Book Review Goddess By Caleb Cain Marcus Reviewed by Tom Leininger Goddess is a book about space, something Caleb Cain Marcus has been exploring for years. The Silent Aftermath of Space considered New York City at night, A Portrait of Ice presented glaciers in color and now Cain Marcus translates the space around the Ganges River in India. Goddess is not a documentary of the river that plays a pivotal role in Indian life, Goddess is about the space around the river shrouded in the mist.

Goddess. By Caleb Cain Marcus. 
Damiani, 2015.

 

Goddess

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Goddess
Photographs by Caleb Cain Marcus. Text by Richard Ford.
Damiani, Bologna, Italy, 2015. In English. 108 pp., 48 color illustrations, 9¾x11½".

Goddess is a book about space, something Caleb Cain Marcus has been exploring for years. The Silent Aftermath of Space considered New York City at night, A Portrait of Ice presented glaciers in color and now Cain Marcus translates the space around the Ganges River in India. Goddess is not a documentary of the river that plays a pivotal role in Indian life, Goddess is about the space around the river shrouded in the mist. Cain Marcus has created a book that offers a fresh view of a country that has been represented widely.

Book Review Written In The West, Revisited By Wim Wenders Reviewed by Tom Leininger If you tell stories in cinema, why make still pictures? That is one of the questions I had going into Wim Wenders' Written In The West Revisited. Wenders used still photography for the specific purpose of exploring the American West to learn about its color and light.

Written in the West, Revisited. By Wim Wenders. 
DAP/Distributed Art Publishers, 2015.

 

Written in the West, Revisited

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Written in the West, Revisited
Photographs by Wim Wenders. Contribution by Alain Bergala.
D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, 2015. In English. 108 pp., 58 color illustrations, 9½x10¼x¾".

If you tell stories in cinema, why make still pictures? That is one of the questions I had going into Wim Wenders' Written In The West Revisited. Wenders used still photography for the specific purpose of exploring the American West to learn about its color and light. Photography for the sake of photography. The resulting pictures go beyond just a straightforward recording, but show Wenders’ mastery of the still image.

Book Review Father Figure By Zun Lee Reviewed by Tom Leininger There are a many ideas of what fatherhood is: the stern taskmaster who refuses to accept less than perfection, the distant father who is consumed by work, the father indulgent in material things but not emotions. The portrait of masculinity presented in Zun Lee’s book Father Figure goes against a number of stereotypes in popular culture. This book is about the fathers who are present in the lives of their children and aims to demystify the concept of the absent black father.

Father Figure. By Zun Lee. 
Ceiba, 2014.

 

Father Figure

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Father Figure: Exploring Alternate Notions of Black Fatherhood
Photographs by Zun Lee. Foreword by Teju Cole, Epilogue by Trymaine Lee.
Ceiba, New York, 2014. 128 pp., 61 duotone illustrations, 12¼x8¼".

Book Review Bronx Boys By Stephen Shames Reviewed by Tom Leininger “I am not here, just be you.”

Stephen Shames repeated that phrase many times to a group of young men growing up in the Bronx as he documented their lives. Jose “Poncho” Munoz writes in the book Bronx Boys about how Shames was always around “doing pictures” and reminding them to just be themselves.

Bronx Boys. By Stephen Shames. 
University of Texas Press, 2014.

 

Bronx Boys

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Bronx Boys
By Stephen Shames
University Of Texas Press, Austin, 2014. 224 pp., 123 duotone illustrations, 6¾x9".

“I am not here, just be you.”

Stephen Shames repeated that phrase many times to a group of young men growing up in the Bronx as he documented their lives. Jose “Poncho” Munoz writes in the book Bronx Boys about how Shames was always around “doing pictures” and reminding them to just be themselves. His pictures capture just that, but what he witnessed also reflects the complicated nature of their lives.

The project started in 1977 as an assignment for the now defunct Look magazine. Shames spent 20 years off and on in the Bronx recording difficult, tender and occasionally lighter moments. Life starts in the street and winds into a group of boys lives; drugs, sex, violence, humor, and sadness. Once he was accepted into this group, Shames made images that are up close and personal. Energy and emotion come through in grainy and rich shades of black, white and grey. The vibrant feelings of those particular moments jump out of the pictures.

