Click here to view the embedded video.

Brief Encounters documents Gregory Crewdson’s 10-year quest to create a series of haunting, surreal, and stunningly elaborating portraits of small-town American life. The photographs of Crewdson are shot using a large crew, and are elaborately staged and lit. The epic production of these movie-like images is both intensely personal and highly public: they begin in Crewdson’s deepest desires and memories, but come to life on streets and soundstages in the hills towns of Western Massachusetts.

Filmed over a decade, beginning in 2000, Gregory Crewdson says, “Brief Encounters provides an unparalleled view of the moment of creation of my images. It also reveals the life-story behind the work.” Through frank reflections on his life and career, including the formative influences of his psychologist father and his childhood fascination with the work of Diane Arbus. Childhood fears and ideals, adult anxieties and desires, the influences of pop-culture all combine to form who we are, and for Crewdson, motivate his work.

Yukichi Watabe’s–who died in 1993–book A Criminal Investigation (Éditions Xavier Barrel, ISBN 978-2-915173-82-6, €45) is the backstory on a particularly gruesome and mysterious murder committed in Japan in the late 1950s.

“On January 14th 1958 the disfigured and mutilated body of a man was discovered near Lake Sembako, Japan. Two Tokyo detectives were sent to help the local authorities to quickly wrap up what seemed to be a routine case. The young photojournalist Yukichi Watabe was allowed to shadow the investigators, which turned out to be anything but (routine)”, writes the publishing house.

Watabe’s look and feel is very cineastic with a sequential logic and linearity in the story. Frame by frame the mystery reveals itself …

The clear aesthetic sensibility of Chinese photographer Zhang Kechung on his photographic documentary The Yellow River Surging Northward Rumbingly made me look. We’re all abandoned more or less by the turbulent pleasures of modernized world in China and might have put nature out of our minds. Kechung catches in in his large-format photographs shot around the Yellow River a situation in between this situation, in which people are blended with half-finished structures and sculptures.

Kechun asks himself on this series, “Who is keeping watch on whom? Who is roling and flowing together with whom? While alive, we all go by with time. But we’re still here, and we may have a better consideration on the future after having a look at the past and the present with heart. In such a noisy world, perhaps nothing better than a fresh and simple song (The Yellow River Surging Northward Rumbingly) might match with its original noble color, its past and present, and be well worthy of its drifting from place to place …”

1993, Kansai Electric Power Co. by Taishi Hirokawa

Taishi Hirokawa‘s book “STILL CRAZY,” which has been published back in 1994 and hasn’t been available outside Japan since then, gets a digital reprint as iPad/iPhone version ($7.99). As the full title “STILL CRAZY Nuclear Power Plants As Seen In Japanese Landscapes” suggests, this photographic series presents Japanese landscapes featuring all the nuclear power plants–53 in total–in Japan.

The first impression you get is of time standing still. As you flip the digital pages you will notice that all nuclear power plants look uncannily alike. Their standardized square or cylindrical structures are set against the natural backdrop of the sea with no sign of movement or humanity. Even after shutting the iPad down, this deathlike stillness is somewhere around your mind.

The app itself is nothing sophisticaded, it’s a fairly minimal presentation. Essentially it’s a PDF viewer of the original layout of the book. But the photos are worth buying it.

I agree with Hirokawa who said, “I think the time has come for us to reconsider our future direction and aim for a well-balanced, peaceful and safer world.“

Portrait Of Silence (Bangkok and Ayutthaya Through the Architect’s Eyes of Praditchya Singharaj, Li-Zenn, ISBN : 978-616-7191-36-2, $40) by Architect and Photographer Praditchya Singharaj discovers the hidden beauty in familiar scenes in Bangkok and Ayutthaya. Praditchya studies and understands the soul of nature and the environment his “subjects” are located.

Nithi Sathapitanonda writes about Praditchya: “Praditchya Singharaj is one Thailand’s leading architects and a professional colleague of mine whom I have known for more than 20 years. He is a man of a subtle and delicate nature, and when he thinks or writes it is always with a deep and profound philosophical mind … One day, I happened to see a few black-and-white photographs that had been taken by Praditchya using a “Rolleiflex”, a camera that hardly anyone uses these days. What I saw was an image of scenery with trees, grass, bushes and water. If we look at them casually like any other scenic views, they could go unnoticed. However, looked at closely, from an artistic point of view, these images really capture the attention.”

Praditchya himself explains: “It is no wonder that many architects are fond of photography. Architecture is comprised of four different dimensions, width, length, depth and time, but our thinking process is made up of a picture with just two dimensions. We must learn techniques and various methods, such as laying down the combinations of weight, light and shadow, so that the photograph can relate to, or investigate, our thinking.”

Praditchya Singharaj was born in Bangkok in 1964. Praditchya took up photography while still at secondary school, but only in the past five or six years has he pursued it seriously. In keeping with the current trend, he started taking pictures with a digital camera, but once he had the opportunity to try out the conventional medium-format film camera used in the past, Praditchya was greatly impressed with the results and has favoured a
film camera ever since.

