The Photography Cultures Reader: Representation, Agency and Identity engages with contemporary debates surrounding photographic cultures and practices from a variety of perspectives, providing insight and analysis for students and practitioners. With over 100 images included, the diverse essays in this collection explore key topics, such as: conflict and reportage; politics of race and gender; the family album; fashion, tourism and surveillance; art and archives; social media and the networked image. The collection brings together essays by leading experts, scholars and photographers, including Geoffrey Batchen, Elizabeth Edwards, Stuart Hall, bell hooks, Martha Langford, Lucy R. Lippard, Fred Ritchin, Allan Sekula and Val Williams. The depth and scope of this collection is testament to the cultural significance of photography and photographic study, with each themed section featuring an editor's introduction that sets the ideas and debates in context. Along with its companion volume - The Photography Reader: History and Theory - this is the most comprehensive introduction to photography and photographic criticism. Includes essays by: Jan Avgikos, Ariella Azoulay, David A. Bailey, Roland Barthes, Geoffrey Batchen, David Bate, Gail Baylis, Karin E. Becker, John Berger, Lily Cho, Jane Collins, Douglas Crimp, Thierry de Duve, Karen de Perthuis, George Dimock, Sarah Edge, Elizabeth Edwards, Francis Frascina, Andre Gunthert, Stuart Hall, Elizabeth Hoak-Doering, Patricia Holland, bell hooks, Yasmin Ibrahim, Liam Kennedy, Annette Kuhn, Martha Langford, Ulrich Lehmann, Lucy R. Lippard, Catherine Lutz, Roberta McGrath, Lev Manovich, Rosy Martin, Mette Mortensen, Fred Ritchin, Daniel Rubinstein, Allan Sekula, Sharon Sliwinski, Katrina Sluis, Jo Spence, Carol Squiers, Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert, Ariadne van de Ven, Liz Wells, Val Williams, Judith Williamson, Louise Wolthers and Ethan Zuckerman.

A deeper look at the creativity, art, expression, craft, and philosophy of landscape photography. More Than a Rock, 2nd Edition is a passionate and personal book about creativity and expression. In this series of over 70 brief essays, photographer and teacher Guy Tal shares his thoughts and experiences as an artist who seeks to express more in his images than the mere appearance of the subject portrayed. Following up on the success of the first edition, this revised edition contains updated imagery, a new essay in each of the book's four sections--Art, Craft, Experiences, and Meditations--and is presented in a beautiful hardcover format. Tal makes an argument to consider creative landscape photography--expressing something of the photographer's conception through the use of natural aesthetics--as a form of visual art that is distinct from the mere representation of beautiful natural scenes. Tal covers topics such as the art of photography, approaches to landscape photography, and the experiences of a working photographic artist. His essays also include reflections on nature and man's place in it, living a meaningful life, and living as an artist in today's world. The book is decidedly non-technical and focuses on philosophy, nature, and visual expression. It was written for those photographers with a passion and interest in creative photography. Anyone who is pursuing their work as art, is in need of inspiration, or is interested in the writings of a full-time working photographic artist will benefit from reading this book. The book is visually punctuated with Tal's inspiring and breathtaking photography. "Some images look like things, while others feel like things; some images are of things, while others are about things. A creative image is not a record of a scene nor a substitute for a real experience. Rather, it is an experience in itself--an aesthetic experience--something new that the artist has given the world, rather than a contrived view of something that already existed independent of them." --Guy Tal "The medium of photography has a long tradition of practitioners who were not only masterful photographers, but were also insightful and thoughtful writers--the thinking man's photographers. Among them we find such greats as John Szarkowski, Minor White, Bill Jay, and Robert Adams. It is no exaggeration to include Guy Tal on this esteemed list." -- From the Foreword, by Chuck Kimmerle

The Film Developing Cookbook, 2nd edition is an up-to-date manual for photographic film development techniques. This book concentrates on films, their characteristics, and the developers each requires for maximum control of the resulting image. For two decades The Film Developing Cookbook has helped photographers acquire a working knowledge of photographic chemistry-what photo chemicals do and why-for black and white film developing. Now reissued in a revised and fully updated edition, this must-have manual for photographic film development techniques covers films, their characteristics, and the developers each require for maximum control of the resulting image. Readers will learn how to mix and use photographic solutions from scratch, and even how to create new ones. Includes invaluable information about films, developer ingredients, formulas, speed increasing, mixing and storing stock solutions, stop baths, fixers, washing, and chemical safety. A must-have for analog photography enthusiasts and any photography students using the darkroom. For in-depth discussion and questions on all things film or darkroom join the Darkroom Cookbook Forum, www.darkroomcookbook.com

One of our most influential commentators on photography investigates the future of visual media as the digital revolution transforms images, changing the way we conceptualize the world. From photos of news events taken on cell phones to the widespread use of image surveillance, digital media has fundamentally altered the way we receive visual information. Simultaneously, the increased manipulation of photographs has made photography suspect as reliable documentation, raising questions about its role in recounting personal and public histories. In a world beset by critical problems and ambiguous boundaries, Ritchin argues that it is time to begin energetically exploring possibilities created by technological innovations, and to use them to better understand our rapidly changing world.