Book Review Life in War By Majid Saeedi Reviewed by Tom Leininger Life in War explains this book by Majid Saeedi simply. The pictures elegantly describe life in contemporary Afghanistan and do not document the American war but how life is for Afghans. Americans soldiers are rarely shown. What is shown is how long term war has shaped life in a country that at times has seemingly yet to enter the 21st century.

Life in War. By Majid Saeedi. FotoEvidence, 2014.

 

Life in War

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Life in War
By Majid Saeedi
FotoEvidence, 2014. 120 pp., 85 duotone illustrations, 8x12½".

Life in War explains this book by Majid Saeedi simply. The pictures elegantly describe life in contemporary Afghanistan and do not document the American war but how life is for Afghans. Americans soldiers are rarely shown. What is shown is how long term war has shaped life in a country that at times has seemingly yet to enter the 21st century.

Book Review Isla By Ernesto Bazan Reviewed by Tom Leininger Isla overflows from your lap; the cinematic black and white panoramic photographs made by Ernesto Bazan in Cuba envelope you. Multilayered compositions textured in film grain are a reminder of the raw storytelling potential of photography.

Isla. By Ernesto Bazan. BazanPhotos Publishing, 2014.

 

Isla

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Isla
By Ernesto Bazan
BazanPhotos Publishing, 2014. 200 pp., tritone illustrations, 16¾x10".

Isla overflows from your lap; the cinematic black and white panoramic photographs made by Ernesto Bazan in Cuba envelope you. Multilayered compositions textured in film grain are a reminder of the raw storytelling potential of photography. The book, Bazan’s third and final in his Cuba trilogy, tells a hopeful yet mournful tale.

Shadows and highlights create a roadmap for how each image is meant to be read. The raw pictures are a throwback to the idea of the photographer as an interpreter. Bazan’s aesthetic can be a bit heavy handed in places, but it is refreshing to see images that look this way. Seeing the blacks printed down and the highlights bleached or dodged up in places reminds me of work from the 70s and 80s, Bazan’s era. This is his vision, in all of its glorious roughness. A vision he embraces to tell his story.

Book Review Somewhere Between War and Peace By James Hill Reviewed by Tom Leininger Truth hits you in the face before you ever see an image in James Hill’s book Somewhere Between War and Peace. Hill, a freelance photojournalist since the 1990s, has created a book where he writes about the memories and experiences associated with his pictures.

Somewhere Between War and Peace. By James Hill.

Kehrer Verlag, 2014.

 

Somewhere Between War and Peace

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Somewhere Between War and Peace
Photographs by James Hill
Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, 2014. 160 pp., 60 color and black & white illustrations, 6¼x9".

Truth hits you in the face before you ever see an image in James Hill’s book Somewhere Between War and Peace. Hill, a freelance photojournalist since the 1990s, has created a book where he writes about the memories and experiences associated with his pictures. For him and the reader, this can be an unsettling process; after recording scenes of tragedy, violence and pain, darkness has crept into his psyche. The book reads like the meditation of a man looking back at his life, recounting the joys and agonies of his chosen profession.

Book Review Memory City By Alex Webb & Rebecca Norris Webb Reviewed by Tom Leininger Photography is as intertwined with memory as it is with light, shadow and surface. The individual film or sensor choice made by the photographer determines how memory is rendered, a choice that is as important as what the photographer puts in front of their camera. In their new book, Memory City, Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb investigate Rochester, New York during the time Eastman Kodak was in bankruptcy.

Memory City. By Alex Webb & Rebecca Norris Webb.

 Radius Books, 2014.

 

Memory City

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Memory City
Photographs by Alex Webb & Rebecca Norris Webb
Radius Books, 2014. 172 pp., 45 coor illustrations, 9¾x12¼".

