Documentary-Collection Books

This is one of my favorite photo books of all time - Chris Shaw shows us the underbelly of 1 and 2 star hotel lobbies, staircases, and hallways during the darkest hours of the day - when unfortunate souls lock themselves out of their rooms nude, guests pass out in the lobby couches, and everything else you could ever imagine happens late at night. All photos are accompanied with Chris' handwriting scrawled around the border of the images. If you like Martin Parr's work, you'll love Chris Shaw's work - they share the same spirit. 3 thumbs up!

Photographer Chris Shaw spent ten years working in London hotels, using his camera to document the hotel's patrons and oddities and keeping himself awake on the late shift. LIFE AS A NIGHT PORTER offers a shelving challenge to libraries; but as an exhibit piece or addition to a serious college-level photography library holding, it can't be beat. Pictures capture the chance meeting and the finer world of hotel life, with large-size, often murky, black and white photos of employees and residents alike capturing and documenting another night world. It's a rich world of the underworld and comes to life in Shaw's presentation.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

We received this and "Life with Mother" when we had our first child. Now, 11 years and 2 children later, both our girls still adore the photos in these books. These books make wonderful baby shower or Mother's/Father's day gifts.

With a fabulous introduction, this book begins with beautiful photographs of fathers and their children. It includes famous dads like John F. Kennedy and Mickey Mantle, but also includes everyday and ordinary fathers. There is no written text, but the photographs speak for themselves. Many of the photos show everyday moments. The photos in this book are poignant. This would make a great book for all dads everywhere.

In many ways, 1999 was a year like any other year. There were wars, triumphs, political blunders and promises, natural disasters that took thousands of lives, some famous people died, great sporting events, and some downright unusual events. Many of these major events are chronicled in this photographic history of the year. It captures the year like nothing else can. If you want to review this tumultuous year, read this book and marvel at this record of another year in the history of humanity and the planet it resides on.

As always, time life photographers continue to amaze me with the clarity of their vision. Their camera lens captures certain nuances that an amateur photographer would have trouble communicating.

If you like Diana Arbus and Gary Winogrand, you must get this to see where there roots are. Model was Arbus's teacher and you can see where she found the starting point for her street work.

If you are a fan of Lisette Model, then you know how hard it has been to locate reproductions of her images. Worse still, the most complete, easily available reproduction I've seen (and own) has been the wonderful little Phaidon 55 series book. For those who don't know the Phaidon 55 series, it's great, with great printing, but the books are little. When I saw this book at the SFMOMA bookstore, I couldn't believe it. It's huge. I would have bought it right then, but...it's huge! I bought it the moment I got home from Amazon.

This book is really a treat. It's truly wonderful to see the grain, the rich blacks, the gutsy mid-tones, and the soft focus of Model's images. These are film images and the characteristics of the film, the equipment, and the technology of the times are in_your_face, and it's great. There is quite a bit of duplication of images between this book and the Phaidon book, but again, if you're a fan of Model, then you probably know that she doesn't have a huge body of work, and finally seeing these photos this big is the biggest treat of all.

If you are unfamiliar with Model's work, then these street photography images may seem tame to you, especially when compared to her most famous student, Diane Arbus. But, you can find the origins of the brutal honesty of Arbus' work in Model, and it's evident here, in this book. Model's images are honest, but respectful. There's a kindness, a sense of empathy, in Model's images that is refreshing, rare, and sadly missing from most of the street photography that followed her.

If you ARE a street photographer, then this book is pure inspiration, and spending time with Model can only do the soul good. If you are just a lover of photography, then this book must be in your collection. It's a classic by an important photographer. Get it and enjoy it for what it is, great photography.

It's around 30 dollars, which is 2~3 times of an ordinary polar bear book.
However, what you get is like 4~5 times better and more inside stuffs. The pictures and words inside are much better than those smaller books.
If someone who does love polar bears and want to have a excellent book, this is it. Think in other way, we should sometimes buy this more costly but much better books to support the authors to have better products in the future! In fact 200 pages/30 dollars is more worthy than 50 pages/10 dollars and don't forget contents, indexes ... etc will always occupy ~10 pages for all books!

