Editorial Review

After September 11th, 2001, the Ground Zero site in New York City was classified as a crime scene and only those directly involved in the recovery efforts were allowed inside. The press was also prohibited from the site, but with the help of the Museum of the City of New York and sympathetic city officials, award-winning photographer Joel Meyerowitz managed to obtain unlimited access. By ingenuity and sheer determination, he was the only photographer granted unimpeded right of entry into Ground Zero. Read more

Reviews (7)

Shocking with a presentation that brings a fresh unseen angle
The images of September 11th are ones that are familiar to anybody in the western world and beyond. The death tolls as well as the political and sociological ramifications of these events on the following years and years to come have also been the subject of much discussion. However the glory of Joel Meyerowitz's photographic collection is that it ignores all the larger political manoeuvering and focuses on the minutia.
A Fitting Memorial on the Fifth Anniversary of September 11:
We still struggle with knowing how to think about the events of 9/11/2001 - and with how to depict them in the popular media. The reactions to the films "World Trade Center" and "Flight 93" have been all over the map. For some, it seems too soon to reopen the raw wounds that the tragedies of that day inflicted on our national psyche. For others, remembering the events and trying to make sense of them is part of the healing from those wounds.
Astonishing
I recently purchased this book from Amazon.It was worth the $$$ to add this book to my 9/11 book collection.The photos are stunning.Joel did an excellent job with his project.This book is a must-have book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural & Industrial    2. History    3. Individual Photographer    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Subjects & Themes - Travel - U.S./Mid-Atlantic    8. 21st century    9. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    10. Local history    11. New York    12. Photographic reportage    13. Photography / History   

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. General    3. History    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photography    6. Photography & Photographs    7. Photography / History    8. Social history   

Reviews (1)

Important Book
Criticizing Photographs remains one of the most important books in the field, and Barrett has updated the text with new photos to discuss. His new editions include worthy changes and are not ploys to sell new copies. I have used his books for years in an advanced photography college class. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criticism    2. History    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photographic criticism    5. Photography    6. Photography As An Art    7. Photography, Artistic    8. Techniques - Color    9. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    10. Photography & Photographs    11. Photography / General   

Reviews (7)

Greatest book of photos on Detroit
I got this book from my library through an ILL, and this book is GREAT! I am 17 and planning on relocating to Detroit, and wanted to see what the city looks like. This book is the only one with actual photos of Detroit in and around the city. Wonderful pictures from earlier times until now. The book was so good, I went out and bought it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to see detroit or for anyone who wants to see one of the best cities in the world.

Somewhat Disappointing Book
This book is fine or those new to Detroit, but as one who knows Detroit well, this book doesn't provide much.
Great pictorial in color!!
Absorbing book in magnificent color on Detroit's past and present. Worthwhile for anyone interestedinhistory of the city of Detroit. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Detroit (Mich.)    2. Essays    3. General    4. History    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. Photography    8. Pictorial works    9. United States - State & Local - General    10. Travel / United States / Midwest / East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)    11. Sale Books    12. Detroit   

Reviews (12)

Barthes on Art, not just Photography.
Enclosed among these "Reflections on Photography" is a provocative theory of art in general, of what gives art the power to keep us looking. Barthes speaks of what he calls the 'punctum,' that aspect of a photograph (or, by implication, of any image, visual or textual) that pierces the viewer's consciousness, that wounds us like a dart of desire and leads to a blurring of the line between the aesthetic and the erotic. Here is an answer to Sontag's call for an 'erotics of art.' (Barthes and Sontag were friends, and it's quite possible that they influenced each other.) A great image, great art, has the power to wound us and fascinate us like a lover. And we as viewers must open ourselves to this power, like people in love. Indeed, one of the things Barthes is doing in this book is 'cruising' photography in the same way that he, a gay man, might have 'cruised' attractive men in the beaches, bars and baths of the 1970's. A wonderful book that deserves to be more widely read.

