Understanding Photography: Interpreting and Enjoying the Great Photographers

New York: Ludion; Abrams, 2019. Pictorial boards, 440 pages, illustrations (some colour); 25 cm. New edition. Tight, clean copy. "When we look at photographs, we don't just look at them passively; we search for meaning, reading the images as we would a piece of writing, considering both subject matter and composition. As with literature, the exercise can be daunting to even experienced photography fans. From Dorothea Lange's photos of impoverished American migrant workers to the visual records of wartime in Europe and Japan, this book pays particular attention to the complex realities of life that helped bring photography into its own. We see how photographers experimented with angle, focus, and scale while recording not only the lives of the rich and powerful, but also those of the less fortunate. What emerges is the story of the only medium that truly captures the highs and lows of the human condition. Understanding Photography profiles more than one hundred great photographers, including Alfred Stieglitz, Bill Brandt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Thomas Ruff, Rinko Kawauchi, and Cindy Sherman. Biographical, historical and technical details place their work in a broader context, while analysis of key images unites each artist's vision, offering readers paths to discover the true meaning of a photograph." - Publisher.. Hardcover. Fine. 8vo.