Whether pasted into an album, framed or shared on social media, the family photograph simultaneously offers a private and public insight into the identity and past of its subject. Long considered a model for understanding individual identity, the idea of the family has increasingly formed the basis for exploring collective pasts and cultural memory. Picturing the Family investigates how visual representations of the family reveal both personal and shared histories, evaluating the testimonial and social value of photography and film.Combining academic and creative, practice-based approaches, this collection of essays introduces a dialogue between scholars and artists working at the intersection between family, memory and visual media. Many of the authors are both researchers and practitioners, whose chapters engage with their own work and that of others, informed by critical frameworks. From the act of revisiting old, personal photographs to the sale of family albums through internet auction, the twelve chapters each present a different collection of photographs or artwork as case studies for understanding how these visual representations of the family perform memory and identity. Building on extensive research into family photographs and memory, the book considers the implications of new cultural forms for how the family is perceived and how we relate to the past. While focusing on the forms of visual representation, above all photographs, the authors also reflect on the contextualization and 'remediation' of photography in albums, films, museums and online.

"Yendegaia National Park" offers a visually spectacular tour of one of Earth's most remote and scenic national parks. In Chilean Patagonia on the grand island of Tierra del Fuego, the new park -- designated in 2014 -- was prompted by a donation of private land to the Chilean park system. When combined with adjacent federal land, the new protected area covers some 372,000 acres, and forms a habitat linkage between existing national parks in Chile and Argentina. Thus the new Yendegaia National Park has helped establish one of the planet's most significant trans-boundary protected areas, or "peace parks." During expeditions to Yendegaia in various seasons, renowned nature photographer Antonio Vizcaino captured the harsh beauty of a remote land at the end of the world where glacier-carved peaks, untamed rivers, windblown steppe, and Earth's southernmost forests combine to create a unique and stunningly beautiful landscape. For both armchair adventurers who dream of Patagonia and intrepid travelers planning a trip to Chile's national parks, "Yendegaia National Park" is a must-have.

James Ravilious (1939-1999) trained as an artist, like his father Eric, but a Cartier-Bresson exhibition converted him to photography, which he taught himself. In 1972, a move to his wife Robin's homeland - a very rural, unspoilt part of North Devon - inspired him. It also produced the perfect job: recording daily life in that traditional bit of old England before it was modernised. He devoted himself to this for more than seventeen years. The results, over 75,000 black and white negatives in the Beaford Archive, form what Barry Lane, Secretary General of the Royal Photographic Society, called `a unique body of work, unparalleled at least in this country for its scale and quality' James was a friendly, modest man with a very unintrusive approach. Because of this, and because of the length of the project, he was able to make a uniquely detailed portrait, intimate and sympathetic, of a whole way of life in one small piece of countryside: its landscapes, its seasons, its people, their hardships and their pleasures. His respect for his subjects is manifest in his work. He never sentimentalised their lives. It was vital to him that his record should be completely honest. But it is not merely social history. It is also the work of someone who composed with the eye of an artist, and who often looked at his world with artists such as Breughel, Claude Lorrain, Thomas Bewick and Samuel Palmer in mind.

The historian of photography Helmut Gernsheim (1913-1995) owned the largest photography collection in the world. For the first time in half a century, both its sections are reunited in an exhibition catalog: the historical part, housed in the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin, and the contemporary collection in the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim, Germany. With roughly 220 outstanding photographs, the catalog affords unprecedented insights into the matchless history of the Gernsheim Collection as well as a fascinating overview of the history of photography, beginning with the world's first photographic image by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1826.

Throughout photography's history, failure has played an essential, recurring part in the development and perceived value of this medium. Exploring a range of failures - individual and institutional, technological and historiographical - Photography and Failure asks what it means to fail and considers how this narrative of failure has shaped our understanding of photography. From the trial-and-error beginnings of photochemistry to poor business decisions influenced by fickle public opinion and taste, the founders and early practitioners of photography frequently faced bankruptcy and ignominy. Alongside these individual 'failures', this collection of essays examines the role of museums in rediscovering, preserving and presenting photographs within institutions, as well as technological limitations, such as the problematic panoramic lens or the digital, archival failures of Snapchat. Moving beyond the physical photograph and these processes, the book also investigates the limitations of photographs themselves, as purveyors of truth, time, space, documentary realism and social change, whether these failures are used to effect or not. Finally, the book probes the historiographical failures affecting the discipline, drawing on key debates, such as the perceived over-emphasis on European and American photography, and the place of photography theory in contemporary art practice. Blurring the boundaries between traditional binaries of art and non-art photography, amateur and professional practice, and individual and corporate perspectives, Photography and Failure presents a new approach to understanding and evaluating photographic history.

