Forgottonia by Bruce Morton, (No) Soy de Aqui by Gustavo Aleman and Cadets by Ellen Kok

Forgottonia by Bruce Morton documents the cycles of life in rural Illinois. Mixing black & white and color photographs to develop the narrative, Morton photographs the idiosyncrasies of the people and places that comprise what he describes as a "forgotten land."

Portrait Alaska by Clark James Mishler, Visions of Time by André Wagner and Angel Trumpet by Linda Morrow

The exquisite and vast Alaskan landscape brings together a rich, widely diverse demographic in the least densely populated state in America. Portrait Alaska by Clark James Mishler describes the cultural diversity of Alaska's people through engaging environmental color portraits and an essay by Alaskan anthropologist Dr. Stephen Haycox. 

André Wagner paints a wonderfully psychedelic picture of the city of Berlin with long exposures in Visions of Time. Wagner captures the inherent beauty in that which the eye cannot see -- movement is blurred in exquisite swathes of color -- inspiring the viewer to look at our own surroundings in surprising, innovative ways.

Angel Trumpet is the third installment of the Luminous Bloom trilogy by Linda Morrow. The artist book features 12 black & white photographs created using multiple exposures of the exotic flower known as the Angel Trumpet. This handsomely produced monograph is printed on cotton rag paper, hand-sewn, signed and dated by the artist.

All Publisher Direct titles are available for order through the publisher via a special link within their listing.

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Isolated Gesture by Bil Zelman and Street Shots/Hooky by Rich Allen

Isolated Gesture by Bil Zelman is a fascinating study in portraiture itself. Zelman's subjects give a curious look, raise their hand to the camera, pucker their lips or grab the arm of a friend – gestures that become the focus of each photograph, allowing the viewer to ponder the photograph's ability to describe the essence of a person in a single, still frame. Zelman creatively exploits the limitations of the photographic image to frame each of his subjects' gestures in exciting and unexpected ways.

Street Shots/Hooky is Rich Allen's documentation of New York City in the 1970s. Allen often captured an entire story in a single frame as he rode his bike all over the streets of New York City when he was a bike messenger. He began making a film about the kids in his neighborhood on East 3rd Street when a turf war broke out. Allen escaped but others were less fortunate. The black & white photographs provide a distinct, evocative portrait of a New York City that no longer exists but is now immortalized in Allen's photographs and film.

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Catch My Eye by Gabrielle McKone,  Psychometry by Carol Golemboski & Twosomes by Mark Chester

Catch My Eye by Gabrielle McKone documents peculiar, humorous and whimsical urban life in Wellington, New Zealand over the course of five years. The saturated color photographs are sequenced through formal connections. McKone writes that she is "attracted to the eccentric and to the ordinary" as she captures "the small things that we sometimes miss and discard."

Carol Golemboski's Psychometry is an innovative take on the e-book format with an interactive user experience. The presentation highlights Golemboski's haunting and psychologically-charged photography as well as studio tours, location shots, essays, video interviews and more. Psychometry won the Outstanding eBook Achievement award from the Independent Publisher Books Awards. Check out the video presentation of this pioneering photography book app here.

Mark Chester's Twosomes represents forty years of work from this traveling photographer, pairing his vast archive of photographs in diptych format. This presentation allows us to make formal connections between different times, places and subjects and the format works well to illustrate our inter-related nature, spanning time and space.

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The Wrong Roadtrip by Andrea Stern,  Minarets and Onion Domes by Alison Shuman, Sand Mirrors by Stephen E. Strom,One Goal by Allison Davis O'Keefe

Dark, gritty black & white photographs guide us on a journey with photographers Antoine d'Agata and Morten Andersen in The Wrong Roadtrip by Andrea Stern. The snapshots of her road companions and surroundings feel isolated and take the viewer's gaze away from the ubiquity of roadtrip photographs — and become more about the act of looking and discovery in unfamiliar places.

Minarets and Onion Domes by Alison Shuman illustrates a capital city whose population is divided almost equally between Muslims and Christians. The photographs document the deep-rooted religious background of all of the residents of Kazan, bathed in filmic light, surrounded by a stunning landscape and historic architecture.

Poetry and photography form a perfect union in Stephen E. Strom's Sand Mirrors. The poetry of Richard B. Clarke weaves together a story of the ephemeral in nature and the patterns and cycles that surround us in an ever-changing landscape. This visual and literary exploration steers clear of heavy-handedness — instilling a subtle, under-stated beauty that is entirely philosophical.

