American Photo Editors Archives | Popular Photography https://www.popphoto.com/authors/american-photo-editors/ Founded in 1937, Popular Photography is a magazine dedicated to all things photographic. Wed, 14 Apr 2021 10:29:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://www.popphoto.com/uploads/2021/12/15/cropped-POPPHOTOFAVICON.png?auto=webp&width=32&height=32 American Photo Editors Archives | Popular Photography https://www.popphoto.com/authors/american-photo-editors/ 32 32 Must See: Books and Shows For Fall 2014 https://www.popphoto.com/american-photo/must-see-books-and-shows-fall-2014/ Fri, 12 Apr 2019 17:08:00 +0000 https://www.popphoto.com/uncategorized/american-photo-must-see-books-and-shows-fall-2014/
Exhibitions photo

Portraits By Martin Schoeller teNeues $125 Shooting for magazines including The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, Martin Schoeller made a...

The post Must See: Books and Shows For Fall 2014 appeared first on Popular Photography.

]]>
Exhibitions photo
httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfilesAPHCFA14_BK_042_0.jpg
Martin Schoeller’s shot of April Bloomfield from his newest book, Portraits. © Martin Schoeller

Portraits

By Martin Schoeller

teNeues $125

Shooting for magazines including The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, Martin Schoeller made a name for himself with his tightly drawn face shots of famous subjects, so sharp and close-up that you can often see the pores in their skin and the sadness in their eyes. These were showcased in the 2005 book Close Up, which Schoeller followed with 2012’s Identical, examining the minute differences in the faces of identical twins. But all along, the photographer was creating atmospheric portraits with uncommon wit and verve, as seen in this 280-page retrospective. Here he takes a page from the stylebook of Annie Leibovitz, whom Schoeller assisted for years: Get celebs to do crazy things. From dog trainer Cesar Millan surrounded by feral pooches to chef April Bloomfield served on a platter, these pictures are deft, fun, and funny.

Olympus Invision Photo Festival


Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA, Nov. 7–9 bananafactory.org

httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfileswysiwyg_imageupload11APHCFA14_BK_035.jpg
© Kathy Ryan

The fifth annual Invision festival features three days of photography galore: exhibitions, workshops, parties, and presentations by renowned pros. Speakers include The New York Times Magazine’s photo editor Kathy Ryan, whose Instagram feed has more than 50,000 followers, and photographers including Andrea Modica (page 16) and Larry Price.

From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America


Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 
Madison, WI, through Jan. 4, 2015 mmoca.org

httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfileswysiwyg_imageupload11APHCFA14_BK_038.jpg
© Alec Soth

This retrospective shows the trajectory of Soth’s career from early black-and-white work through large-scale color portrayals of everyday America. The survey ranges from Soth’s noted projects Sleeping by the Mississippi and Niagara to recent work on display for the first time. Soth’s Lothlorien Series depicts life in a communal cooperative in Madison, while his Broken Manual project portrays people who have retreated from civilization—outlaws and monks, hermits and survivalists. Soth’s gift for empathetic portraits illuminates these alternative lifestyles.

Red Ball of a Sun Slipping Down


By Eugene Richards


Many Voices/DAP $50

httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfileswysiwyg_imageupload11APHCFA14_BK_034.jpg
© 2014 Eugene Richards

Richards first documented the Arkansas Delta beginning in 1969 while serving as a VISTA volunteer in a land racked by poverty and racial strife; he was also drawn to the area’s natural beauty and the dignity of its residents. Forty years after his last visit, Richards returned with his camera, capturing what had and hadn’t changed in the area and in the lives of an extended family that he’d befriended. This volume artfully blends older black-and-white and recent color images, woven together with an evocative short story written by Richards.

Michael Schmelling: Your Blues


Museum of Contemporary Photography, 
Chicago, IL, Oct. 16 – Dec. 22 mocp.org

httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfileswysiwyg_imageupload11APHCFA14_BK_036.jpg
© Michael Schmelling

Following his book project, Atlanta, (Chronicle Books, 2010) about that city’s hip-hop scene, Schmelling turns his lens on the diverse sonic culture of his native Chicago. His images document performers, fans, and ephemera in the city that has been a Midwest music hub ever since the arrival of jazz and blues from the South in the early 20th century. While taking stock of the fluid crossover between various musical genres, Schmelling’s work focuses most intently on underground indie bands, alternative venues, and house parties from the intimate viewpoint of an insider.

Sebastião Salgado: Genesis


International Center of 
Photography, New York, NY, through Jan. 11, 2015 icp.org


httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfileswysiwyg_imageupload11APHCFA14_BK_037.jpg
© Sebastião Salgado/Amazonas Images-Contact Press Images

This is Salgado’s epic tribute to Earth in its natural state—at least in those places where it can still be found. His reverence for nature inspired an eight-year journey to discover mountains, deserts, jungles, oceans, wildlife, and indigenous peoples in the most primordial regions of the world. The riveting collection of more than 200 black-and-white photographs—up to 36×48 inches big—fills two entire floors of ICP. Taschen’s lush 2013 monograph documents the project, but the best place to see this work is on the wall.

The post Must See: Books and Shows For Fall 2014 appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

]]>
Best Photobooks of the Year 2014 https://www.popphoto.com/american-photo/best-photobooks-year-2014/ Fri, 12 Apr 2019 16:53:10 +0000 https://www.popphoto.com/uncategorized/american-photo-best-photobooks-year-2014/
Best Photobooks of the Year 2014

Our annual selection of the year's best photography books

The post Best Photobooks of the Year 2014 appeared first on Popular Photography.

]]>
Best Photobooks of the Year 2014
Martin Schoeller
From PORTRAITS | teNeues | $155 © Martin Schoeller

What makes a photo book great? “It has to embody originality and, ultimately, be a thing of beauty, a work of art,” wrote rare-book dealer Andrew Roth in his seminal collection, The Book of 101 Books, more than a decade ago. We concur. The following 54 books meet that test. These volumes also reflect current trends in photography—the evolution of the snapshot aesthetic, the manipulation of images, the storyteller’s art, the ubiquity of social media—which have emerged in the bound book without diminishing it. The photograph and the printing press were made for each other.

CULTURE

© Martin Schoeller
FROM PORTRAITS | teNeues | $155 © Martin Schoeller

Portraits
by Martin Schoeller | teNeues | $125
Shooting for publications including The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, Schoeller made a name for himself with his tightly drawn face shots of famous subjects, so sharp and close-up that you can often see the pores in their skin and the sadness in their eyes. These were showcased in the 2005 book Close Up, which Schoeller followed up in 2012 with Identical, examining the minute differences in the faces of identical twins. Yet all along, the photographer was creating atmospheric portraits with uncommon wit and verve, as seen in this 280-page retrospective. While somber head shots are sprinkled in the mix, Schoeller more often takes a page from the stylebook of Annie Leibovitz (whom he assisted for years): Get celebs to do crazy things. From the head of chef April Bloomfield served up on a platter to actor Jason Segal scooting to town with his pet puppet (opening the gallery above), these pictures are deft, fun, and funny. —Jack Crager
More on Martin Schoeller’s portraits from American Photo.

