Contributed by Rob de Loe
I hope you had a nice Christmas with some snow. Unlike a lot of Ontario, which had a wet, green Christmas, we had a nice dumping of snow here in Guelph.
I have a book recommendation for you. Without a doubt this is one of the best books about photography I’ve read in a very long time. Paradoxically, it contains not a single photograph. Instead, it’s simply 12 questions answered by 40 photographers—like a Proust Questionnaire for photographers. Here are the first three questions:
- What comes first for you: the idea for a project, or individual photographs that suggest a concept?
- What are the key elements that must be present for you when you are creating a body of work? (Social commentary, strong form, personal connection, photographic reference…)
- Is the idea of a body of work important to you? How does it function in relation to making a great individual photograph?
The editor, Sasha Wolfe, selected people who fit very loosely within the "straight" photography family, but it really is very loosely. Some I knew about beforehand, e.g., Robert Adams, Alec Soth. Others were entirely new to me, e.g., Kelli Connell, Lois Conner.
I answered the 12 questions myself before beginning (which was fun and instructive). Before I read the responses from each photographer, I’ve been checking out their work online.
I'm only up to Matthew Connors, but I’ve already learned more about my own approach, why I do what I do, and the constraints (good and bad) that I'm operating under than I have from the previous dozen books I've read. Some of the things I wrote in my own responses are already starting to look a bit shaky (which is good—mustn't be complacent!)
Of course I’ve also learned a lot about the photographers themselves—vastly more than I would have had I just browsed one of their books or poked around a website. I can only read a couple at a time because it's so much to take in.
There doesn't seem to be a Kindle version, which is unfortunate because it would be easier to read in electronic format due to the thin paper on which it is printed; the text on the reverse side of each page shows through a bit much in the physical copy, which sometimes is distracting.
In Light on the Landscape, one of the books recommended on TOP recently, William Neill suggests that once a year we should take stock of our past year's work and evaluate whether or not we've made progress. That's solid advice, but I'd go a step further: to really understand what's happening in your work, read PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice.
Best wishes for the New Year,
Rob
Reader Rob de Loë lives in southern Ontario, Canada, where he works at the University of Waterloo. A year ago he flipped the switch and closed down a thirty-year program of teaching and research on water governance so he could spend the remainder of his professional life teaching, studying and practicing environmental photography. His work can be found at Rob de Loë Photography.
Book of interest this week:
PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice, Edited by Sasha Wolf
(clicking on the link above takes you to Amazon)
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
robert e: "Thanks for the review, Rob. Sounds terrific! Did you know that Sasha Wolf continues on with PhotoWork in podcast form? (I presume without the thin-paper problem.)"
Thomas Rink: "I agree with Rob de Loe—this book is a very interesting read. Highly recommended to all those working in terms of projects."
I'm not an Ad Am or a Fine Art photographer. And unlike Alec Soth I don't work for a university. As a Gun-for-Hire, my mission is to satisfy paying clients to cover my bills.
Because of my film-school/Hollywood background, I always shoot story-series photos. I'm now retired and may do some personal triptychs, to pass the time.
Posted by: c.d.embrey | Monday, 04 January 2021 at 03:42 AM
I've had PhotoWork on my to-read list for a while now; your review just pushed me over the edge to pick up a copy and ready it!
Posted by: Aaron Hines | Monday, 04 January 2021 at 12:33 PM
Your first six articles this year have been excellent. Between these new articles and the ones in the latter half of last year in particular, your writing mojo is strong.
As a very long time reader, I thought I should just pass that on.
Randomly, I love t-shirts with deliberately incorrect wording, like a Star Trek one I saw the other day with Mr Spok doing his hoof like finger split with the caption underneath "Live long and proper!". And a Back to the Future one with "1.21 gigabytes!"
Posted by: Kye Wood | Monday, 04 January 2021 at 05:36 PM
As an emeritus professor (Biochemistry) and former administrator at the University of Minnesota, an enthusiastic amateur photographer, and a fan of Alex Soth, I was pleased to read in C.D. Embrey's comment that Soth works for a university (hoping it was the University of Minnesota, since he lives in Minneapolis). Unfortunately, Google searches of Soth's biography reveal no such employment. He appears to be a "Gun-for-Hire", as Embrey was, albeit one who's a member of Magnum.
Posted by: Victor Bloomfield | Monday, 04 January 2021 at 09:12 PM
Thank you for the reco, Rob. I saw this book a while ago announced on Aperture but forgot about it. As I’m acquainted with a few of these photographers I’m eager to see how they answered some of these questions. Second book* of the new year for me ... Bought! Arrives Wednesday.
Also, contrary to Mr. Embrey’s comment, Alec Soth doesn’t work for any university at least to the best of my current knowledge. He may well have taught a seminar for a school. But I assure you Soth is kept very busy with his art activities, as he is one of the most in-demand photo artists in the world today.
____
* I’m even more eager to see the first book I bought this year. Mind you, I vowed not to buy any more photo/art books except for extraordinary finds. This first book might fill the bill for me. If so, I will share with TOP.
Posted by: Kenneth Tanaka | Tuesday, 05 January 2021 at 10:48 AM
Book ordered! I should probably also find my copy of "Art and Fear".
Posted by: David Brown | Wednesday, 06 January 2021 at 11:41 AM
I bought the book and finished it recently. The responses to the same questions were quite varied. Some photogs seemed to me like great people to work with or take a weekend seminar from, while others to me seemed like pompous a$$es who I wouldn't want to get within a mile of. Interesting read.
Posted by: KenR | Thursday, 07 January 2021 at 06:03 PM