Americans love their sports teams. In One Goal, Allison Davis O'Keefe chronicles the University of North Dakota's hockey team during the 2010–2011 season. The black & white work documents the team's camaraderie and sportsmanship, their defeats and wins, and gives us a sense of how seriously their fans take their dedication to the team.

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Broken Things by Sam Seager, Photographic Exposure Calculations and Camera Operation by Michael G. Prais
and Irish Tinkers: A Portrait of Irish Travellers in the 1970s by Janine Wiedel

Broken Things by Sam Seager documents the site of Japan's historic earthquake and tsunami of 2011 on its first anniversary. The title refers to both the emotional and physical damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami. The photographs explore life after a great loss and the enduring human spirit.

Irish Tinkers: A Portrait of Irish Travellers in the 1970s by Janine Wiedel is a fascinating glimpse into the vanishing world of a nomadic people, who, through the efforts of globalization, have rendered their skills of tinsmithing, flower-making and spoon-mending obsolete. The black & white photographs depict every day life on the fringe of society and their daily struggles to survive.

In Photographic Exposure Calculations and Camera Operation, Michael G. Prais debunks some of the most ubiquitous myths that appear in photography textbooks and instructional manuals. The sunny f/16 rule, exposure compensation, and the myth of 18% as midtone are explored and deconstructed. Prais offers new insights into some of the most common misconceptions about the technical aspects of the photographic process.

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Lost Track by Raoul Kramer and They Came to Baghdad by Mike Mandel and Chantal Zakari

Lost Track by Raoul Kramer is an in-depth journey along the Burma-Thailand Railway. Through exploring the railway’s historical significance as a product of the people and prisoners forced into labor by the Japanese Army, Lost Track takes the viewer through a harrowing past largely forgotten in the present day. While approached primarily as a documentary body of work, the innovative design incorporates archival material and text with at times haunting imagery, bringing forth a staggering conceptual series.

In their new collaborative book project Multi-National Force: Iraq, in Agatha Christie's They Came to Baghdad, Mike Mandel and Chantal Zakari take an innovative look at diplomatic and romantic notions of the city plagued by seemingly endless conflict. Paralled with the visual imagery of the covers from Christie’s hugely popular book, They Came to Baghdad, the artists combine found web imagery from sources such as the New York Times, Flickr, Wikipedia, and more to explore ideas of international intrigue. Mandel and Zakari have taped into the many voices that are now involved in shaping, reconstructing and portraying Iraq.

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Paris 1963 / Paris 1965 by Melvin Sokolsky, Calla and Poppy by Linda Morrow, and Brandgang by Herman Wouters

Paris 1963 / Paris 1965 is a beautifully constructed and printed book celebrating Melvin Sokolsky’s iconic bodies of work Bubble and Fly. Redefining fashion photography through his cinematic approach and street photography aesthetic, Sokolsky’s influential photographs have come to symbolize a shift in the photographer’s approach to fashion world. Including outtakes and variations of the artist’s iconic images, this book offers new insight into these two brilliant bodies of work.

Two new elegant hand-made monographs by Linda Morrow showcase the artist’s stunning representation of floral photography. In the first book in her series Luminous Bloom, POPPY presents twelve black-and-white images of the Iceland poppy. Using line, form and an exquisite tonal ranged, the representations are a true sight to behold. The second book in her series, Calla is a beautiful artist book capturing the mini-calla lily in formal abstraction. The twelve black-and-white photographs showcase Morrow’s abilities to extract subtle expressions and explore deep emotion through the lily’s shape and form.

Brandgang by Herman Wouters is a curious look at unique urban corridors largely unseen from street view. Taken in several cities throughout the Netherlands, these images take note of the creativity of the people who make these small spaces their own. Rendered in beautiful color and composition, this book explores these spaces not only as a document but as a recognition of their status as places where we invent for ourselves and neighbors.

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Blue Mud Swamp by Filipe Casaca, Andrea by Darren Ankenman and Juvenile In Justice by Richard Ross

Filipe Casaca's Blue Mud Swamp is a haunting look at the beachside community in Dalian, China. The picturesque scene seems at first a breathtaking retreat, only to be foiled by Casaca's close look at the communities underlying artificiality. Here the artist showcases his keen eye and takes the viewer on an emotional journey that is at first mysterious, but ultimately eye opening.