Photography is as intertwined with memory as it is with light, shadow and surface. The individual film or sensor choice made by the photographer determines how memory is rendered, a choice that is as important as what the photographer puts in front of their camera. In their new book, Memory City, Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb investigate Rochester, New York during the time Eastman Kodak was in bankruptcy. They explore how memory, photography, film and the book making process come together to make a statement about a place during a particular time.

Book Review Spasibo By Davide Monteleone Reviewed by Tom Leininger The book form is perfectly suited for photojournalism. It offers a framework that allows for the marriage of words and photographs to create a document that explains complex situations. Davide Monteleone’s new book, Spasibo (thank you in Russian), pushes the idea of a journalistic book form report into new territory with his lyrical images and context rich captions.

Spasibo. By Davide Monteleone.

 Kehrer Verlag, 2014.

 

Spasibo

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Spasibo
Photographs by Davide Monteleone
Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, 2014. 164 pp., 86 duotone illustrations, 9½x11".

The book form is perfectly suited for photojournalism. It offers a framework that allows for the marriage of words and photographs to create a document that explains complex situations. Davide Monteleone’s new book, Spasibo (thank you in Russian), pushes the idea of a journalistic book form report into new territory with his lyrical images and context rich captions.

A white elastic band holds a smaller book in place inside the back cover that presents detailed captions in English and French. Putting the captions into a small book gives the reader a chance to experience the work with or without the captions. Both reading experiences are rewarding, but with a complex story like Chechnya, the more information the better.

Spasibo. By Davide Monteleone. Kehrer Verlag, 2014.

Chechnya’s recent history is complicated. In the 1990s it fought two wars with Russia. Hundreds of thousands of Chechens were killed. The capital city of Grozny was destroyed along with much of its industrial infrastructure. In more recent history Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of the Chechen Republic and a former rebel leader, has pledged allegiance with Russia and the situation has “normalized.” Money flows from Moscow to rebuild the country. Kadyrov rules by strictly enforcing his own brand of Islam and making residents pay for everything. This corruption is at every level of society from hospitals, to schools and businesses. Many ethnic Russians have left the country, and the remaining Orthodox are forced to practice their religion away from the eyes of the government.

Spasibo. By Davide Monteleone. Kehrer Verlag, 2014.

Monteleone outstrips the idea of news photography and creates poetic scenes where the action is happening just beyond what is seen. The Kadyrov government dictates society and for those living outside of those rules, their life takes place in the shadows. Monteleone embraces those shadows and makes pictures that tell the story he sees, though it's a story that is not always clear. Weaving pictures of the harsh landscape together with portraits to structure his narrative, the scenes of the remade Grozy contrast with the still destroyed infrastructure, painting a picture of a country that is not fully recovered. Peace is provided by rulers in Grozny and Moscow, but at the price of freedom for those who have remained.

Spasibo. By Davide Monteleone. Kehrer Verlag, 2014.

There are a number of images relating to Russian Orthodox traditions such as bathing in a hole in the ice, but we never see people in the water. What we do see are images of people around the event, and by not showing their rituals in a clear manner Monteleone illustrates how marginalized the Orthodox are. Working in this fashion gives the work strength, leaving room for the view to wonder why certain rituals are not depicted. Friday prayers from the Central Mosque and other Islamic rituals are seen more directly. This is part of the normalization the country has gone through, which is one of the many issues the thorough captions help to explain.

Spasibo. By Davide Monteleone. Kehrer Verlag, 2014.

Throughout the book are small half pages with historical photographs that help to organize the book thematically, and in doing so, the reader is able see Monteleone’s narrative structure. While the lyrical images are enthralling with his use of stark formal elements, the details about the history of the Chechen wars and how the peace has come about are filled in by the essays from Masha Gessen and Galia Ackerman. Monteleone was the winner of the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism award, which supported an exhibition and the publication of the book.

Spasibo. By Davide Monteleone. Kehrer Verlag, 2014.

