PHOTOBOOK REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS AND WRITE-UPS
ALONG WITH THE LATEST PHOTO-EYE NEWS

Social Media

Book of the Week: A Pick by Aline Smithson


Book of the Week Book of the Week: A Pick by Aline Smithson Photographer and LENSCRATCH founder Aline Smithson picks Conjuring Paradise by Betsy Karel as photo-eye Book of the Week.

Conjuring Paradise by Betsy Karel.
Radius Books, 2013.
 
This week's Book of the Week pick comes from photographer, writer and LENSCRATCH founder Aline Smithson who has selected Betsy Karel's Conjuring Paradise from Radius Books. Conjuring Paradise was selected as a Best Book of 2013 by John Gossage.

"I featured the photographs of Betsy Karel's Conjuring Paradise on Lenscratch, but when the book arrived I wasn't prepared for how much I would enjoy the physicality of Conjuring Paradise, the book. The intensely saturated photographs capturing off-kilter summer activities were created as a way to honor Ms. Karel's husband's zest for life after his passing. The unexpected turquoise plastic book cover that wraps its way around the spine and radiates a wafting fragrance of plastic beach ball (or surf mat) was a great introduction, but the discovery of solid pages of bright summer colors flanking the photographs added additional visual impact and the wow factor. It's a terrific marriage of inspired book design and photographs that capture the joy of off-the-clock endless days of summer." —Aline Smithson


Conjuring Paradise by Betsy Karel. Radius Books, 2013.

Read Adam Bell's review of Conjuring Paradise

Purchase Book


After a career as a New York Fashion Editor, Aline Smithson is currently represented by galleries in the U.S. and Europe and published throughout the world. Aline founded the blogzine, LENSCRATCH, has been the Gallery Editor for Light Leaks Magazine, and a contributing writer for numerous publications. She reviews and teaches workshops at photography festivals across the United States, is a juror for a various organizations, and has been teaching at the Los Angeles Center of Photography since 2001. In 2012, she received the Rising Star Award from the Griffin Museum of Photography for her contributions to the photographic community.
http://www.alinesmithson.com
http://www.photoeye.com/AlineSmithson


See more Book of the Week picks