Dale Konstanz, artist and photographer, originally from the US, has been riding around in Bangkok taxis for the past four years documenting the sacred decorations, religious icons, and pop culture paraphernalia inside the cabs. In addition to idolizing gods that resemble humans and animals, many Thais worship trees, plants, and other entities from the natural world. These animist beliefs have their origin in ancient times, so it’s fascinating to see these practices carried on today in the modern day context of taxi cabs. In this particular case, branches from a sacred bodhi tree have been tied together with various strings and cloth that function as blessings.

In his blog, Still Life in Moving Vehicles, he ruminates about his findings in the taxis accompanied by his colourful photographs. His blog has gained a large following and has recently been named by CNN Go as one of six top blogs about Thailand.

Cooper & Gorfer, Shola and the Cat.

My Quiet of Gold by Cooper & Gorfer is a striking photographic journey documenting the stories of love, sorrow, and betrayal from rural Kyrgyzstan.

The artist duo Sarah Cooper and Nina Gorfer work at the intersection of contemporary photography with painting of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Their photographic work belongs to a narrative tradition within photography existing at the intersection of contemporary photography and 18th and 19th century painting. It is based on the personal and collective stories of place, where the pictures become condensed impressions showing the latent and ephemeral rather than the obvious.

Their images depict something we can not see – the past, the insubstantial and intangible, where the life and sentiment of the person photographed are woven together with Cooper & Gorfer’s perception and experience of the moment. In the end, the pictures are the stories’ beautiful remains.

Cooper & Gorfer consists of the two artists Sarah Cooper (USA, 1974) and Nina Gorfer (Austria, 1979). With their backgrounds in art, architecture, graphic design and photography they began their collaboration in 2006. Their work belongs to a narrative tradition within photography, with roots in 18th and 19th century painting. Alongside their art projects Cooper & Gorfer also work as editorial and commercial photographers. They are now living and working in Göteborg, Sweden.

To travel abroad encompasses the thrill of new sites, sounds and tourists attractions. The unfamiliarity of culture and landscape that so many photographs try to capture. At 6,426 people per km2, Hong Kong boasts the most densely populated urban center in the world. This work entitled Hong Kong by photographer Greer Muldowney represents the other side of living abroad. The constant travel on the bus; the unfamiliar and uncomfortable living situation.

Greer Muldowney is a fine art photographer and adjunct professor based in Boston, Massachusetts. She works in several formats, exploring ideas based upon- or working around-anything American; whether it looks that way or not. Her work has been exhibited in several galleries in the United States, Hong Kong and France.

In her latest series Every Rose Has Its Thorn, photographer Petrina Hicks subtly and quietly teases the threads of consumerism and unravels the relationship between beauty and money. Hicks is adept at using the seductive and glossy language of commercial photography to create works that probe the false promises of perfection. In a time when so much fine art photography embraces the banal and anti-aesthetic as a distancing device from ever-seductive commercial imagery, Hicks has taken a radically alternative approach.

Continuing a preoccupation with the aesthetics of advertising, Hicks explores the high and low art of persuasion. As if to understand the mechanics of this art she pulls it apart, extracting, classifying and itemizing elements of visual seduction. Perfect pink roses, bunches of grapes, fluffy white kittens, and stone statues of an idealized human form, reappear as Hicks distils recurring motifs, singles-out illusory devices and over-saturates symbolism.

As if removed from their original placement such as in an historic still life or TV commercial, these usually loaded figures and objects take on an unnerving ambiguity. They are full of empty promise, deliberately absent of meaning in their context-less, slogan-free state. Using solid-colour backgrounds of sweet pink, electric blue and nuclear greens, her works appear like single-layers in Photoshop, lacking the insertion of generic scenery, the overlayed picture of a perfume bottle or a cleverly placed brand logo.

Flowers by Giedrius Varnas.

“I like gloomy weather. Sunshine does get me on the road, but it does not inspire me to take pictures,” says Giedrius Varnas in his interview for Adore Noir Magazine‘s fifth issue, aka, The inspiration issue ($2.95).

This new photography magazine by editor Chris Kovacs tries to inspire as many fine art photographers as possible using the convenience of a PDF download. I would like everyone to discover and cherish the black and white photographer in you!

Artist and photographer Georg Aerni, born in 1959, is known for his photo series of major cities and landscapes. Whether Paris, Tokyo, or Mumbai, glaciers in the Alps, or cages at the zoo, he is interested in the signs that reveal the constant transformation of these vastly different environments. The monograph Sites & Signs (Scheidegger & Spiess, ISBN 978-3-85881-320-6, €95) offers the first extensive presentation of Georg Aerni’s precise, subtly colored photographs. With essays by Stephan Berg, Moritz Küng, and Nadine Olonetzky, and a complete catalogue raisonné. The lovely book has been awarded the German Photobook Prize 2012 in Silver.

From the series Self Portrait as Wonder Woman. Silver gelatin print. 11"x14"

Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. Wonder Woman is a warrior Princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created as a “distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men. In addition to the comics, the character has appeared in other media; most notably, the 1975–1979 Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter, as well as animated series such as the Super Friends and Justice League. Photographer Sarah Fuller created a black and white photographic series acting as Wonder Woman herself.

