Documentary-Collection

This book is the only pictorial book I've encountered that not only depicts life and land in the obscure region between Manchuria and Tibet, but covers it absolutely eloquently. For anyone who is interested in this forgotten territory, this books illuminates the region with gorgeous, striking images and informative text. It is well worth the price.

What a beautiful way to see America! This book has it all. From the fall colors of New England to the majestic mountains to the small towns in every state. Hiroji doesn't just focus on the scenery but includes the faces of America in his book. From a local town meeting to an air show to automobile workers. Whenever I show this book to my friends, they are so mesmorized by the photographs that I've had to loan it out a few times. And I love hearing their stories of places they've been when they see it in the book. They are most surprised when they see me in the book! I'm in photograph 16 teaching computers to kids at a computer camp. But don't let that influence your decision to purchase this book. It should be on every coffee table in every house or business!

Those four words fairly describe this excellent collection of photographs by Olaf Martens.

As a beginning photographer I was seeking out work by professionals that would inspire me, and I was profoundly inspired by "Frosty Fire". However, even non-photographers will find much to enjoy in this book. It is playful yet serious, in your face yet distanced, sexual yet intellectual.

Mr. Marten is an original and inspired photographer who uses beautiful women, strange props (gas masks, plastic sheeting, dogs), and exotic, bleak, or industrial settings for his explosively colorful work. His black and white photos and nude studies are also astounding. What I especially admire about Marten's work is that it draws on historical and political influences and hits the viewer between the brain and the crotch in an original and refreshing way. His photos are visceral but thoughtful, and I'm impressed by the imagination that went into composing these works. The female models he was fortunate enough to photograph are enticing and strong, goddesses without fear. The interactions between the models - and the models and the viewer - range from sensual and intimate tenderness to orgasmic displays outside the fetish paradigm.

It is obvious that Martens has influenced other European commercial artists with his work and I understand he has done much commercial work himself (it shows in this book). Whether one finds Olaf Marten's photographs erotic, funny, disturbing, confusing or ridiculous, his use of color, history, and the human form will capture the viewer's interest.

I picked up this little gem in the library and was instantly captivated by the beauty of Tice's photography. Adorned in black and white, Tice depicts wonderful images of America, with a few images of Yorkshire and Esonia as well. Time seems to stand still in the photos, and one can just gaze and ponder and get lost. Another aspect of his work, which really appeals to me, was that I wanted to reach out and touch almost all of the photos. The texture contained in most of the photos, is just incredible.

The majority of the photos were shot in his native state of New Jersey, and one can get a feel for the complexity of the images presented, from the bounty of nature to the scenes of industrialism. Tice seems to capture the essence of the people he photographs, as well as showing us the beauty in nature and all around us.

A wonderful collection of glimpses of different parts of America from 1953 to 1999. A little gem of a book!

This book is a culmination of Tice's work on landscapes in one of the most urbanized areas in the world, New Jersey, lying between two great metropolises of NYC and Philadelphia. He epitomizes the artist who is able to find meaning and emotional content in even the most mundane subject. Locations that many of us would pass each day (and I have passed a number of the sites photgraphed) without a further thought are subjects of insightful photographs that show us something about a subject we may not have considered without the artist's insight. It is a simple matter to record a beautiful scene; quite another to portray the essence of a subject in a photograph in a manner that conveys its intrinsic worth. Much of Tice's work is, of course, already held by some of the most important museums in the world, and are well known to those who follow fine art photography. See, for instance, Strand Theater (page 33), White Castle (page 35), Oak Tree (page 47), and, of course, Petit's Mobil Station (page 67 and book cover). But many of the photographs are not as well known, and may not be quite as accessible. They are, nonetheless, well worth the effort to understand and appreciate. They span photographs of blue collar hangouts that evoke an immediate feeling of familiarity (e.g. St. George's Diner - page 71; Main Street Rahway, page 36), to the cool beauty of the Newark Bay seen from the Pulaski Skyway (page 90). The diversity of the photographs is stunning, as is their reproduction in duotone. Highly recommended!

Bodie, a ghost town in the Sierras beyond Yosemite, is preserved by California park rangers in a state of arrested decay. It's a magical place, one of my favorites, but I have never seen it as this German photographer depicts it, bathed in the surreal light of car headlights. Here, you can feel the presence of the ghosts-in the schoolroom, the general store, and lodging house; most of all in the 1940s car with its gaping windshield, abandoned in the long grass. Wim Wenders, poet and filmmaker of lonely places, writes in the preface: "These buildings...suddenly have great dignity. They stand there gazing into the camera like very old people who have never before had their pictures taken, after a lifetime of work and sacrifices." (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

This book provides a concise history of the Golden State.

It's filled with fascinating and often little known facts, and is beautifully illustrated with photos by Kerry Drager.

If you're looking for a book to give you insight into where Calfironia's unique character came from, this is the one.

A very enjoyable read!

This is a beautiful book: pictures by the Catalan photographer Jordi Bernado from all over the world, presented in pairs on facing pages. Why each pair? Sometimes it's easy to tell--a common element--pyramids in each one, or ersatz Statues of Liberty; a common theme--tourists, hotels--and sometimes the connections are obscure, but always you have to supply them yourself; there is no text. The photographs are all beautiful, but not in a conventional touristy way; often they're of backroads, or vacant lots, or swimming pools, or parked cars.

The final effect is an intense feeling of lot in Lleida or in Vancouver? is this propped-up derelict building in Japan or in Berlin? (There's a small key at the back that gives the dates and places.) A beautiful meditation on the modern world.

This book has many things to commend it, from th fine paper stock to the marvelous images selected by Peter Simmons. Look at the pictures - really look at them and you will be brought back to a different era! I recommend it!

You will swear that some of these images are pencil drawings and others a part of a dream. William Abranowicz is a gifted photographer whose passion for pristine landscapes and still life reinvents this artform. As a collector of his work, I was thrilled to see his first book published. The world has enjoyed his images without knowing they were enjoying the world through his eyes. Through his lens, we see a world that invites all the senses to be aroused. I will cherish this book as a personal treasure from my friend.