Saying Spasibo is a photojournalistic book about the current state of affairs in Chechnya would be shortsighted. Monteleone’s use of black and white is another metaphor. It reflects the reality. To live there is to submit to the rule of law organized by Moscow and implemented by Kadyrov. There are no shades of grey in this life; it is Kadyrov or nothing. The exterior of the country appears to be rebuilt but there is no industry and high unemployment. Monteleone's portraits of former anti-terrorist police officers show that this normalization has come at a high human toll. The pictures of the war-torn landscape show that reconstruction is a selective process. On page 66 an image shows pro-Kadyrov activists celebrating the 10th Constitution Day in Grozny. Men and women watch the celebrations with what could be read as skepticism on their faces. Behind them the glistening Central Mosque and downtown skyscrapers rise out of the background. Everyone is young, but their future does not seem bright. This picture is the future of Chechnya, but it does not look hopeful.—TOM LEININGER

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TOM LEININGER is a photographer and educator based in North Texas. More of his work can be found on his website.

Book Review The Forbidden Reel By Jonathan Saruk Reviewed by Tom Leininger Going to the movies is a chance to escape reality for a few hours. Under the cloak of darkness the audience is transported away from the stress and strain of their daily lives. Jonathan Saruk's book, The Forbidden Reel, presents us with a look inside the movie theaters in Kabul, Afghanistan, places that provide a needed escape from the reality of war ravaged daily lives.

The Forbidden Reel. By Jonathan Saruk.

 Daylight Books, 2014.

 

The Forbidden Reel

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

The Forbidden Reel
Photographs by Jonathan Saruk
Daylight Books, 2014. 124 pp., 50 color illustrations, 12x11". 

Going to the movies is a chance to escape reality for a few hours. Under the cloak of darkness the audience is transported away from the stress and strain of their daily lives. Jonathan Saruk's book, The Forbidden Reel, presents us with a look inside the movie theaters in Kabul, Afghanistan, places that provide a needed escape from the reality of war ravaged daily lives.

Saruk, a photojournalist who covered Afghanistan starting in 2008, discovered the theaters while working on daily life stories in Kabul. The old theaters are worn and rough around the edges and remind me of the old single screen movie theaters I went to in my youth. These are not the modern stadium seat theaters we in the west have grown to expect.

Book Review Veramente By Guido Guidi Reviewed by Tom Leininger Veramente by Guido Guidi is published in conjunction with his exhibition at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. The exhibition and show bring together different series he has worked on over his 40-year career and highlights his overarching motivations. After looking at the work, I want to travel to see the exhibition, but the book serves as a suitable substitute.

Veramente. By Guido Guidi.

 MACK, 2014.

 

Veramente

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Veramente
By Guido Guidi

$55.00
MACK, 2014. 172 pp., illustrated throughout, 9½x12½". 

Veramente by Guido Guidi is published in conjunction with his exhibition at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. The exhibition and show bring together different series he has worked on over his 40-year career and highlights his overarching motivations. After looking at the work, I want to travel to see the exhibition, but the book serves as a suitable substitute. It is a very thorough book, offering a lot of insight and context about Guidi. We are able to see how Guidi’s work has been refined over the years, but still driven by specific themes. Guido Guidi is a photographer who is willing to go against convention, and make work that goes beyond the expected.

Book Review Philip-Lorca diCorcia By Philip-Lorca diCorcia Reviewed by Tom Leininger Philip-Lorca diCorcia is the printed catalog for a retrospective exhibition of his work shown in Germany. The exhibition offers a view of the older work diCorcia has created, including Heads, Hustlers, A Storybook Life, Streetwork, Lucky 13, and how that has evolved into his newest works East of Eden.

Philip-Lorca diCorcia. Photographs by Philip-Lorca diCorcia. 

Edited by Katharina Dohm, Max Hollein. 

Text by Katharina Dohm, Geoff Dyer, Christoph Ribbat.

 Kerber, 2013.

 

Philip-Lorca diCorcia

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Philip-Lorca diCorcia
Photographs by Philip-Lorca diCorcia. Edited by Katharina Dohm, Max Hollein. Text by Katharina Dohm, Geoff Dyer, Christoph Ribbat

$45.00
Kerber, 2013. 208 pp., 79 color illustrations, 9¾x11¾". 