Jesse Frohman
From KURT COBAIN: THE LAST SESSION | Thames & Hudson | $45 © Jesse Frohman

Kurt Cobain: The Last Session
by Jesse Frohman | Thames & Hudson | $45
Little did Frohman know, when hired to shoot Nirvana for the London Observer in 1993, that the leader of the band would self-destruct within months. These 100-plus images reflect Cobain’s complexity: defiance, charisma, playfulness, and sullen anger all bound up in a shaggy persona lurking behind those goofy oval sunglasses.

Everything: The Black and White Monograph
by Christopher Makos | Glitterati | $85
A denizen of Andy Warhol’s Factory in the 1970s and ’80s, Makos hobnobbed with Liz and Mick, Bowie and Basquiat; his glam photos from the period mix casual chic with élan. He also captures cool slices of mundanity (for jet-setters, that is). Lots of cute dogs and ponies, too.

More
by Rankin | teNeues | $125
Combining work from the glossies he cofounded—Dazed & Confused and Another Magazine—with celeb portraits from his Rankin Live! project, our trendspotter blends up famous faces, electric colors, irreverence, and British wit.
More on Rankins work from American Photo.

Fashion Photography Next
by Magdalene Keaney | Thames & Hudson | $45
This is a dazzling overview of where fashion imagery is headed: far beyond the bounds of normalcy and into the fecund imaginings of Laetitia Hotte, Eric Madigan Heck, Saga Sig, and more than 30 other visionaries.

Susanna Brown
FROM HORST | Rizzoli | $75 © Susanna Brown

Horst
by Susanna Brown | Rizzoli | $75
Horst’s brilliant oeuvre gets lavish treatment here, with sections on fashion, nature, nudes, and editorial shoots, plus entire chapters on muses Marlene Dietrich and Carmen Dell’Orefice. For statuesque glamour, nobody did it better.

Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk
by Chris Stein | Rizzoli | $55
As cofounder of Blondie and partner of Deborah Harry, Stein was the group’s shutterbug, documenting their rise from underground punk rockers to global new-wave stars. Here are candid views of Harry with unruly company—from Iggy Pop and Joey Ramone to Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde.

Art Kane
by Jonathan Kane | Reel Art Press | $95
Kane’s portraits of rockers from Dylan to Joplin have an artistic panache that links them with his bold fashion imagery: the look of an illustrator with a camera. This tribute showcases the visions of a restless spirit that sadly ended in suicide in 1995.

Regarding Women
by Elliott Erwitt | teNeues | $95
The unifying thread of this vast black-and-white collection is the female presence in each and every frame—along with Erwitt’s trusty humor and graceful eye. Otherwise it’s all over the map, blending eroticism, politics, still-life imagery, and social commentary into a wondrous mélange. —J.C.
Read our interview with Erwitt from May 2014.

Danny Clinch
From STILL MOVING | Abrams | $50 © Danny Clinch

Still Moving
by Danny Clinch | Abrams | $50
Clinch was there: in prison with Metallica, at the blackboard with Kanye West, in the studio with Eminem, on the road with Lucinda Williams, backstage with Ben Harper, near a couch with Beck and John Lee Hooker—you get the idea. There’s no mystery to why stars love him: He makes everyone look cool, and his access allows him to capture tender moments. Clinch is called “my patron saint of new rock dreams” in the book’s foreword, by a dreamer named Springsteen. —Matthew Ismael Ruiz

Deborah Feingold
FROM MUSIC| Damiani | $30_ © Deborah Feingold

Music
by Deborah Feingold | Damiani | $30
Feingold’s anthology brings together 40 years of her intimate, often improvisational portraits of music icons. Early images of James Brown and Prince blend with more recent color portraits of Keith Richards, Tina Turner, and Madonna. Feingold’s gift is capturing her famous subjects at total ease, presenting them as people above all else. —Jeanette D. Moses
Read our interview with Feingold from September 2014.

My Rules
by Glen E. Friedman | Rizzoli | $55
Friedman has been shooting counterculture scenes since he was a teenager in the mid-1970s, capturing the golden eras of skateboarding, punk rock, and hip-hop with an emphasis on raw energy and attitude. Here shots of skateboard legends such as Tony Alva and Tony Hawk sit alongside photos of early Black Flag and Bad Brains shows as well as portrait shoots with Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys. Friedman offers up an intimate history from the top of the pool and the edge of the stage. —J.D.M.
Read our interview with Friedman from September 2014.

FINE ART

Mathew Bandt
From LAKES AND RESERVOIRS | Damiani/Yossi Milo | $75 © Mathew Bandt—Courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery, New York

Lakes and Reservoirs
by Matthew Brandt | Damiani/Yossi Milo | $75
Though hardly a brand-new topic, the question ‘What is a photograph?’ regenerated sparks in 2014, underpinning a major ICP exhibition and catalog. At the center of this discussion is Matthew Brandt, who just brought out his own stunning monograph of experimental imagery. Brandt has taken Los Angeles–based conceptualism in the lineage of photo-driven artists like John Baldessari, Robert Heinecken, and James Welling back to the land for this series: He makes photographs of bodies of water throughout the western United States, then soaks the C-prints in liquid specimens collected from the sites depicted. The result is a psychedelic blend of lovely, surreal chromatic aberrations. —Lindsay Comstock
More on Matthew Brandt from American Photo.

Minor White
FROM MINOR WHITE: MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SPIRIT | Getty | $40 © Minor White

Minor White: Manifestations of the Spirit
text by Paul Martineau | Getty | $40
White left a rich legacy as a teacher, editor, poet, and critic, but it’s his mid-century photographs that transcend time. Here we get a full view of a complex artist who revered formal elements of light and shadow while subverting common thought about subject matter, extolling spirituality in art while grappling with his own sexual identity.

Robert Heinecken: Object Matter
edited by Eva Respini | The Museum of Modern Art | $50
This book salutes a self-described “paraphotographer” who experimented with found imagery—via such processes as gelatin-silver prints, collage, and photo-sculpture—and explored topics including mass media’s visual impact and the depiction of the female form.

Other Rooms
by Jo Ann Callis | Aperture | $65
A student of Heinecken at UCLA, Callis offers a female counterpoint to his work: She teases us with sexuality through provocative poses, skin altered by lipstick and binding, relics of fetishes, and another’s roving hands.

Erwin Olaf: Volume II
text by Francis Hodgson | Aperture | $65
In a follow-up to Olaf’s first monograph, he showcases his stunningly dramatic portraiture, lush visions of the nude form, and depictions of innocence tinged with suggestion.

