye as manifested in the simple Polaroid. -
Niagara
By way of follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut monograph "Sleeping by the Mississippi," Alec Soth turns his eye to another iconic body of water, Niagara Falls. And as with his photographs of the Mississippi, these images are less about natural wonder than human desire. "I went to Niagara for the same reason as the honeymooners and suicide jumpers," says Soth, "the relentless thunder of the Falls just calls for big passion." The subject may be hot, but the pictures are quiet, the rigorously composed and richly detailed products of a large-format 8x10 camera. Working over the course of two years on both the American and Canadian sides of the Falls, Soth edited the results of his labors down to a tight and surprising album. He depicts newlyweds and naked lovers, motel parking lots, pawnshop wedding rings and love letters from the subjects he photographed. We read about teenage crushes, workplace affairs, heartbreak and suicide. Oscar Wilde wrote, "The sight of the stupendous waterfall must be one of the earliest, if not the keenest, disappointments in American married life." Niagara brings viewers both the passion and the disappointment--a remarkable portrayal of modern love and its aftermath. -
Understanding Exposure
For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here’s the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs. The A-Z format make sit easy for readers to find a specific technique, and each one is explained in jargon-free language. Top Tips for each technique help readers achieve superb results, even on the first attempt. -
Seen Behind the Scene
Acclaimed photographer Mary Ellen Mark (b.1940) has secured exclusive backstage access to some of the most famous actors and directors in film history Captures life on the sets of legendary movies Apocalypse Now and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as well more recent productions such as the Oscar-winning films Moulin Rouge, Babel and Sweeney Todd Includes powerful portraits of such celebrated actors as Marlon Brando, Catherine Deneuve, Jack Nicholson, Cate Blanchett and Johnny Depp The photographer’s most popular and accessible work, these engaging, mostly unpublished, pictures provide a rare portrait of these larger-than-life personalities in unguarded moments Features texts by a range of high-profile film industry professionals, including Francis Ford Coppola, Helen Mirren and Alejandro Gonzälez Inarritu, which include witty and revealing anecdotes about life ‘behind the scenes' -
Hellen Van Meene: Portraits
For the past seven years, Hellen van Meene has been producing intimate portraits of adolescents. Though the introspective gaze of her models suggest that these are spontaneous, private moments in the lives of her subjects, the carefully considered natural light, lush textures, and striking compositions betray van Meene's hand in choreographing each image down to the finest detail. Throughout, the picturesque qualities are undercut by a disquieting tension: the models' clothes are ill-fitting or inside-out; one girl is asked to lie in a cold bath, fully clothed; another models a fresh bruise. This intimate collaboration between the photographer and her models simultaneously exposes the uncertain nature of adolescent identities and the complicated act of capturing them on film. -
The Negative
Ansel Adams (1902-1984) produced some of this century's truly memorable photographic images and helped nurture the art of photography through his creative innovations and peerless technical mastery. This handbook- the second volume in Adams' celebrated series of books on photographic techniques- has taught a generation of photographers how to use film and the film development process creatively. It remains as vital today as when it was first published. Anchored by a detailed discussion of Adams' Zone System and his seminal conept of visualisation, THE NEGATIVE covers artificial and natural light, film and exposure, and darkroom equipment and techniques. Numerous examples of Adams' work clarify the principles discussed. Beautifully illustrated with photographs by Adams as well as instructive line drawings, this classic manual can dramatically improve your photography.