Philip-Lorca diCorcia is the printed catalog for a retrospective exhibition of his work shown in Germany. The exhibition offers a view of the older work diCorcia has created, including Heads, Hustlers, A Storybook Life, Streetwork, Lucky 13, and how that has evolved into his newest works East of Eden. Additionally, the book offers a glimpse behind the curtain showing how diCorcia continues to evolve and push the idea of the photographic narrative.

Book Review Houston Rap By Peter Beste & Lance Scott Walker Reviewed by Tom Leininger Rap is a window into life. Whether it is the life of the East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South or Houston, the music is speaking the language of the area, each in its own dialect. Houston rap is a melodic with slow rhymes. Peter Beste and Lance Scott Walker tell the story of the rise of rap music in Houston, Texas in riveting words and pictures.

Houston Rap. By Peter Beste & Lance Scott Walker.

 Sinecure Books, 2013.

 

Houston Rap

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Houston Rap
Photographs by Peter Beste, text by Lance Scott Walker
Sinecure Books, 2013. 272 pp., 209 color and 63 black & white illustrations, 8½x11¼".

Rap is a window into life. Whether it is the life of the East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South or Houston, the music is speaking the language of the area, each in its own dialect. Houston rap is a melodic with slow rhymes. Peter Beste and Lance Scott Walker tell the story of the rise of rap music in Houston, Texas in riveting words and pictures. If you have a passing interesting in music or modern culture, owning Houston Rap is a necessity.

As he has done before with his previous book True Norwegian Black Metal, Beste was able to penetrate a community not entirely welcoming to outsiders. Bun B opens the book by vouching for Beste and Walker, giving credence to their involvement and the depth of the project. He adds that they told the story with respect.

Book Review The Big Book By W. Eugene Smith Reviewed by Tom Leininger If you are expecting two volumes of gloriously printed photographs by W. Eugene Smith, this is not the book for you. If you are interested in seeing a glimpse of how Smith saw his own work in the late 1950s, then take note of this book. It pulls back the curtain to show his ego and talent at work. This is not the symphony Smith wanted us to hear, it is the jazz that permeated his loft when he created this maquette.

The Big Book. By W. Eugene Smith.
 University of Texas Press, 2013.
 

The Big Book
Reviewed by Tom Leininger

The Big Book: Volumes One and Two. 

By W. Eugene Smith. 

$185.00
University Of Texas Press, Austin, 2013. 400 pp., illustrated throughout, 10x13¼".

“Smith saw the book as visual symphony, counterpointing the somewhat inchoate but nevertheless powerful themes of his personal photographic philosophy.” From the Afterword by John G. Morris in Let Truth Be The Prejudice: The Life and Photographs of W. Eugene Smith

Book Review The Pigs By Carlos Spottorno Reviewed by Tom Leininger In an age where fake TV news shows deliver relevant reporting, Carlos Spottorno has created a book that spoofs The Economist business magazine and brings to light the causes and conditions of the economic trouble Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain (PIGS) are now encountering. Like all good magazines there is a companion website offering more information.

The Pigs. By Carlos Spottorno.
 RM & Phree, 2013.
 

The Pigs

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

The Pigs

Photographs by Carlos Spottorno
$15.00
RM & Phree, 2013. Softcover. 112 pp., 80 illustrations, 7-3/4x10-1/2". 

In an age where fake TV news shows deliver relevant reporting, Carlos Spottorno has created a book that spoofs The Economist business magazine and brings to light the causes and conditions of the economic trouble Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain (PIGS) are now encountering. Like all good magazines there is a companion website offering more information. All of the pictures captions are on the website. Even the lone fake ad for WTF Bank has a website too. It is not only the economists' opinions but the business media in general that Spottorno is aiming at.

Book Review New Topographics Reviewed by Tom Leininger When the catalog for the New Topographics show was first published in 1975 it was a small thin book with a softcover and sold for $7, which was considered high at the time. A press run of 2,500 copies meant that the book would be scarce. The new edition, published by Steidl is larger and imposing, much like the legacy of this show.

New Topographics. Text by Britt Salvesen, Alison Nordström.
 Steidl & Partners, 2013.
 