Kathy Ryan
From OFFICE ROMANCE | Aperture | $30 © Kathy Ryan

Office Romance
by Kathy Ryan | Aperture | $30
This collection of iPhone photos—which Ryan snapped in and around her workplace at The New York Times and then posted to Instagram—examine the play of light and shadow inside and outside the office building. Other images artfully home in on the accoutrements of work: sticky notes, computer monitors, X-acto knives, and of course, people. Ryan writes that she’s not a photographer; we’re not buying it. —Meg Ryan
Read our profile on Kathy Ryan from July 2014.

Katy Grannan
From NINETY NINE AND THE NINE | Fraenkel Gallery | $65 © Katy Grannan

The Ninety Nine and The Nine
by Katy Grannan | Fraenkel Gallery | $65
Grannan’s portraits of the homeless and destitute show how capitalism, addiction, and illness leave many behind. Yet this collection also offers insight into the lives of people on the fringe of society (above) and the beauty lurking within weathered bodies.

Touching Strangers
by Richard Renaldi | Aperture | $45
Renaldi pairs disparate people—in terms of culture, religion, and dress—and implores them to embrace one another. We see how a forced interaction can break down boundaries created by stereotypes and subcultures.

Asylum of the Birds
by Roger Ballen | Thames & Hudson | $60
In Ballen’s bizarre world, birds, drawings, body parts, dolls, and natural ephemera all figure in the mix, which blurs the lines between good and evil and reality and dreams.
Read our interview with Ballen from March 2014.

Eden and After
by Nan Goldin | Phaidon | $100
Goldin brings her visual style of intimacy and candor to the worlds of children and child rearing—in all their innocence and complexity. She depicts pregnant women in the glow of expectancy, live-action scenes of childbirth, breast-feeding rituals, and the high jinks of unpredictable kids with unabashed frankness and joie de vivre. —L.C.

Mariah Robertson
From WHAT IS A PHOTOGRAPH? | International Center of Photography | $50 © Mariah Robertson

What is a Photograph?
by Carol Squiers et al | International Center of Photography | $50
This exhibition catalog surveys contemporary artists including Mariah Robertson (featured in the gallery above), Eileen Quinlan, James Welling, and Matthew Brandt, whose experimentation moves beyond mere aesthetics. These works expand and recontextualize our perception of what we call photography: contemplating the banality in everyday objects, commenting on the increasing ubiquity of the image, using alternative processes to transform the medium, and sometimes blurring the boundary between the image and other media to manipulate the picture plane.

DOCUMENTARY

Peter Van Agtmael
From DISCO NIGHT SEPT 11 | Red Hook Editions | $55 © Peter Van Agtmael

Disco Night Sept 11
by Peter Van Agtmael | Red Hook Editions | $55
This book’s ironic (and rather misleading) title derives from a roadside sign in the cover shot, alluding to the blithe disconnect of many Americans during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, Magnum photographer Van Agtmael documents the U.S. wars of the aughts in striking depth and detail. His text veers from diaristic entries to firsthand accounts by his subjects; it accents vivid imagery on the battlefront and in the barracks. He also covers key events in the U.S. homeland—such as the recovery of Texan Bobby Henline (featured in the gallery above), who survived an IED blast in Iraq and, at the urging of his therapist in the burn ward, briefly performed stand-up comedy back home. —J.C.

Peter Van Agtmael
From DISCO NIGHT SEPT 11 | Red Hook Editions | $55 © Peter Van Agtmael

The Sochi Project
by Rob Hornstra | Aperture | $80
Over five years, photographer Hornstra and writer Arnold van Bruggen traced the construction of the Olympic Village for the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia—a subtropical beach town—and the environmental havoc it wreaked.

U.S. Marshals
by Brian Finke | Powerhouse | $35
Spurred by a childhood friend’s new vocation, Finke brings his crisp visual style to the world of federal law-enforcement officers throughout the U.S., capturing them in both crime-busting action and quieter, revealing portraits.

Ethiopian Highlands
by Liza Manola | Assouline | $250
In intensely colorful imagery, Manola reveals glimpses of Ethiopian society and landscape scenes that have remained unchanged for millennia, what she calls “their harsh reality, their dignity, and the moving communion of their souls.”

Marc Ohrem-Leclef
From OLYMPIC FAVELA | Damiani | $50 © Marc Ohrem-Leclef

Olympic Favela
by Marc Ohrem-Leclef | Damiani | $50
To prep for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, officials in Brazil ordered the destruction of large swaths of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, which more than a million people call home. This book documents the displaced residents and their defiance, symbolized in emergency flames raised like anti-Olympic torches (featured in the gallery above).

Photographer’s Paradise: Turbulent America 1960–1990
by Jean-Pierre Laffont | Glitterati | $95
Starting in 1964, French expatriate Laffont dogged the big stories that came to define modern America—from anti-war and anti-establishment chaos to the battles over gay rights, immigration reform, and other social issues that still vex the nation. In images more about the streets than politics, he fearlessly shot with an outsider’s fascination, making this handsome volume a highly personal testament to our country’s difficult growth. —Russell Hart

Events Ashore
by An-My Lê | Aperture | $90
An-My Lê depicts U.S. servicemen and women in training operations throughout the globe, from Antarctica to Ghana to Indonesia. Backdropped by scenery that’s by turns gorgeous and inhospitable, her intimate portraits lend a sense of warmth to an otherwise harsh world.

Garry Winogrand
text by Sarah Greenough et al | Metropolitan Museum of Art | $85
Winogrand’s contact sheets suggest his street photography was a scattershot art, with frames quickly snapped and gems found in the rough. But this tome—like the wildly popular traveling show it accompanies—proves that those gems are many, evidence of Winogrand’s gift for making seemingly mundane moments into visual poetry.

Malformed: Forgotten Brains of the Texas State Mental Hospital
by Adam Voorhes | Powerhouse | $40
A purveyor of scientific phenomena, Voorhes offers the year’s strangest book: a survey of damaged and/or diseased brains preserved in jars stored away at the University of Texas. Artfully shot, it’s as morbidly engrossing as a highway wreck and, thanks to Alex Hannaford’s text, psychologically fascinating as well.

The Seventh Dog
by Danny Lyon | Phaidon | $125
The title refers to the number of dogs Lyon has companioned—this book sums up his 72 years, beginning with recent images and working backwards. It’s a marvelous mess of snapshots, formal photos, diaristic montages, and ephemera-laced evocations of Lyon’s long, strange trip.

Chris Hondros

Presidential Candidate George Weah Holds Massive Rally in Liberia

From TESTAMENT | Powerhouse | $45

Testament
by Chris Hondros | Powerhouse | $45
Before his death in 2011 in Libya at age 41, Hondros was a daring and prolific war photojournalist, but what shines through here is his humanity: He portrays glimpses of heroism amid chaos (as in the Liberian scene in the gallery above) and hope among ruins, with a storyteller’s gift for yarn.

Trading to Extinction
by Patrick Brown | Dewi Lewis | $58
For more than a decade, Brown and reporter Ben Davies have traced the illegal wildlife trade in Asia. They’ve been from the hunting grounds of poachers to the backstreets, where endangered species are traded like drugs to fuel a black market for rhino horn, tiger bone, and other black-magic hooey. With surprising access, they reveal hidden horrors.
Read our interview with Brown from March 2012.

