Polaroids occupy a special place in the hearts of many photo enthusiasts who remember a time when "instant photography" meant a one-of-a-kind prints that developed within minutes of clicking the shutter. What was once a crucial tool for photographers to test their shots before shooting on film has now become obsolete in the face of digital photography. Luckily for us, legendary photographer Helmut Newton saved his test Polaroids, allowing a privileged and rare chance to see the tests from a selection of his greatest shoots over a period of decades, including many from the TASCHEN titles SUMO, A Gun for Hire, and Work. Put together by his widow, June Newton, his collection captures the magic of Helmut Newton photo shoots as only Polaroids can.
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Book Description
Instant Newton A collection of Helmut Newton's test Polaroids
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About the Author
Helmut Newton (1920-2004) was one of the most influential photographers of all time. Born in Berlin, he arrived in Australia in 1940 and married June Brunell (a.k.a. Alice Springs) eight years later. He first achieved international fame in the 1970's while working principally for French Vogue, and his celebrity and influence grew over the decades. Newton preferred to shoot in streets or interiors, rather than studios. Controversial scenarios, bold lighting, and striking compositions came to form his signature look. In 1990 he was awarded the Grand Prix national de la photographie; in 1992 the German government awarded him Das Grosse Verdienstkreuz for services to German culture, and he was appointed Officier des Arts, Lettres et Sciences by S.A.S. Princess Caroline of Monaco. In 1996, he was appointed Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by Philippe Douste-Blazy, the French Minister of Culture at the time. Working and living in close companionship with his wife until his death at 83, his images remain as distinctive, seductive and orginal as ever.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
This reviewer is a huge admirer of Helmut Newton and his creative style of photography. And although I believe I have all his books including his difficult to locate autobiography, this one is probably the least satisfying photograph collection of the lot.
Once again, Taschen has published its usual first-class, ultra high-quality volume of 256 pages and most of Newton's fans will want to add this book to their collection of his quirky and erotic work.
Unfortunately, most of these Polaroid's aren't from his best photographic subject shoots. For example the only photograph from his major work SUMO is the Polaroid on page 4 (across from the preface) that shows Helmut dressed in a Northwestern sweat suit standing beside one of the giant photographs of nudes from the SUMO exhibition. The photo completely dwarfs him, but it works okay as a portrait of the photographer and his super-sized work.
His wife June says that Helmut brought the Polaroid's home each night to get her comments on his days work. Like most professional fashion photographers of the era Helmut used the Polaroid's to test his lighting set-ups, proper placement of the model's fashion and to see the over-all scene before capturing it on regular film.
June also said that she and Helmut often gave some of the one-of-a-kind Polaroid's away as place cards for dinner parties. "Some were sold to people who saw the value of them, some ended up in auctions. Many are still out there." That's probably the reason almost none of the Polaroid's of his most famous pictures are included in this Taschen collection. These appear to the culls of the original working collection.
One of the problems with Polaroid photos shot on a small camera intended for the general public--like the one shown over the semi-nude model's shoulder on the book cover--is that those early photos weren't very sharp and the color was not very accurate. There were no true reds and the closest color to red was dubbed "Polaroid orange." Some photographers of the era made a career out of making one-of-a-kind Polaroid images utilizing the strange and often bazaar color combinations of the medium. Most of the color Polaroid's in the book appear to have faded badly and the color wasn't that accurate when they were first taken. Some of the early black and white Polaroid's are simply fuzzy.
Many of the reproduced photos are too small to really see well. And in many cases when Helmut wanted to end up with a square format picture on his finished fashion photo, only about half of the Polaroid's rectangle format was used, thus making the picture area of each Polaroid photo even smaller and harder to see. This collection is most definitely like the sketch book of an artist, minus the best sketches.
For the avid Helmut Newton collector this is a necessary addition to their library, but like the tasty appetizer to a meal that promises much, the book is surprisingly unsatisfying.
The cover photo definitely one of the best photos in the book by the way.
