The Photobook Thread

CPH3920 · Oct 3, 2023

Question for anyone who has attended Paris Photo/Polycopies. What's the best strategy for getting books back to the US? Suspecting that with any level of decent collecting purchases, luggage is not going to be viable. Does anyone have a line on a good shop for shipping?

MTGseattle · Oct 8, 2023

I wish I could help you on that shipping question. Are there global fedex or DHL or UPS offices?

I picked up 2 titles today;

A small paperback Don Worth; Photographs 1955-1985. Published by Friends of Photography

August Sander; Seeing, Observing and Thinking. Published by Schirmer/ Mosel to accompany an exhibition by the same name.

snusmumriken · Oct 9, 2023

MTGseattle said:
Are there global fedex or DHL or UPS offices?

Of course there are!

Peter Schrager · Oct 9, 2023

just sent away for Mark Ruwedel; Rivers Run Through It
He does great work with. a 8x10 camera

MTGseattle · Oct 14, 2023

Thank you @logan2z for the Steidl/Robert Adams video. I watched it before work the other morning and it hit me somewhat hard emotionally.
I ordered the "bundle" from Steidl. I can't wait to get them.

I like some of Mark Ruwedel's work. I'm not sure about "Palms, Capri" though.

logan2z · Oct 14, 2023

MTGseattle said:
Thank you @logan2z for the Steidl/Robert Adams video. I watched it before work the other morning and it hit me somewhat hard emotionally.
I ordered the "bundle" from Steidl. I can't wait to get them.

I like some of Mark Ruwedel's work. I'm not sure about "Palms, Capri" though.

I had the same reaction to the video. It's still on my mind.

I've ordered 'Los Angeles Spring' and 'Eden'. I have original copies of 'Summer Nights' and 'Summer Nights, Walking' so it was tough to justify another.

logan2z · Oct 14, 2023

MTGseattle said:
I like some of Mark Ruwedel's work. I'm not sure about "Palms, Capri" though.

I like some of it as well. Some I'm less fond of. I had a copy of his Scotiabank Photography Award book published by Steidl and didn't love it.

MTGseattle · Oct 14, 2023

I'm not getting much done today since I'm on here for the 3rd time. Ha ha
I just did a quick google of Mr. Ruwedel. Good grief. His list of exhibitions and work held in collections is pretty long. I'd be curious to see the "Westward the Course of Empire" work. I need to get my behind to a library once in a while.

Alex Benjamin · Oct 21, 2023

New on my book shelf, Lena Fritsch's Ravens & Red Lipstick: Japanese Photography Since 1945 (Thames & Hudson, 2018). Extremely interesting.

logan2z · Oct 27, 2023

Gost books is reissuing an expanded edition of Bruce Gilden's Haiti. I'm not a huge fan of Gilden's recent work (or his methods) but I've had my eyes open for an original edition of Haiti for a while and haven't been able to find a clean copy for anything resembling a reasonable price. Very tempted by this one...

logan2z · Nov 20, 2023

I was excited today to get an email about a 25% off sale at Magnum for Black Friday. They had the new re-release of Bruce Gilden's 'Haiti' in their online store so I quickly added it to my cart and started to check out with the discount code. Unfortunately, the code didn't seem to work. I took a closer look at the email and saw that the sale 'excludes books'. Bummer

logan2z · Nov 22, 2023

No affiliation, but Aperture has a very good deal for Black Friday on Diane Arbus's Revelations. That book is normally $80 but it's on sale for $40. I already have a copy or I'd snap it up. It's not that much more at Amazon, but the odds of them getting it to you without damage is practically nil.

logan2z · Dec 25, 2023

Alex Benjamin said:
Oh my...

I just received it in time for Christmas. It was worth the wait.

logan2z · Dec 25, 2023

Anyone get any photobooks for Christmas? I got Robert Frank Paris published by Steidl. I have a sneaking suspicion there are more coming for my birthday next week (I was asked for a list )

Pieter12 · Dec 25, 2023

Michael Kenna Photographs & Stories, signed.

MTGseattle · Dec 25, 2023

Routledge was having a sale, so a copy of "Carbon Transfer Printing" showed up at my door yesterday. Early in the month I expanded my Bill Jay collection with a copy of "Some Rollicking Bull."

albireo · Dec 25, 2023

I received 'Eden' by Robert Adams, new 2023 print by Steidl.

Robert Adams (early) work is amazing. I love it.

The book however - I'm so disappointed. How can Steidl be so hit and miss?

Every time I open 'From the Missouri West' I'm in awe.

Eden on the other hand looks and feels like it was printed by my uncle on his Epson Inkjet Photo 600 when he was about done with the family Christmas greetings cards.

logan2z · Dec 25, 2023

albireo said:
I received 'Eden' by Robert Adams, new 2023 print by Steidl.

Robert Adams (early) work is amazing. I love it.

The book however - I'm so disappointed. How can Steidl be so hit and miss?

Every time I open 'From the Missouri West' I'm in awe.

Eden on the other hand looks and feels like it was printed by my uncle on his Epson Inkjet Photo 600 when he was about done with the family Christmas greetings cards.

I wonder if you're reacting to the look of the uncoated paper used in Eden. I have the book as well and the printing on this paper definitely has a distinctive look - less contrasty and a bit softer than on coated paper. American Silence by Aperture is also on uncoated paper and the printing has a similar look.