Wanderlust: 60 Years of Images
by Thomas Hoepker | teNeues | $95
As a longtime member and erstwhile president of Magnum, Hoepker has seen it all over the decades, and this 300-plus-page volume conveys his journalistic reach—from gruesome wars to avant garde art—and empathetic eye. —J.C.
Read our interview with Hoepker from Sept. 2014

ENVIRONMENT

Athit Perawongmetha
From RAINFOREST | Abrams | $60 © Athit Perawongmetha

Rainforest
by Lewis Blackwell | Abrams | $60
Many recent photo books about our environment spotlight the ill effects of humankind through disturbing shots of glacial decay, clearcutting, toxic waste, or other evidence of man-made havoc. But this set of images and writings about the world’s rainforests makes a powerful case against deforestation by showing the fabric of the natural world: the intricate patterns, resourceful use of sunlight, dynamic relationships, and existential wisdom within the flora and fauna inhabiting these unbroken ecosystems. “We need to recognize that our lives are a part of a greater living community on Earth,” Blackwell writes, “the vast wonder of which rainforests represent with their extraordinary diversity, richness, and mystery.” —L.C.

#Sandy
edited by Wyatt Gallery | Daylight | $40
After superstorm Sandy struck the Eastern seaboard, social media became a hub of the relief effort. This striking book collects iPhone images of the storm from 20 pro shooters who leveraged their Instagram networks for the donation of time and money to the cause. The book’s proceeds go toward continued relief.

The Good Life: Palm Springs
by Nancy Baron | Kehrer | $50
Through Baron’s lens, this California desert enclave brims with eye-popping hues, lush vistas, oddball retirees, and vintage cars, evoking nostalgia and otherworldliness at the same time.

Brazil
by Olaf Heine | teNeues | $125
Heine’s Brazil is a series of paradoxes—shiny, futuristic cityscapes shadowed by grubby shantytowns, glam models offset by tattooed dope dealers—with varied elements entwined like a double helix.

Shooting Space
text by Elias Redstone | Phaidon | $80
With work by artists not often associated with architectural subjects, this compilation is a unique look at manmade space, line, and sky-scraping form.

New York
by Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao | Aperture | $95
Liao creates digital panoramas that offer a fantastic and larger-than-life view of the city that never sleeps.
Read more on Liao from American Photo.

Earth is my Witness
by Art Wolfe | Earth Aware Editions | $95
Wolfe’s opus is a conservationist mani­festo, reflecting the vast diversity of nature and humankind throughout the world—with few signs of modern society—in a glorious wash of colorful imagery.
Read our interview with Art Wolfe on Pop Photo.

Susan Middleton
From SPINELESS: PORTRAITS OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES | Abrams | $50 © Susan Middleton

Spineless: Portraits of Marine Invertebrates
by Susan Middleton | Abrams | $50
This book celebrates the brilliant designs of aquatic creatures who have evolved to protect themselves from outsiders in unique ways; the photos (as below) exquisitely convey a dynamic world largely unknown to the human eye.

Camille Seaman
From MELTING AWAY: OUR ENDANGERED POLAR REGIONS | Princeton | $55 © Camille Seaman

Melting Away: Our Endangered Polar Regions
by Camille Seaman | Princeton | $55
As monolithic structures carved by light and shadow, the melting polar icebergs Seaman shows us (left) jut out from the landscape, both a showcase of grandeur and a compelling call to action.

Floating Island
by Mike Osborne | Daylight | $50
In the former military town of Wendover, straddling Nevada and Utah, Floating Island is a massive remnant of what was an archipelago when the area was underwater. Osborne documents the land and those drawn to the salty dry oasis.

Landmark: the Fields of Landscape Photography
by William Ewing | Thames & Hudson | $65
This survey is a poetic study of the way landscape imagery is shaped by human designs and scars on the land. —L.C.

ET CETERA

Taschen GmbH
From AN AMERICAN ODYSSEY: PHOTOS FROM THE DETROIT PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPANY, 1888-1924 | Taschen | $200 © Taschen GmbH

An American Odyssey: Photos from the Detroit Photographic Company, 1888–1924
by Marc Walter & Sabine Arqué | Taschen | $200
At 15.7 pounds and 600 pages, this is the heftiest and most pored-over book on our coffee table. (Granted, it’s not as big as Taschen’s $2,500 tome, Annie Leibovitz: Sumo, but it’s a tenth of the price and arguably more fun.) These images are postcard relics from the private collection of Marc Walter, many made with early photolithographic processes—the nation’s first widely seen color photography. At the book’s 24×16-inch spread size, black-and-white images are tack sharp; while some hand-tinted color shots get grainy blown up that big, they’re dazzling nonetheless. And the nationwide swath of scenery is breathtaking, shot when the West was Wild (as in the Mount Lowe Railway scene on the final slide in the gallery above) and the times were woolly. —J.C.

The Photobook: A History, vol. III
by Martin Parr et al | Phaidon | $100
The third and final part of this book series about books ranges from post-war propoganda to self-published gems. The survey shows the complex randomness of modern life, while the text and photo editing seek to make sense of it.

Photographers’ Sketchbooks
by McLaren et al | Thames & Hudson | $60
Drawing on scrapbooks and notebooks of nearly 50 photographers, this set shows how great minds don’t always think alike.

The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip
by David Campany | Aperture | $65
Here is a collection of photo series by a bevy of artists—including Robert Frank, William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, and Alec Soth—whose explorations of Americana each reflect life on the road.

Striking Resemblance: The Changing Art of Portraiture
by Donna Gustafson et al | Prestel | $50
This portraiture study dates back to the 1700s but stresses modern photography.

Photography: The Definitive Visual History
by Tom Ang | DK | $50
Equal parts history book, how-to manual, and visual showcase, this sorts through the medium’s twists and turns from its dawn through the digital age. Wider than it is deep, it’s fascinating nonetheless.

Kitsch Encyclopedia
by Sara Cwynar | Blonde Art Books | $35
A blend of found images, ephemera, and photographs by the artist serves as an A-to-Z compendium of pop-art icons. —J.C.

The post Best Photobooks of the Year 2014 appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

]]>
On the Wall: December 2014 https://www.popphoto.com/american-photo/wall-december-2014/ Fri, 12 Apr 2019 16:55:19 +0000 https://www.popphoto.com/uncategorized/american-photo-wall-december-2014/
Exhibitions photo

The month's best photography exhibitions

The post On the Wall: December 2014 appeared first on Popular Photography.

