https://www.lensculture.com/articles/lensculture-editors-favorite-photobooks-2024
We reached out to photography experts from around the globe, and we asked them to recommend books that are their personal favorites from 2024. This year’s list of favorites features 34 titles, and as you can imagine, the range of topics and styles is wide and varied.
Valentina Abenavoli is an editor, book designer and visual artist working at the intersection of photography, video, sound and text. She has led intensive workshops on photo editing and bookmaking internationally. In 2012, she co-founded Akina, an independent publishing house producing challenging photobooks by emerging photographers. Her first photobook, Anaesthesia, was released in 2016, followed by her second book, The Harvest, in 2017. Both are part of an ongoing trilogy investigating the subjects of empathy and evil. Recently, she co-founded Neighbour, an alternative art space in Trivandrum, India, focusing on exhibitions, publishing and collaborations.
via 1000 Words: https://1000wordsmag.com/photobook-conversations-4-valentina-abenavoli/
When I think of my life before working at Akina, I recall a fascination for photobooks that was raw and unshaped – an early, unrefined intuition that supported an imaginative approach without prior knowledge, in its mad and vast simplicity. I would pick up a book because of its cover or title, without knowing what to expect with each turning page. As I learned the narrative structures and rhythm of sequences, I took my sweet time with each book, and some stories, in all their complexities, would linger in my mind for a long time, unfolding in multiple serendipities and nocturnal epiphanies. It was a real pull, a magnetic one, that had been the primary subject of my thoughts for many years. That blissful ignorance is what I now miss deeply.
https://1000wordsmag.com/photobook-conversations-4-valentina-abenavoli/
As the year draws to a close, an annual tribute to some of the exceptional photobook releases from 2024 – selected by Editor in Chief, Tim Clark, with words from Editorial Assistant, Thomas King.
via 1000 Words: https://1000wordsmag.com/top-10-2024/
As the year draws to a close, an annual tribute to some of the exceptional photobook releases from 2024 – selected by Editor in Chief, Tim Clark, with words from Editorial Assistant, Thomas King.
Photographs are thought made visible. So in Casinoland we encounter not only the subject—casinos—we encounter Michael Rababy and his thoughts on this most complex subject. Is there a theme to Michael’s thoughts and work? Yes, it is to tell the truth. That is what motivated him and that is what resonates in this deep and
via LENSCRATCH: http://lenscratch.com/2024/11/michael-rababy-casinoland-tired-of-winning/
I enjoy going to vegas as an adult — not for the gambling (I don’t gamble). I go for the people watching. Everywhere I see the saturated colors and flashing lights, the luring signs assuring non-stop fun, the percussive sounds of chaos demanding attention, the poetry of losing, the art of walking away and the great irony that many don’t seem to be having the joy they were promised.
http://lenscratch.com/2024/11/michael-rababy-casinoland-tired-of-winning/
From iconic monographs to thought-provoking essay books, here is the ultimate guide to the best photobooks to give this holiday season.
via Aperture: https://aperture.org/editorial/2024-holiday-photobook-gift-guide/
Legendary photographers. Iconic monographs. Thought-provoking essay books. Limited-edition photography gifts. Here is the ultimate guide to the best photobooks to give this holiday season.
https://aperture.org/editorial/2024-holiday-photobook-gift-guide/
Dawoud Bey, Kristine Potter, Alec Soth, and more consider the lasting impact of Frank’s groundbreaking photobook.
via Aperture: https://aperture.org/editorial/6-photographers-reflect-on-robert-franks-the-americans/
Dawoud Bey, Kristine Potter, Alec Soth, and more consider the lasting impact of Frank’s groundbreaking photobook.
https://aperture.org/editorial/6-photographers-reflect-on-robert-franks-the-americans/
Book Review Dogbreath Photographs by Matthew Genitempo Reviewed by Blake Andrews “Matthew Genitempo’s method has always relied on int…
Link: https://blog.photoeye.com/2024/11/dogbreath-reviewed-by-blake-andrews.html
Matthew Genitempo’s method has always relied on intuition. He approaches photo projects with no clear finish line in mind. Instead he settles in somewhere and pokes around, secure in the faith that his gut will lead him to photographs. Gradually he learns the lay of the land and meets a few locals. One thing leads to another. Acquaintances string together, rhythms flex, and passing moments deepen into portrait sessions. After a while he’s got a book.
https://blog.photoeye.com/2024/11/dogbreath-reviewed-by-blake-andrews.html
via Conscientious Photography Magazine: https://cphmag.com/long-sunset/
Even as it seems clear from Record 2 that the sun is slowly setting over a life in photography, Moriyama’s true legacy is going to remain with us for many years to come. But you will have to look past the harsh contrast of the black and white in the photographs to discover the multi-faceted human being behind them.
Peter van Agtmael’s images of war and domestic strife are arresting and almost cinematically spare, but it is the careful narrative arc of his new book, “Look at the U.S.A.,” that deepens the viewer’s experience.
via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/bearing-witness-to-american-exploits
Peter van Agtmael’s images of war and domestic strife are arresting and almost cinematically spare, but it is the careful narrative arc of his new book, “Look at the U.S.A.,” that deepens the viewer’s experience.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/bearing-witness-to-american-exploits
One must be ambidextrous in opening this beautifully and cleverly crafted monograph about a mysterious island by the creative duo, Gabriele Chiapparini and Camilla Marrese. Their creation, “Thinking Like an Island” , published by Overlapse, provokes the viewer to engage in a visual and mental jigsaw puzzle with psychological overtones. The book is a feast
via LENSCRATCH: http://lenscratch.com/2024/11/gabriele-chiapparini-and-camilla-marrese-thinking-like-an-island/
The book is a feast served á la carte or in its entirety depending upon the path you choose. Its layout consists of four rectangular mini booklets that can (and probably should) be viewed as a group in sequence revealing the mysteries of a lightly inhabited island somewhere off the coast of Italy (or is it?). You can never be certain of where you are, nor can you be sure of when, but the one certainty is that the island is remote but not remote enough to avoid an Amazon delivery
http://lenscratch.com/2024/11/gabriele-chiapparini-and-camilla-marrese-thinking-like-an-island/
These 35 photobooks highlight excellence in publishing across a wide range of topics and photographic styles.