This unique volume by two renowned astrophotographers unveils the science and history behind 100 of the most significant astronomical images of all time. The authors have carefully selected their list of images from across time and technology to bring to the reader the most relevant photographic images spanning all eras of modern astronomical history. Based on scientific evidence today we have a basic notion of how Earth and the universe came to be. The road to this knowledge was paved with 175 years of astronomical images acquired by the coupling of two revolutionary technologies - the camera and telescope. With ingenuity and determination humankind would quickly embrace these technologies to tell the story of the cosmos and unravel its mysteries. This book presents in pictures and words a photographic chronology of our aspiration to understand the universe. From the first fledgling attempts to photograph the Moon, planets, and stars to the marvels of orbiting observatories that record the cosmos at energies beyond the range of human vision, astronomers have always relied on images to "break through" to the next level of understanding. A subset of these breakthrough images has profound significance in documenting some of the greatest milestones in modern astronomy.

Photography - A Queer History examines how photography has been used by artists to capture, create and expand the category 'Queer'. It bookmarks different thematic concerns central to queer photography, forging unexpected connections to showcase the diverse ways the medium has been used to fashion queer identities and communities. How has photography advanced fights against LGBTQ+ discrimination? How have artists used photography to develop a queer aesthetic? How has the production and circulation of photography served to satisfy the queer desire for images, and created transnational solidarities? Photography - A Queer History includes the work of 84 artists. It spans different historical and national contexts, and through a mix of thematic essays and artist-centred texts brings young photographers into conversation with canonical images.

This insight into Jamaican dancehall music from acclaimed DJ and producer Diplo is illuminated throughout with stunning, cutting edge photography from Shane McCauley, offering a behind the scenes glimpse of this joyful but little photographed music scene.

Lena Mattsson (*1966) is a distinguished Swedish artist. Her practice includes photography, performance and social critique, as well as film and video art. Her new book encompasses her whole career, yet at the same time, it highlights her most recent works and future perspectives: especially Mattsson’s works on legendary Swedish publisher Bo Cavefors or her latest experiments with light and projections. The selection of photographs, film stills, and documentary material forms the basis for the profound discussion of her work by Lars Gustaf Andersson, John Peter Nilsson, and Charlotte Wiberg.

In recent years Russian cities have visibly changed. The architectural heritage of the Soviet period has not been fully acknowledged. As a result many unique modernist buildings have been destroyed or changed beyond recognition. Russian photographer Arseniy Kotov intends to document these buildings and their surroundings before they are lost forever. He likes to take pictures in winter, during the 'blue hour', which occurs immediately after sunset or just before sunrise. At this time, the warm yellow colours inside apartment block windows contrast with the twilight gloom outside. To Kotov, this atmosphere reflects the Soviet period of his imagination. His impression of this time is unashamedly idealistic: he envisages a great civilization, built on a fair society, which hopes to explore nature and conquer space. From the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan to the grim monolithic high-rise dormitory blocks of inner city Volgograd, Kotov captures the essence of the post-Soviet world. 'The USSR no longer exists and in these photographs we can see what remains - the most outstanding buildings and constructions, where Soviet people lived and how Soviet cities once looked: no decoration, no bright colours and no luxury, only bare concrete and powerful forms.'

Varietes is a collection of pictures taken between the 1920s and the 1970s featuring artists and popular spectacles not always within the law. A tour around the aesthetic of this very particular form of looking at variety shows in Spain. A journey through the faces and the attitudes of a world which actually shone much less than the photographs sought to show. Varietes is the history of the ephemeral flash and the failure which are inherent to this form of understanding the spectacle. Moreover, it is a tribute to so many people who belonged to a world which is on the way to extinction and where the illusion and the magic of the night claimed to have such a fleeting but beautiful power.

Vision and movement seem to have shifted center stage in modes of experience in the last century: as a result of their joint effect, slow contemplative gazes at static images seem to be increasingly displaced by distracted "vernacular" ways of seeing. Looking out of the window of a speeding car, receiving photographs of Earth from outer space, watching the flickering images of the TV screen, scrolling through a text, zooming in on a location in Google Earth, or sending images via mobile phones or webcams - all these are unique visual experiences that were impossible before various inventions in the 20th century originated completely new kinds of movement. The double meaning of "moving images" is meant to signal the specificality of motion to these imagi(ni)ngs and, at the same time, to express the emotional power of those visual images which are able to transcend the constant stream of images in contemporary perception. (Series: Kultur und Technik. Schriftenreihe des Internationalen Zentrums fur Kultur- und Technikforschung der Universitat Stuttgart - Vol. 20)

