Growing up, one of my greatest thrills was when the weekly Life Magazine would arrive in the mail. Eventually Life became a monthly and finally went out of circulation with the new millennium, a casualty of the Internet I suppose. Most of the Twentieth Century’s great documentary photographers were published on its pages. John Loengard was one of them and perhaps the most influential. He joined Life in the early Sixties, became one of its greatest photographers and eventually its Picture Editor. Pictures Under Discussion is his first book, published in 1987 and it’s terrific!!!

The book contains about 80 Black and White photographs; some very famous and iconic, but half were never published before; they are the ones the photographer used for lectures he gave while teaching at New York’s New School. The focus is on people, objects and some landscapes. Of course the pictures are wonderful, but the real bonus is that Loengard provides his very revealing thoughts about the making of each picture, what his inspiration was, along with aesthetic and technical considerations.

Studying this book – viewing the photographs and reading Loengard’s commentary concerning each one is like taking a workshop with a legend!! Something truly to be treasured and learned from!

This master class is readily available both in hard and softcover editions. So there is no excuse not to run out and get a copy for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!

Let me get right to the point … you must have this book! I can’t remember how or where I heard about it because I had never come across Ragnar Axelsson, otherwise known as RAX before — but boy I am glad I own it!!

Faces of the North established RAX as one of the great photographers — documentary or otherwise — of our time. This fact is recognized in the book’s preface, written by the late great Mary Ellen Mark. The focus is on the harsh and austere environment of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and those who inhabit these places. My guess is that this will be their last great document before they and their cultures are fundamentally altered by climate change and modernity.

The book contains about 100 black and white photographs that can only be described as stark. This is not a romantic portrait. When I look at the pictures I literally begin to feel that I am in the middle of a blizzard in the freezing cold. I sense what its like to be working together with the dogs and horses in the blustery wind. I believe I’m on the boat, helping to row it on choppy artic waters. I’m in the simple homes gazing out the doorways or windows.

The feeling is like what I get when I listen to a spectacular and great sounding jazz record … I sense the players are right in the room with me. Yes, these pictures are that real! I constantly come back to this wonderful book and always discover something new.

In some ways this book reminds me of one of Paul Strand’s great masterpieces and another favorite of mine, Tir A’ Mhurain, The Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

First published in 2004, Faces of the North quickly went out of print. However, it’s now available again, so do yourself a favor and get it; don’t miss out on an opportunity to cherish something special for a lifetime!

In my opinion Aaron Siskind was of the great 20th Century photographers. His primary focus was the abstract; his subjects were paint on streets and walls, portions of rock formations, sand, weathered objects and other found fragments that caught his imagination. Published in 1993 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth, this is a stupendous retrospective of his life work.

In 2004 I was fortunate to see a major exhibit of his photographs at the great Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. If you ever get a chance to see his work, do it! I don’t think Siskind is exhibited nearly as much as some of the other Masters, such as Adams, Weston, Strand and Stieglitz, so the next best thing is to get his book if you can. Unfortunately it had a limited production run so it is out of print and somewhat pricy. I was lucky enough to purchase it when it first came out, but if I didn’t own it now and had to make a decision on how to spend my scarce photo book dollars, it would surely be at the top of my list.

The large reproductions of Siskind’s black and white photographs are beautifully printed, each on a single page, facing a page containing only the name of the image and the year it was made. Clean and elegant. His “Credo” that guided his work is also included as an introduction.

What is so important about this book is that it shows you that it is possible to produce deeply meaningful and personal black and white photographs in your own surroundings (another very different example of this is Paul Strand’s exquisite photographs made in his garden). Perhaps abstract is not your cup of tea, but Siskind proves that there are no excuses for not being able to go out make photographs wherever you are.

Look at this wonderful book and be inspired to get out there and be more aware of the limitless possibilities that lie before you!