Latest photo books reviewed

By Ben Hawkins

General Accessories

25 October 2011 13:42

Practical Photography deputy editor Ben Hawkins delves into the latest batch of photo-related books…

First up is Complete Guide To Digital Photography (Quercus, £16, ISBN 978-0-85738-548-2), a chunky slab of a book that’s intended as a ‘definitive reference’ for all things camera-related. I’m always a little wary of one-size-fits-all books like this, as inevitably they cover too much ground too thinly, and this tome certainly covers a lot of ground and doffs its cap to all the subjects you’d expect. Trouble is, two pages on light just isn’t enough – surely that’s a book in itself. Neither are two pages on long exposures (with poor example pics to boot). One big plus point, however, is the assignments designed to develop your newfound skills. Still, Complete Guide… is intended as a quick-fire guide, and these kind of books are fundamentally flawed from the off.

More specific and infinitely more useful is Best Photoshop Filters (A&C Black, £25, ISBN 978-1-4081-4650-7), which lists more than 1000 Photoshop filter effects and includes clear instructions on how to use them. We’re all familiar with Unsharp Mask and Noise, but who knew there were so many Brush Stroke and Distort filters that can be used in a subtle fashion by photographers looking to give their images a unique touch? True, not every filter is relevant (some are truly horrific) and the asking price is a bit steep, but author Susannah Hall’s background as a graphic designer and retoucher shines through. Want to explore the outer reaches of Photoshop? Here’s your ticket.

As jobs go, following rock legends Iron Maiden around the globe and documenting their every move has to be up there on a golden pedestal. Make that three times around the globe and you’ve got the job music photographer John McMurtrie has enjoyed since 2008, when Iron Maiden embarked on their epic ‘Somewhere Back In Time’ world tour. On Board Flight 666 (Orion, £25, ISBN 978–1-4091-4136-5) is a fascinating account of the band’s exploits, and spans three years and five continents, and all in a customised Boeing 757 piloted by singer Bruce Dickinson! There are over 600 images – on stage, off stage, in the air, on the road… it’s all here! Quite simply, if you’re a Maiden fan, you need this book.

From planes to trains, Steam: An Enduring Legacy (Norton, £38, ISBN 978-0-3930-8248-7) is a wonderfully nostalgic look back at the last 25 years of American railroad preservation. Joel Jenson is an award-winning freelance photographer who specialises in railroads, and his passion and dedication to the cause has seen him traverse every route west of the Mississippi. The resultant 150 black & white images capture the epic nature of the landscape, the harshness of the conditions, and the colourful characters who keep the wagons rolling. Even non-railway inclined photographers will appreciate the drama and quality of light in much of Joel’s work. Breathtaking stuff.

Joseph Koudelka’s Gypsies (Thames & Hudson, £48, ISBN 978-0-500-54402-0) should have seen the light of day in 1970. Sadly, following the Russian invasion of Prague in 1968, the book was never published in its original form. What we have here is a revised and extended version, consisting of 109 photographs taken between 1962 and 1971 in Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, France and Spain and documenting the migration of the Roma across Europe. A great deal of care and attention has been given to the production values – the quality of paper and printing is exceptional and more than justifies the high price tag. As for the images, they’re up their with Cartier-Bresson, all unflinching insight and perfectly timed candor. Exceptional.

Further east but no less extraordinary is Andreas Bitesnich’s India (teNeues, £60, ISBN 978-3-8327-9480-4), an elegant account of his travels across this vast and exotic subcontinent. From Agra to Varanasi, he documents the opulence, poverty and history of a country steeped in contradictions and quirks. Wrestlers, holy men, police, amazing handlebar moustaches… intimate shots of India’s peoples sit comfortably alongside well observed shots of the country’s architecture, past and present. Bitesnich’s love of warm light and muted tones suits the subject perfectly. As usual, teNeues have gone to town with the presentation, wrapping Bitesnich’s images up in a weighty and beautiful tome that could double as a coffee table.

From the sublime to the skintight, Latex Fashion Photography (Goliath, £30, ISBN 978-3-9367-0946-9) is a lavishly packaged ode to the designers behind some of the most alluring clothes and creations this side of Lady Gaga. While the names on show won’t ring the same bells as, say, Dior or Chanel, their designs have adorned the rich and famous – Atsuko Kudo has decked out Kate Moss, while Très Bonjour’s designs can be seen in various Katy Perry videos. Over 60 photographers have created images just as stylish as the outfits and models, and with 384 pages packed into a hardback cover, credit must go to Goliath for such impressive production values and for approaching the subject in such a classy way.

Last but not least, we’ve got the wallet-friendly version of Ellen von Unwerth’s Fraulein (Taschen, £45, ISBN 978-3-8365-2808-5). Promising ‘fashion and fetish in a female fantasyland’, this is essentially a lovingly compiled ‘best of’ that brings together over 15 years of Unwerth’s provocative images. Featuring more beautiful women than you could shake a seamed stocking at - Kate Moss, Dita von Teese and the delectable Monica Bellucci to name just three – Fraulein is playful, sassy and incredibly stylish. And where the first edition weighed in at £2250 (complete with box, signed and numbered print etc), you can pick up a copy of this non-limited edition version for under £30 from Amazon. Bargain!