This book introduces you to professional photography and composition principles, tricks and techniques of iphoneography, photosharing, and more. Do you have a smartphone with you right now? If you do, along with this book, you've got everything you need to make amazing photography. The first three chapters of the book use digital photography history to give you an overview of the capabilities that you can employ, and the remainder of the book is focused on hands on techniques of iphoneography so that you are getting professional results. This title uses the iPhone and iPhone apps in its examples; your own smart phone and individual apps may be different, but the techniques you'll gain from this book, and the insights into your own creative potential are not dependent on specific equipment. Maybe you occasionally take a great shot with your smartphone camera but you wonder what you need to keep doing right to make that kind of difference in all your shots. Maybe you're suspecting that you no longer need to lug around a DSLR camera to bring home great photographs. And maybe you just get a charge out of capturing inspired moments and sharing them in all the glory deserve with others. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: * An understanding of the methods used in DSLR photography vs iPhoneography. * The connection between the iPhone and the artist. * Practical tips and techniques for creating photos and art with your iPhone. * Taking your visions further with discovery and chance explorations.* Connecting with the iPhoneography and iPhone Art community. WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR: The audience is threefold: 1.) Amateur photographers who already sense that their smartphone is the only tool they truly need in order to grow their skills 2.) Serious photographers who are part of the growing "mobile art" movement that emphasizes creative eye over hardware 3.) Anyone with a smartphone who wants to take better photos (because anyone with a smartphone is already taking photos with regularity anyway)

THE TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER A GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH, THE TIMES, IRISH TIMES, ROUGH TRADE, MOJO, CLASH, ROLLING STONE, UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR From award-winning musician and composer Warren Ellis comes the unexpected and inspiring story of a piece of chewing gum. FEATURING AN INTRODUCTION BY NICK CAVE 'Warren has turned this memento, snatched from his idol's piano in a moment of rapture, into a genuine religious artefact.' NICK CAVE 'Such a mad, happy book about art and music and obsession. I'm so glad I got to read it. It made the world feel lighter.' NEIL GAIMAN 'In praise of meaning-rich relics and magical things. Totally heartwarming project.' MAX PORTER 'A unique study of a fan's devotion, of transcendence and of the artistic vocation - it's got depth and great warmth. It's a beautiful piece of work.' KEVIN BARRY I hadn't opened the towel that contained her gum since 2013. The last person to touch it was Nina Simone, her saliva and fingerprints unsullied. The idea that it was still in her towel was something I had drawn strength from. I thought each time I opened it some of Nina Simone's spirit would vanish. In many ways that thought was more important than the gum itself. On Thursday 1 July, 1999, Dr Nina Simone gave a rare performance as part of Nick Cave's Meltdown Festival. After the show, in a state of awe, Warren Ellis crept onto the stage, took Dr Simone's piece of chewed gum from the piano, wrapped it in her stage towel and put it in a Tower Records bag. The gum remained with him for twenty years; a sacred totem, his creative muse, a conduit that would eventually take Ellis back to his childhood and his relationship with found objects, growing in significance with every passing year. Nina Simone's Gum is about how something so small can form beautiful connections between people. It is a story about the meaning we place on things, on experiences, and how they become imbued with spirituality. It is a celebration of artistic process, friendship, understanding and love. 'This is such a beautiful f*@king book. Thank you, Warren. I highly recommend this motherf*@ker.' FLEA 'A beautifully written book about the power of music and objects. I powered through it in two days.' COURTNEY BARNETT 'A moving, inspiration insight into a beautiful mind.' JIM JARMUSCH 'The year's most eccentric and joyful musical memoir.' DAILY TELEGRAPH (Books of the year) '[Nina Simone's Gum] is a metaphor for [Ellis'] creativity - the blossoming of a small idea into something bigger and bolder - but also a journey inside the impulsive, improvisatory mind of Warren Ellis, his passions, obsessions and superstitions.' OBSERVER '[A] beautiful, strikingly idiosyncratic book - part memoir, part essay, part conceptual art project, all testament to humans at their strangest and best . . . [Ellis] sees signifiance where others might not.' MOJO 'A glorious piece of object fetishism . . . Marvel as Ellis' collection of eccentric personal mementos morphs into a celebration of the intangible wonder of music.' UNCUT 'Wonderful.' THE TIMES 'The most peculiar book I've ever read.' CRAIG BROWN, MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Delightful . . . A joy from start to finish.' BIG ISSUE 'A joyous work full of love, connection, creativity and gratitude.' THE SPECTATOR 'Completely charming and joyful . . . glorious.' LA REVIEW OF BOOKS 'Beautiful . . . remarkable.' NEW EUROPEAN