Venice - Camera Obscura: Photographs with the Pinhole Camera [Hardcover]

Gunter Derlath (Photographer)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Edition Stemmle (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3908163218
• ISBN-13: 978-3908163213
• Product Dimensions: 13 x 10.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,367,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A UNIQUE VIEW OF AN UNPARALLELED CITY, November 24, 2000

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Venice - Camera Obscura: Photographs with the Pinhole Camera (Hardcover)

Venice, Italy, surely one of the most vaunted cities on our planet has again been exalted in this folio-size volume of unforgettable photographs.

The poet Byron remembered Venice as he stood on the Bridge of Sighs, "A palace and a prison on each hand." Another bard, Shelley, described it as "Ocean's nursling......A peopled labyrinth of walls, Amphitrite's destined halls."

More contemporaneous writers may link Venice with Harry's Bar, a watering hole for the wealthy, or perhaps with the legions of pigeons that shroud St. Mark's Square.

Now, German photo-designer Gunter Derleth captures Vicenza with unerring eye and unique vision in photos remarkable for their quality of light. This effect is achieved by the camera obscura, which is "basically a box with a very small hole in it.....Light comes through the hole and is placed directly onto the paper." The results in this volume are dreamlike, sometimes almost surreal but always beautiful.

Derleth opens with fog cloaked figures from Carnevale, the celebration that calls for Venetians to dress in elaborate costumes and masks. We find the facade of Florian's, a restaurant bordering St. Mark's Square recognizable by its battery of miniature tables and decorative chairs. Whether a view across the Grand Canal of the glorious island of San Giorgio Maggiore or a simple apartment building, each photo embraces both the beauty and mystery of Venice.

Brief accompanying texts are excised from the works of great writers who were entranced by the city. Each amplifies and underscores its partner photo.

Italophiles will relish this lush volume, and photography buffs admire Gunter Derleth's art.

Gail Cooke