Documentary-Collection

I ordered this book from Chapters-and was thrilled when it came-but when I looked through it I didnt think it was that great!

All this book is about is what the people did there-and what they wore to the club!

So I gave this book to my sister who liked it more then I did-like I said-this book is a letdown!

And the pictures arnt that great either!

Fantastic photos from an age that will never be again. Takes people back to that reckless age and climate.

When I received this book I was completely disappointed. The images were of poor quality and lacked artistic ability. I really thought it would have been a good book to look at. Out of all the images in the book only 2 were decent. The rest were amateur at best. I think the publisher needs to ask him/her self why.

I might of well just thrown a $20 into the trash.

Robert Adams' 'Summer Nights' has for me, been a seminal work in my development as an artist. The images in this book are evocative and powerful, yet plain and quiet. The book format and the sequencing of the images lend well to Mr Adams' style and subject matter. The quiet poetry of his night and evening journeys are a great begining and understanding into Mr Adams' work and ideas.

This is one book that should have been republished many years ago!

We were disappointed in the pictures because many of them are out of date. We travel to Lake Tahoe often, and know the area well. The 'current' picture of Stateline, for example, did not even have Harvey's casino on it. We recently purchased 'Above Chicago' and loved it. The old pictures were great, and the 'current' views of those old pictures were up to date. We expected the Above Tahoe to be similar. It wasn't.

Bravo Aperture for another fascinating although uneven issue. Towell and Richards are the best.

Ron Agam, Yaakov's son, is an accomplished photographer, as is evident in this book. The photographs included depict the activities of the haredim in Jerusalem, at the Kotel and elsewhere. The pictures are good, all in black and white, and manage to catch the various emotions of the ultra-Orthodox as they go about their daily lives, mostly in prayer.

The problem with the book is that it doesn't live up to its title. Only half the pictures are taken at the Kotel. The others are in the Meah Shearim, and other haredi institutions. Once he's away from the Wall, there is no coherent point of view, either of the subject matter, or what the pictures are meant to convey.

As a coherent photo essay, the book is lacking in (forgive me) focus. As a collection of good pictures, it works.

This book Shows most of the well know landmarks in Chicago and many more obscure but beautiful Statues,Buildings,etc. It is More Picture than text making it an Ideal gift for foreign visitors to remember their vist to our beautiful City.

The whole of the 'biographical' section of this book seems to be taken from Karoline Leach's insane and scurrilous book 'In the Shadow of the Dreamchild', from which it borrows the whole crazy concept of the so called 'Carroll myth'.

But this is still a very fine book and the best analysis of Carroll's art that has been produced to date - a world better than the anxious misinformed and apologetic stance taken by the nervous Roger Taylor.

AN EYE FOR THE COAST: THE MARITIME AND MONHEGAN ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHS OF ERIC HUDSON is a work (and a labor of love by its editors)which will be primarily of interest to specialists, including those interested in small ship design and in the history of maritime New England at the turn of the century. The books consists of roughly 100 glass-plate photographs of boats, fisherfolk and shoreline scenes taken along the Massachusetts Coast and on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine between l890 and l920. Clearly, Hudson intended to create a photographic record in his plates, and for the most part, that's what the viewer gets. While much of the subject matter is interesting and informative (the extended, businesslike captions are well done), only a few of the pictures have a significant artistic quotient. Unfortunately, the quality of the reproductions in this book is not very good, and many of the images are grey, washed out or lacking in contrast. This may be attributable in part to the poor condition of the original plates and also to the failure of the publisher to use a coated stock. For an example of a similar work with much better photographs and superb reproductions, see A PACIFIC LEGACY: A CENTURY OF MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHY 1850-1950 published in l991. Although they are represented in a number of museum collections, I am not familiar with Hudson's paintings. However, one example reproduced in color on the back cover of AN EYE FOR THE COAST suggests that he may have been a far better painter than he was a photographer. For another review of this book with a different perspective, see page 58 of the January, l999 issue of ANTIQUES Magazine.

This cloth bound book displays some of Beken's best work, the only reason I give it three stars is that it is just too small. The beautiful sepia colours of his art and majestic sailing ships of the bygone era are not done justice by the tiny reproductions in this work, considering its' cost.

At 8" x 5" it is almost too small to be a coffee table book.

Anyway, the book displays the famous yachts of the era from the 1880's to pre-WWII with small dialogs before each chapter to explain the stage and history of sailing at Cowes in each era, from the turn of the century (1800-1900), pre-WWI, Post WWI, pre WWII. It gives little history of the photographer, and his methods.

If you own any Bekken prints, it will hold a little interest to you, but you will be disappointed in a album that could have been done so much better.

Doubilet's latest book, 'Great Barrier Reef' (GBR) is disappointing when compared to his 'Water Light Time' masterpiece. But then, I consider 'Water Light Time' to be the BEST photography book...period.

I might have had unfair expectations.

In GBR, one sees the same picture composition over and over again (coral in foreground, diver above). The same colour combinations (yellow-coloured coral - yet again!). To me, the shots lack Doubilet's creativity...there is nothing NEW in the pictures. No new angles. No new techniques used. Compare Doubilet's earlier work with the previously mentioned 'Water Light Time' book and you will see how he continued to set new standards book after book. Maybe this time, the reef did not allow for any better pictures...who knows?

The photographs look as if they could have been taken by any one of a hundred lesser skilled underwater photographers. To think that I did not hesitate to buy GBR, believing that it would at least meet the high standards Doubilet had set for himself...