Fuller explains her concept as the following: “This series, created while in the undergraduate program at Emily Carr Institute, is an exploration into performance within photography. In the work, I am interested in creating a humorous look at the glorified female persona that is Wonder Woman and I want to show her secret life by illustrating the banal things that she has to do. As well, part of the impulse to create this series was a reaction to my feelings of alienation upon moving to a new city that was large and overwhelming. Dressing up a super hero while ‘performing’ my everyday activities was a way to feel comfortable in that new environment by choosing to be larger than life, as opposed to becoming anonymous by merging into the background.

The second part of the series is photo documentation of myself getting into the costume. With this part of the series, I am concerned with exposing the act of donning the Wonder Woman persona and the transformation that occurs when one manufactures any type façade with which to meet the outside world.

On the whole, the Self Portrait as Wonder Woman series became a starting point for my fascination with the performative aspect of photography and my interest in incorporating storytelling (with a surreal twist) into the everyday.”

One to Nothing (Kehrer Verlag, ISBN 978-3-86828-199-6 , €30) by photographer Irina Rozovsky depicts an Israel we do not see on the news. In late 2008 photographer Irina Rozovsky (*1981 in Moscow) traveled through Israel with three cousins in a rental car. What began as an unassuming two-week journey resulted in a photographic turning point, yielding a complicated and surprising body of images.

These images go beyond politics: they do not defend a side or critique the conflict. Here, Israel is seen in an unexpected light, a mythological backdrop to the age long struggle between man and the dusty, sun bleached landscape of his origin. The score to this existential battle is locked at 1– 0, with no finish line in sight. A loose, subtle, and open-ended narrative One to Nothing describes a historic tension with striking and unusual observations.

Eanna Freeney is a Irish photographer based in London, UK. He’s also the founder of The Velvet Cell publishing house, an independent publisher of limited edition photography books. The Velvet Cell Books was established to give a platform to similar photographers who are passionate about urban photography. It was founded in 2010 and ran for a year as an online magazine before going on to print artists books. To date it was published the work of seven photographers, from all over the world, including New York, Amsterdam, Madrid, Vienna and London.

Why did you set up The Velvet Cell?
Back in 2010 I was growing increasingly disillusioned with mainstream photography. For me there seemed to a lot of replications and it rarely, in my experiences, diverged from standard landscape or portraiture. Not that this is a bad thing but I felt that my own personal preferences in photography wasnt much represented yet I knew of lots of urban photographers. So I endeavoured to try to change the scene by myself and set up The Velvet Cell. And this is where we are at today.

What are the objectives of The Velvet Cell?
The main objectives of The Velvet Cell are to celebrate the work of great photographers. We are not distinctly here to represent either amateurs or professionals but at the moment it seems semi-professionals are doing a lot of great work out there. We are interested in photographers who are interested in as much of whats behind the photograph as well as the photograph itself. We aim to give a platform to urban photographers, and purposely leave that as vague as possible to include as many artists as possible. I want, when people pick up a book or check out the website, that people feel they are seeing something different.

The Velvet Cell specialises in urban based photography, why exactly this kind of subject?
Urban photography can only be defined really in relation to what it’s not. While portraiture deals with people as subjects, and street photography with the amblings of everyday life, urban photography can be interpreted as the artist sees fit and certainly overlaps in many places with other genres. How I would define it is as interested in the workings of the urban environment, whether physically, mentally or otherwise. For me it is a genre massively influenced by great photographers such as Alfred Stieglitz who was interested in the city as a structure and rarely shot at street level, preferring instead to capture the skyline and its shapes and forms, and Brassai, who’s project ‘Paris De Nuit‘ is a personal favourite of mine. Often urban photographers deal with issues of alienation, loss of identity and other themes in the urban environment.

Can you tell me something about the process of making a book? How long does it take from the initial spark until you’ve got it in stores?
The actual process of making the book can take quite a long time before everything is perfect. I usually have quite a few artists in mind who I’d like to work with and I am always getting contacted by others too which is always nice. The process begins with a dialogue with the photographer before we go on to decide what type of book and what theme we will follow. I usually spend a while then designing and trying to find the right printer for the job. After getting the book back then from the printers I need to update the website and write up a message for our subscribers. As we are a young company, not yet a year old, I spend a lot of time contacting online sites to do reviews and sending off samples to shops around the world. Its a long process but necessary.

What attracts you to photobook publishing?
What I love about publishing so much is that I get to work with people I admire about a medium that I am passionate about. My aspirations are to be a photographer myself so to work through photography is a pleasure for me. What is special about publishing, however, is that it constantly regenerates itself. Every new book is an act of renewal, a chance to try brand new things, to iron out any things you wanted to do differently from the last book. A whole new chance to start afresh. I try to keep the books similar but noticeably different. I hope, as our list of publications grow, that new styles and themes will emerge.

