Harald Mante's 'Photography Unplugged'

A week and a day ago now, we published Jim Hughes' article "Fugitive Color," a meditation around Kodachrome. In the article, Jim talked about Harald Mante's new book from Rocky Nook, Photography Unplugged, which was published last September.

Here's the U.K. link. And of course it's available from Amazon Germany—it was originally published by dpunkt Verlag in Germany.

I was in the bookstore a couple of months ago and had just picked up, flipped through, and put back down yet another of those agglutinations of purty scenics, thinking sarcastically to myself (I'm often sarcastic with myself), "Sorry, but I need photographs to have a little more substance than that." Just as I was thinking that, I picked up Harald's book and thought, "Whoops! Well, maybe I don't, after all."

I flipped through it, then sat down and looked through the whole thing carefully, then came back the next day and looked through it again.

And then bought it.

The simple, straightforward layout serves the work.

It's true that Harald casts the book (in a brief note in the front matter) as a "Goodbye to Kodachrome," since most of the pictures were taken with Minolta cameras (as he told me in an email recently) and the famous Kodak film. But I really think that this book will appeal to anyone who works in color, whether film or digital.

Harald works in bold, elemental compositions, a strong and vivid sense of geometry and design, and, most of all, vivid and coordinated palettes of colors. This ain't Deep Stuff—the work really doesn't have a lot of "meaning" past the exaggerated sense it imparts of the joy of looking and seeing. There's a sense of playfulness, almost of fun. But I'm fascinated by the fact that the book doesn't seem to have any weak spots, and that, despite the photographer's relatively simple project, he doesn't repeat himself (much) or fall back on worn-out tricks and tropes. You won't come away thinking you've seen anything new, yet there's a lot of invention here and a surprising variety. It's consistent and strong.

The reproduction and book design are outstanding—I frankly wouldn't mind if every photographic book were laid out in a such a no-nonsense manner, one picture per page, no distractions; it simply serves the pictures. In fact, the only criticism I can muster of the book is its cover, which is somber and featureless. So many book covers are bright and inviting and promise more than the contents deliver. This cover is the opposite.

Harald Mante with his new book. Photo by Ralph Bodemer, derwesten.de

All in all, this is joyful and enjoyable. Harald Mante was unknown to me before I saw this—apparently he's well-known as a teacher and writer on photography in Germany. It's distinctive, individual, and just very, very well done (I'm avoiding the term "eye candy," but I can see how this would get to be a guilty pleasure for many). I suspect 90% of the people who read TOP would truly enjoy at least a single trip through this tour of Harald's work, and a strong majority would get a lot of enjoyment out of repeat visits. I have. Whatever kind of equipment you use, if you like strong design and clear, vibrant colors—and you don't mind optimism and an affirmative outlook—a sparkling surf without the undertow—you'll like this.

Mike

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Featured Comment by Chris Lucianu: "Harald Mante has arguably been one of the most influential public teachers on color, composition, and photography design in German-speaking countries for nearly forty years. His monthly contributions in popular photography magazines were a fixture: eagerly awaited, often dreaded. His terse style and luscious palette were often sensed as a silent rebuff: 'less is more.' A study of the width and depth of his influence would be rather revealing."

Comments

[Christopher Lane]

Of course, it will now be sold out when I try to buy it. ;~)

[David Nicol]

Oh well, so much for resisting the next time you recommended a book.

[Jeff Kott]

Yes Mike, this is a very enjoyable and instructive book. The only thing I would add is that in going through the book I particularly enjoyed the clever relationships (visual and/or thematic) between the photos on the facing pages, especially considering that many of them were taken years (or decades)apart.