Once again, Taschen has published its usual first-class, ultra high-quality volume of 256 pages and most of Newton's fans will want to add this book to their collection of his quirky and erotic work.
Unfortunately, most of these Polaroid's aren't from his best photographic subject shoots. For example the only photograph from his major work SUMO is the Polaroid on page 4 (across from the preface) that shows Helmut dressed in a Northwestern sweat suit standing beside one of the giant photographs of nudes from the SUMO exhibition. The photo completely dwarfs him, but it works okay as a portrait of the photographer and his super-sized work.
His wife June says that Helmut brought the Polaroid's home each night to get her comments on his days work. Like most professional fashion photographers of the era Helmut used the Polaroid's to test his lighting set-ups, proper placement of the model's fashion and to see the over-all scene before capturing it on regular film.
June also said that she and Helmut often gave some of the one-of-a-kind Polaroid's away as place cards for dinner parties. "Some were sold to people who saw the value of them, some ended up in auctions. Many are still out there." That's probably the reason almost none of the Polaroid's of his most famous pictures are included in this Taschen collection. These appear to the culls of the original working collection.
One of the problems with Polaroid photos shot on a small camera intended for the general public--like the one shown over the semi-nude model's shoulder on the book cover--is that those early photos weren't very sharp and the color was not very accurate. There were no true reds and the closest color to red was dubbed "Polaroid orange." Some photographers of the era made a career out of making one-of-a-kind Polaroid images utilizing the strange and often bazaar color combinations of the medium. Most of the color Polaroid's in the book appear to have faded badly and the color wasn't that accurate when they were first taken. Some of the early black and white Polaroid's are simply fuzzy.
Many of the reproduced photos are too small to really see well. And in many cases when Helmut wanted to end up with a square format picture on his finished fashion photo, only about half of the Polaroid's rectangle format was used, thus making the picture area of each Polaroid photo even smaller and harder to see. This collection is most definitely like the sketch book of an artist, minus the best sketches.
For the avid Helmut Newton collector this is a necessary addition to their library, but like the tasty appetizer to a meal that promises much, the book is surprisingly unsatisfying.
The cover photo definitely one of the best photos in the book by the way.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Twain
Amazon Verified Purchase
I really like the mix of seeing Helmut Newtons polished super slick fashion style in this lower quality vibrant contrasty over saturated format. These Polaroids tend to look much more intense than film prints of the same photo sessions. I had owned Newton's Pola Women for almost 10 years before this came out, and this one does not replace the first book in any way. Although many of the same photos in this book were in the first book, many were not, and the first book tends to have more of them enlarged to about 8x12'', where as this book shows the photos in a smaller size. But this book has so many photos! I especially enjoy the 70s and 80s photos, when Polaroid prints were more contrasty and saturated, but some of the 90s stuff is also great. Some of newtons later shoots are a little bland or overly simple for me, like the mannequin legs upside down on the gravel beach, just doesn't do anything for me. The nudes are great, I especially remember one of a girl inside a huge fish tank with her head sticking out, the glass and water make it look like her head is severed. Also the one of the girl in the white swimsuit standing next to the white Ferrari on the beach is stunning! He knew how to get the most from his models, and I can tell that many times these Polaroids, being test shots of the sessions, would yield more spontaneous, fresh results than the final shots that ended up being used for negative prints. $37 is what I paid, well worth it for a hard cover book with about 250 pages, and hundreds of images. As far as awesome Polaroid books, at the top of my list is Carlo Mollino's Polaroids (2002 Arena Editions, now out of print and usually sells for around $400 and probably worth the price, this book is awesome), then there's Helmut Newton Polaroids (this book) and finally Newton's Pola Women, which is a more affordable and still essential compilations of Newton's Polaroid shots. So, if you are a fan of Newton, If you are a fan of Polaroids, if you are a fan of fashion photography, nude photography, or any of these things, I think you can't go wrong with this precious hardbound edition!
By BryanAndrew
Amazon Verified Purchase
Helmut was the man and still is! Good book if you are looking to go further more into his work.
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