Home Forums Let’s Talk Photography Photo books for the coffee table?

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  • #12185
    nesgran
    Participant

    So, suggestions for some nice photo books to stick on the coffee table? Obviously not instructional manuals but nice photos only.

    Right now there is a bit of a mix on there, one book about orangutans (Jay Ullal), one lonely planet photo book I found in a charity shop and one by Steve McCurry. I wish I had bought the one about soviet architecture I saw in another charity shop and I really like Mark Laita’s books Serpentine and Sea life. I think I just like the absolute simplicity of the shots. Robert Capa is a very powerful book as well.

    Maybe I should ask what do you have on your coffee table?

    #12186
    emf
    Participant

    It’s old, but still one of my favourite books is ‘the genius of photography’ from the bbc series about 6 years. Not that I’d put it on my coffee table though as it would be destroyed by my kids :/

    #12189
    ebi
    Participant

    Translocation is one of my favorite coffee table books. When you mentioned orangutan, it made me think of it: http://www.translocationbook.com/

    #12196
    Brownie
    Participant

    I have Doug DuBois’s “…All The Days and Nights” on mine.

    http://www.dougdubois.com/portfolio/family2/family2.html

    Quite a fantastic body of work that has inspired me immensely.

    #12204
    nesgran
    Participant

    //www.dougdubois.com/portfolio/family2/family2.html

    Quite a fantastic body of work that has inspired me immensely.

    That did nothing for me.

    I wonder if he’s noticed his spelling mistake on the front page

    #12208
    emf
    Participant

    I thought that was really interesting Brownie. With the family portraits, the images are quite nice individually but the whole thing works best when viewed as a series; they’re like movie stills – but the ‘movie’ is their lives. It’s interesting to see how they grow and change through the years and I like the tender moments, like of the couple dancing in their house. Are the scenes set up or are they real?

    It reminds me of Eggleston’s portraits – of seemingly not very much, just these quiet,  little transient moments of family life that are easy to miss but can be quite beautiful. And to an extent Richard Billingham too, but rather less dysfunctional!

    #12220
    Brownie
    Participant

    Doug is very cerebral in how he handles these images of his family, most (if not all) have been staged to some degree or some preconceived idea of the outcome because I’m almost 90% sure that he uses medium format, he’s never told me. I agree, his work is strongest as a set, as an unspoken narrative.  I think the only ties that Doug and Richard have is that they both photograph family but entirely different ways with entirely different visions, I adore both sets.

    #14824
    EZ49
    Participant
    #14837
    nesgran
    Participant

    very nice, I might put $50 in to that

    #15890
    EyeDocPhotog
    Participant

    no coffee table, our house is not configured in this fashion. The central locus is our kitchen. Our fridge, walls – just about any free blank space – is covered with coloring pages from my 6yr old daughter, almost exclusively from the movie Cars (the first one, before she was born. She likes that one best) 🙂

    If this counts, I do have a copy of “The man who mistook his wife for a hat” (Oliver Sacks) on my nightstand.

    #15891
    EyeDocPhotog
    Participant

    sorry, no suggestions for a book. Just realized you were asking for book SUGGESTIONS and not what everyone has already, sorry…. 🙁

     

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