Which book will be next?
Our next book….hmmm Im not sure I can tell you too much about it as I want to keep it under wraps for the moment. We have just released our 7th book, however – Urban Satori by Belgian photographer Nykoh. Nykoh is a very talented photographer who I have followed for a long time so it was a pleasure to get to work with him properly. Nykoh is passionate about capturing the beauty in the mundane of the everyday city scene. This theme is brought to the fore in the book. You can see it here.

What are your plans for the future of The Velvet Cell?
Right now we are planning for a book launch for our next book that will also form an exhibition for all the titles published so far. This is very exciting but will require a lot of planning. It will be on January 26th on Brick Lane at Beach London.

The future as far as The Velvet Cell is concerned?
To continue with quality publications and to generate more interest. We are inspired by the likes of Nieves and Seems and hope to follow in their path someday but with our own style and ethos.

(via)

The Éditions Frédéric Pierre & Camille Françoise Éditions FP&CF are an associativ and independent publishing house based in Paris, France. They publish the participative fanzine TELL MUM EVERYTHING IS OK and some zines and art books.

The fifth limited and numbered issue is based on the theme “stigma” and shows the work of Alec Soth, Andrew Phelps, Clare Strand, Jason Fulford Roger Ballen and many other photographers.

The World In Pocket-Size Format (Scheidegger & Spiess, ISBN 978-3-85881-339-8, €54) is the first in a new book series by the ETH-Bibliothek Zürich on the valuable collections in its Image Archive. But why start a new series of photo books “Pictorial Worlds”? Whereas online databases eases research and makes possible search inquiries that go beyond a singel collection, the book series embeds specific collections of photos in their context of origin, paper, and offers an introduction to the multitude of possible historical interpretations. This photo book series is hereby orientated toward to an audience interested in cultural history and visual aesthetics.

The first volume of the new series presents the Adolf Feller Postcard Collection. Unique in size and scope, this collection comprises 54,000 picture postcards from 1889–1980. It was put together by Adolf Feller (1879–1931), a Swiss entrepreneur, and his daughter Elisabeth (1910–1973). The main focus of the collection is on postcards from various places in 140 countries in total, with around 15,000 motifs from Switzerland. It documents comprehensively what can be called the Golden Age of picture postcards between the fin de siècle and World War I, with its enormous diversity of motifs, radical changes of style in design and when postcards had their heyday as a means of communication. Monika Burri has read history and specializes in the history of tourism, travel and transport, and landscape. She has been working as a research archivist at the Staatsarchiv Aargau in Aarau, Switzerland, since 2011.

Michael Gasser is head of Special Collections at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich’s main library (ETH-Bibliothek).

Nicole Graf is head of Image Archive and Map Collection at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich’s main library (ETH-Bibliothek).

SHOPHOUSES 4 x 8 m Bangkok, Frame Maker.

When I think about about photography and competitions it always points out that no matter how many pixels your camera has, the Spirit of a photography lasts longer than anything else. Thanks to everyone at the Photography Masters Cup for counting my moments–People (Frame Maker, see image above) and Still Life (Lotus) –into your archive.

For those who are interested in this series: ‘SHOPHOUSES – 4  8 m Bangkok‘ is available for download on the app store here (3.99 €).

The awards international Jury included captains of the industry ranging from Hasted Hunt Kraeutler in New York, Brancolini Grimaldi, David & Goliath, Simon Studer Art Associates, Stills Gallery to Christie’s in London who honored Color Masters with 272 coveted title awards and 1099 nominees in 18 categories.

Hutong’s at Night are overwhelming. This is the time they seem to come to life suddenly. Photographer Feng Bin is giving a vivid impression of its historical and cultural significance in a surreal way in his documentary.

From 2005 to 2008 Bin photographed with an 8×10 inch large format camera observing the vanishing of the daylight into darkness while the street lights turn on. Feng Bin managed to collect the ways Hutong spoke softly of its historical marks, the changes gone through in the centuries and the traces of living nowadays.

Oalville, California, 1971.

William Carter’s fifth book Causes and Spirits (Steidl, ISBN: 978-3-86930-123-5, $78) is his most comprehensive, most searching — most personal. This book is both an autobiography of William Carter and a study of people

Causes and Spirits spans a career of fifty years (and counting). Whether Carter was covering the Iraqi Kurds for Life, the streets of London for Women’s Wear Daily, premature babies for the Stanford University Hospital, the historic American West for book projects, or classic nudes for gallery and museum exhibitions, his most deeply seen images all have an “extra something.”

Most are published here for the first time. This book’s autobiographical text amplifies the exacting compositions by exposing a subtle connective tissue behind life’s surfaces. Spanning five decades of the author’s pictures of people worldwide, Causes and Spirits is a rotunda of windows on the human soul.

The subtitle “Photographs from Five Decades” might seem misleading as it implies a “typical” photobook where the sequence of images is primary. For Carter, however, it is the interplay between his photographs and writings that allows him to see into himself and his subjects: indeed he calls himself a “photographer-writer”. In Carter’s words, his work aims to capture the “hidden implications, eye-blink compositions, odd ironies and happy accidents” of the world.

