Some new Books – Araki Bresson

Arran — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:22:23 +0000

Ok, i never really used to be into photo books that much. I mean, they were nice and everything, but i never understood the big attraction.
However, over the last year I’ve developed bit of an appreciation for them. Especially when I’m in need of some inspiration, or just want to look at some damn good photographs that aren’t displayed on a computer screen (that’s a whole other issue).
I’ve been in bit of a photographic “rut” the last couple of months. Over Christmas, by pure chance i was bought Europeans by Henri Cartier Bresson, and found a very good deal on Araki by Araki: The Photographer’s Personal Selection. Now if you cant find any inspiration in these books you have serious issues.
Both books have an amazing collection of photographs. HCB is a master, there’s not much more than can be said about him, i love his street and figurative work. The book features some of his most famous works and quite a few I’ve never seen before. A real treat to look through.
Then there’s Araki’s book. I’ve only been looking at his work for a year or so now, but in that time I’ve noticed that people either love or hate his stuff (as opposed to HCB who just about everyone likes). I think you need to have bit of a sense of humour that is quite hard to explain when looking at his work, especially his more erotic pieces. I find all of his work interesting and so far like his early stuff the most. I also enjoyed reading about his thoughts looking back on the photos he has in the book, what he was into at the time, what prompted him to try a particular technique out, etc. It was a nice insight.
Here are a couple photos of the books and some pages. If you see them around, i recommend checking them out, but be warned, Araki’s book probably isn’t for the feint hearted.

Tokyo pictorial book

Arran — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:14:50 +0000

I bought this pretty interesting book for $3 the other day.
Its just called “Tokyo” and was published by The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, printed in 1970. It seems to just be a tourist souvenir book, or something sent out to encourage travel to Japan, im not quite sure actually.
What i do know is that it’s full of some really interesting photography. Mostly comprising of black and white images (with the occasional colour slide shot), Its full of street photos and what appear to be pretty candid daily scenes.
It’s quite interesting in that it’s bit of a time capsule as you can see lots of old cars and buildings that have completely changed (by the time i visited last year). I really like old photographs of daily life.
Another thing i noticed, is that amongst all of the “material” changes in Tokyo such as buildings and cars and technology etc, the b&w photos of people dont look all that dated, i dont know if thats a good thing or not, quite interesting though. There’s also a couple of photos of protests and general civil unrest which seems a bit strange to put in a tourist book, its referred to as “explosion of the student power” in the captions.
I just realised how hard it is to take photos of books (cameras are alot easier Tim :p ), but heres a few shots anyway. Oh, i almost forgot, there appears to be no credit given to the photographer/s of these photos. Nothing at all, which seems strange.

That guy on the right looks way too happy.

Arran Salerno | Photography - Blog » book

Some new Books – Araki Bresson

Tokyo pictorial book