]]>
Exhibitions photo
httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfilesgallery-imagesAPH1214_FC_015.jpg
Modern Photographs from the Thomas Walther Collection Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY | Dec. 13 – April 26, 2015 | moma.org This image is by German photographer Will Ruge: “Seconds before Landing,” from the series I Photograph Mysem during a Parachute Jump_. See our review of the exhibition by Tema Stauffer below._ © Will Ruge—Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, Thomas Walther Collectionl, gift of Thomas Walther
httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfilesgallery-imagesAPH1214_FC_019.jpg
Mario Testino: Alta Moda Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, TX | through Dec. 22, 2014 | dallascontemporary.org Best known for his celebrity and fashion images, Testino takes a different approach to “high fashion” in portraits of Peruvians adorned in traditional festive dress in south­ eastern Peru. Inspired by the archives of the late Martin Chambi, one of Latin America’s first indigenous photog­raphers, Testino’s striking studies of men and women fuse fashion, art, and ethnography. © Mario Testino
httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfilesgallery-imagesAPH1214_FC_016.jpg
The City Lost and Found: Capturing New York, Chicago, & L.A., 1960-1980 Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL | through Jan. 22, 2015 | artic.edu This show explores the transformation of America’s three larg­est cities during two seminal decades through varied media—street photos, planning docu­ments, artist books, slide shows—to trace urban life in a state of unrest and flux. Gift of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfilesgallery-imagesAPH1214_FC_017.jpg
Gordon Parks: The Segregation Story High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA | through June 7, 2015 | high.org An exhibition about U.S. racial inequality spotlights color photos shot by Parks for a 1956 Life magazine photo­ essay, “The Restraints: Open and Hidden,” investigating the activities and rituals of three related African­ American families in segregated Alabama. Many images are on view for the first time after surfacing in 2012. The untitled image above was made in 1956. © The Gordon Parks Foundation
httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfilesgallery-imagesAPH1214_FC_018.jpg
Storyteller: The Photographs of Duane Michals Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA | through Feb. 16, 2015 | cmoa.org The most comprehensive retrospective of Michals’s work to date, this exhibition ranges from celebrity portraits to rarely seen experiments, from commercial work to masterful narrative sequences. See our extensive interview with Michals from last month. © Duane Michals—The Henry L. Hillman Fund
httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfilesgallery-images002_burley_0.jpg
Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness George Eastman House, Rochester, NY | through Jan. 4, 2015 | eastmanhouse.org Produced between 2005 and 2010, Burley’s photographs bear witness to the rapid demise of film-manufacturing facilities and industrial darkrooms as the digital technology radically alters the photographic industry in the 21st century. See our feature on the work from last month. © Robert Burley—Courtesy of the Ryerson Image Centre/George Eastman House

In photography, modern work is a moving target. During the first half of the 20th century, photogra­phers experimented with radical new approaches to representation and abstraction to shape modern­ist imagery. Departing from the conventions of pictorialism, these photographs emphasized sharp focus, straightforward documenta­tion of modern life, and attention to formal qualities through the recognition of the camera as a mechanical and technological tool. In 2001 MoMA acquired more than 300 photographs of this era from the prolific photography collector Thomas Walther, who was born in Berlin and is based in New York City. These pieces became the focus of a collaboration between a group of international photography scholars and MoMA’s departments of Photography and Conservation, and four years later their work has culminated in an expansive exhibition presented in the Edward Steichen Photog­raphy Galleries. It’s accompanied by a hardcover publication, Object Photo: 1909–1949. On display are historic photographs by major figures such as Berenice Abbott, Paul Strand, Edward Weston, and more than 100 other photo­graphers, including Will Ruge who leads the gallery above, providing a rich and complex overview of the period.
—Tema Stauffer on “Modern Photographs from the Thomas Walther Collection”

The post On the Wall: December 2014 appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

]]>
Editors’ Choice: Gear of the Year 2014 https://www.popphoto.com/american-photo/editors-choice-gear-year-2014/ Fri, 12 Apr 2019 16:56:39 +0000 https://www.popphoto.com/uncategorized/american-photo-editors-choice-gear-year-2014/
Contests photo

Our annual selection of the best new tools of the trade

The post Editors’ Choice: Gear of the Year 2014 appeared first on Popular Photography.

