After several decades photographing the Middle and Near East, India, and Tibet, and making some influential and popular photobooks (in Japan), Shinya Fujiwara went to the United States, where he spent seven months puttering around in an RV photographing, well, nearly everything that caught his fancy. There’s the desert, long stretches of empty dirt or asphalt road, tract homes, second hand shops, theme parks, all kinds of things.

Back home in Japan, as was his usual practice, he published American Roulette, which I only learned about thanks to David Campany’s The Open Road, which I almost wish I’d never heard about… Mr. Campany and his great book cost me quite a few dollars and added a handful of books to the shelf…

Continue reading “Shinya Fujiwara – ‘American Roulette’”

In 1960, Arthur Miller, at the urging of producer Frank Taylor, contracted with Magnum to make some publicity shots during the filming of The Misfits. Inge Morath was one of the nine photographers invited, and she took the opportunity to take a long road trip with her colleague Henri Cartier Bresson and her typewriter. The duo rented a car and took a slow, 18 day drive from New York, through Gettysburg, Memphis, and Albuquerque, to Reno. Morath logged her experiences on her typewriter in motel rooms every night, wrote a lengthy manuscript, made selections, and then shoved everything in a file.

Her family and friends knew the story, saw the photographs, but The Road to Reno presented her photographs and writing from the trip and around set of The Misfits for the first time.

Continue reading “Inge Morath – The Road to Reno”

Mariposas Nocturnas: moths of Central and South America: a study in beauty and diversity was Charcoal Book Club’s photobook of the month for April, 2019. Once again—and it’s done it many times before and since, and hopefully for many months to come—Charcoal sent me something I wouldn’t have acquired on my own, and am happy enough to have it in my collection. Interestingly, it’s a sort forms the beginnings of a collection and has led me to recategorize one of the old books in my collection.

Continue reading “Emmet Gowin – ‘Mariposas Nocturnas’”

Amani Willett‘s A Parallel Road is one of the most important books/zines I’ve had the privilege to purchase in a long time. I’m not sure where I heard about it, and big thanks to who/whatever alerted me to it.

Before we go any further, do yourself a favor and go buy a copy now. It’s not often that I review a book or zine almost immediately after receipt, if that gives you any indication…

Continue reading “Amani Willet – ‘A Parallel Road’”

When I first heard of Aaron Schuman’s Slant, my first thought was “Emily Dickinson… Rebecca Norris Webb” and I preordered it straight away. (Yes, I have a problem.) A couple of months passed and Mack emailed to say that they were nearly sold out so I quickly ordered it, as to not miss out. From the press about the book, I was excited to see Shuman’s use of found text, to add it to my collection of ways photographers use text alongside images.

Continue reading “Aaron Schuman – ‘Slant’”