Customer Reviews

William Eggleston's Guide

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For those of you who already know Eggleston, there is something in particular to note about this book. I also purchased Eggleston's "The Hasselblad Award 1998," which features a handful of the same shots in Guide. This provided me an opportunity to compare the same shots in two different publications. There is absolutely no comparison to the superior quality of the prints in William Eggleston's Guide. In fact, shots that I loved in Guide I would not have even really noticed in Hasselblad (very poor color separation, blue tints, etc.). This is the book to get.

William Eggleston's photos grow on you. Look through this book for the first time and the contents seem a bit like ordinary snapshots but look again and then again and with each viewing the images become more familiar (still with something fresh to discover each time) but now they start to blend together seamlessly. One reason for this, I think, is that the photos capture the everyday and the ordinary. Taken around Eggleston's hometown of Memphis and in the Deep South, they show some of his relations, street scenes, interiors, buildings and more, though the captions only state the locations. John Szarkowski says in the books introduction "..today's most radical and suggestive color photography derives much of its vigor from commonplace models" This capturing of the everyday and in color divided the critics in 1976 when the Museum of Modern Art used seventy-five of Egglestons's images for their first exhibition of color photography. The 'Guide' unfortunately only shows forty-eight from the show.

Art photography until this exhibition was in black and white and had been for years, color photos were mostly for ads, commercial print and snapshots. Thankfully the Museum's curator of photography, Szarkowski, had the good sense to allow the public to see something new and fresh. I think the 'Guide' is a good introduction to Eggleston and if you like his creative vision, as I do, have a look at these two books of his work:The Democratic Forest and Ancient & Modern. Both are full of wonderful color photos of the American everyday.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

this is where color photography became art, and it is the MOST influential color work done to date. what can you say about this work except that if you are a photography student, lover, practitioner, or simple fan, you must own this book. this is the one folks, where it all began. giving it stars seems silly, but if ever there was a 5 star book, this is it.

Arriving early in 1972 for a Job in Statesboro, Georgia, from Europe as "an immigrant with a passport" these images strike me as well done observations. Many times in the early morning I had mental snapshots of the beautiful lighting and the high humidity that often appeared to act as a "soft filter" and I see that effect in these images as well. So, in addition to being excellent photographs, they are also a time machine from "when things were slower and fewer."
But I also sense that Eggleston is one of the few that still enjoyed a somewhat Patrician upbringing from an era gone by, (The Spoiled Squires of the South) and his images are those of an observer and not a participant. I like the quality of theses images that don't have the linear and often harsh quality of digital photography, but the constant and repeated mantras in reviews of this book that Eggleston was a pioneer in color photography are bogus. Others were shooting in color as well, its the exclusionary gallery culture at work here creating their own tall tales.
The front introductory section written by John Szarkowski is for me an entirely separate part of the book and makes for good reading, altough I find the constant name dropping and tortured language that rambles on more of an attempt by John Z to show off his knowledge of photography and how he defines Eggleston's work, and that we readers are mere minions. Enough said, those are my viewpoints. Buy the book and check it out for yourself.

This book is a very good reason never to ditch books. It's a picture book and a Kindle or IPad or ereader could never replace it. I put it on my coffee table and every time I pick it up, I learn something new about composition or color or subject matter. It's a master work.

The introduction to this book by John Szarkowski is the best essay that I've ever read about photography period. It perfectly matches the photos themselves which I also believe to be perfect. They may not mean much to you at first but keep on looking. They are mysterious and baffling. The book to me is perfect and a true ICON of american art. Everything else pales in comparison, even other Eggleston books.

you have no choice but to buy this book if you think you're interested in photography.

At first blush Egglestons's photographs seem mundane, which to my mind is much the point. This is also the work that launched the medium of color photography into the art world. No amount of words can really say why these photographs are so successful at lodging themselves under your skin. Yes, they evoke time and place in a way that can cut to the bone, but there is more to it than that. Spend some time with this book, look at these images, that is the only way to really understand what this work is all about.

This is a very nice book and holds very close to the 1st addition. Picture and print reproduction quality is much better than the 1st with a few additional frames adding to the original. Overall, I am pleased with this purchase and can say that I will keep an eye out for more great deals with Amazon the world leader in book selections.

V/R

PhotogDog

This is the second edition of this book, published many years ago by the MOMA.
This book is great, excellent, with a extremely well done print process, the Eggelston's pictures appears really good show.
I'm very happy with this buy and i'm planning to buy the other books in this format.