I have had this book for a good while I think the first Christmas after starting to study with the OCA. I added it blindly to an Amazon or Book Depository Wisj List and I received it as a Christmas gift.
The book presents 67 profiles of photographers, past and present, from Eugene Atget to Jeff Wall. Each photographer gets one small page of two-column text; half-column of biographical data and the remainder of the text page includes an appreciation. Each spread features a photograph by the photographer, and occasionally a couple more pages of photographs. The photographers are arranged in alphabetical order.
Initially, I thought this would be a handy reference tool for looking up (famous) photographers getting a quick overview of their life and style of work to give a jumping off point for further research, which to some degree it is however, it is not without fault.
The alphabetical presentation like with Ian Jeffrey’s The Photo Book is not ideal and the Biographical notes on the Photographers can be a little sketchy at best, it seems a little like a
Overall, a pleasant if not a 100% reliable source.
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