]]>
Contests photo
American Photo Gear of the Year 2014
EYE IN THE SKY DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ Photography took to the air in a big way this year as still and video shooters, both professional and amateur, sent cameras up in drones for stunning aerial images. Any number of multi-rotor copters came to market in 2014, but the model that best represents what’s possible for photogra- phers looking to get into the game is DJI’s accessibly priced Phantom 2 Vision+. The built-in compact camera, with a 14-mega- pixel 1/2.3-inch sensor, is mounted on a gimbal for smooth 1080p video and level still shots; the rig is operated through a remote control and a smartphone app. DJI makes heavier-duty drones capable of lifting a DSLR or other large camera too, but the Vision+ is the place to start. $1,160 | dji.com Photo Illustration © Ralph Smith
American Photo Gear of the Year 2014
NIGHT MOVES Nikon D4s (Left) Wringing out as much resolution as possible from a 16.2MP full-frame sensor, with noise very well controlled up to ISO 12,800, the Nikon D4s might be the best professional-level 35mm camera body a photographer can buy right now. Its speedy autofocus also boasts Nikon’s industry-leading 3D subject tracking. For videographers, an increasingly important segment of the market for traditional cameras, the D4s also records uncompressed 1920x1080p footage at up to 60 frames per second to an external recorder through an HDMI connection. In 2014, this was the DSLR that ruled them all. $6,500, body only | nikonusa.com PIXEL SHIFT Hasselblad H5D-200C (Right) This year saw the arrival of the first medium-format CMOS sensor, promising better low-light performance and higher dynamic range to photographers who want more resolution and a nar- rower depth of field than is possible with current 35mm-format cameras. Most of the major com- petitors in medium format jumped on the CMOS bandwagon, but Hasselblad has another trick up its digital back: The H5D-200C can shift its 50MP sensor (the same one that’s in the 50C) in whole- or half-pixel increments and then combine up to six shots to yield a 200-megapixel image. That monster resolution allows pro studios to make gigantic enlargements or crop into small details without compromising image quality. $45,000, body only | hasselbladusa.com Photo Illustration © Ralph Smith
American Photo Gear of the Year 2014
THE NEW NORMAL? Nikon 58mm f/1.4G AF-S Nikkor (Left) Perfectly matched to the Nikon D4s, this fast and sharp Nikkor prime lens focuses silently and smoothly whether in autofocus or in manual mode—a boon to today’s DSLR video shooters and still photographers alike. At 58mm, it reaches just a little farther than the standard “normal” focal length of 50mm; on DX bodies, with their APS-C-size sensors, this full-framer’s angle of view stretches to the equivalent of about 85mm, a classic length for portraits. This lets it do double duty, not just for traditional photography and video capture but for Nikon shooters who carry two bodies with different sensor sizes. $1,700 | nikonusa.com GLASS ARTISTRY Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art (Center left) Any photographer who still harbors doubts about the quality of lenses from so-called third-party manufacturers need look no further than Sigma—particu- larly this outstanding full-frame prime. In a field crowded with offerings at this popular focal length and maximum aperture from every camera brand and other independent lens makers, it draws raves for its sharpness, impressive control of light falloff at the corners (vignetting), and near-perfect lack of distortion. On top of that, its smooth-turning manual focus action makes this lens a welcome tool for video shooters who eschew (or can’t use) autofocus during capture. $950 | sigmaphoto.com BUILT TO LAST Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 APO Planar T* (Center right) One look at this manual-focus prime lens from Zeiss for full-frame Canon and Nikon DSLRs assures photographers they’re in the presence of greatness. That huge front ele- ment, that beautiful matte-black metal barrel, that hefty price tag. But the proof is in the photos: Our sister publica- tion, Popular Photography, having subjected the Otus 85mm f/1.4 to a battery of lab and field tests, named this short telephoto lens the best in its focal length—ever. Astonishingly sharp, even when the aperture is wide open, and nearly free of distortion, this big lens is one for the ages—an investment, certainly, but one no photographer who can afford it will regret. $4,500 | zeiss.com STEADIER SHOOTER Canon EF 16–35mm f/4L IS USM (Right) For most of the past decade, lens manufacturers didn’t even consider putting image stabilization systems into wide-angle glass. The rise of video capture and ever- improving IS technology, however, have made lenses such as Canon’s 16–35mm f/4 IS very desirable. Now even seasoned landscape photographers don’t scoff (well, not as much) at the idea of leaving the house without a tripod. The 16–35mm focal range also rounds out Canon’s trio of wide-angle L-series zooms, providing an attractive middle option for shooters who want to go wider than the 17–40mm f/4L but who don’t necessarily need the extra stop from Canon’s more expensive (and non-stabilized) 16–35mm f/2.8L. $1,200 | usa.canon.com Photo Illustration © Ralph Smith
American Photo Gear of the Year 2014
4K FORAY Panasonic Lumix GH4 (From left to right) Panasonic, a maker of 4K televisions, took its first step into consumer-grade 4K Ultra HD video capture this year with its Lumix GH4. (Coincidence or not? All of the camera companies currently putting 4K video capabilities into consumer-oriented models also make 4K TVs.) With this new model, the GH series of Micro Four Thirds interchangeable-lens compacts has now cemented itself as a major player in video, but the GH4 is also a fully capable still-image machine, with excellent picture quality and good control of noise. And its rugged, weather-sealed build lets photographers use it in even the most challenging conditions. $1,700, body only | panasonic.com**** MIRRORLESS FULL FRAME **Sony Alpha a7 line (a7, a7R, a7S) This trio of cameras, which put a big full-frame 35mm sensor into a compact body, hits every level of the pixel-count spectrum. The a7R stunned photographers late in 2013 when it unleashed the resolving power that comes with its 36.4MP sensor, though it gets a little noisy at higher ISOs. On the opposite end of the scale, the newer a7S, at 12.2MP, provides wonderful low-light performance, though at the cost of resolution—and of the bunch, it’s the only one that can capture 4K video. (Video shooters have to record to an external device to get such high-res footage.) The 24.3MP a7 hits the sweet middle spot. $1,700 (a7), $2,300 (a7R), $2,500 (a7S), body only | store.sony.com MARVELOUS MACHINE Olympus OM-D E-M1 For a DSLR-style mirrorless ILC, Olympus’s top-of-the-line OM-D feels remarkably compact, despite its deep, comfortable grip and tough all-weather body. Even more important, this handsome camera offers some of the best performance to date in the Micro Four Thirds ecosystem. Its 16.3MP LiveMOS sensor captures plenty of resolution at lower ISOs; autofocus and tracking are swift and sure; it shoots bursts of up to 6.5 fps (50 RAW files or until the card fills up with JPEGs). And its thoughtful controls and ergonomics make this camera a pleasure to use. All this adds up to an ILC that DSLR shooters covet. $1,400, body only | olympusamerica.com THE X FACTOR Fujifilm X-T1 and XF 56mm f/1.2 R Fujifilm took all the most well- received pieces of its popular X-series cameras, including the APS-C-size 16MP X-trans CMOS II sensor, added a new high-resolution OLED electronic viewfinder with an extremely fast refresh rate, and wrapped the whole thing in a compact DSLR-style body. The X-T1 is the company’s first in this line to be made rugged and fully weather-sealed for four-season outdoor shooting. Fujifilm introduced it at the same time that it released a superb metal-clad 56mm f/1.2 lens, with roughly an 85mm equivalent angle of view—one of the best-loved focal lengths among DSLR shooters. $1,300, body only (X-T1); $1,000 (XF 56mm lens) | fujifilmusa.com Photo Illustration © Ralph Smith
American Photo Gear of the Year 2014
EDITOR TO GO Adobe Photoshop Mix Photographers embraced the iPad and other touchscreen tablet computers right from the start, but chiefly as go-anywhere portfolios and for quick-fix basic editing. But with the Mix app, Adobe brings an im- pressive number of Photoshop features to the tablet, including layers, selections, and common adjustments. Tapping into the computing power of the cloud gives pho- tographers more advanced functions, such as Content Aware Fill and Photoshop’s impressive Shake Reduction tools. The whole thing syncs seamlessly with Adobe’s Creative Cloud, and the files it creates are fully compatible with the desktop version of Photoshop. Now the tablet feels more like a tool than a toy. Free, app only | mix.adobe.com SPHERICAL CAPTURE Ricoh Theta A one-trick pony, the Theta is the first serious camera to produce 360-degree spherical images. Using a pair of fisheye lenses, each with a field of view slightly more than 180 degrees, to feed two imaging sensors, it automatically stitches the resulting half spheres into a single photo that viewers can manipulate to see all the way around. The Theta has no screen; it must be paired with a computer or smart device (iOS or Android) to view the images. $400 | theta360.com Photo Illustration © Ralph Smith
American Photo Gear of the Year 2014
NO-STRINGS LIGHTING Profoto B1 500 AirTTL (Bottom) For photographers who are used to lugging a ton of gear to loca- tion shoots, setting up Profoto’s B1 AirTTL monolight feels liberating. It doesn’t require the external power pack or power cable that other studio lights need—photographers can just plunk it on the stand, slap the controller module on the camera, and start shooting. Despite its simple setup, the B1 is a full- powered 500-watt strobe that has no problem overpowering bright sunlight. Built-in through- the-lens metering lets shooters go full-auto in changing ambient light. It costs as much as a pile of hot-shoe flash units, but the B1’s sheer power and flexibility make it a game-changer, particularly for location portraits. $2,000; profoto.com CROWD PLEASER Elinchrom ELC Pro 500 HD (Top) Photographers ask a lot from studio strobes these days. This all-inclusive monolight tries to be everything to everyone, and it does a surprisingly good job of it. An OLED display on the back can be used to control a wide variety of features, many of which are welcomed by veteran studio shooters. The light output can be set by joules, stops, and even by flash duration. The flash recycles in 0.6 seconds and main- tains impressively consistent color temperature. All of that, plus a built-in Skyport receiver for remote sync, is piled into a monolight that’s ultimately not much bigger than a typical pack head. $1,050 | elinchrom.com Photo Illustration © Ralph Smith

