A now classic text on the art, Why People Photograph gathers a selection of essays by the great master photographer Robert Adams, tackling such diverse subjects as collectors, humor, teaching, money and dogs. Adams also writes brilliantly on Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Laura Gilpin, Judith Joy Ross, Susan Meiselas, Michael Schmidt, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange and Eugène Atget. The book closes with two essays on "working conditions" in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century American West, and the essay "Two Landscapes." Adams writes: "At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are."
| ||||||||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Adams, a noted photographer of the American West, dislikes words that describe pictures. In this collection of poetic, thought-provoking and highly original essays, he examines Paul Strand's devotion to America and analyzes the origins of his art; he looks at the contradictions in Ansel Adams' life and work, and comes to his own conclusions. He writes movingly not only of people but of place--his beloved West--and his belief that "we live in several landscapes at once, among them the landscape of hope..."
Review
"At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are."
-Robert Adams
-Robert Adams
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Robert Adams, born in 1937, came to prominence as part of the photographic movement known as New Topographics. His work has been widely exhibited both in Europe and the United States. He is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the Spectrum International Prize for Photography, and the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 56 people found the following review helpful
By Tom Brody
Format:Paperback
If you are not connected with any photography/art community, this book is for you. If none of your friends has an MFA, and if you are in need of someone who can speak intelligently about photography as art, then again, this book is for you. Robert Adams' writing is clear, concise, and insightful. Adams tells us why we photograph, for example, why we photograph landscapes. The answers include: because the images are of "emblems of a land" (pages 146 and 163), because our photographed subjects redefine us and is part of our biography (page 15), because art is "specifics made universal" (page 120), and because "art is a discovery of harmony" (page 181). Adams consoles photographers who come to realize that spending ten years doing photography won't necessarily result, e.g., in a contract for preparing a coffeetable book: "[t]hey may or may not make a living by photography but they are alive by it" (page 15); and the experience of having an exhibit where the photographer "stand[s] through the opening of an exhibition to which only officials have come." (page 16). Adams reveals the secrets of some of the masters, e.g., Weston: "limbs and torsos . . . treated as shapes to be enjoyed as one might the sight of a smooth stone" (page 64); and Paul Strand: "he worked off axis as if it were a moral principle . . . but usually just slightly off axis." (page 81) Robert Adams offers some critiques of the masters, e.g., of Paul Strand: "[o]ff-centering is used here . . . it begins to seem formulaic (page 87); and of Ansel Adams: "I have been derivative of myself for fifty years." (page 116). Robert Adams' book is a stand-alone book, that is, it does not require a knowledge of literature, art criticism, or history. The book is for the layperson. Another fine, insightful book on photography criticism is Light Readings by A.D. Coleman. A remarkable bit of insight by A.D. Coleman, for example, concerns his view of the typical amateur (page 164): "Typically, a snapshot of someone's relative at Grant's Tomb will show the relative too far from the camera to be identifiable and Grant's Tomb too close to be recognizable . . . Their charm and poignancy derives specifically from their failure to communicate . . ."The writings of Robert Adams and A.D. Coleman may be contrasted with the poetic commentary David Wallace (in Morley Baer's The Wilder Shore) and with the "writing" of Sally Eauclair in The New Color Photography and New Color/New Work. The writings of David Wallace and Sally Eauclaire are silly, and sometimes very silly, and serve only to draw attention to the words printed on the page instead of serving to invoke new concepts and connections in the mind.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book has been of great assitance to me in my teaching and creative practice over the years. It has been a source of inspiration and motivation allowing me to continue working with my cameras and photography, at the same time reconciling different ideas about 'money', 'ideas', 'freinds', 'teaching' etc to enable me to maintain my faith in what I do.
The essays on teaching and money in particular have helped me clarify my position as both an artist and teacher, I highly recommend this book to anyone considering teaching or photography as a career.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Ramsey
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Most of the book doesn't really respond to the title, but Robert Adams writes in a very engaging manner and talks about issues that most photographers will find interesting. I found particularly interesting his discussion of famous photographers and their aesthetic philosophy. This is not a book for the casual photographer, but for the photographer who is interested in photography's background, or a collector who'd like to better understand the photographer as artist, this book is terrific.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Think before shooting, is the idea behind the book and it does the...
Gives anyone interested in photography food for thought. Helps you think about more than just what you are shooting
but also why you are shooting it.
but also why you are shooting it.
Published 4 months ago by Donald G. Stanton
5.0 out of 5 stars
oh oh the sacrifice! give me a break guys,
Really. I have read each and every comment here, and I am a bit perplexed over the harshness of your crits Really! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Imagineruthgmail Com
1.0 out of 5 stars
Save Your Money
I ordered this book from Amazon because it appears on the recommended lists of many photographers. It is nicely written but is a photographer's meditations. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Slumming Angel
3.0 out of 5 stars
Les Jeux Sont Fait
People who write about photography write about photography for people who write about photography. That was an old saying my Pappy used to tell me.
Published 13 months ago by Geronimo
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unbelievably boring.
I have owned this book since 1997. I have read it four times and each time I was left wondering what I've missed. And the answer is nothing. It is simply boring. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Bruce Hart
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to read and fundamental
This book is very easy to read and has some fundamental ideas for amateurs. I recommend this for any kind of photographer.
Published on April 20, 2011 by Luis Molina Quinones
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why indeed?
Serious and potentially serious photographers will reflect upon that question as they read this. Adams lays it on the line: "Almost all photographers have incurred large expenses... Read more
Published on October 21, 2010 by Richard Todd
5.0 out of 5 stars
An understated book
Wrote up my own assignment in a photography class on two of the chapters here. Adams left much unsaid, and led me to think and add to his writings.
Published on April 25, 2010 by Vic Setterholm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Just Photography
I enjoyed the 3/4 of this book that dealt with photography. The last 1/4 was a treatise on environmentalism. Much of this was written more that 20 years ago and is outdated. Read more
Published on February 25, 2010 by Curtis Nugent
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why Do Peoples Photograph?
Comprehensible texts that talk about the `whys' of a subject are hard to come by. Often times those books are overly analytical and specific and can be a challenge to read, let... Read more
Published on December 7, 2009 by victor lee
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
