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Beautiful limited edition book by Bruce Rae, Terry Jones & Tom Phillips out now! |
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Landscape: The world’s top photographers |
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• French Kiss, by Anders Petersen |
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• Latest Issue |
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• Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland, © Tom Mackie For a book to set out its stall as portraying the greatest images from the world’s top photographers in a genre as ubiquitous as landscape is a brave claim. Frankly any ‘top 10’ - in this case 38 - is just asking to be taken to task, but it is pointless to try to do so, as every reader would come up with a different set of names for inclusion. There are, after all, so many to choose from. What is nevertheless certain is that each of the featured photographers is at the top of his or her game and the book serves to introduce the reader to work that may not have been seen before. In my case I was pleased to be reminded of the work of Japan’s Shinzo Maeda, now over 80, what a wonderful eye he has. Towards the back of the book is a directory which includes a bibliography for each photographer - in the case of the more prolificly-published a selective bibliography - so the reader can track down more by the less familiar names. It is not a criticism to say that many of those names are ‘the usual suspects’ - what else might one expect on a list of the world’s top photographers? - but it is true to say that all belong to the pictorialist school of landscape photography, and this is surely a missed opportunity. While every image is a celebration of the natural world, each is also vying for a place on the next chocolate box. Landscape is probably the most photographed subject, however, and so there are probably many less experienced photographers out there who will benefit from this book. Each photographer has a short chapter dedicated to his/her work and the accompanying text is based on an interview with author Terry Hope in which they discuss the inspiration behind their work and the techniques involved in making the images on show. Unfortunately some of the techniques are somewhat glossed over and provide little useful information. For instance, Lynn Radeka is quoted: ‘I use Selective Latent Image Manipulation Technique development, which results in a superior negative’. Well bully for you. And further points are lost with captions being carelessly edited negating their value. These photographers know their onions all right, but you only need look at the pictures chosen for this book to confirm that every one of them makes a decent living out of stock. Thirty-eight in total, but only one idea. A little more variety of approach and style would have made for a better book, but perhaps the fact is that the ‘top’ photographers know what sells. Landscape: The world’s top photographers and the stories behind their greatest images, by Terry Hope, published by Rotovision, £24.99, ISBN 2 88046 576 1. |
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