_Our annual sellection of the gear that is making an impact on the trends in photography. See past __Editors’ Choice features __Most Intriguing Gear of 2013 and Ten Tools That Reshaped Photography in 2012. _

The post Editors’ Choice: Gear of the Year 2014 appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

]]>
Judges, Frontrunners Revealed in Sony World Photography Awards 2015 https://www.popphoto.com/american-photo/judges-frontrunners-revealed-sony-world-photography-awards-2015/ Fri, 12 Apr 2019 16:58:03 +0000 https://www.popphoto.com/uncategorized/american-photo-judges-frontrunners-revealed-sony-world-photography-awards-2015/
(c) Cioplea Vlad, Romania, Entry, Split Second Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards Image title: Dog FightImage Description: This is exactly the moment when Romanian YAK Team is breaking the formation just in front of the public at Bucharest International Air Show. At that moment they look just like they are haunting each other.Image location: Bucharest International Air Show 2014
(c) Cioplea Vlad, Romania, Entry, Split Second Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards Image title: Dog FightImage Description: This is exactly the moment when Romanian YAK Team is breaking the formation just in front of the public at Bucharest International Air Show. At that moment they look just like they are haunting each other.Image location: Bucharest International Air Show 2014.

With over two dozen submission categories, from Contemporary Issues, Portraiture, and Nature & Wildlife, to Low Light, “Split Second,” and...

The post Judges, Frontrunners Revealed in Sony World Photography Awards 2015 appeared first on Popular Photography.

]]>
(c) Cioplea Vlad, Romania, Entry, Split Second Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards Image title: Dog FightImage Description: This is exactly the moment when Romanian YAK Team is breaking the formation just in front of the public at Bucharest International Air Show. At that moment they look just like they are haunting each other.Image location: Bucharest International Air Show 2014
(c) Cioplea Vlad, Romania, Entry, Split Second Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards Image title: Dog FightImage Description: This is exactly the moment when Romanian YAK Team is breaking the formation just in front of the public at Bucharest International Air Show. At that moment they look just like they are haunting each other.Image location: Bucharest International Air Show 2014.
Sony World Photography Awards
“Hindu devotees throw vivid colour at each other to celebrate the start of spring during Lathmar Holi Festival. Hindu brahmans from the village of Nandgaon are covered in colored powder as they sit and sing on the floor during prayers,” 2014 © Ioulia Chvetsova—France, Entry, Arts and Culture Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards
Sony World Photography Awards
“This is exactly the moment when Romanian YAK Team is breaking the formation just in front of the public at Bucharest International Air Show. At that moment they look just like they are haunting each other,” 2014 © Cioplea Vlad—Romania, Entry, Split Second Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards
Sony World Photography Awards
“A man washes his feet before bathing in the Hooghly River, part of the Holi Ganges River in the early morning in Kolkata, India. The morning ritual of bathing oneself in the Ganges is a tradition of most Hindus, paying homage to their ancestors and their gods,” 2014 © Nick Ng—Malaysia, Entry, Split Second Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards
Sony World Photography Awards
“Step by step,” Berlin, 2014 © Ralf Wendrich—Germany, Entry, Architecture, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards
Sony World Photography Awards
“Cube houses (Dutch: Kubuswoningen) are a set of innovative houses built in Rotterdam and Helmond in the Netherlands, designed by architect Piet Blom and based on the concept of “living as an urban roof”: high density housing with sufficient space on the ground level. Blom tilted the cube of a conventional house 45 degrees, and rested it upon a hexagon-shaped pylon. His design represents a village within a city, where each house represents a tree, and all the houses together, a forest,” 2014 © Cor Boers—Netherlands, Entry, Architecture Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards

With over two dozen submission categories, from Contemporary Issues, Portraiture, and Nature & Wildlife, to Low Light, “Split Second,” and “Smile,” the Sony Awards are among the most inclusive around, showcasing a notably diverse selection of work. Whether at the Profession level, the Open competition for enthusiasts and amateurs, or the Youth competition for photographers under the age of 19, all contests are free to enter. Here, we’re featuring a small selection of highlight photos submitted to the 2015 Open competition which were revealed this week.

The 2015 judging committee for the Professional selection was also announced, and includes Joanna Milter, Deputy Photo Editor at the_ New York Times Magazine_, Matthew Leifheit, Photo Editor at VICE, Maria Pieri, Editorial Director at National Geographic Traveller, among others.

Previous years’ winners in the Professional tier include Guy Martin, Dan Kitwood, Kacper Kowalski and Sara Naomi Lewkowicz, who was named L’Iris d’Or/Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year 2014. See past winners’ project galleries here.

The Open and Youth competition deadline for submission is Jan. 5, 2015. The Professional competition final call is January 8. Full entry details are available at www.worldphoto.org.

The post Judges, Frontrunners Revealed in Sony World Photography Awards 2015 appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

]]>
Images of a Generation: 25 Year Timeline of What Mattered Most in Photography https://www.popphoto.com/american-photo/images-generation-25-year-timeline-what-mattered-most-photography/ Fri, 12 Apr 2019 17:00:05 +0000 https://www.popphoto.com/uncategorized/american-photo-images-generation-25-year-timeline-what-mattered-most-photography/
Photo Trends photo

The most notable pictures of the last quarter century

The post Images of a Generation: 25 Year Timeline of What Mattered Most in Photography appeared first on Popular Photography.

]]>
Photo Trends photo
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Herb Ritts “Versace Dress, Back View, El Mirage,” 1990 With one foot in the aesthetic terrain of photographic forebears Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, and Robert Mapplethorpe, Ritts planted a new flag at the intersection of fashion, celebrity portraiture, and art. This monumental photo of supermodel Christy Turlington, her dress tied up on light stands and catching the wind before a storm, ushered in the 1990s with a singular vision that only seems stronger in the rearview mirror. © Herb Ritts—Trunk Archive
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Catherine Opie “Bo,” 1991 Being and Having, Opie’s first solo exhibition at New York City’s Gallery 494, knocked the art world on its ear. The series of studio portraits (this one is of herself) was a landmark in its exploration and celebration of queer identity. © Catherine Opie—Regen Projects, Los Angeles
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Rineke Dijkstra “Hilton Head Island, S.C., USA,” 1992 In her Beach Portraits series, Dijkstra’s cool and empathic lens captured youth on the shores across the globe and influenced scores of portrait photographers. © Rineke Dijkstra—Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
American Photo 25th Anniversary
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Thomas Demand “Sprungturm (Diving Platform),” 1994 A photographer originally trained as a sculptor, Demand builds life-size models of architectural spaces (often those he has seen in pictures) out of paper and then photographs them. Look closely and you’ll see that, like photography itself, there’s more to be understood than what you notice at first glance. © Thomas Demand—Artists Rights Society (ARS), 2014/Courtesy of Sprüth Magers, Berlin & London
httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfilesgallery-imagesAPH0215_TIM_21.jpg
Sebastião Salgado “Churchgate Station, Western Railroad Line, Bombay, India,” 1995 This British-built station is notorious for its dangerous crowds, and it was in politically and emotionally loaded locations such as this that Salgado focused his seminal late 20th-century photography, eventually published in Migrations: Humanity in Transition (Aperture, 2000). © Sebastião Salgado—Amazonas/Contact Press Images
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Dawoud Bey “Toyia, Kelvin and Erica,” 1996 Shooting with a large-format Polaroid camera, Bey continued the work that would become a large part of his early career: making beautiful, respectful, and monumental portraits of adolescents, most of them minorities. © Dawoud Bey—Courtesy of Bank of America Collection
American Photo 25th Anniversary
American Photo 25th Anniversary
David Lachappele “This Is My House,” 1997 (Alek Wek in Christian Lacroix, New York, for Paris Vogue) LaChapelle’s vivaciousness and intensity were unmatched in the late 1990s; his grand-scale concepts and productions pushed the limits of what viewers expected from photography. © David LaChapelle—Creative Exchange Agency, New York
American Photo 25th Anniversary