Heavy going
It is my belief that people who really know what they are talking about can explain their thoughts clearly. I cannot be sure if the fault in this book is with the original author or the translator, but it certainly does not measure up to this criterion. It may be of interest to photography academics, but I doubt if a photographer will get much out of it that is useful.

boring & pretentious crap!
This book is a sure snooze-fest. Luckily for me I did not have to read the entire book for my undergrad art history photo class. We read selected chapters of the book.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. Photography    3. Semiotics & Theory    4. Photography / Criticism   

Subjects:  1. Criticism    2. History    3. Photo Essays    4. Photography    5. 20th century    6. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    7. Photographs: collections    8. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. California    2. California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco, Calif.)    3. History    4. History Of Fine Arts    5. Photo Techniques    6. Photography    7. Photography As An Art    8. San Francisco    9. Study and teaching (Higher)    10. White, Minor    11. Photography & Photographs    12. Photography / History   

Reviews (8)

Buy This Book!
100 Photographs that changed the world can only be described as an intimate and emotional view of our world over the last century. The book was created by Time magazine, many of the photos coming straight from their covers. Many of the pictures are published elsewhere and have no doubt been seen by many people, but having them put together in this fashion is amazing. Complete with date and description, you find yourself having a little history lesson without even knowing it. Every page is readable and interesting, it will definitely keep your attention.
Wonderful book!
As a keen buyer of photo books I could not miss the opportunity of possessing this collection of immortal shots. I already had many of them in other books, but at such a budget price I simply could not resist the temptation! It was also the occasion to get to know the names of some professionals that made the type of photos that you look at and say "Wow! I saw this 100000 times and it is a pleasure again... but... any clue about the author?". Good starting book for people naive of photo history, avoid buying it if you already have a good collection of photo books and are not afraid of navigating them to find out that immortal shot.
Great Images
These are many of the most memorable photographs ever taken. The images and stories are inspiring. I found myself reflecting on what I was doing the first time I saw each of these images. This is an essential book for all photographers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. Journalism    3. Photo Essays    4. Photoessays & Documentaries    5. Photography    6. Photojournalism    7. Cultural studies    8. Photographic reportage    9. Photography / History    10. World history: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (3)

Seizing the Photographic Light
Overall a great book on the history of photography.VERY comprehensive overview of the evolution of photography.It ties movements in art and social events into photography trends and developments. It also provides insight into how photographers and artists used the medium to express themselves and how experimentation lead to improvements over the years.My only negative comment would be that some of the earlly forms of cameras were not pictured.There were diagrams of early cameras, but after the first hundred years, there is little to no documentation on how they evolved cosmetically/ functionally.It'd be nice to see an example of the various "groundbreaking" cameras as they were discussed.Otherwise, a great book.

The Persistence of Fine Books
For everyone with an interest in photography, either as an artist of the medium, a beginner looking for direction, or a collector who wants informed background to enhance appreciation of fine photographs both from the past and from the present obsession, SEIZING THE LIGHT: A History of Photography is essential reading.
This is the One Great Book on the History of Photography!
Seizing the Light: A History of Photography. is a wonderfully broad, contemporary, eclectic and entertaining book. Robert Hirsch has produced the most useful, readable, and practical successor to Beaumont Newhall's classic, The History of Photography, first published in 1937.Seizing the Light is written in a friendly, accessible way -- dense with information, but more hip and lively than other offerings, especially those aimed at college students.Hirsch includes the "canon" of standard western photographic history (represented by Stieglitz, Weston, Adams, White, et. al.) first set forth by Newhall and other researchers, but updates the information with special emphasis on the last five decades of photographic practice, including digital imaging.
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Subjects:  1. Criticism    2. General    3. History    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photography    6. Art / General    7. History of specific subjects    8. Photography & Photographs   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. California    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    4. Exhibitions    5. General    6. History    7. Pasadena    8. Photograph collections    9. Photography    10. Photography, Artistic    11. Reference    12. Photographs: collections    13. Photography / General    14. USA   

