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Street Light : Photo Books and Zines (September 2018)

Street Light is a bi-monthly series where I showcase photography work to purchase that might not have as much visibility or large production numbers. From smaller run-offs and zines to books and crowdfunding campaigns, I’ll try to feature selections of mostly newer work that you’re not as likely to find in bookstores everywhere. Hopefully, this can be a way to help talented photographers get their work seen for purchase, while also helping readers find great work they didn’t know was available. So, check here to find what’s out there, much of it before it’s gone. (All bi-monthly selections will be added to a permanent page, organizing them together so you can come check anytime)

And if you have a new photo book, zine or crowdfunding campaign, or if you’d like to recommend another photographer’s, please comment it below. (no e-books/e-zines, please)

Photo Books & Zines : September 2018

(Selection information quoted from links)

Books

Jason Eskenazi : Black Garden & Departure Lounge

RED HOOK EDITIONS announces two new books by Jason Eskenazi: Black Garden & Departure Lounge, completing a trilogy together with his first book Wonderland: A Fairy Tale of the Soviet Monolith. The cycle closes, coming full circle back to the beginning: 314 photos numbered sequentially through all 3 books with 9 chapters.

The Black Garden moves into the mythological world of opposites and duality, and concentrates on three main themes: subjugation of women, domination over the animal kingdom, and self-destruction through war. 154 photographs including 9 panoramics were made from 2001-2017 in Turkey, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Egypt, Libya, and New York. The Departure Lounge‘s 83 photographs were culled from Eskenazi’s archive, dating from 1991 to the present. The images investigate how we depart from reality, from friends, and from ourselves, using the Departure Lounge as the metaphorical room from which we leave.

ALSO available are the two books in a special numbered edition of 200, with an 8×10 silver-gelatin print (Choice of one of the four above) by master printer Laurent Girard.

The books will be offered individually at a later date at a higher regular price. This Pre-Sale ends on November 1st, 2018.

Both books designed by Roï Saade.

View/Purchase HERE

View/Purchase HERE

 

Tavepong Pratoomwong : Good day Bad Day But EveryDay

GOOD DAY BAD DAY BUT EVERYDAY represents the first Photobook of internationally-acclaimed photographer, Tavepong Pratoomwong. The photobook encompasses the curation and compilation of Pratoomwong’s most outstanding photos during his daily street jaunts since 2014. Several photos have experienced award after award. Pratoomwong, therefore, drapes the refined continuation of the self-categorized photos into this limited-hardcover photobook in which an exclusive discount coupon is attached for up to 15 SONY products with the total value of 1,490 THB, or equal to the book price !!! (Only SONY Store Bangkok)

View/Purchase HERE 

View/Purchase HERE 

 

Alex Liverani : Dango

Three colored balls held together by  a wooden skewer became the best known Japanese dumpling:  DANGO.

“Hana yori Dango”

This is a Japanese saying, literally meaning: “dumplings rather than flowers”.

The expression refers to the people following the tradition of Hanami, the custom of enjoying the beauty of the flowers, especially during the Sakura season when cherry trees blossom. However, people seem to be more interested in eating Dango sweets than appreciating the beauty of the flower sight.

This expression unequivocally points out the practicality of Japanese people, who attribute a more important value to substance rather than aesthetics.

With his book “DANGO,” Alex creates a creative visual research about Japan with the aim of questioning such proverb through sequences in which the content and the aesthetic form bear equal importance.

A rhythmic succession of triptychs in which images with no apparent link with each other find a strong connection, as is the case of the three colored balls of the Dango dumplings.

The book, whose concept was conceived and studied by the author, is not only the container for the images themselves but is also and above all the aesthetic form thanks to which the content gets enhanced.

DANGO won the JURORS ‘PICK award at the LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2018.

View/Purchase HERE 

View/Purchase HERE 

 

Olga Titova : Pride

Pride

Once mythological, pride was seen through the valleys of the north-and then lost among us. Since then, he has been secretly living here, but one day he will disappear forever.

Fuam Dummy Book Awards (Istanbul), 2017

Vienaphotobookaward, 2017

Photobookfest (Moscow), 2017

View/Purchase HERE 

View/Purchase HERE 

 

Stephen Leslie : Sparks

(I had this as a special mention way back on my 2016 list of books, when it was only a crowdfunding campaign. Well, fast forward to now and it’s a brand new real, live, hardbound book ready for delivery.)

A family is brought close to ruin by a pet python; an Icelandic advertising agency has a problem with a campaign involving a dead seagull; a chiropodist desperately wants to stop examining people’s feet and dreams of becoming a pirate…

Stephen Leslie has always tried to capture images that hint at wider, hidden narratives – suggestive moments rather than decisive ones – and Sparks is a book that imagines the weird and wonderful stories behind his original street photographs.

