Documentary-Collection Books

Author Elinor Carucci, herself an immigrant, has been a Middle Eastern dancer for years, and her photographic tribute DIARY OF A DANCER comes from a period of three years in which she performed primarily around New York City, dancing for all ethnic communities and in places ranging from fancy restaurants to sleazy bars. An oblong presentation captures her dances onstage and provides an excellent selection of behind-the-scenes shots as well, portraying the people

Elliott Erwitt has a wonderful outlook on life. In this book, he focuses on the human hand and shows a lot of love, humor and humanity in the process. The variety includes a man kissing a woman's hand in Poland, an argument between an elderly couple in St. Tropez, people praying in Moscow, beautiful sunbathers in Rio, children playing in New Rochelle and travelers in Budapest. Most of the subjects aren't famous which is a strength. The book shows everyday scenes that could have happened anywhere. The book also includes some famous people including: Jacques Cousteau, John Updike, Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev. This book is a joy and a smile. Erwitt has great vision and compassion. Many people would have walked right past these scenes without even seeing the potential to communicate by capturing touching and humorous images.

This book has several very interesting photos through the years...most, I've never even seen anywhere else; very, very little repetition to other books. Rare photos in the blue '70 jumpsuit with oriental trim, a rare photo in the white '69 karate gi, excellent photo in his '72 Conquistador suit, one of the best pics in the Burning Love red suit, Elvis in his funky western style mod cowboy garb (arriving in Houston for shows at the Dome in '70) etc. etc. Also has by far the best detailed photos I've ever seen of the orange target, bear claw, and aloha suits on display. Very neat room to room Gracelend pics. What a find. I absolutely love this book, among the best values around, too. Long live the King.

Great look at today's youth potenial. Mr.Shames did a great job with the views and the shots really catch how our kids see things.

David Spalding's informed and informative text is superbly embellished with the full color photography of Kevin Oke in "Enchanted Isles: The South Gulf Islands". Offering a true insider's perspective of the lovely southern British Columbia gulf islands found just off the coast between Victoria and Nanaimo, "Enchanted Isles" showcases their local wildlife, the incredible scenic beauty, and engaging history. Ideal for the armchair traveler and very highly recommended reading for the on-site tourist, "Enchanted Isles" truly and fully lives up to its title!

This book offers amazing photographs of Westerners in China during the early 18th century. It is worth collecting.

Liz Jobey's brief but illuminating introduction brings cohesion to thie fab book of photos of EMI pop and rock musicians of the late 1950's and the 1960's. It's EMI, and only EMI, but considering the artists who once signed with this British label, including the Beatles, Little Richard, David Bowie, Jeff Beck Group, Rod Stewart, Pretty Things, Pink Floyd, Steppenwolf, (Sir) Cliff Richards, Three Dog Night, Chubbie Checkers, Spencer Davis Group, the Yardbirds--EMI's talent pool was as rich as any label. The most only obvious omissions among the Brits (i.e., EMI never signed them) would probably be the Stones, the Who, and the Kinks.

Speaking of whom, the book is remarkable not only for the famous, but for those the Kinks called "those you never even heard of." The Cheetahs (dressed, of course, in full cheesy Cheetah costumes, the N' Betweeners, the Shadows; in fact, a whole panopoly of posers and poseurs. Their publicity shots were often taken by EMI suits at around the EMI building--most famously, the roof. As Jobey points out, and as the title suggests, photos during the early 60's showed young men in band uniforms (no one was to stand out), posing good-naturedly in stock locations and themes. The roof, of course, but also in front of the curtain where EMI groups performed for a select few entering the studio, near a Mercedes, and the obligatory shot of the band leaping into the air after signing their EMI contract.

