Black_White_Photography_-_Winter_2014

06

B+W

He liked to photograph

murders because the

subjects never moved.

Working in New York in

the 1930s and 40s, Weegee

was often on the crime scene

before the police arrived –

and as author Brian Wallis

observed, he became the

exemplar of the intrepid

news photographer, a tabloid

specialist in night-time crime.

This book draws from the

Weegee archive of more than

20,000 images held by the

International Center of

Photography in New York.

Some of the pictures are grisly,

many are intrusive, all are

loaded with drama.

Informed short essays,

newspaper cuttings and

hand-written notes by the

photographer make this

a fitting tribute to a dedicated

hard news photographer.

‘I love this racket,’ he said.

‘It’s exciting. It’s dangerous.

It’s funny. It’s tough. It’s

heartbreaking. It tears the guts

right out of you. But I love it.’

Mark Bentley

‘I love this racket,’ he said. ‘It’s exciting. It’s dangerous.

It’s funny. It’s tough. It’s heartbreaking. It tears

the guts right out of you. But I love it.’

In this lavishly illustrated book,

author Tom Ang charts the

development of photography

from its early days right up to

the present.

He profiles more than 50

influential photographers and

looks at important innovations

ranging from the daguerreotype

to the Leica 1 and the iPhone. As

well as the artists and innovators,

he also celebrates the role of

photography as a popular

pastime that allowed ordinary

people to record holidays,

weddings and social events.

A welcome feature is the

analysis of key photographs.

Pictures such as Ansel Adams’

Clearing Winter Storm, Dorothea

Lange’s Migrant Mother and

Robert Doisneau’s Kiss by the

Hotel de Ville are discussed in

detail, explaining the background

history and examining the

composition and technique.

An engaging and informative

book, beautifully put together.

Mark Bentley

NEWS

WEEGEE: MURDER IS MY BUSINESS

Brian Wallis

International Center of Photography and DelMonico Books

Hardback, £

PHOTOGRAPHY:

THE DEFINITIVE

VISUAL HISTORY

Tom Ang

Dorling Kindersley

Hardback, £

HASSELBLAD

MASTERS: VOL.

EVOLVE

teNeues

Hardback, £

Each of the 12 winners from this

year’s prestigious Hasselblad

Masters competition was given

some of the world’s finest camera

equipment and the subject ‘evolve’

to create an exclusive set of

pictures. Here the diverse results

are reproduced beautifully in this

large format book. There’s also a

significant amount of B&W work

throughout the selection.

A QUESTION

OF ENGLAND

John Comino-James

Dewi Lewis Publishing

Hardback, £

Analogue advocate John Comino-

James questions how England has

changed over the last 60 years by

looking at words and language

used on road signs, posters and

billboards around the country.

Through 128 duotone printed

images, largely in panoramic

format, the photographer’s

perceptions are insightful

and highlight how to explore

a theme in its entirety.

ON THE SHELF

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