Miscellaneous Photo Books / A

A vibrant photographic anthology that presents the work of a generation of image makers who are forging new visions of Africa.

Africa State of Mind gathers together the work of an emergent generation of photographers from across the continent, exploring Africa as a psychological space as much as a geographical one. Both a summation of new photographic practice from the last decade and a compelling survey of the ways in which contemporary African photographers are engaging with ideas of "Africanness," Africa State of Mind is a timely collection of those photographers seeking to capture the experience of what it means to "be African."

Presented in four thematic sections―"Hybrid Cities," "Inner Landscapes," "Zones of Freedom," and "Myth and Memory"―each part presents selections of work by a new wave of African photographers who are looking both outward and inward: capturing life among the sprawling cities of the continent, turning the continent's history into the source of resonant new myths, and exploring questions of gender, sexuality, and identity.

With over 300 photographs by more than fifty photographers, Africa State of Mind is a mesmerizing survey of the most dynamic scenes in contemporary photography and an introduction to the creative figures making them.

Curated by renowned London-based curator, Mark Sealy MBE, the FotoFest Biennial 2020, African Cosmologies: Photography, Time, and the Other brings together over 30 artists from around the globe whose works challenge traditional notions of Blackness and transnational histories in relation to concepts of liberty, rights, and representation. Taking its cues from John Coltrane's avant-garde jazz oeuvre, wherein formal modernisms of the past are made complex by radical imagination and black-futurity, this presentation of diverse ideas, artistic approaches, and material histories proposes a cosmological exploration of Africa and the contemporary African diaspora; one that defies easy categorization and spatial and temporal boundaries. In their unique practices, the featured artists turn an eye to social, cultural, and political conditions that inform and influence concepts of representation as they pertain to image production and circulation in Africa and beyond. These artists question the ways in which subjectivity is constructed and deconstructed by the camera, and in the process, reveal legacies of resistance by those who defy traditional ideas of sexual, racial, gender-based, and other marginalized identities. Mark Sealy writes, "Photography for those locked out of the means of image production becomes an impossible barrier to the right to full and equal human recognition. Especially if existence alone is an act of survival." The FotoFest Biennial 2020 takes place from March 8 – April 19, 2020 in Houston TX.

America the Beautiful showcases the stunning spaces closest to our nation's heart--from the woods in the Great Appalachian Valley that Davy Crockett once called home to the breathtaking sweep of California's Big Sur coast to the wilds of Alaska. It also celebrates the people who have made this country what it is, featuring a wide range of images including the Arikara Nation in the early 1900s and scientists preparing for travel to Mars on a Hawaiian island. Culled from National Geographic's vaunted photo archives, spanning a period of more than 130 years, this provocative collection depicts the splendor of this great nation as only National Geographic can, with a dramatic combination of modern and historical imagery--from the creation of architectural icons like the Golden Gate Bridge and Lady Liberty to the last of the country's wild places preserved in our national parks. With a structure inspired by the original song "America the Beautiful," this book recognizes what makes our nation great, region by region. And all 50 states and six territories of the U.S. are honored with 50 words from celebrities, historians, activists, conservationists, and politicians who call America home. Profound and inspiring, this is a book for everyone who has ever marveled at the beauty of the United States.

Each of the women in this series stepped out of the bounds of physical and social expectations to pursue her personal vision through photography. Some were fortunate to have come from wealthy families who fostered their interests. Others had to make their way by supporting themselves, or they found encouragement from other, more established photographers. Many chose to avoid or leave behind the comforts of married life at a time when marriage provided the primary source of financial security for a woman. Each of them surmounted the challenges they encountered in order to pursue their dreams. I hope their true stories inspire you, and I invite you to continue documenting and recording whatever is most important in your life through the ever-evolving tool of photography, just as these women did before you.

The lush and unique photography in this book represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals-especially those that are endangered. His powerful message, conveyed with humor, compassion, and art: to know these animals is to save them.

Sartore is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. With a goal of photographing every animal in captivity in the world, he has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the eloquent prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, and an inspiring foreword from Harrison Ford, this book presents a thought-provoking argument for saving all the species of our planet.

The first book of its kind, this stunning atlas showcases America's spectacular park system from coast to coast, richly illustrated with an inspiring and informative collection of maps, graphics, and photographs.

From the white sand beaches of Dry Tortugas to the snowy peaks of Denali, this captivating book combines authoritative park maps with hundreds of graphics and photographs to tell the stories of America's sixty one beloved national parks. Former ranger and author Jonathan Waterman introduces readers to the country's scenic reserves and highlights the extraordinary features that distinguish each: magnificent landmarks, thriving ecosystems, representative wildlife, fascinating histories, and more. With striking imagery and state-of-the-art graphics reflecting details of wildlife, climate, culture, archaeology, recreation, and more, this lush reference provides an up-close look at what makes these lands so special--and so uniquely American. A heartfelt foreword from National Geographic CEO Gary Knell reminds us how important these lands are to our lives and our national pride.