Los Angeles-born William Carter graduated from Stanford University in 1957. He became a professional photographer, writer and editor while concurrently pursuing fine art photography. In New York, Carter worked as a book editor for Harper & Row, 1961-63. Based in Beirut 1964-66, he published in Life, the London Sunday Times, Geographical Magazine and others. In 1966-69 he freelanced from London, doing assignments for such clients as The New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, and TWA’s Annual Report.

Returning to San Francisco in 1969, William Carter turned to longer term projects. He published his first book of text and pictures, Ghost Towns of the West, in 1971. His second book, Middle West Country, appeared in 1975. Carter’s permanent love affair with New Orleans jazz led him to create his third book of text and photographs, Preservation Hall, in 1991. Increasingly absorbed in fine art photography, he began exhibiting in galleries and published Illuminations, a book of nudes, in 1996. Carter’s fifth book, Causes and Spirits, is an autobiographical photo-appreciation of humanity worldwide, scheduled to be published in 2011.

If you want to dig deeper on the subject Jazz and Photography, please read this blog post of William Carter.

© All copyright remains with photographer William Carter.

Peter Nitsch, Charcoal. Recipient of the title award "Nominee" in professional category Still Life

For five years, Photography Masters Cup has been committed to bringing the people world-class Juries selected from the most influential names in the industry. Today it is recognized around the world as the most renowned body of its kind, dedicated to honoring the highest achievements in color photography.

With a collective Jury of the world’s most recognized experts from National Geographic Channel to Hasted Hunt Kraeutler in New York, the Masters Cup is the industry’s most authoritative and important photographic event for color photography and brings to light the best work of the year as nominated by the esteemed international panel.

The 5th Annual Photoshow will be streamed “live” this Saturday, October 29th.

My Charcoal photography above is recipient of the title award “Nominee” in professional category Still Life.

Purity, Chromogenic Print.

Jen Davis is a Brooklyn based photographer. For the past 9 years she has been working on a series of Self-Portrait’s dealing with issues regarding beauty, identity, and body image. It is an intimate exploration of her vulnerabilities in the face of a society that dictates beauty based on one’s physical appearance.

She has also been exploring men, as a subject and is interested in investigating the idea of relationships, both physical and psychological, with the camera. She received her MFA from Yale University in 2008, and her BA from Columbia College Chicago in 2002.

Excerpt magazine is a new and free quarterly online publication launching on Tuesday 8 November at www.excerptmagazine.com. Excerpt Magazine is centred on photo-based practice, with an emphasis on original content. Edited in Melbourne and featuring Australian and International artists and creatives, Excerpt Magazine challenges the archetypal magazine structure by constructing new formats.

Excerpt Magazine concentrates on short pieces of text and images that together form a collection of thoughtful insights and exchanges. Within each issue an artist is asked to respond to an interview only through photos, a group of artists anonymous to each other collectively write an essay and invited artists respond visually to the cover image.

Fuelled by the editors want for a magazine that is as creative in itself as in its contents, Excerpt Magazine fills the gap. Co-Founder and Co-Editor Amy Marjoram says, “We are creating an avenue for contributors to provide content they are really interested in, without stylistic parameters. I want this to be important, relevant and fun.” Editors Amy Marjoram and Kate Robertson met studying at VCA and in launching Excerpt Magazine have utilised the online platform to create a boundless readership.

Joined by Creative Director Laura Gulbin and Project Supporters Lou Hubbard and Louis Porter, the Excerpt team is completely made up of practicing artists. Issue One cover artist is Lucas Blalock (US) with contributors including; Janina Green (AUS), Sanja Pahoki (AUS), Daniel Palmer (AUS), Heather Lighton (AUS), Zhong Ling (CHN), Paul Knight (AUS works in UK), Alex Kershaw (AUS), & Ann Woo (US).

Untitled by Zhong Ling, 2011.

Luz and Ben. Portland, Oregon.

The work of Portland based photographer Megan Kathleen McIsaac is intensely personal and charmingly candid. While browsing through her site and blog I came across of a photograph from almost exactly one year ago: Luz and Ben in Portland. The photograph connects on a personal level with the viewer allowing him to wander off to document and reflect the situation without to be embarrassed.

Kathleen says, “I’ve been digging through my archives since I can’t afford any more film right now (not until we finish the rv and I sell my car …) the days are floating by especially fast, with only a month until we hope hit the road. I feel stagnant, mostly because I haven’t been treating my body very well. I need to spend some time focusing on aligning my heart and my head. Life is feeling very quick and chaotic and I don’t think things will rest easy any time soon … I must keep truckin’.”

Stuart Franklin, Tiananmen Square Beijing, China June - 1989.

This special and important photography book presents, for the first time, the very best Magnum Contact Sheets (Thames & Hudson, ISBN: 978 0 500 543993, $115), created by Magnum photographers. Contact sheets tell the truth behind a photograph and the use of the contact sheet as a record of one’s shooting, a tool for editing, and an index to an archive of negatives and what and how photographers saw for nearly a century. Was it the outcome of what a photographer had in mind from the outset? Did it emerge from a diligently worked sequence, or was the right shot down to pure serendipity – a matter of being in the right place at the right time?