In the video below, Gerhard Steidl talks about the materials and the printing techniques used in Eden. Robert Adams seems very happy with the result

Pieter12 · Dec 25, 2023

I was disappointed in Steidl’s paper choice and printing for Henry Leutwyler’s Document. I ended up sending the publisher a note and returning the book.

On the other hand, American Silence is outstanding. Published by Aperture.

logan2z · Dec 25, 2023

Pieter12 said:
I ended up sending the publisher a note and returning the book.

Did you receive a response?

Pieter12 · Dec 25, 2023

None, unfortunately.

albireo · Dec 26, 2023

logan2z said:
I wonder if you're reacting to the look of the uncoated paper used in Eden. I have the book as well and the printing on this paper definitely has a distinctive look - less contrasty and a bit softer than on coated paper. American Silence by Aperture is also on uncoated paper and the printing has a similar look.

In the video below, Gerhard Steidl talks about the materials and the printing techniques used in Eden. Robert Adams seems very happy with the result

Hi @logan2z - thanks for the comment and for sharing this video. I suspect you're right, and that what put me off was the uncoated paper effect. The video was enlightening in this respect - in the sense it's now clear to me they sought to achieve what I'm seeing. It seems these 4 new books were a labour of love for Steidl and his team, and as you say Robert Adams seems pleased.

The joke is on me. I'm not knowledgeable enough about the printing craft to appreciate the beauty of this type of process at this stage, and I have to say that for now I still prefer other books by the same publisher and by others. I don't exclude I will come to like this in the future.

Given what I'm seeing in the video you shared, it seems 'Los Angeles Spring' is rendered in the same format as my favourite Adams on Steidl, 'From the Missouri West'. I really enjoy the larger format and the luminous quality of the prints. I will now be ordering 'Los Angeles Spring'.

Pieter12 · Dec 26, 2023

I have supervised the printing of many brochures, booklets and inserts, and there is a definite art to the printing process, from the choice of paper to the number of inks and varnishes used. There are many different grades of paper and coated paper does not necessarily have to be glossy, there is matte coated as well. Uncoated paper absorbs ink more, while ink sits on the surface of coated paper and can hold better detail and more accurate tones and color. As I stated before, I was disappointed in Steidl's work on the Leutwyler book. It was printed on an uncoated paper that really did not suit it well--the blacks were pretty compressed as well as the lack of subtle tones that I know were missing from having seen some of the images before. In the case of Robert Adams, every print I have seen from him is on glossy paper and I feel that the work should be printed on coated stock, or at least varnished to bring out the feeling of the original. I will have to go back to my copy of American Silence to see if spot varnish was used on the photos. As with coating, varnish can be glossy or matte.

albireo · Dec 26, 2023

Pieter12 said:
I have supervised the printing of many brochures, booklets and inserts, and there is a definite art to the printing process, from the choice of paper to the number of inks and varnishes used. There are many different grades of paper and coated paper does not necessarily have to be glossy, there is matte coated as well. Uncoated paper absorbs ink more, while ink sits on the surface of coated paper and can hold better detail and more accurate tones and color. As I stated before, I was disappointed in Steidl's work on the Leutwyler book. It was printed on an uncoated paper that really did not suit it well--the blacks were pretty compressed as well as the lack of subtle tones that I know were missing from having seen some of the images before. In the case of Robert Adams, every print I have seen from him is on glossy paper and I feel that the work should be printed on coated stock, or at least varnished to bring out the feeling of the original. I will have to go back to my copy of American Silence to see if spot varnish was used on the photos. As with coating, varnish can be glossy or matte.

Thank you for the insight Pieter

Philippe-Georges · Dec 27, 2023

Pieter12 said:
I have supervised the printing of many brochures, booklets and inserts, and there is a definite art to the printing process, from the choice of paper to the number of inks and varnishes used. There are many different grades of paper and coated paper does not necessarily have to be glossy, there is matte coated as well. Uncoated paper absorbs ink more, while ink sits on the surface of coated paper and can hold better detail and more accurate tones and color. As I stated before, I was disappointed in Steidl's work on the Leutwyler book. It was printed on an uncoated paper that really did not suit it well--the blacks were pretty compressed as well as the lack of subtle tones that I know were missing from having seen some of the images before. In the case of Robert Adams, every print I have seen from him is on glossy paper and I feel that the work should be printed on coated stock, or at least varnished to bring out the feeling of the original. I will have to go back to my copy of American Silence to see if spot varnish was used on the photos. As with coating, varnish can be glossy or matte.

About coated paper, there are (ware) two main families of coatings: the famous (and very expensive) 'couché classique' mainly used for art book printing, and the the more common 'couché moderne'.

Sadly the couché classique is hard to find now as the main manufacturer, in France, had to stop activity more than 15 years ago and was taken over by an Italian producer who finally ceased the production of this magnificent paper because it was to expensive to produce and hard to sell.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think there is still a Scandinavian manufacturer of the couché classique paper, but I am not certain...
There is non couché too, and this paper was sometimes used only for the text pages in fine art books, as for instance the ones in the famous 'Zodiaque' series published by the great La Pierre Qui Vire publishing house in France.
Couché classique, mostly semi-mate, was very impressive when in combination with B&W photos printed in Héliogravure!

For my book 'Paris Dans Mon Gand', I had to go to Gdansk in Poland to find a printer who could nearly reach the quality of Héloigravure, in off-set, and in B&W duotone plus satiné varnish, but still...

The Photobook Thread

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