Subjects:  1. History    2. Individual Photographer    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photoessays & Documentaries    5. Photography    6. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Europe    7. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    8. Hungary    9. Photographs: collections    10. Photography / History    11. c 1945 to c 1960   

Reviews (2)

Excellent Overview
My back still aches from carrying the damn thing home with me from the office which should give you an idea of just how comprehensive the work is.
Anthology well worth the time
If you've heard of Nobuyoshi Araki, want to get to know him, or are a little curious, this is the perfect book to look at. It is an anthology of his career, with a preface interview, history of each of his major releases, every well known shot, all presented in a highquality book.
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Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    2. Erotic Films    3. History    4. Individual Photographer    5. Individual Photographers And Their Work    6. Photo Techniques    7. Photography    8. Subjects & Themes - Erotica    9. Individual photographers    10. Photographs: collections    11. Photography / Individual Photographer   

Editorial Review

The concept for this book is simple: 500 photographers, 500 pages. Arranged alphabetically, each of the photographers--from contemporary Dutch cameraman Hans Aarsman to mid-century New York shutterbug James Van Der Zee--gets a full, oversized page. On it is a large, expertly reproduced image and a concise caption packed with information about the photographer and his or her work. The coincidental alignment of photos of different eras and aesthetic sensibilities provides unusual and exciting contrasts that add an extra dimension to readers' perception of the work. Rineke Dijkstra's color-saturated shot of a bikini-clad beachgoer in South Carolina faces a Mike Disfarmer portrait of a rural Arkansas couple in 1943. Imogen Cunningham's inimitable Read more

Reviews (18)

Child of the Art Book.
One of the may "relatives" of the original "Art Book", this is possibly the most accesible of the collection. The photographic image is after all, an art form we can all identify with and one which most of us regularly utilise and interact with.
Excellent survey of photography from it's birth
This book shows what amazing and inspiring pieces of art can be created with a camera. Simply outstanding
What pictures, what beauty, what a blend of art in photography, what a beautiful cover, page design, typeface, everything is just simple beauty.A must have if you have a coffee table or if you love good photography.The masters are shown here.You won't regret it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    2. Film & Video - General    3. History    4. Photo Essays    5. Photography    6. Reference    7. Individual photographers    8. Performing Arts / Film / General   

Subjects:  1. Individual Photographer    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Photo Techniques    4. Asian    5. Individual Artist    6. Individual photographers    7. Photographs: collections    8. History    9. Photography   

Reviews (2)

Documenting Unreality
In the ancient days when cameras used film and the photographer had responsibility for advancing or changing the film in the camera before taking the next photo, there was a risk the pictures would be ruined by double exposure.A ghostly image of one figure would be superimposed upon another, to the detriment of the clear representation of both.It was a familiar accident, and few thought it had any particular meaning or importance.But in the nineteenth century, photography was just starting up when spiritualism was starting up, and to some the ghost images looked like, well, ghosts.In _The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult_ (Yale University Press), Clement Ch�roux and other contributors have shown how photography documented spooks, auras, life forces, levitations, and more.This is a big book with hundreds of photographs.Looking through the pictures, it is fairly easy to see that not one demonstrates in an incontrovertible way that something supernatural was happening, but the photos are genuinely spooky and strange, and more than a bit silly.
Gloriously Defying Logic and Embracing the Occult
THE PERFECT MEDIUM: Photography and the Occult is first a catalogue for an exhibition now titillating the public at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.Hopefully this exhibition will travel: if this fine book/catalogue is any indication of the exciting realms the exhibition explores, it should be a popular success.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photography    4. Occultism & quasi-religious beliefs    5. Photographs: collections    6. Photography / History   

Reviews (3)

Colorado
This item was purchased as a gift for another family member.We already own a copy, purchased from a source other than Amazon.

A lovely companion volume
For those who enjoyed the first volume, Volume II is a lovely companion book. In an interview, John Fielder explained that he could only put so many photos in the first volume, but going back through the hundreds of pictures that didn't make it in, he realized there were many more that were just as deserving to be published. I'm thrilled to include this book in my collection and highly recommend it for Colorado history lovers.

