Category: Reviews

The Allure of What We Hoped – Review of “100 Movies: A survey of American drive-in theatres / 1976” by Herman van den Boom
Think, for a moment, about the location of a shared experience for our imagination and desire. It could be a

Starlight, Starbright – Review of “Star Struck” by Ave Pildas
One of the particular, and sometimes peculiar, powers of a photobook is its ability to call up the past with

Light to the Archives – Review of “The Unseen Saul Leiter” by Margit Erb and Michael Parillo
One of the benefits of being a prolific photographer is that there is a lot to choose from when putting

The Once and Future Now – Review of “Olmsted Trees” by Stanley Greenberg
It is relatively commonplace for a collection of photographs to have an historical intent. We are accustomed to looking at

Gravitas and Joy – Review of “Coney Island People: 50 Years” by Harvey Stein
Coney Island is one of the bedrocks of American mythology. It does not matter if you’ve never been there. If you are

When Witness is Invitation – Review of “Beautiful, Still” by Colby Deal
I will admit to a special fondness for the documentary photobook. More deeply than most photojournalism, these books are often

Implications – Review of “From Yonder Wooded Hill” by Riley Goodman
Legends are peculiar things. By definition, they are acts of storytelling. They are acts of memory, too, though the facts

Emotion Recollected – Review of “Spray Nation” by Martha Cooper
If photobooks can capture and define a movement, then the 1984 book, Subway Art, co-authored by Henry Chalfant and Martha

The Space of/between Then and Now – Review of “The Way It Was: Road Trips USA” by Thomas Hoepker
If one photograph can capture and sustain a moment in time, two images capture something much more difficult to explain. Two

The Inspiration Cards – Review of “The Street Photography Challenge” by David Gibson
This is going to be a very short review of a product I have come to love. Notice I did

No Exit – Review of “Sin Salida” by Tariq Zaidi
The documentary image is a complicated and troubled idea. At one level, it seems straightforward. The goal is to document, without

The Rest of the Story – Review of “Gathered Leaves Annotated” by Alec Soth
There is something deeply wonderful about hearing a story, and then hearing it again. Think about listening to a song,

Something Completely Different – Review of “Scarti di Tempo” by Sandra Cattaneo Adorno
Let’s call it reader, or viewer, error. I picked up Scarti di Tempo, the new book by Sandra Cattaneo Adorno,

A Quiet Intimacy – Review of “Family Photographs” by Joan Albert
It’s always a bit of magic when a photograph transcends the mundane and becomes something special. We all have family

On the Missing Other – Review of “Dining Alone: In the Company of Solitude” by Nancy A. Scherl
The whole idea of communion, of breaking bread together, is deeply rooted in human psychology and history. It doesn’t matter