Copiously illustrated, Queer Lens explores the transformative role of photography in LGBTQ+ communities from the nineteenth century to the present day.
Photography’s power to capture a subject—representing reality, or a close approximation—has inherently been linked with the construction and practice of identity. Since the camera’s invention in 1839, and despite periods of severe homophobia, the photographic art form has been used by and for individuals belonging to dynamic LGBTQ+ communities, helping shape and affirm queer culture and identity across its many intersections.
Queer Lens explores this transformative force of photography, which has played a pivotal role in increasing queer visibility. Lively essays by scholars and artists explore myriad manifestations of queer culture, both celebrating complex interpretations of people and relationships and resisting rigid definitions. Featuring a rich selection of images—including portraits of queer individuals, visual records of queer kinship, and documentary photographs of early queer groups and protests—this volume investigates the medium’s profound role in illuminating the vibrant tapestry of LGBTQ+ communities.
Calling the Shots: LGBTQIA+ Photography from the Victoria and Albert Museum is an engaging and accessible exploration of LGBTQIA+ representation in photography, offering a groundbreaking survey of queer history through one of the world’s largest photography collections. Drawing from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, the book showcases a rich array of global LGBTQIA+ photographers, subjects, and communities.
Through six thematic chapters—Icons, Staged, Body, Liberty, Making a Scene, and Beyond the Frame—the volume highlights the vital role of photography in expressing, documenting, and celebrating queer life. Each chapter opens with a concise essay, followed by a visually stunning collection of photographs. Expanded captions and "artist in focus" features spotlight key works and moments in queer history, drawing attention to the intersection of photography with activism, performance, nightlife, and subcultures.
The book thoughtfully juxtaposes bold proclamations of queer identity with personal explorations of self, documenting moments of struggle, joy, and everyday life alongside staged performances and photographic fictions that challenge traditional notions of gender and sexuality.
Curated by Zorian Clayton, Calling the Shots serves as both an inspiring visual archive and a vital resource for anyone interested in the history of photography, as well as those passionate about LGBTQIA+ history. Through its inclusive lens, it offers a powerful and expansive appraisal of how photography has shaped and continues to reflect queer communities and culture.
One of the world's most celebrated photojournalists and filmmakers, Ed Kashi has dedicated the past 45 years to documenting the social and geopolitical issues that define our era. His newest book, A Period in Time: Looking Back while Moving Forward: 1977–2022, is a stunning and expansive retrospective of photographs spanning the world and his prolific career. Over 200 images collected in this book reflect his commitment to bear witness. Essays and contextual writings combine with the photographs to provide a personal, in-depth look at significant historical events.
Nick Brandt presents a new photography book to be published by Skira Editore with a launch at his new solo exhibition at Hangar Art Center in September
Family Amnesia is a visual tribute and love letter honoring the artist's Chinese American family roots in the United States. The book explores her family's multi-generational resilience and resistance through mixed media collages, her grandfather’s photographs, her own captured images and archival material.
In July, Aperture will release Todd Hido: Intimate
Distance, Over Thirty Years of Photographs, A Chronological Album, a newly
assembled, chronological album compiling over thirty years of Hido’s
photographs, including a selection of new works.
Spending between 24 and 72 hours documenting each family, Lewis's intimate black and white photographs capture caught moments within the homes of a variety of families as the project unfolded over 14 years. The images explore the fullness of parenting, from the unexpected chaos to the quiet shared moments.
The Enchanted Ones, a new photo book by Stephanie Pommez, is a visual tale that drifts between reality and myth, inspired by the legends of the Brazilian Amazon. Shot entirely on 35mm black-and-white film, the book moves beyond documentary into the realm of the imaginary, capturing a world where the seen and unseen coexist.
Soumoud In Dark Times is a new photobook by Rehab Nazzal. Featuring 41 color photographs taken between October 2023 and November 2024, the book presents a diaristic record of everyday life across the West Bank during a year of intensified military and settler violence.
If you’re looking for a photography magazine that does more than showcase beautiful images—one that actually invites you to think, feel, and connect—PhotoED Magazine’s Issue #73 is something special. The theme for this edition is MELD, and it really lives up to that name. It's all about merging: ideas, identities, histories, and creative practices. And the result is a thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly hopeful collection of work.