[Ed Nixon]

One of my prized possessions from the first phase of my relationship with photography in the early 1970s is a copy of "Color Design in Photography" by Harald Mante from Focal Press -- publication date, 1970 and penciled (remember that?) lightly into the first page, upper right corner... $16.95. There is an extensive Technical Data section at the back, itemizing the cameras used, the lenses and the films in addition to the locations of the photos. It's very simple and straightforward and very edifying in the way it integrates colour theory with the foundness of colour photography,

[Bahi]

The photographs in Harald's book put a smile on my face as I was flipping through them. Only later, reading the first few pages of text, did I recognise the phrase "without the aid of computers or Photoshop" from Jim Hughes' article. I was in Foyles of London, which has decided in its quirky way to put its many copies of Photography Unplugged not with the volumes of photographs on the second floor but with the photography instruction books on the first floor by Ang, Feeman and gang: Photography for Beginners, Photographing Fashion (revised for Digital Photographers), Photography Unplugged…

Lovely book with a regal colour palette used to depict everyday things. If the book represent's Harald's personality, he's a great guy.

[Mike Johnston]

"The only thing I would add is that in going through the book I particularly enjoyed the clever relationships (visual and/or thematic) between the photos on the facing pages"

Jeff,
Yes, absolutely. The spreads are very nicely done and the pacing throughout the book is excellent, well judged and interesting.

Mike

[Dennis Mook]

Coincidentally, I just ordered this book yesterday based on Jim's previous post and some follow-up exploration of Mante's work. From what I have seen so far, I'm struck by his use of strong color coupled with simple, straightforward compositions. Thanks Mike, for sending me his way.

[robert e]

Also available at Amazon US is one copy ("more on the way") of the English translation of Mante's The Photograph: Composition and Color Design [I leave it to the editor to turn that into an affiliate link--too hard for me.]

Judging from the Amazon preview, it looks good--chock full of wonderful photographs by Mante, which he uses to illustrate a not-so-common take on the subject. It might make a nice companion to Unplugged, for some. I think I'm going to have to flip a coin.

[christian kurmann]

Got it from the German Amazon. Thanks for the tip and hope you get the fee

[charlie]

The inner designer/painter in me really enjoys this stuff.

Nothing willy nilly about it.

[JonA]

Wow. This looks very interesting to me for several reasons. First is that it is optimistic. I find a lot of photography pessimistic but I guess that's the way with most art but it's also part of my mental/emotional makeup. I have been trying to think of ways to photograph my depression but maybe I should think about photographing optimistic things to lift me out of depression.

Second, the book description says that Mante "later taught photography in the tradition of the Bauhaus school of design, applying image and color composition concepts to photography." I love Bauhaus design so this could be right up my alley.

Finally, and this is a silly reason, I love that Mante used Minolta cameras. There is so much noise on the internet about what professional equipment and lenses to use and for some reason Minolta rarely gets included in that noise. I like to be reminded that great photography comes from your head and heart not someone's opinion of your camera and lens. I need reminded of that more often than I want to admit (my self-confidence declines in the winter time).

I'm sad I just discovered Kodachrome after it's been discontinued. I like the look of the photos in the book robert e recommended, "The Photograph: Composition and Color Design," too but I don't know how to explain why. They are beautiful colors but they are not loud and in-your-face like I feel like I see online from digital or velvia photos. I didn't know color could be like that. But with Kodachrome gone I have no idea how to go about doing color Mante's way. Thanks for the review, Mike!

[Richard P]

It is a good book and I regret not picking up a copy at Munich Hauptbahnhof when I leafed through it. Now back home in Australia, I've got my copy from the Book Depository.

Like Jon said above, I love that it is not some love letter to Leica or some anachronistic poem to the 'better days' of photography, but just a book of photographs!

It looks like TOP has done it again by making a single item more valuable and harder to obtain, but well worth it.

[Jacob Rus]

I picked up a copy of The Photograph: Composition and Color Design about a year ago, after looking through reviews of books on color composition. While I still think composition in general (and especially color composition) is somewhat a black art – arbitrary and subjective and personal – it's a nice book, filled with lovely photographs.