It is a love-letter to photography, pairing eighty beautiful colour images – shot on film – with these stories, as well as the author’s recollections of twenty years spent looking through the lens.

View/Purchase HERE

 

View/Purchase HERE

 

Zines

Dmitry Stepanenko : In Bloom

IN BLOOM is a new (and first zine) by Dmitry Stepanenko containing photographs taken in Japan during the sakura bloom season in March 2018.

A small edition of 100 copies is available through his website.

The zine has 60 pages and contains 47 photographs, many not shown before.

The price of the zine is only £15 + p&p. 

You can see the full preview of the zine here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTb…

View/Purchase HERE 

View/Purchase HERE 

 

Enrico Markus Essl : From A Fairy Tale

Theater photography from the perspective of a street photographer.

This project was implemented over a period of one year

with the aim of creating an own dramaturgy in grayscale

and a non-everyday point of view for the observer.

Thanks and enjoy the view from my perspective.

Enrico Markus Essl

Limited Edition 2018 

  • 50 copies /48 pages / numbered and signed.
  • including a real fine art photo print

View/Purchase HERE

 

View/Purchase HERE

 

Crowdfunding Campaign

Charalampos Kydonakis (Dirtyharry) : WARN’D IN VAIN

Warn’d in Vain : a NYC story by dirtyharrry

I asked two of my favorite childhood books to help me put my thoughts together on paper; ‘Warn’d in Vain‘ – the book of this campaign – is a NYC story inspired by the Argonautic myth. It is a twin book of ‘Back to Nowhere‘, a parallel Minotaur tale from Crete, hopefully to be published at some moment in the future.

‘Warn’d in Vain‘ is a stranger’s questionmark inside the world’s most photographed city; made between the years 2014-2017 that I spent 7 months on the other side of the ocean.

‘Warn’d in Vain‘ book :

  • photographs & design by dirtyharrry
  • A5 size
  • 118 color images from NYC in 160 pages
  • edition of 950 copies + 50 white cover copies

View/Fund/Purchase HERE

 

View/Fund/Purchase HERE

 

If you have a new photo book, zine or crowdfunding campaign, or if you’d like to recommend another photographer’s, please comment it below…

33 Street Photography Photos from Kolkata, India

After photographing Varanasi, the last stop on my final leg of India for the project was Kolkata, coming in at Major City #52.

Years ago, Kolkata was my first introduction to India. After visiting so many other cities in India since, there was always something I missed about Kolkata. I didn’t know if it was how you never forget your first or if Kolkata something special, even by India standards. Well, after coming back to include it my project, Kolkata does have something special. It’s confirmed. While one of India’s largest cities, it brings an old world atmosphere and chaos compacted into a city that’s much easier to walk than other big Indian cities. It feels made for city photography too, which is why it’s known so well in the photography community. While not as known to the general traveler as places like Mumbai, Varanasi or Rajasthan, I’d recommend Kolkata just as highly as any of them. Especially for street photography.

So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Kolkata…

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Master Profiles: Richard Kalvar

* “Master Profiles” is a series profiling all the great photographers of uncontrolled life. Unlike the rest of the blog, I’m doing these in a straight profile format to make it easy for quick access to facts, quotes and knowledge on all the masters. I’ll also group them together here every time I add a new one.

Profile:

Richard Kalvar (1944-Present)

American photographer known for capturing absurd, sometimes humorous, scenes from the banality of day-to-day life.  

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7 First Impressions of Kolkata, India
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

After finishing Delhi and Varanasi, I took another train down to major city #52 Kolkata to finish my second leg of India on the project. While new to my project, Kolkata isn’t a new first impression to me, but it was my first impression of the country many years ago. It was such a good first impression too that I knew I had to come back to include it in my 100 major cities. One of India’s largest cities, Kolkata doesn’t have the same big city atmosphere as Mumbai or Delhi. It feels a little more welcoming and easy to step out the door and start exploring away with your camera. It’s one of the most walk friendly cities you’ll find for its chaotic size, which makes it perfect for street photography. Kolkata has a special, old world atmosphere mixed into a highly populated urban city. The colonial-era architecture contrasting with urban slums, it’s also gained a reputation as the most friendly of India’s metropolises. While it might not be as known with the general traveler, it is known among the photography community. It’s made for bringing your camera and exploring away.