Darren Ankenman's Andrea contains a beautiful collection of both color and black-and-white nudes. Focusing solely on one subject, Andrea, this book is an intimate exchange between subject and artist. With a fashion photographer's aesthetic, Ankenman places Andrea in elaborate scenes that add an air of mystery and intimacy to his images.

Juvenile In Justice by Richard Ross takes an eye-opening gaze into America's Juvenile Justice system. At times hard to bear, the photographs tell a story of how American society institutionalizes its youth deemed unfit for the outside world. Scenes of isolation, structure and violence continue to present themselves in this breathtaking documentary and are accompanied by many of the youth's personal life stories.

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Whiskey Drinking Troubadour by Ikuo Salley, Ansel Adams: At the Water’s Edge and Old New World by Mary Macpherson

Ikuo Salley’s Whiskey Drinking Troubadour showcases the photographer’s thoughtful blend of conceptual art and street photography. Setting out to denounce social media and a false sense of communication via the Internet, Salley took to the streets of Hollywood to capture the essence of ‘real communication,’ photographing prostitutes addicts and the homeless. Here we see grainy black-and-white images that seek to expose life’s hardships while also giving an honest and engaging take on the human condition.

Published by the Peabody Essex Museum, Ansel Adams: At the Water’s Edge explores the prolific landscape photographer’s fascination with water. From famous imagery of Old Faithful to lesser-known photographs, At the Water’s Edge helps expand the artist’s well-known and extensive catalogue. Here the viewer is given examples of Adams’ deep fascination with water and how he chooses to represent it through his highly stylized printing process.

Old New World by Mary Macpherson contains an engaging series of urban landscapes that attempt to examine the cultural shift from traditional New Zealand to a modern New Zealand. By showcasing the country’s new prosperity and development in a contemporary and at times clever fashion, Macphersion has given the viewer a direct insight into a society’s sudden transition.

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I Feel Lucky by Frank Yamrus & Nadja Groux by 127th@StNick 

I Feel Lucky by Frank Yamrus is a personal investigation into the artist's midlife crisis. The photographs in this book depict reenactments of moments and life decisions from Yamrus' past and are reflections of his conscious embarkation into life past the age of 50. Often cinematic, these images depict universal questions of self-awareness.

Nadja Groux's 127th@StNick is a storyboard of photographs taken from the artist's window overlooking the Harlem street corner. Consisting of several years worth of work, 127th@StNick takes aim and observation at the use of surveillance technology and how it captures human interaction and habit. Bending the traditions of street photography, this book offers a long meditation on human convention.

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Paysages D'un Exile by Rif Spahni and Unordinary Lives by Manca Juvan

Paysages D'un Exile by Rif Spahni offers a stunning collection of panoramic black-and-white images showing the people and landscape that make up the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. The images are surreal depictions that often obscure the human forms visible in the larger landscape. By doing so, Spahni suggests only trace human existence, allowing the viewer to question human conflict and the loss of a sense of home and personal rights.

Unordinary Lives by Manca Juvan gives the viewer a glimpse of the tragic day-to-day life of many Afghan civilians. Caught between opposing sides and the struggle for control of land and resources, the people in Juvan's essay remind us of the human cost of this ongoing conflict. Unordinary Lives uncovers the extraordinary stories of those caught in the middle of a horrific situation.

 

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Ginza-Line / Tokyo Project by Marc Gouby and Chau Doc by Thinh Le

Ginza-Line / Tokyo Project by Marc Gouby is a beautiful book depicting the passengers of the Ginza-Line, Tokyo's first subway line. Here the viewer sees the diversity of Japanese society. Young and old, rich and poor unwind and rest on the commute from their business or personal lives. Often shown sleeping, these passengers are caught in an act that is both telling of their labors and openness to their surrounding passengers. The printing of this book is stunning and is accompanied by DVD of an original 16mm film.

Chau Doc by Thinh Le pays homage to the photographer's home in Mekong River Delta, Vietnam. Displaying striking landscapes alongside portraits, still lifes and chaotic street scenes, the images in this book piece together a vivid picture of both rural and urban Vietnamese life. Thinh Le offers a sentimental perspective as well as an otherworldly approach to his photographic practice, creating a narrative that urges the viewer to consider their own sense of home. See Thinh Le's work on the Photographer's Showcase here.

All Publisher Direct titles are available for order through the publisher via a special link within their listing.

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