Dodge and Burn: Photography Books

As I mentioned in my post about Thomas Mangelsen, I enjoy looking at other photographers' work. No two people see the world the same way, so it is fascinating to see how other photographers view the world through their respective photographs.

However, I don’t like to purchase other people's photographs. As much as I like to look at them, I dislike buying other people’s photos because I am more interested in taking great photos and printing them myself. The one exception I make in my no-buy-photo rule is photography books. For a few bucks you can get anywhere from a few to several dozen of a photographers best shots, and frequently get good tips or the photographer’s thoughts that go with them. I have purchased many photo books and have a list of many more that I would like. Buying these over sized coffee table books drives my wife crazy, but I can’t get enough of them. So, today, I would like to make a list of what I think are some of the best photography books around.

Best Photo Books (in no particular order)

1. Looking for the Summer, Jim Brandenburg: This is Brandenburg’s follow up to the very successful Chased by the Light. Both books have amazing photos, but in my opinion, Looking for the Summer slightly edges out its older brother. It was, I believe (someone correct me if I’m wrong) the first photography book to be shot entirely in digital and displays some of Brandenburg’s sharpest photos. Great shots of northern Minnesota and the Lake Superior area.

2. Yosemite and the Range of Light, Ansel Adams: A classic book by arguably the greatest landscape photographer ever. Some of his best images were taken in Yosemite and the High Sierra and are included in this book. Another great recent book of Adam’s photos is Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs.

3. Big Sky: Wild West Panorama, Tim Fitzharris: A book of exclusively panoramic photographs, taken in the western US. This book shows off some of the amazing views the west has to offer. The photos are tack sharp and excellently done, made possible by Fitzharris’ stitching together of several portrait orientation medium format shots for each individual photo.

4. Rock Stars, text and photos by Heinz Zak: This is a book for rock climbers. It features Zak’s pioneering climbing photos along with short bios of the world’s most influential sport climbers (as opposed to mountaineers, alpine climbers, trad climbers, etc.). For anyone who was an active climber during the rise of sport climbing in the 1980s and early 1990s, this book is a must have. Sadly, I think it is out of print and hard to come by. Get it if you can.

5. Intimate Landscapes, Eliot Porter: Porter was a student of Ansel Adams and a pioneer of landscape photography. He has several good photo books, but this is my favorite. Also check out The Place No One Knew for photos of Glen Canyon before it was flooded and buried under Lake Powell.

6. Galen Rowell: A Retrospective, Galen Rowell: A collection of the best photos from Rowell’s substantial collection. His untimely death was a terrible loss and felt keenly by those who took up photography based on seeing his photos or reading his articles.

These last few are not photo books exclusively. In each, the photos accompany a original text.

7. Walden, text by Henry David Thoreau, photos by Scot Miller: Thoreau’s classic work put together with Miller’s inspired photographs. After looking at Miller's photographs you get a good idea of what inspired ol’ Hank to take to the woods.

8. Slickrock, text by Edward Abbey and Phil Hyde, photos by Phil Hyde: This book has my vote for best photo/book combination out there. Abbey was a preeminent writer of conservation issues (while at Stanford he studied under the greatest western writer ever) and Slickrock is one of his great works. Not as entertaining as Desert Solitaire, but still impressive. Hyde’s photos are works of art. They look a bit dated in today’s super saturated digital world, but they are good stuff. For a former westerner such as myself, it is hard to look at these photos and not get homesick. Slickrock has been out of print for 20+ years and is hard to find. If you can get your hands on a copy, buy it!

9. The Yosemite, text by John Muir, photos by Galen Rowell: I can’t say enough about this book, so I will say only a little. An incredible text by the father of conservationism, and some of the best photos ever taken by the man who inspired thousands (I have no source for this claim, but it sounds right. Who is going to argue with me?) to take up landscape photography.