via Aperture: https://aperture.org/editorial/a-look-inside-the-titles-shortlisted-for-the-2024-photobook-awards/
These 35 photobooks highlight excellence in publishing across a wide range of topics and photographic styles.
https://aperture.org/editorial/a-look-inside-the-titles-shortlisted-for-the-2024-photobook-awards/
https://www.lensculture.com/articles/anna-and-jordan-rathkopf-her2-the-diagnosed-the-caregiver-and-their-son
In this brave account of a family navigating breast cancer, Anna and Jordan Rathkopf turn the camera on each other. Capturing resilience, vulnerability and the tenderness of caregiving, the book offers an honest look at how chronic illness impacts all areas of life.
Lars Tunbjörk documented the rise of alienating online work. His images should remind us that it didn’t have to be this way.
via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-frightening-familiarity-of-late-nineties-office-photos
Lars Tunbjörk documented the rise of alienating online work. His images should remind us that it didn’t have to be this way.
Hans Gremmen is a graphic designer based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He works in the field of photography, architecture and fine art and has designed over 300 books. He has won various awards for his experimental designs, among them a Golden Medal in the Best Book Design from all over the World competition. In 2008, he founded Fw:Books, a publishing house with a focus on photography-related projects. Together with Roma Publications, he recently founded ENTER ENTER, a project space in the centre of Amsterdam which explores the boundaries of the book.
via 1000 Words: https://1000wordsmag.com/photobook-conversations-1-hans-gremmen/
Perfection is fine conceptually, but it should never be the goal. In fact, I think perfect books are very boring. A book should have an edge, some friction. I mean that a book should have some level of desire to make you uncomfortable, because in that way a viewer has to bring something to the book. You are going to be sharper, more present when looking at the work. Perfection lets the viewer be lazy.
https://1000wordsmag.com/photobook-conversations-1-hans-gremmen/
The photographer’s autobiography takes us on a long voyage from East to West and back again without smoothing over the potholes in the road.
via Hyperallergic: http://hyperallergic.com/957792/danny-lyon-lived-his-photography/
The photographer’s autobiography takes us on a long voyage from East to West and back again without smoothing over the potholes in the road.
https://hyperallergic.com/957792/danny-lyon-lived-his-photography/
In a conversation last year, an artist friend of mine and I discussed the need for a space to discover zines. In some ways a space like the one we discussed, digitally available to an international audience, is antithetical to the very idea of the zine which is generally considered to be defined as a
via LENSCRATCH: http://lenscratch.com/2024/10/october-zine-feature/
In a conversation last year, an artist friend of mine and I discussed the need for a space to discover zines. In some ways a space like the one we discussed, digitally available to an international audience, is antithetical to the very idea of the zine which is generally considered to be defined as a small-circulation publication. The more I talked to people, however, the more the definition of the zine became labyrinthine in nature. In hopes of finding a singular definition, I turned to the history of the form.
https://www.lensculture.com/articles/adra-pallon-lumes-rural-depopulation-cultural-extinction-in-galicia
With a thoughtful gaze born from a deep concern for his surroundings, Adra Pallón explores the devastating consequences of rural depopulation on the culture of Galicia, its environment and the last of its aging inhabitants.
Kyler Zeleny has a particular way of seeing the world, or more specifically, seeing the Canadian prairie, that is both historical and theatrical, cinematic and apocalyptic. When combined, the results are riveting. His newest book effort is the the final chapter in his prairie trilogy. Bury Me in the Back Forty, published by The Velvet
via LENSCRATCH: http://lenscratch.com/2024/09/kyler-zeleny-bury-me-in-the-back-40/
Kyler Zeleny has a particular way of seeing the world, or more specifically, seeing the Canadian prairie, that is both historical and theatrical, cinematic and apocalyptic. When combined, the results are riveting. His newest book effort is the the final chapter in his prairie trilogy. Bury Me in the Back Forty, published by The Velvet Cell, is the successor to the sold-out books “Out West” and “Crown Ditch”. His unique approach to combing text and image, vintage and contemporary photographs and ephemera, oral histories and community records, make Bury Me in the Back Forty a rich narrative of prairie life.
http://lenscratch.com/2024/09/kyler-zeleny-bury-me-in-the-back-40/
To say that I’m a fan of Meryl Meisler’s photographs would be an understatement. Her approach ot documenting life is what drew me to photography — black and white square photographs that so perfectly capture a moment in time, seen with humor and pathos. Her archives seem endless as she has continued to release amazing bodies
via LENSCRATCH: http://lenscratch.com/2024/09/meryl-meisler/
Street Walker is a stunning exploration of social change, cultural diversity, and creative expression, from serene suburban curbs to the iconic nightlife of clubs. Street Walker is a vivid narrative of an era, capturing the essence of American life with humor, empathy, and a keen observational eye
For Bernal, photography was a potent tool in affirming the value of Mexican American communities who lacked visibility and agency.
via Aperture: https://aperture.org/editorial/louis-carlos-bernals-intimate-portrayals-of-the-chicano-experience/
With every photograph that he’s taking of every Mexican American person, he’s making a political statement. He’s saying, Look at this person. This person has dignity.
https://aperture.org/editorial/louis-carlos-bernals-intimate-portrayals-of-the-chicano-experience/