This publication provides the reader with a depth of understanding and a critical analysis of the story behind a photograph, the process of editing it, and the places and ways in which the selected photographs were used. Organized chronologically, the book includes all analogue film formats – from the standard 35mm that was the core of photojournalistic practice in the twentieth century to panoramic to large-format – in both black-and- white and colour.

The images included – both celebrated icons of photography and lesser-known surprises – encompass over seventy years of history, demonstrating the role of photojournalism in describing events such as the World War II bombings of England, international political and cultural upheavals in the 1960s, and the wars in the Balkans. For anyone with a deep appreciation of photography and a desire to understand what goes into creating iconic work, Magnum Contact Sheets will be regarded as the definitive volume.

For collector’s there’s also a Collector’s Portfolio Edition ($1.750) available! This is an unprecedented publishing event and offers a unique opportunity to own one of only 10 copies in the world. See all the collector’s portfolio contact sheets here.

René Burri's book Brasilia lying on the portable storage system of Joe Colombo.

Brasilia is a utopia made real, dream city of Brazilian President Kubitschek; the new capital of the country at that time. Between 1958 and 1997 Swiss Magnum photograher René Burri documented the emergence of the city built from scratch, focusing first on its construction and then on everyday life.

Most of the photographs in the book René Burri. Brasilia (Scheidegger & Spiess, ISBN 978-3-85881-307-7, € 77,00) have never before been published. The covershot of Burri is part of the inauguration of Brasilia on April 21st, 1960, showing the twilight view of the twin towers of the Secretariat from the Palácio do Planalto – one of the most suggestive interpretations of a government building designed by Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, who, with Professor Lúcio Costa, urban planner, and chief engineer Israel Pinheiro, realized the ambition of Kubitschek. On that bespoken night foreign diplomats and the who’s who of Brazil flocked to Brasilia for the gala dinners and ball held for the inauguration of the new capital.

What shines through the photographs is the upbeat mood of the age, and the visionary dimensions of Brasilia. A wonderful and inspiring book.

René Burri, born in 1933, photographer, studied under Hans Finsler and Alfred Willimann at the Zurich School of Art and Design from 1950 to 1954. A member of Magnum since 1959, he lives in Paris and Zurich. First reportage on Le Corbusier as early as 1955, then numerous portraits and stories published in major magazines all over the world.

Shibuya ($75, ISBN: 978-981-08-6577-1, limited to 500 copies) by photographer Nguan is a collection of street photographs within the vicinity of one of Japan’s busiest transportation hubs. During this uncertain age, even the daily commute can seem fraught with trials. It unfolds and examines life as it is: unpredictable. These candid portraits depict Tokyo’s itinerant souls as they find their way to wherever they’re going. Nguan says, “Rather than wait for the ‘decisive moment’, my aim was to capture the ‘decisive glance’ from faces of strangers seen once before they were lost forever in the crowd.”

The American Weekend is an ongoing project by photographer Hollis Bennett that deals with how Americans deal with their limited amount of time off at the end of the week and all the nuances that it entails. Shooting primarily with a 4×5 camera Bennett describes his image making process as the following: “I am concerned with making honest, sincere and more often than not, stoic photographs of the people that color my life and the surroundings on which life’s stories are played out. While not entirely concise, yet not broad in spectrum my photographs leave enough to the viewer to actively inquire and question the images in front of them. Context and exclusion are a large part of my image making process whereby I believe that what is not in the frame can be as powerful and important as what is included in the frame.”

Beyond exploring the recreational, let loose side of things, Hollis Bennett is exploring the reasons why one would need to let loose and the contrast that this has on the rest of our time.

Elinros Henriksdotter from Contemporary Talks has been interviewing me about photography and Bangkok. In the following you’ll find a short excerpt – 3 out of 20 questions – of the interview. The interview can also be found on the ART REVIEW Magazine blog.

What is your philosophy as a photographer?
As I have a strong interest in Asia I would describe it with the words of Rabindranath Tagore: “The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.” For me and my personal work it is important to see the image before I make it and this “process” takes some time. Digital photography has made it easy for photographers to take thousand of pictures, but within those thousand pictures one can get lost and loose the sense-perception of photography, ‘painting with light’. Photography is a lifetime process of seeing and I‘m still learning.

According to your biography, your work mainly communicates “the conflict between Thai identity and the globalized living conditions”. The Thai installation artist Surasi Kusolwong, who is mainly known for his works about social interaction over economic exchange in modern consumer society, said the following in regards to “the consequences of globalization on the people (in Bangkok) and their cultural tradition.”(1): “We are good at adapting but sometimes we are too open. However, in general, we are not worried about this kind of globalization, we just flow flexibly and use it in our own way, meaning and understanding…”(2) How would you describe “Thai identity” and the globalized living conditions?
The Kingdom of Thailand or Kingdom of Siam is the only nation in Southeast Asia which has never been colonized by the westerner. Most of the population is Buddhist of Theravada School. The country has a long tradition of agriculture such as growing rice, vegetable, fruits, gum trees and palm oil. Between 1985 and 1995 Thailand experienced rapid economic growth and became the new industrialized country. With the ongoing westernization and globalization Thai people – mostly the new generation, the youngster – want to take part as well in the economic growth. But I think many people now realize that the consumerist paradigm isn’t sustainable from an ecological and sociological standpoint.