This gift to my wife, was one of the best ever bought. She loves bears so much her eyes filled with tears at the beauty and love in this book.
She has a dream of holding; even if just for a second a baby bear; this book brought her so close. The pictures left both of us speachless, and made us feel as though we were standing right next to the wonderful photographer.Beautiful,beautiful,huge,full,and beautiful!!!

I read donna feratto book, when iam working for campaign for violence against women. that book is not just pictures. It shows to us the unbalance structure of relationship between man and woman, and woman and state. She's really doing this book in the sense of what people in anthropology called "depth" It shows something that people and community wants to hide. Because it's domestic, instead the costs that have to pay by domestic violence

I first came across Ferrato's pictures in *Ms.* magazine. The pictures struck me with their realism and honesty. How, I wondered, did this woman get involved in this issue? As a survivor of domestic violence myself, I felt that she had helped to give a voice to all women, whether currently in abusive relationships, or already free and in the process of healing. It ended up that, through friends of friends (you know how that goes... small world)... I met Donna. I didn't even realize she was the author of this book until one day, while sitting in Donna's apartment, she showed me a few of her photos. I immediately recognized them. "Donna.. I had no idea... I have those exact pictures on my bulletin board!" I told her about how I felt when I first saw the photos in *Ms.* magazine. Then I had the opportunity to hear the story of how Donna explored the world of domestic violence, actually living with and photographing couples, as well as living in shelters and jails along with women who were surviving abuse. Donna's life was so changed that she began the Domestic Abuse Awareness Project (DAAP) in New York, devoting her career to educating people about this issue. I keep the book on my coffee table, rather than in my bookshelves, so that it might start conversations in my home with friends. You never know when someone might need the information that the book gives. I highly, highly reccommend this book. It can truly change lives. It's one loud shout to the world that domestic violence can not remain hidden behind closed doors. Best of luck to you!-A Survivor in Arizona

What can one say in words to add to the image on the cover? That all is brief and so is whatever gets reflected by the wisdom's tears for even that will go--dry, that is. What a chance, what a moment!

Yes, there are other great photos in this book, but none as expressive. Nonetheless, get a copy of this book before too late.

I should also add that Stettner's own writing prefaces this book.

One of the most important photography books published in the end of the twentieth century.

This book has won a Southern Books Competition Award of Honorable Mention for Book Design from the Southeastern Library Association. This award is given in recognition of the book's aesthetic appeal and design and for fine craftsmanship in its printing and binding. Congratulations to photographer Philip Gould, author Jason Berry, designer Laura Roubique Gleason, printer Dai Nippon Printing, and the Louisiana State University Press.

Phillip Gould has been an astute and quirky observer of Louisiana life for a couple of decades. Though a transplant he has established serious and widely respected local roots. He speaks Cajun/Creole French; he speaks to the heart. This finely honed selection of portaits echoes every strophe of Louisiana life. His visages map and mirror what Louisiana is and is about. They stand as a testament to a place and its cultures-- a singular place at that, fiercely individual cultures to boot; a world and its folkways that still tenaciously remain undiluted into the general American homogeneity. Gould's reportorial eye is keen and witty, his pictures are trenchant and lambent and are destined to imprint and remain.

This beautiful facsimile edition of "Love on the Left Bank" by Ed van der Elsken, (originally published in 1954) is a photographic narrative of the artists, writers and other creative characters that gave the Left Bank, Paris, its distinctive bohemian flavor. Through Ed van der Elsken's evocative black and white photography we participate in the cafe and street culture of the famous "Latin Quarter."

Ed van der Elsken's photographs have been exhibited in Paris, the Netherlands, London and New York. In "Love on the Left Bank" its impossible not to notice his adoration of Ann, "the girl with orange hair who danced like a negress." She appears throughout the book., with her entourage of men. The camera follows her intimately, like a jealous lover, into the bedroom she shares with a girlfriend, to the bars and cafes where she dances passionately, and glancing over the shoulders of her friends and the many men who swarm around her.