National Geographic's flagship Atlas of the World, now in its 11th edition, provides authoritative maps of every country, ocean, and region of the world, as well as thematic maps and accompanying graphics showing important population, environmental, and economic patterns. Organized by continent and reflecting today's political boundaries and identities, this authoritative atlas is an indispensable reference for schools and libraries, as well as the latest resource for home browsing and study. A thematically organized opening section uses current data to visualize urgent concerns, such as Earth's last wild places, changing freshwater availability, human migration and refugee movement, and human rights conditions globally. The back of the book contains basic facts and flags of every country, as well as a comprehensive index cross-referencing more than 150,000 place names. A thought-provoking foreword by Alexander M. Tait, The Geographer of National Geographic, begins the book.

Among private collections of fine photography, the Lane Collection stands out as one of the most remarkable. Begun in the 1960s and still ongoing, the collection shines not only for its wealth of top-quality prints by the great modernist triumvirate of Ansel Adams, Charles Sheeler and Edward Weston (including the most important single holding of Adams' work), but also for its breadth. This volume presents 120 photographic masterpieces from the Lane Collection, ranging from William Henry Fox Talbot to the Starn twins, and including along the way work by Arbus, Brancusi, Bravo, Cunningham, Frank, Fuss, Goldin, Kertesz, Lange, Michals, Modotti, Morell, Penn, Steichen, Strand, Sudek and nearly 50 others. The keynote essay by Lyle Rexer trains an acute eye on images from the collection, defining the vision behind this magnificent grouping. But it is the images themselves that place this among the most significant photography books of the year.

939Published on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary, this is the first ever anthology of Aperture magazine. This long-awaited overview provides a selection of the best critical writing from the first 25 years of the magazine--the period spanning the tenure of cofounder and editor Minor White. Aperture was established in 1952 by a group of photographers, including Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Barbara Morgan and historian-curators Beaumont and Nancy Newhall. Their intention was to provide a forum "in which photographers can talk straight to each other, discuss the problems that face photography as profession an art, share their experiences, comment on what goes on, descry the new potentials." With its far-ranging interests in diverse photographic styles, myriad themes and subjects (including a strong streak of spirituality in diverse forms) and an adventurous commitment to a broad international range, Aperture has had a profound impact on the course of fine-art photography. The texts and visuals in this anthology were selected by Peter C. Bunnell, White's protégé and an early member of the Aperture staff, who went on to become a major force in photography as an influential writer, curator and professor. Several articles are reproduced in facsimile, and the publication is enlivened throughout by other features, including a portfolio of exceptional covers, as well as a selection of the colophons (short statements or quotes) that appeared at the front of each magazine.

Ping Pong Conversations is a long, friendly conversation between Alec Soth, one of the most prominent artist of this time, and the Italian curator and critic Francesco Zanot. Analyzing his most famous photographs as well as others that have been published or are virtually unknown, Soth reflects upon his career as a photographer. Each picture gives rise to a charter of its own, an original thought or reflection. Storytelling and the use of color and black and white, staged and candid approaches, and personal and political issues are just a few of the many arguments that the American photographer discusses with Francesco Zanot, resulting in a combination of words and images that constitutes both a complex examination of Alec Soth's work and a manual on that reading of photography itself. Soth’s images are shuffled together here to form new sequences: tracing the threads of memories, addressing cultural issues and references, and thus creating unforeseen and unforeseeable connections.

Amelia is 14 years old. In many ways, she is your average American teenager: since she was three years old, she has been her mother's muse, and the subject of her photographs. However, not every mom is a world-class photographer with a predilection for photographing animals. And it's not every teenager who has portraits of herself with elephants, llamas, ponies, tigers, kangaroos, chimpanzees and endless dogs, cats, and other animals--portraits that hang in the collections of major art museums around the world. Amelia and the Animals is Robin Schwartz's second monograph featuring this collaborative series dedicated to documenting her and Amelia's adventures among the animals. As Schwartz puts it, "Photography is a means for Amelia to meet animals. Until recently, she took these opportunities for granted. She didn't realize how unusual her encounters were until everyone started to tell her how lucky she was to meet so many animals." Nonetheless, these images are more than documents of Amelia and her rapport with animals; they offer a meditation on the nature of interspecies communication and serve as evidence of a shared mother-daughter journey into invented worlds.

The impact of the humble American snapshot has been anything but humble. Any American who takes a snapshot contributes to a compelling and influential genre. Since 1888, when George Eastman introduced the Kodak camera and roll film, the snapshot has not only changed everyday American life and memory; it has also changed the history of fine art photography. The distinctive subject matter and visual vocabulary of the American snapshot--its poses, facial expressions, viewpoints, framing, and themes--influenced modernist photographers as they explored spontaneity, objectivity, and new topics and perspectives. A richly illustrated chronicle of the first century of snapshot photography in America, The Art of the American Snapshot is the first book to examine the evolution of this most common form of American photography. The book shows that among the countless snapshots taken by American amateurs, some works, through intention or accident, continue to resonate long after their intimate context and original meaning have been lost. The catalogue of a fall 2007 exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, The Art of the American Snapshot reproduces some 250 snapshots drawn from Robert Jackson's outstanding collection and from a recent gift Jackson made to the museum. Organized decade by decade, the book traces the evolution of American snapshot imagery and describes how technical, social, and cultural factors affected the look of snapshots at different periods.