Even the Supremes, Jobey comments, posed with hats and umbrellas, in something of a tribute to the British music hall tradition. The musicians had an abundanceof patience and a dearth of attitude, and Jobey recalls this time fondly as an age when the photographer as image maker wasn't as independent, and the musicians weren't as confident of long-lasting fame. OF course, image was always important, even in the ridiculous scenarios set up by the technically excellent but conceptually bogged-down EMI staff photographers (reminds me of the early days of MTV--and some comtemporary videos as well, where every lyric is linked to a corresponding literal referent).

The photographs are enjoyable as kitsch, as a window into period fashion and sensibilities, and, occasionally, as great photography. Probably a combination of the photographer and David Bowie's understanding of the image, his late 1960's pictures already show his angularity, and his singular relationship with the audience. The cover photo (repeated inside) shows Bowie looking distant and alienated; he looks directly into the camera, but with a blank expression, it's a startlingly prescient view of the Bowie to come. Shots of the Beatles, the "girl groups," groups that faded quickly, and what may be novelty acts are distributed in roughly chronological order throughout the book, and the last several pages feature small photos of album covers--another treat. THe book certainly needs an index, and, ideally, a discography, bibliography, and/or brief biosketches of the musicians, but EMI chose not to put out anything definitive or particularly research-friendly. YOu'll just have to GOOGLE (or A-1, ok, Amazon?) the beautifully dressed Julie Driscoll, or P. B. Proby, or the Cheetahs to find out more.

Apparently out-of-print, the book is available from several independent sellers using Amazon.com's tremendous customer base. Recommended for collectors of early rock "bibliobilia" (I'm getting one), and those who follow trend in photography and early pop/rock music. Despite the lack of text, it's an invaluable visual resource, and, really, just great fun.

The pictures of Cristina Garcia Rodero capture the corners of rural or folcloric Spain with such gripping elocuence it is almost painful.With a hint of surrealism and a sense for the right moment to capture her subjects, she reveals the hidden Spain in all its darkness and grace. The subject is impressive but it takes an artist to peel the surface and go further and that is what Cristina has done

The first photo features Monet, already gorgeous at 2, clutching a doll, enormous black eyes gazing innocently into Gottfried's camera. In the second photo, Monet, dressed in white lace, appears to be simply sleeping, in her coffin, the doll lying beside her. These stunning and unforgettable photographs were taken two days apart. They were the first of hundreds to be taken by the talented Arlene Gottfried of The Eternal Light Community Singers, a Harlem gospel choir led by the late Selwyn Rawls, loving lightning-bolt of a man, missionary, and musician. "The Eternal Light" chronicles the choir in all their ecstatic human-ness. Gottfried, who'd soon join the choir, captures -- as no other photographer could -- the faith, ecstasy, and throbbing intensity of life of this amazing family of people. It is only at the end of the book that I realized I had read it in silence, for so vivid are the faces, so alive the images, so filled with spirit its every moment that I could swear I heard their celestial song. My collections of books of photography and African American culture have been immeasurably enriched by this fine volume and first book by an artist whose work has graced Life Magazine, New York Times Magazine, Newsweek and Rolling Stone. I highly recommend it to lovers of superb photography or anyone who wants to share the rich and rollicking lives of an amazing group of human beings.

This extraordinary book should be of interest to Atget fans for several reasons that are not apparent from the description offered. The plates are hand tipped, and the reproductions are splendid, capturing the atmosphere of Atget's prints. The book is listed as hardcover, but the binding is a clamshell construction, so that the pages of the book are protected while the book is stored. Also, what is not obvious is that the book has been produced in a very limited edition of only 1000 numbered copies, and most likely will become unavailable soon.

Of the images in the book, I think that any Atget fan knows that trees were a favorite subject of his, and some of the images feel very familiar. But what this sequence of photographs reveals through multiple images of the same trees is something of the working methods of the photographer. At least some of the images are of places and trees that most photographers would pass by as not likely to produce an image of lasting interest, but Atget manages to produce photographs full of grace and mystery, and to transform the ordinary into something lush and satisfying. How he managed to accomplish this is, of course, unknowable, but it is precisely this magic that draws us to his work.