New Topographics

Reviewed by Tom Leininger 

New Topographics
Text by Britt Salvesen, Alison Nordström.
Steidl & Partners, 2013. Hardbound. 256 pp., Illustrated throughout, 11-3/4x9-1/2".

When the catalog for the New Topographics show was first published in 1975 it was a small thin book with a softcover and sold for $7, which was considered high at the time. A press run of 2,500 copies meant that the book would be scarce. The new edition, published by Steidl is larger and imposing, much like the legacy of this show.

Book Review Tractor Boys By Martin Bogren Reviewed by Tom Leininger Martin Brogen shows that no matter the country, rural young men like driving fast. Bogren puts the reader in the passenger seat with a group of people on the edge of adulthood, doing burnouts in isolated rural areas in Sweden. Grey light mixes with burning tires and photographic grain to create atmospheric pictures.

Tractor Boys. By Martin Bogren.
 Dewi Lewis, 2013.
 

Tractor Boys

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Tractor Boys
Photographs by Martin Bogren
Dewi Lewis, 2013. Hardbound. 60 pp., 39 duotone illustrations, 7-1/2x9-3/4".

Martin Brogen shows that no matter the country, rural young men like driving fast. Bogren puts the reader in the passenger seat with a group of people on the edge of adulthood, doing burnouts in isolated rural areas in Sweden. Grey light mixes with burning tires and photographic grain to create atmospheric pictures.

Book Review Field Trip By Martin Kollar Reviewed by Tom Leininger Martin Kollar clearly describes the facts of Israel, as he saw them. Including a severed head of a porcupine. It is bizarre and out of place and gruesome and you wonder, why was the head cut off in the first place? Garry Winogrand's statement that there is nothing as mysterious as a fact clearly described is embodied in this book.

Field Trip. By Martin Kollar. MACK, 2013.
 

Field Trip

Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Field Trip
Photographs by Martin Kollar
MACK, 2013. Hardbound. 76 pp., illustrated throughout, 7-3/4x9-3/4".

Martin Kollar clearly describes the facts of Israel, as he saw them. Including a severed head of a porcupine. It is bizarre and out of place and gruesome and you wonder, why was the head cut off in the first place? Garry Winogrand's statement that there is nothing as mysterious as a fact clearly described is embodied in this book.

Martin Kollar is one of those photographers whose work lives in the nether world of the strangely familiar. His visual acuity brings back pictures that only he can see. It is reportage of ambiguity. The porcupine head and other images involving medical procedures fit clearly within his vision. Along with a crew practicing rowing a boat on a trailer.

Field Trip, by Martin Kollar. Published by MACK, 2013.

Kollar takes the reader through an unexpected vision of Israel. When going through the book the first time it felt like the pictures were made in this region, but without captions or a forward, it feels a bit confused. Recognizable pictures of Israel are not initially evident. The book is part of a larger series by 12 photographers exploring Israel and the West Bank with the goal of creating a diversity of images rather than a single view of this highly charged place. Learning of the context after viewing the book helps to answer some of the questions the Kollar is posing. A lack of captions or forward propels the viewer into this place that seems familiar and strange at the same time -- a version of life between the major news events.

Field Trip, by Martin Kollar. Published by MACK, 2013.

Kollar's sense of humor comes through not only in the pictures but the sequencing. A pair of images shows bees swarming hives, which is followed by an image of a hive-like apartment building. In other places images are paired to extend the frame, one of the most effective showing military exercises from a distance. Time and space are expanded within the pair and distance makes the scene appear like a model.

Field Trip, by Martin Kollar. Published by MACK, 2013.

Kollar explains at the end of the book how being in Israel took him back to his childhood in Communist Czechoslovakia. Paranoia came back to him. Paranoia is not entirely evident in the pictures, though there are few pictures of the border crossings. Military training is clearly taken seriously, which then feeds that paranoia. An image of a bride in a small fenced in area with people around her is seen from above, reinforcing Kollar's idea about surveillance.

Field Trip, by Martin Kollar. Published by MACK, 2013.