Ignore the Media Hype
As a Colorado history buff, I'm a little annoyed at all the hype the media has given the Fielder-Jackson project.The fact of the matter is Fielder's project is in no way original or ground-breaking.Several other photographers have quietly done similar projects over the years.The first that I know of to publish a then-and-now book on Colorado was Robert L. Brown, who published a series of such books in the 1960s.The first person to start work on a then-and-now book in modern times was Grant Collier, who reshot the images of his great-great grandfather, Joseph Collier.Joshua Dinar has also done a book called "Denver: Then & Now" and there have been a number of other regional Colorado books with a similar theme done over the years.Of these books, "Colorado: Yesterday & Today" by Grant Collier is, in my opinion, undoubtedly the best.It is significantly more interesting because he reshot the images of his great-great grandfather.Collier also did the best job of finding the exact spots where the historic photos were taken and he provided a lot more historical text and insight than any of the other modern books.The next best modern book is probably Fielder's "Colorado 1870-2000," in part because of the impressive size of the book.After this, I would put "Denver: Then & Now," followed by "Colorado: 1870-2000 II".I rank this book last because it consists only of the rejects from his first book.So while the book was released in 2005, the modern photos in it were taken back in 1998.The photos in this book were rejected from the first book for a reason.They are not as historically interesting as those in the first book and Fielder didn't do a great job of precisely re-shooting the images.So unless you own all of the other books listed above, I don't see any reason to buy this book.I do also recommend Robert L. Brown's books, but since the "modern" photos in his books were taken in the 1960s, they are obviously a little outdated.But the books provide interesting insight into two past time-periods, and they also provide a lot of historical text on each of the towns in the book.
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Subjects:  1. Colorado    2. Environmental conditions    3. History    4. Landscape photography    5. Photo Techniques    6. Photography    7. Subjects & Themes - Travel - General    8. Subjects & Themes - Travel - U.S./West    9. United States - State & Local - General    10. United States - West - Mountain (General)    11. Wilderness areas   

Reviews (2)

Its Not Just For Animators
The images of the dray horses pulling heavy loads is worth the price of admission for me. This is a great reference for artists who want to createrealistic images of animals in motion. It's a fabulous settler of bar roombets. It's a source of animated gifs for web designers (I have the runningcat image that's been going around.) Indispensible Reference for Artists
Muybridges momumental work photographing animals in all different gates and poses and tests of ability. Using sometimes up to 100 cameras for a single set up to gain what is now the definitive guide for animators in understanding the motion of animals. It all started with a $25,000 bet:Eadweard Muybridge and a friend argued whether all four of the horseshooves leave the ground completely at any point during a gallop. Beingfunded for the project, Muybridge proved to be the winner in saying thathorses do in fact leave the ground for a momentary second in their strides.The book begins with an anlaysis of locomotion, going over the walk, theamble, the trot, the rack (or pace), the canter, the transverse-gallop, therotary-gallop, and the richochet, along with the leap and buck and kick.There are roughly 4,000 photos in this collection which claims to be thelargest collection of animals in motion. It features not only horses butlions, deers, oxen, elephants, birds and kangaroos. From this development,Muybridge not only discovered that horses gallop with no feet touching theground, but his discovery led to motion pictures, in which his photos is avery crude version of cinema today. Later he designed a viewer called aZoogyroscope (or Zoopraxiscope) which, similar to a Zoetrope, was acarousel with slits which you look through while it is spinning to give theillusion of motion (or persistence of vision). Today these pictures arelooked at for a couple of reasons, mostly as nastolgia for one to havewonder and excitement of this simple cinema, but it also is a greatreference for modern animators. In fact, for those looking at animation, Ican tell you that if you ask for an application to Walt Disney AnimationStudios, they will give you their requirements and texts, this will be onthe list. Highly reccomended for the artist, graphic, fine arts oranimation or anything else you can dream of. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animal locomotion    2. Art    3. Human locomotion    4. Individual Photographer    5. Photography    6. Physiology    7. Pictorial works    8. Techniques - General    9. Animal behaviour    10. Animal physiology    11. Photography / History   