His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej has introduced the philosophy of sufficiency economics‘ 30 years ago to the Thai society. The sufficiency economy theme‘s relevance can be understood at several levels. At individual levels, they provide a sensible approach to economic life and are also helpful at firm and community levels. Nationally, the themes are highly relevant for countries adjusting to rapidly changing global environments. Sufficiency means to have enough to live on. Sufficiency also means to lead a reasonably comfortable life, without excess, or overindulgence in luxury, but enough. Some things may seem to be extravagant, but if it brings happiness, it is permissible as long as it is within the means of the individual, which I think is the only way out.

I have never been to Thailand myself and my conception of the country relies heavily on photography and media. Your documentary work offers the viewer a delightfully intimate peek into the everyday life on the streets of Bangkok. Since Thailand has gained a reputation as a hub for excessive sexual behavior, which is not at all present in your work, I feel that your work is important in terms of bringing forth a broader understanding of Thai culture. How big is the sex industry in Thailand?
You‘re right. Well, you‘ve mentioned it. Ask someone about Thailand and he will tell you about sex tourism or sandy beaches, ask someone about New York and he will tell you about art, design, creativity and many other positive things. The sex tourism industry in Thailand came with the American G.I.‘s during the Vietnam war. The US used Thailand as a hub to Vietnam and to heal their wounds from the war. This is how Thailand gained international notoriety among travelers from many countries as a sex tourism destination. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, although in practice it is tolerated and partly regulated. The sex industry isn‘t much bigger than in any other country, it‘s just MADE bigger than it actually is by word-of-mouth. Thailand has a lot more to offer, the people and the country are so creative. There‘s a lot to discover, if you want to!

(1), (2) Surasi Kusolwong in conversation with Gerald Matt in 2005, INTERVIEWS by Gerald Matt

Liang Ewe เลี่ยงอิ้ว (Chinese for ‘Good Friend’), Phuket’s venerable old photography studio, was opened for business in 1933 by Aree Khorchareon (Chinese name ‘Khor Eng Lee’, 1911 – 1992).

Though entirely self-taught, his great talent both in the direction of his sitters and in technical proficiency – the selection of lenses, camera angles and beautiful lighting, kept his studio the favourite of the island’s elite until his death in 1992. The vast treasure trove of glass and acetate film negatives that he left behind is an invaluable social and cultural heritage: portraits of Phuket inhabitants spanning the pivotal transition in Phuket’s history, from the end of the tin-mining gold rush to the early beginnings of the tourist boom.

In this App we are traveling with Rui Camilo to the relatively unknown African insular state named São Tomé und Príncipe, to portray the soul of this tiny country through a collection of unique photos: fascinating landscapes from bird’s eye view and unseen insights into the life of human beings who are populating a tropical island that looks like a Hollywood movie set. This project by Ruis is based on a dream from his childhood in Lisbon when his teacher was telling enthusiastic stories about the cocoa plantations of the picturesque Portuguese colony.

Rui, how did the “Over the African Islands SãoTomé and Principe” project actually start?
Thomas Wartmann from Filmquadrat gave me a call and told me about the idea for “Over the African Islands SãoTomé and Principe” and asked if I wanted to do some research and shoot photos. Thomas and the director Christian Schidlowski were looking for a photographer that would fit the project form a stylistic point of view and speaks Portuguese as well. Then I got recommended by Ami Vitale (she did the photos for Madagascar) who I got to know in Iceland, where we did a presentation on photography in Reykjavik together, and she knew that I speak Portuguese. Thanks Ami, by the way!

SãoTomé used to be the biggest cocoa manufacturer worldwide, can you still find some industry there or did it completely disappear?
The only kind of industry that exists and still is growing, is the oil industry. During my travels on SãoTomé I met the incumbent oil minister and spoke with him about the whole thing. As soon as they find oil, a lot of cash is flowing for a small group of people, but if something goes wrong, everybody on SãoTomé and Principe has to suffer the consequences. Even a complete collapse of the ecosystem can be the result for the small island. There are a lot of endemic (species that can only be found on those islands) animals and plants, and the population is highly dependent on the ocean. Oil has been found in very deep water in the Gulf of Guinea and the Deep Water Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico showed what a big mess oil production can cause. I hope that the ecological and public good of the islands and its people is in the center of attention, and not the greed and profit of a few consolidated companies!
Besides that they still plant cocoa, as well as coffee, vanilla, pepper, etc., but not in the quantities like during the colonial era. The chocolate from Claudio Corallo, who owns a cocoa plantation on Principe, tastes fantastic and the vanilla from Carino Espirito is incredibly intensive and aromatic. A lot of people on SãoTomé and Principe would love to resurrect the old plantations, but they simply don’t have the money to do it and it is very hard to find investors.