So here are my first impressions of Kolkata, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

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33 Street Photography Photos from Varanasi, India

After photographing Delhi, on my final leg of India for the project, Varanasi was next. Coming in as Major City #51, Varinasi is definitely unlike any other during the project, but Varanasi is unlike any other city in the world. As unique as they come, it not only attracts visitors for the spirituality, history, atmosphere and experience, it also attracts plenty of photographers for the visual feast you won’t find similarly anywhere else.  While a typical India bout of food poisoning mixed with 44C (111F) degree weather provided some challenge, Varanasi’s pull kept me out taking photos as much as I could. The holy river, ghats filled with life, winding alleys, chaotic spirituality and more make this a magical city, from very early morning on.

So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Varanasi…

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Candid Frame Interview

 

For anyone who may be interested, but didn’t catch it, I was recently interviewed on The Candid Frame. Going strong for 10 years now, The Candid Frame is one of the best photography-related podcasts out there. Interviewed by the multi-talented Ibarionex Perello, they’ve featured in-depth conversations with photographers as well-known as Mary Ellen Mark, Joel Meyerowitz and, most recently, Jeff Mermelstein, while also focusing on emerging photographers. It was an honor and great experience finding time on the road to chat with Ibarionex and that’s what we talked about most, life on the road and my 100 major city project.  

So, give it a listen if you’d like to hear more about myself and the project, and be sure to check out some of the other interviews from The Candid Frame, as well. 

LINK:

The Candid Frame #428 – Forrest Walker

 

7 First Impressions of Varanasi, India
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

After finishing Delhi, I took the train down to Varanasi, India for major city #51 on the project. Just like Delhi, I’d been to Varanasi before, but not yet to photograph for the project. If you know anything about Varanasi, especially for photography, this is a city that had to be included.

What can you really say about Varanasi? It’s honestly a city that needs to be experienced, not described. No cliché bs, Varanasi is truly unlike any other place in the world. One of the world’s oldest and holiest cities, you can really feel this in its atmosphere. The holy river, the ghats filled with life, the chaotic spirituality and more make this a city you can’t forget. From early morning to night, Varanasi is one magical place. Be ready for touts, hassle and other photographers, as this city is far from a hidden gem, but if you want to experience a city that goes at every sense of the imagination, Varanasi is at the top.

So here are my first impressions of Varanasi, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

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20 Questions in Istanbul with Kerem Nasipoglu

*An interview series with a play on “20 questions,” where I try to mix it up with different questions. Some serious, some not so much. I’ll also be focusing the series on some of the best street photographers from the cities I visit around the world during my 100 Cities project.

The beginnings of my Major Cities project started almost 4 years ago while I lived in Istanbul, Turkey. This amazing city was not only the first city I included in my project, but 86 major cities later, it’s still at the top of my list of cities in the world for photography. While living there, I met and became friends with a local photographer by the name of Kerem Nasipoglu, one of the most passionate and involved street photographers in Istanbul, which is saying something. And being the first city on my project, I realized I never interviewed a local photographer from the city so I could think of no one better than Kerem to have for this city’s installment of 20 Questions.

While being very involved in the street photography community, Kerem’s street work blends with a strong interest in social documentary work. Documenting daily life as it happens and finding stories within it all is what interests him the most. Discovering these moments and differences from what surrounds him as he walks the streets of Istanbul daily really drives his passion and you can see it in his work. 

So now to learn more about him, it’s time for 20 Questions in Istanbul with Kerem Nasipoglu…

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33 Street Photography Photos from Delhi, India

Returning to India to cover the last few cities for the project, I started in the north this time in major city #50 Delhi. Thankfully, I had friend and local photographer, Vineet Vohra, to help show me a few of his favorite places and the rest of the time I spent doing my normal exploring and non-stop walking the city with my camera. A little food poisoning slowed me down some, unfortunately, but I still made sure to push through. “Delhi Belly” is part of the experience here, anyway :) Delhi is big, historic India in all of its chaotic glory, but with its own signature Delhi character and look. Being so large and spread out, it can take some time to truly experience this city, but with so much activity, market life and busy streets, there’s plenty of areas around for you to discover.

So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Delhi…

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7 First Impressions of Delhi, India
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

After finishing Ethiopia in Dire Dawa, I took a flight to Delhi, India. While I’d been to Delhi before, and India many times, I’d yet to photograph Delhi for the project. So, after focusing on Mumbai and Southern India’s major cities the previous year, now it was time for a few in Northern India, starting in chaotic Delhi.

When many people imagine India, they imagine chaos filling the streets, smells filling the air and honking horns filling their ears. Well, if that’s what you imagine, then maybe no city in India brings that to life more than Delhi. Mumbai and Delhi are India’s largest cities, but they’re very different in character. While they both have that India flavor, Mumbai feels more cosmopolitan while Delhi feels older. Packed with history, markets, life and yes, pollution, Delhi has an atmosphere and look all its own. If you really want to experience India, you can’t miss Delhi.

So here are my first impressions of Delhi, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

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