Reviews (10)

Goes on and on
Includes miles of intellectual blather. Fits well into sexually charged point of viewof photography. Uses most horrific and grotesk as examples. On page 33 in third edition author mentions head decapitation as one photographer's "external" influences. Uses sexual pictures as examples. Generally a politically correct lightly negative type discourse on photography. I feel sorry for the students subjected to this pulp.

Excellent introduction.
Having never taken a course in art appreciation, I found this book to be an excellent introduction to interpreting photographic images.The comment above about this book serving as a framework is a good one.Essentially any photograph will fall into one of the categories, giving the viewer a frame of reference within which to interpret and appreciate the meaning of the work.It forces you to slow down and think about each photograph you encounter, ultimately enriching the viewing experience.I highly recommend it for photography aficionados and photographers alike.

Criticisng Criticism
A look at the subtitle to this book, "An Introduction to Understanding Images", might lead one to believe that it is about photographs and what makes them good or bad (or if there are such things as "good" and "bad" photographs).But instead it is about photographic criticism, primarily written.And even then it really doesn't tell you very much about how to write criticism yourself, or how to interpret what you read, or how to develop patterns of thought that would enable you to criticize in a useful fashion.Instead most of the book is concerned with the pigeon holes into which different kinds of photographic criticism can be put.Read more

Subjects:  1. Criticism    2. General    3. History    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photographic criticism    6. Photography    7. Photography As An Art    8. Photography, Artistic    9. Techniques - Color    10. Photography & Photographs    11. Photography / General   

Reviews (4)

AS WE WERE
My brother, Bob, read thisbook before I did. He's a Harvard graduate with a PhD and an extensive vocabulary, but he's a populist at heart and in practice.He was animated and enthusiastic about the book. Nodding and gesturing he said: "She gets it."
Exploring Another Facet of American Identity
What a great book!Ms. Vaule's informed research and graceful writing make "As We Were" a wonderful weekend or vacation read.Her historical perspective ties together fascinating photographs to help illuminate our national identity as America entered the 20th Century.This is a book to enjoy, to share and to give.
A Compelling Look at Our American Past
Rosamond Vaule's new book, As We Were, is a wonderfully readable study of the early twentieth century "real photo" postcard.What began as a childhood passion for her grandfather's basket of photographic postcards has evolved into a scholarly look at over 200 true-to-size postcards which reflect aspects of American life from 1900 - 1930:a Model S. Ford, a three-desk schoolroom in South Carolina, the bi-plane and airship, cowboys in N. Dakota, a barn raising in Wisconsin. The author provides a detailed and colorful history of this seemingly "humble" subject matter.One learns about the intriguing ghosts of "spirit photography," the "Kodak girls" and the craze for postcards by 1905 when 7 billion were sent worldwide.But the real soul and beauty of the book reside in the images on the "real photo" postcards themselves.One is struck by the grave expressions of early twentieth century Americans and the matter of fact messages they sent. "Arrived Saturday. Start work Monday."Many of the "real photo" images in the book are compelling works of art and each postcard begs investigation for informational clues about its subject.I found myself looking repeatedly at each postcard, intent on unearthing a new find; an untied shoelace, a face peeping through a window.In our era of digital image manipulation, As We Were celebrates the integrity and unintended surprises of the early photographic postcard.Handsomely presented, this book is a pleasure to read and a treasure to keep. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1865-1918    2. 1918-1945    3. 20th century    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. History    6. History - General    7. Photo Techniques    8. Photography    9. Pictorial works    10. Postcards    11. Social life and customs    12. United States    13. Photography & Photographs   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    3. History    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Photography, Panoramic    8. United States    9. Photographs: collections    10. Photography / History    11. USA