Van der Elsken gives us this rare opportunity to see the young Vali Myers, (formerly Ann Rappold) who is now recognized world wide for her amazing and magically intricate paintings, first begun whilst she was living hand to mouth in Paris in the 1950's. Some of Vali Myer's earlier drawings are also included in this unique book, which is yet another reason why it is a must for collectors of art and photography.

"It was the autumn of 1956. That night I had made love to Ann for the first time." Thus the narrative begins in this facsimile edition of the great 1954 fictional story of Geri, Ann, and Manuel on the Left Bank of Paris.

Think of this story as the illustrated version of Kerouac's "On the Road" for the bohemians from abroad living in Paris at the same time.

Anyone who has visited Paris has seen the young people living in cars, sleeping on the Metro and on park benches, and panhandling while enjoying the dubious pleasures of illegal drugs and the inspiration of great jazz. Well, it was like that in the early fifties, too, as this book so brilliantly displays.

Before going further, let me caution potential readers that the book openly discusses sexual topics (including sexual transmitted diseases), drug use, theft, and other crimes. No one will find this book as an exemplar of "right" living. In addition, some of the photographs are sexually suggestive or involve partial nudity. I have rated this as a five star book for its photographic essay and accompanying text. I would have rated it very low for the lack of morals that it projects if that were the basis of my rating.

Like "On the Road," this fictionalized account is based on real people. The central figure is Australian Ann, an artist who lived with Geri. Mexican Manuel met Ann through Geri, even though Geri eventually fell in love with him. The author followed these young people through Paris for months to capture the brilliant moments of their lives, and added a spare commentary to tie it together.

Ann had orange hair and black around her eyes. "She danced like a negress" in the jazz club where Manuel first saw her. When Manuel told her that she said, "Thank you. I'd like to have a child by a negro. They are so elegant. Gentle and restful, too." Manuel reports, "I fell in love with her."

Over the course of the book, Ann takes many lovers and her relationship comes and goes with Manuel. So he is always on the outside looking in. This is literal as well as figurative, because he was often living on the streets while she had a place with Geri.

The photographs are the heart of the story. And they tell a dynamic story indeed of a vibrant and fascinating young woman who easily drew others to her. You will see the power of her personality and attractiveness in almost every image. Men stand straighter and move in languid circles to match her every twist. You can feel the pounding jazz and the self-confidence that take turns in animating her.

Her power over Manuel is intense. She eventually starts going with an American sailor. When the two of them go for a meal, Manuel is jealous and eats in the same restaurant in order to watch them. Unable to pay, he is arrested and spends two months in jail. He is sure that this has impressed her. The photographs capture the American and the jail where Manuel is sent in equally powerful images.

Ann's artistic work is nicely captured in a series of images that feature her work in progress as well as finished canvases.

Each of the photographs is very dark, often with graininess that suggests seedy surroundings -- which these were. The compositions are both complex and spontaneous. It must have taken remarkable patience to capture both simultaneously.

Part of the book's appeal is that it will make you feel quite young, and remember how intensely you felt at that age. The book is remarkably effective in that way.

After you finish enjoying the book and its noir environment, I suggest that you think about how the energy and intensity of youth can be directed into more constructive pursuits. What challenges can be made to be as much fun as partying nonstop in Paris cellars while great jazz pounds? Obviously, whatever you come up with should be sure to include its own fair share of partying, to celebrate important progress. I wonder if working for Habitat for Humanity abroad or doing missionary work could hold or be made to hold this kind of appeal. What do you think?

Live vividly with every cell of your existence . . . in pursuit of a worthy cause!

I bought this book as a birthday present for my sister. But I think I'm going to get another copy for my own collection.
This is contemporary photography, shots of an open door or an empty kitchen... But as the photographer says in the title, he manages to capture the beauty of place, mundane but beautiful. I am impressed. He is an ingenious photographer.

"It's Beautiful Here, Isn't It..." is not just a book title; it's a statement that perfectly sums up this newest collection of photography from Luigi Ghirri. Filled with countless color photos, as well as essays covering Ghirri's reflections on the time he took the photos and the atmosphere surrounding the events, "It's Beautiful Here, Isn't It..." adds a personal touch to the gorgeous shots on film. "It's Beautiful Here, Isn't It..." is an ideal coffee table book and a top pick for community library photography collections.