Thinking about what is not pictured is intriguing because what is in the book is not easily described. The absence of familiar imagery helps to keep the clearly described facts a mystery. These are pictures that you do not expect to see of a place with a rich visual history; it is almost as if locations like a veterinary hospital, a hearing doctor, or another medical facility were toured so progress could be seen. Field Trip is an apt title. Kollar, in the role of the detached observer, shows the things he saw. This book does not tell me what to think of the situation in Israel. It does not clarify the problems, but clearly there are issues. Field Trip is a book that presents an idea of Israel that is unexpected and jarring. Different scenes that on first reading show no clear connections go on page after page. It is with repeated readings that the themes and metaphors become clearer.—TOM LEININGER

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TOM LEININGER is a photographer and educator based in North Texas. More of his work can be found on his website.

Book Review Son By Christopher Anderson Reviewed by Tom Leininger Having a son and being a son are two different things. Christopher Anderson wades into these murky familial waters with his book Son. The pictures are about relationships, complex, loving, strained and unknown. Through pictures of his wife and son, and his father fighting illness, Anderson creates what he describes visual declarations of love.

Son. Photographs by Christopher Anderson.
 Kehrer Verlag, 2013.
 

Son
Reviewed by Tom Leininger

Son
Photographs by Christopher Anderson
Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, 2013. Hardbound. 96 pp., 50 color illustrations, 7-3/4x9-1/2".

Having a son and being a son are two different things. Christopher Anderson wades into these murky familial waters with his book Son. The pictures are about relationships, complex, loving, strained and unknown. Through pictures of his wife and son, and his father fighting illness, Anderson creates what he describes visual declarations of love.

Anderson, one of his generation's most prolific and awarded documentary photographers, uses all of his talent on the quiet intimate moments of his life. In the afterward he writes: "Perhaps I hoped to understand something about myself by witnessing intimate moments of people that I did not know. My pictures were my connection to emotions that did not belong to me." He adds that these pictures are statements of love. That sentiment comes through like the warm sun does in a number of the photographs. He finds the quiet moments where the tilt of his wife's head makes the photograph. Her playfulness with a pacifier in her mouth. Holding their son to a window and shower to wave at Anderson. Both sides are looking through glass at each other. Looking through windows is recurring theme in the book.

Son, by Christopher Anderson. Published by Kehrer Verlag, 2013.

The problem all photographers face is the inherent disconnectedness of photography. No matter what, the camera is always a barrier, recording the actions of others. Yes the photographer is present, but detached. Anderson's ability to weave together personal interior moments with plaintive light drenched landscapes suggest the transition of a man trying to find his place in the new world he helped to create.

Mixing interior and exterior pictures is becoming a common editing technique for photographers working within a narrative framework. In this book the emptiness punctuates the populated photographs. Here is a photographer who has made a career of covering action in different forms; the lack of action in these photographs helps Anderson stretch beyond pictures that could have been cliche.

Son, by Christopher Anderson. Published by Kehrer Verlag, 2013.

Son, by Christopher Anderson. Published by Kehrer Verlag, 2013.

The book also touches on the complexities of being a son and watching your father deal with illness. Anderson has a hand in guiding his son while that control feels absent with his father. Son and father are defined in more than one way. More than anything, the book feels like a love poem to his wife. In one image she and their son are watching Anderson's father walk away from them on crutches. Anderson's past, present and future are all wrapped up into one poignant photograph -- one of the few made from a distance.

Son, by Christopher Anderson. Published by Kehrer Verlag, 2013.

Do men photograph to record and in a way, avoid dealing with changing reality? If that is true, how is it different from familial pictures made by women? There are not clear-cut sides or techniques used by either gender. The act of using a camera is always a way to disconnect from the messy present. Anderson is using photography to understand without having to use words. The lack of words in this book is a testament to that idea, leaving the reader room to fill in the blanks.

One thing that is clear is that Anderson created a strong book that has been wonderfully reproduced. Color jumps from the page, adding to the emotional impact. Son is a book that tells two personal stories from a photographer who knows how to create a moment that is both intimate and universal.—Tom Leininger

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Tom Leininger is a photographer and educator based in North Texas. More of his work can be found on his website.