Everywhere on the islands the overgrown ruins are still recollecting the legacy of the colonial power, where today the descendants of former slaves are living. Was it hard for you to get in touch and with the local people and gain some insights into their lives?
I have to say that the locals made it very easy for me. They were never importunate and always hospitable and helpful. You can achieve a great deal all over the world with a little bit of respect and kindness, and speaking the national language definitely made it a lot easier to have a real conversation. As soon as I recognized that somebody doesn’t want to be photographed, I didn’t do it of course. I wouldn’t like it either if somebody pesters me to get a photo without my permission. Therefore I have to give those people first the chance to get to know and accept me, before I come another day to get some photos. Of course there isn’t always so much time as photographer and there are situation, where you have to react immediately, but in that case you have to balance quickly.

Christopher Columbus once said “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” How did you actually travel on and between the islands?
Between the islands I’ve been hopping with the twin-engined machine from “African Connection”, and on the islands with jeep, bus, taxi and canoe, but predominantly by foot. When you move by foot, you got the necessary slowness for seeing things.

From my point of view the portraits that were taken on the islands seem very expressive. The faces of the locals are telling much more stories than every other panoramic picture. Their nativeness and elegance is simply unique. Who or what made the biggest impression on you?
I’ve been especially fascinated by people that I photographed there and I would have loved to intensify the one or another acquaintance. With Joao Carlos Silva from the Rossa Sao Joao if been very impressed by his decision to return to SãoTomé and helping to build the cultural center C.A.C.A.O. that the locals get the chance to be artistically creative, to make music, to learn cooking, etc. This project on SãoTomé is unique and completely self-financed. Joao Carlos is a pretty famous TV cook in Portugal and could afford a nice and easy living in Europe, but he preferred to live on SãoTomé and use his knowledge for the common good. Much respect Joao Carlos!

During the project you also organized a photo workshop on the island for the kids. What was the main difference between those kids and “Western” kids in terms of handling the camera?
Of course the local kids there don’t have those technical gadgets that we have in the West. Stuff like cameras, game pads, computers are way too prohibitive for the islanders. There are hardly any normal toys, but the children really don’t seem to miss them. They’re used to play in and with the nature, and in doing so they probably enjoy more variety and excitement than in a jam-packed toy store. Whenever I watched those kids playing happily in the river, I even felt sorry for our children because Western kids are more and more lacking of a frolic and uncomplicated childhood, and are exposed to the stress and pressure of our performance-related society at a very early age. The kids in the workshop were pretty shy, but endlessly thankful that they were allowed to take part. They were really attentive and concentrated, and worked avidly on the arrangement of the pictures. Furthermore they weren’t scared to take any bad pictures and in this way they approached the whole thing completely relaxed and open-minded. The result was the perfect proof and I’ve been really impressed by the pictures of these little personalities. There isn’t a secondary school in Angolares and therefore only privileged kids from richer families, who can afford to send their children to the capital, are able to continue school. The rest are getting a bad break. To go to university, the students have to move to Portugal because there is no university on SãoTomé. I hope that they’re using some possible profit from the oil production for the development and modernization of the school system that in the future all kids are having the same chance on a solid education.

Will the kids’ photo project be continued after your departure from the island? If yes, is there already a website about the project?
There isn’t a website so far, but I’m trying to find a magazine that is interested to cover the entire story. I definitely want to continue the project and hope to find some financial support. Right now I’m collecting old instruments for Joao Carlos Silva and his cultural center C.A.C.A.O. He’s also supervising the donated cameras because the C.A.C.A.O. owns a computer, where the kids can watch and work on the photos. I’m collecting Portuguese photography books too, that I can give the C.A.C.A.O. library when I go there next time.

Is there any experience on the islands that changed your own perspective on photography?
My perspective on photography is somehow under a constant change and I will always try to develop and expand the knowledge on my profession. It’s definitely important to have the know-how and some role models, but there comes a time when you have to follow your own creative instinct. Of course that’s not that easy from time to time, but as I almost spent a month on Sao Tomé, I have even been able to work myself off on certain topics. Time and muse are pretty important for a project like this and helped to satisfy my own expectations on the entire mission. Jobs like that are as well necessary to revive your creative and artistic impulse, and collect new ideas for your own career.

The highly valued Rene Burri once said: “One of these days I’am going to publish a book of all the pictures I did not take. It is going to be a huge hit.” Your pictures on SãoTomé and Principe are completed and have just been published as App with photos and documentary. I wish you all the best for the App and of course many, many downloads! Get your hands on the beautiful and brilliant Over the Islands of Africa – SãoTomé and Principe App here.

“Over the Islands of Africa” is a five-part documentary series about the islands of Africa. Accompany five renowned photographers, who discover the islands of Africa: Zanzibar, Mauritius, Madagascar, São Tomé & Príncipe and Cape Verde or visit the project site here!

Further you can see more images of the interview at get addicted to …