Teen Brain, Girl Culture

Lauren Greenfield “Sheena Tries On Clothes with Amber, 15, in a Department Store Dressing Room, San Jose, California,” 1999 Moving beyond the Hollywood teens that Greenfield chronicled in her first major work, she began exploring the effects of consumer culture on young women; this image became part of Girl Culture (Chronicle Books, 2002). Her politically suffused documentary style was as refreshing as it was artful.
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Martin Schoeller “Christopher Walken,” 2000 (for Entertainment Weekly) It was around the turn of the millennium that Schoeller’s sometimes larger-than-life heads, captured with technical precision and fine detail, showed us a shockingly honest view of our most famous citizens, including actor Christopher Walken, shown here. Schoeller’s recent volume, Portraits, was one of our Best Books of 2014. © Martin Schoeller—AUGUST
American Photo 25th Anniversary
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Gregory Crewdson “Untitled,” 2001 This image comes from the Twilight series (1998-2002), exhibited first at the White Cube gallery in London. It exemplifies his highly influential cinematic style of “frozen moments,” managing and lighting each of his haunting, mythical still scenes as one would a feature film. © Gregory Crewdson—Courtesy Gagosian Gallery
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Alec Soth “Charles, Vasa, Minnesota,” 2002 Compared to the likes of Walker Evans and Robert Frank, Soth created his debut work, Sleeping by the Mississippi, by doing just that. His photos resisted narrative but caught the imagination of a nation examining itself in a post-9/11 world. © Alec Soth
American Photo 25th Anniversary
American Photo 25th Anniversary

ABU GHRAIB PRISON

Abu Ghraib, 2004 One of many pictures taken by U.S. military personnel in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, this image of an Iraqi prisoner under torture startled the world and became a potent symbol of the abuse of prisoners by U.S. forces.
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Edward Burtynsky “Dam #6, Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze River,” 2005 Burtynsky documents the impact of industry on the landscape. The photographs he made in the People’s Republic of China, like this seminal view inside one of the world’s largest public works projects, open a window on the realities underlying globalization. © Edward Burtynsky—Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto/Howard Greenberg Gallery/Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Jill Greenberg “Earth,” 2006 Greenberg’s series End Times was a commentary on the politics of the Bush administration. First shown at the Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles in 2006, the work incited rage among some viewers and spawned a huge group of aesthetic imitators. © Jill Greenberg—ClampArt
American Photo 25th Anniversary
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Chris McCaw “Sunburned GSP#166 (Mojave/Winter Solstice full day),” 2007 McCaw started experimenting with the effects of sun exposure on photo paper in 2003, but this piece marks both his first sunrise-to-sunset capture and his first multiple-panel piece. © Chris McCaw (collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Tim Hetherington “Kunar Province Afghanistan, Korengal Valley,” 2008 British-born Hetherington may be best known now for Restrepo, the 2010 film he made with Sebastian Junger, and for his death by mortar fire in Libya in 2011. But it was the intimate scenes he captured while embedded with U.S. forces in 2007 and 2008 that set him apart. © Tim Hetherington—Magnum Photos
American Photo 25th Anniversary
LaToya Ruby Frazier “Self Portrait, March (10am),” 2009 In this self-portrait taken during a lupus attack, Frazier poses in her late grandmother’s silk pajama pants in front of a sheet. As in this image, Frazier’s moving work, much of it focused on her family and her post-industrial hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania, sits at the intersection of the personal and the political. It was recently published in the artist’s first monograph, The Notion of Family (Aperture 2014). © LaToya Ruby Frazier—Michel Rein, Paris/Brussels
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Mitchell Feinberg “Untitled,” 2010 (for Women’s Health magazine) Specializing in lushness and luxury, yet able to find new ways to capture the familiar, Feinberg is a still-life master whose incredible images have inspired countless photographers. © Mitchell Feinberg
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Pari Dukovic “Bernadette Peters backstage at the Marriott Marquis,” 2011 (for New York magazine) Dukovic gets magic out of his subjects. A portraitist who follows in the footsteps of Richard Avedon and others, he is now The New Yorker‘s staff photographer. When he shot this early in his career, his images already bore their distinct palette and style, in which gesture is almost as important as detail. © Pari Dukovic—Trunk Archive
American Photo 25th Anniversary
American Photo 25th Anniversary

NYC: Superstorm Sandy

Benjamin Lowy “Superstorm Sandy makes landfall near Coney Island, NY, October 29,” 2012 When Superstorm Sandy hit the Eastern seaboard in 2012, Lowy was there with his camera phone. Known for his Instagram journalism, he scored the first smartphone shot ever published on the November 12 cover of Time magazine.
American Photo 25th Anniversary
Carlos Serrao “Kenneth Faried,” 2013 (for ESPN, The Magazine’s Body Issue) Carlos Serrao is noted for his sports photography, to which he brings a cinematic, often fashion-y edge. His work for ESPN—including this image of Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets—captured the bodies of athletes with an aesthetic that harkens back to ancient Greek sculpture, but adds contemporary dynamism and flair. © Carlos Serrao

Launched in its current incarnation in 1990, American Photo’s existence parallels a time of incredible transformation in photography. The birth of digital changed the way images were made, and then the Internet and, later, social media transformed the way images were shared. Bigger pictures made their way into big museums, while little ones exploded in the devices in our pockets. Editorial budgets shrank and stalwart magazines disappeared. The last roll of Kodachrome was shot. Despite—or perhaps because of—all of this change, photography is as alive as ever. Here’s our look at the past 25 years in pictures: the images of a generation.

httpswww.popphoto.comsitespopphoto.comfilesfileswysiwyg_imageupload11000020cover20for20web.jpg
Cover image by Peter Hapak

The post Images of a Generation: 25 Year Timeline of What Mattered Most in Photography appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

]]>